18 March 2022

Review: The Attack by Catherine Jinks

The Attack by Catherine Jinks book cover

* Copy courtesy of Text Publishing *

Robyn's career as a school teacher ended 10 years ago and she's now the Caretaker on Finch Island, located off the coast of Queensland. One of Robyn's clients is a group of Veterans who run a camp for troubled teens in an effort to turn their lives around with group activities, discipline and teamwork. The island is a former leper colony and served as the perfect setting for the action that follows.

Unfolding in two timelines (2009 and 2019), we flick between Robyn's teaching days and her current position on Finch Island. The increasing drama taking place at the school had me transfixed as a young boy is at the heart of a domestic custody battle involving his mother, domineering Policeman father and despicably bitchy Grandmother. I wanted Robyn to take more of a stand against the behaviour being exhibited by a number of the characters in the book and I found myself wishing her colleagues would do more to help.

Meanwhile, some of the boys on the camp are acting up with some pretty nasty pranks and Robyn notices one of them looks uncannily like Aaron. Except his name is Darren now. Can it be the same boy?

Slowly the tensions rise and situations escalate until we finally learn what happened to cause Robyn to leave her career behind and choose to live an isolated and lonely life on Finch Island. 

The Attack by Catherine Jinks is a satisfying and entertaining read with a good mystery at its heart. Catherine Jinks is an accomplished Australian author of more than thirty books, however this is my first time reading any of her novels.

The Attack by Catherine Jinks is recommended for fans of domestic noir and Aussie crime thrillers.

(You can also check out a FREE sample on the publisher's website).

My Rating:


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