The Caretaker (Gabriel Bergmoser, HarperCollins)

Gabriel Bergmoser’s The Hunted and its series follow-up, The Inheritance, has earned the award-winning playwright and bestselling author a reputation for writing savage and compelling thrillers. His new stand-alone thriller The Caretaker displays his talent for establishing disquiet and setting up the reader to expect terror at every turn. Unlike The Hunted’s Maggie, protagonist Charlotte choose flight over fight as a result of her traumatic experience with the criminal underworld. As the eponymous caretaker of a remote Victorian alpine resort in the off-season, she spends her time ruminating on her past choices and setting traps for her pursuers. A second timeline reveals that Charlotte had been a naive aspiring writer who was charmed by the young, rich, and successful nightclub owner Dominic. An unknown threat hangs heavily over both narratives as killers close in and secrets are revealed. The novel stands out from other psychological thrillers through the unexpectedly compelling dynamic between Charlotte and the men who hunt her, as well as its use of wickedly gleeful dark humour. There is less physical violence in The Caretaker than in Bergmoser’s previous thrillers—although when it comes, it is brutal—but the isolated setting and Charlotte’s palpable fear create unrelenting tension. Bergmoser’s sharp writing and atmospheric take on the cat-and-mouse plot will hook fans of Jack Heath’s Hangman series.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Ilona Urquhart is a children’s and youth services librarian on the Bellarine Peninsula and has a PhD in literary studies. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Category: Reviews