Chris Womersley - Bereft

review live on show 26th July 2012 by corinna Christopher

In 1909 in New South Wales, Australia Sarah Walker aged 12 is found murdered. Her older brother Quinn found with her at the time is suspected of the crime since he straight away ran off, and in spite of much searching was not found.

Ten years later we are introduced to Quinn who although reported missing and presumed dead in the 1914-1918 war returns to Australia to try and see his family.

He makes his way undercover to Flint a former mining town where his family now live. He camps out in the nearby wilderness and creeps down to his house. He discovers that his mother is very ill and isolated from a virulent flu epidemic, in fact his father only communicates sparingly with his wife. Quinn only reveals himself to his mother and is anxious that she understands that he did not murder his sister. In her frail state she eventually believes him. Quinn does not in fact tell her that it was her brother, his uncle Roger Dalton now a policeman, who committed the crime after raping the girl.
Whilst camping out in the nearby hills Quinn comes across Sadie Fox 1 12 year old girl also living wild. She is being hunted by Dalton but has developed excellent survival skills whilst waiting for her brother to return from the war. She lives in a hidden derelict house and after watching Quinn for a time asks him to join her. They develop a strange platonic friendship and Sadie who is very cunning manages to steal enough food and other products from the townspeople of Flint to feed them. She also nurses Quinn who has frequent breathing problems due to inhaling gas in the war.

What happens next forms much of the remaining book as Quinn and Sadie both have their different agendas. Quinn wishes to confront Dalton even though he knows that the town would like to hang him. Sadie is being pursued by Dalton who since she is an orphan wants to take her into care.

The book kept my attention although I did loose interest in Quinn’s frequent reminiscences about his experiences in the war, this has been done in so many other books I have read. The ending I thought was a bit abrupt and a bit of an anti-climax, however the Australian background was good and other readers have praised the book. More of a mystery rather than a thriller.