Shelter

Description

Meg lives alone: a little place in the bush outside town. A perfect place to hide. That's one of the reasons she offers to shelter Nerine, who's escaping a violent ex. The other is that Meg knows what it's like to live with an abusive partner. Nerine is jumpy and her two little girls are frightened. It tells Meg all she needs to know where they've come from, and she's not all that surprised when Nerine asks her to get hold of a gun. But she knows it's unnecessary. They're safe now. Then she starts to wonder about some little things. A disturbed flyscreen. A tune playing on her windchimes. Has Nerine's ex tracked them down? Has Meg's husband turned up to torment her some more? By the time she finds out, it'll be too late to do anything but run for her life.

Catherine Jinks' books for adults, young adults and children have been published in a dozen countries and have won numerous awards, including a Victorian Premier's Literary Award and the CBCA Book of the Year Award (four times). She lives in the Blue Mountains.

'Catherine Jinks's latest work is a tense thriller that explores gaslighting, the different kinds of abuse people inflict upon one another and the way this abuse can ripple through generations...Shelter is an engrossing read that calls to be finished in one sitting.' * Books+Publishing * '[Jinks] is a masterful storyteller, able to easily carry the narrative exigences of plot and character regardless of genre...[she] knows how to dole out the tension, letting the suspense slacken and then ramping up the terror lest you become complacent for a few minutes.' * Guardian * 'Shelter is a propulsive thriller that is also distinctive in its plot, vision and style. Jinks has a painterly eye: her images, even in a pared-back thriller, are always arresting and acute...Masterfully developed.' * ABR * 'Assured, unsettling... Jinks's sensitive exploration of the theme of trust between women who share similar trauma will resonate with many.' * Publisher's Weekly (starred review) *