A gripping and atmospheric debut novel about a mysterious murder that exposes the secrets behind closed doors in 1970’s suburban Australia.
It’s the height of summer in Australia, 1979, and on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac a housewife is scrubbing the yellow and white checkered tiles of the bathroom floor. But all is not as it seems.
For one thing, it’s 3am. For another, she is trying desperately to remove all traces of blood before they stain. Her husband seems remarkably calm, considering he has just murdered their neighbour.
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As the sun rises on Warrah Place, news of Antonio Marietti’s death spreads like wildfire, gossip is exchanged in whispers and suspicion mounts. Twelve-year-old Tammy launches her own investigation, determined to find out what happened, but she is not the only one whose well-meaning efforts uncover more mysteries than they solve. There are secrets behind every closed door in the neighbourhood – and the identity of the murderer is only one of them . . .
Richly atmospheric and simmering with tension, The Grapevine is an unforgettable debut novel about secrets, lies and suspicion, and how the ties that bind a community can also threaten to break it.
My Review
I’m not sure who I disliked more – Cecil – outwardly racist, misogynistic and homophobic. At least I could have a go at him if I wanted to. Or Helen – involved in the church, hypocritical, always involved with something. I felt for her husband, who we know will eventually snap. Tammy is Helen and Duncan’s twelve-year-old daughter, around whom the story revolves, more so than the murder, which at times is almost incidental.
This is Australia (and many other so-called civilised countries) at its worst. When the murder takes place, fingers immediately point at the Laus, Hong Kong Chinese with a secret. Or is it Joe and Zlata from Yugoslavia? The victim was Italian – does that make his family suspicious as well? I was a second generation Eastern European immigrant at my convent school ten years before The Grapevine, but while I was considered ‘other’, maybe a bit exotic (I wish), I never encountered this level of racism. Or if I did I wasn’t aware.
Tammy, helped by her cross-dressing, eight-year-old neighbour Colin, wants to solve the murder. She would then be a hero, brimming with injustice and self righteousness. But God sees deep down into your real motives according to her mother. Ever since her best friend moved away, she’s being bullied by the new girl, and finding the killer would make her cool and clever again.
The Grapevine is a thriller and a murder mystery, but in reality it’s a social commentary about life in suburbia in 1979 Australia. It took me a while to get my head around the characters – there are quite a few who live in Warrah Place – but I got there in the end. Cecil I already alluded to is probably the worst. His wife Maureen is cowed by him. Then Peggy, always with a cigarette in her mouth, is married to Leslie. Duncan and Helen are Tammy’s parents, while Colin is the son of Richard and Naomi. Sheree has three kids by three different dads, but even that isn’t as bad as being foreign or gay. Which brings me on to Ursula and Lydia, who have to live together as ‘sisters’. Ursula’s niece Debbie lives with them.
Poor Tammy. No child of her age should be asked to keep secrets. She feels so guilty when she lets something slip, but it’s not right to teach a child to lie. The only thing I didn’t warm to with Tammy is that she steals things to keep as mementos.
The Grapevine is a powerful debut novel that addresses so many issues of the time. I hope we have moved on since then. As well as the racism, misogyny and homophobia, there is also the teenage pregnancy, kids out of wedlock, abortion (briefly), feminism and gender fluidity. It would make a great book club read as there is so much to discuss. I really enjoyed it.
Many thanks to @Tr4cyF3nt0n for inviting me to be part of the #CompulsiveReaders #blogtour
About the Author
Kate Kemp is an Australian writer living in the UK. She trained as an occupational therapist and then as a systemic psychotherapist and has worked with families and individuals in mental health services in both Australia and the UK. In 2021, she won the Stylist Prize for Feminist Fiction and the Yeovil Literary Prize. The Grapevine is her first novel.
