With a few red herrings and unexpected twists, this is one engaging read that you won't want to put down. Lou has to ponder whether Samuel is in danger, or whether he is just being a typical 19 year old boy trying to build his own independence at a time when the world has changed unexpectedly around them.

With plenty of doubt cast on the characters combined with a number of possibilities raised for Samuel’s disappearance, the pressure builds to a crescendo in Home Before Night. After reading almost all of Pomare's books, I have never been able to work out the twist endings and this novella is no different. Deftly written, lean in style, this is a gripping read from a true talent' Weekend Australian'Tense and twisty .I am a Perth resident so we didn’t face as many lockdowns as Melbourne, but we were cut off from the rest of the country and the world, so Home Before Night was a reminder of this extremely isolating time. At just under 200 pages long, Home Before Night is a fast paced and entertaining read, but also much shorter than I expected, with the paperback padded with a 100 page preview of Pomare’s forthcoming novel, Seventeen Years Later, to be published in 2024. Wherever they are when the curfew begins, they must live for four weeks and stay within five kilometres of. The lockdown in this book is more of a New Zealand style lockdown - we never had 'where you are at 8pm tonight you must stay for x weeks' and from memory you could always exercise with one other person it was never alone.

You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. As another wave of the virus hits, inhabitants of Melbourne are given until 8pm to get to their home. When Lou discovers Samuel isn’t with his girlfriend, more alarm bells begin to ring, and Lou can’t help but think it has something to do with events from her past with Samuel’s father Marko. P. Pomare book and one I really enjoyed, this one is set in Melbourne during the lockdowns and this is a first for me.This was the most ridiculous book, once’s you finish it you understand why characters are certain ways and it does make sense sense but that doesn’t change the way I felt about the first 80% of the book. However, I felt it ended too quickly and wrapped up sharply, leaving me feeling a bit short -changed.

Set during the pandemic as Melbourne faced lockdown after lockdown, this tension filled tale will have you flipping pages at breakneck speed to get to the bottom of this compulsive crime mystery. Her ex-husband is dismissive when she phones him, accusing her of being overbearing, among other things, but Lou is certain there is something wrong. If anything, it ends abruptly and was a little on the short side in terms of resolution, but all in all, a satisfying read and a terrific way to finish a weekend of reading. Lou has raised her son to be honest and has never before had to suspect him of harbouring secrets and lies. It was safe to say I had my seatbelt buckled in tight while reading Home Before Night, I knew that a huge jolt to my system was coming!I thought I was only halfway through the main book, but it was actually near the end and I just thought ‘is that it?

With a fair plot, the revelations are moderate and the cast is underdeveloped, it just doesn’t hit the mark for me. I reckon a lot of people will pass this one over due to the lockdown emphasis and they are gonna miss out on a short and fast listen. Pomare does a great job at re-planting readers back into the time of curfews and lockdowns, with brief forays outside to exercise or healthcare and the like.

CHRISTIAN WHITE'This grabbed me from the opening page and didn't let go' MICHAEL ROBOTHAM'The thrill and fear arrive early in Home Before Night and doesn't leave until the final pages. Lou is scared and worried but can't go to the police because she has secrets of her own that she can't let Samuel find out. Being such a short length (only 189 pages) means that the tension ramped up quite quickly and had me racing through the pages. The characters are miserable, trying to get through the minutia of the first 8-12chapters was very, very difficult for me.