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An Isolated Incident

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An Isolated Incident

By: Emily Maguire
Narrated by: Katherine Littrell
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About this listen

Short-listed for The 2017 Miles Franklin Literary Award

Short-listed for The 2017 Stella Prize

Short-listed for The 2017 Ned Kelly Awards

When 25-year-old Bella Michaels is brutally murdered in the small town of Strathdee, the community is stunned, and a media storm descends.

Unwillingly thrust into the eye of that storm is Bella's beloved older sister, Chris, a barmaid at the local pub, whose apparent easygoing nature conceals hard-won wisdom and the kind of street smarts only experience can bring.

As Chris is plunged into despair and searches for answers, reasons, explanation - anything - that could make even the smallest sense of Bella's death, her ex-husband, friends and neighbours do their best to support her. But as the days tick by with no arrest, Chris' suspicion of those around her grows.

An Isolated Incident is a psychological thriller about everyday violence, the media's obsession with pretty dead girls, the grip of grief and the myth of closure, and the difficulties of knowing the difference between a ghost and a memory, between a monster and a man.

©2018 Emily Maguire (P)2019 Macmillan Australia Audio Mystery Fiction Suspense

Critic Reviews

"Forebodingly rhythmic...a harrowing, fascinating, compelling work." (The Australian)

"At the heart of...Emily Maguire's work lies an urgent need to pull away at the interconnecting threads of morality, society and human relationships." (Sydney Morning Herald)

"What you get, along with a sharp mind and a keenness to investigate cultural confusions, is an engaging ability to put the vitality of the story first." (Weekend Australian)
All stars
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A good book with some quite gritty parts. Still deciding about the ending. Probably not a good one to play out loud when children are near, has some x rated parts and some incredibly bad language but it fits in with the story and without it the feel of the story wouldn't be right.

Good, but not what you may expect....

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I loved the passion, the no holds barred power of this author. a tragic and devastating tale of love and family.

Rivetting!

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fantastic characters, so real they jumped off the page. Narration was wonderful! I loved this book!

So enjoyable!!

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Couldn't finish this book. l am so over the rough tough Aussie.
So over it.

Love the emerging Australian women authors,

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Deeply moving, with expertly drawn characters and a depth of presence I didn't expect. This isn't a racy crime novel or who dunnit. It's an engaging and meaningful journey that speaks to the heart and acknowledges some of our deepest fears. Her insight into grief was powerful and I loved the uniquely Australian setting. I am keen to read more of Emily Maguire in future. Katherine Littrell's narration was great and I will seek out more of her narrations as well.

Moving and Engaging

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A good, well constructed Aussie crime story.
I really enjoyed this story and found it the narration pretty good too.
My only niggle was that the narrator used American pronunciation for a number of words which was quite distracting in such a thoroughly Australian setting.
News pronounced nooz for example.

Good Aussie Crime - American pronunciations??

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I enjoyed hearing about life in a small rural town and how different people deal with grief and trauma. Decent narration. Just found the end of the story wrapped up very quickly and was true to life but felt like an anticlimax.

Story true to life but rapid ending

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This is more of a character study than a whodunnit. The characters are all pretty flawed.

Character study

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I wasn't sure what to expect, but this novel was compelling, I couldn't put it down. I could relate to parts, and the characters were so real. I didn't find the swearing excessive, it was in context. This novel will stay with me for a long time, and I'll be looking for more by Emily Maguire.

Not what I expected but I loved it

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Abandoned this half way through . Tried to hang in there to find out who the serial killer was but it became a constant trail of profanity . If this is ment to shock it failed and simply repulsed.
Rough and grotty. Not about the story but a narration of abuse. 🚮

DON'T GO THERE. 🚫

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