Cassie McCullough

polite way to put it but you know what we have here is one of those um structures where we're weaving in and out of voices and we're weaving in and out of time frames but what sort of slowly comes together is the history of this family over 35 years or so and tina is is

present very much even when she's dead in in these different time frames she's a enormous person in the lives of not just the two daughters but also the ex craig and her sister meg

One of the devices that Imbinimi uses is tension, dramatic tension and mystery.

So Meg's come to the funeral and has a dreadfully guilty conscience and she wants to unburden it on her nieces.

And so she finally corrals them and they go to a bar and she tells them that she slept with their father.

And that's why she, Meg and Tina, her sister, haven't spoken for all these years and she feels absolutely wretched about it.

Yeah, I did actually, there's a lot of vodka drinking in this and I was thinking, oh, vodka, yeah, I haven't had a vodka for ages.

Let's talk about how this hits you, this book.

It is extremely snappily written.

There is some obvious talent here as a writer.

it's take you by the hand sit back you're going to be told a story and it's going to entertain you and there are going to be way marks that you'll feel comfortable having reached and I also think that there's probably been a brilliant editor working on it because as a

debut novel, I mean, it's pretty flawless in what it wants to be and in knowing what it wants to be.

So I'll give you an example of this, perhaps.

This is when Trent or Troy is on the phone.

Nicole's rung him up, now Nicole's the good sister, to tell him, to tell Sam that mum's in hospital and she's not very well.

In

It turns out Samantha's been aware that she's in hospital, but has not let on to Trent how bad her mother's condition is.

And so Nicole tells him, you know, she's dying.

And Sam, Samantha, hasn't been to see her.

Oh, Trent said after a short silence, I don't think mum's going to be with us much longer.