A MATCHBOX FULL OF PEARLS

Past and present collide as an Australian woman confronts a series of mysteries in Roach’s dramatic debut novel.

In 2006, Lola Harris must return to her small Australian hometown of York for a funeral and to receive her inheritance following the death of her foster mom, Blossom—one of “two tidy deaths” revealed in the novel’s opening line. On the plane, she looks over an article about an exotic dancer and convicted murderer named Lovely Lorrelai, which Blossom sent her before she died, and she hears from a fellow passenger that a serial rapist has apparently returned to the town after an eight-year absence. Back in York, she bumps into familiar figures from her childhood: Perry, a pest; Ben “Walshy” Walsh, whom she still considers the love of her life; Shelley Turner, a friend with dark secrets; and Mary, Lola’s old boss at the local bar, who gives Lola a key that Blossom left her. Each person will play a role in solving the mystery that Lola uncovers, which involves a book of sketches of Lorrelai. In the book’s second part, Lorrelai speaks for herself as the story makes a startling shift to the past—one that will excite and infuriate readers (in the best way) and leads to a cliffhanger in the present day. In general, the novel switches between Lola’s childhood and adulthood quite seamlessly; her memories, interspersed throughout, effectively inform the most urgent events of the present and enrich the cast of characters as well. In Part 2, what feels at first like a digression turns into its own rich story with additional intrigue, although it’s not quite as exciting or dramatic as Part 1. A tense third act successfully ties it all together with a satisfying resolution to each thread. Along the way, Roach finds moments to illustrate nature, as when “bugs dance in the beams” of car headlights. These reflections on the Australian setting are a consistent treat even as tension builds at every turn.

A slow, complicated mystery that pays off in the end.