ow great to see a thriller among the top four fiction works of the year. Michael Bennett’s weaves together fiction and reality, linking today’s society to our colonial past. We said it was “a gripping, televisual kind of story, with striking figures at its centre”. How great also; the other, Cristina Sanders’ , a reimagining of a real-life shipwreck, marooning and lost gold. And , a blend of fantasy, sometimes brutal reality and satire, narrated by a playful, wise magpie. We said Catherine Chidgey’s novel was “exhilarating … a dizzy rollercoaster of clashing emotions”.
