Home Before Night

Product Information

I wasn't sure if the author was shooting for maximum veracity with his depiction of lockdowns and covid, and I did notice that he never actually mentions covid just 'the virus' which I assume is to take some liberties with the facts. Deft plotting suggests several possible reasons for Sam’s absence, ensuring the reveal will likely come as a surprise.

I didn’t see the twist coming at all which I loved, and I also loved the nods to all of his other novels and characters throughout as well. Weak and unsubstantial - as evidenced by the way that almost a third of the paperback is actually a seven chapter preview of his next book! But this is another great read from Pomare and the sneak peek at his next book (included in the paperback copy) will whet your appetite for his 2024 release.A woman races against time to find her son in this tense and twisty thriller by the Top Ten bestselling author of The Wrong Woman. I enjoyed the reading experience but I think I would have loved it even more if I had listened on the originally intended Audible format. I am a Perth resident so we didn’t face as many lockdowns as Melbourne, but we were cut off from the rest of the country and the world, so Home Before Night was a reminder of this extremely isolating time. The plot twist was great and the book ends up getting really gritty and dark but I don’t think the plot twist is worth putting yourself through everything before that. Pomare throws out a few red herrings to mislead you along the way, making the big reveal all the more shocking.

It’s very much in his style though… some slightly devious storytelling that has us making certain assumptions only to find out later that we were duped. I know we are still in the midst of the pandemic – as someone who only got it for the first time a month ago – but it was a bit surreal. With plenty of doubt cast on the characters combined with a number of possibilities raised for Samuel’s disappearance, the pressure builds to a crescendo in Home Before Night. I suppose if you live in Australia and we’re around during these awful times, it would be a good story for you.

There’s no real shocks or surprises here and the length of the book is 282 pages, the story is only 189 pages and the rest is packed with a preview of next years release. Don't let this put you off though if you are Covid fatigued, that's about the extent of what Covid has to do with this story. Pomare does a great job at re-planting readers back into the time of curfews and lockdowns, with brief forays outside to exercise or healthcare and the like. P Pomare I think I know what's happening and where the story is going then BOOM he flips the script on me. Lou is scared and worried but can't go to the police because she has secrets of her own that she can't let Samuel find out.