Publisher: 5th April 2023 by Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA
Pages: 367 pages
Genre: contemporary, Australia
My Rating: 3.5 crowns
Synopsis:
Abigail Fancy returns to the tiny town that the Fancys have ruled for decades, fresh from her second stint in prison and utterly out of time... A bold, punchy and wry novel from the author of The Other Side of Beautiful.
A story about stories - those we tell, those we believe and those we make into a reality - whether they are true, murky or not true at all.
Port Kingerton: the insular cray-fishing town at the butt-end of South Australia, where everyone knows everyone. And everyone knows too that when Abigail Fancy left town at seventeen, she hung out the window of her boyfriend's Corolla, middle fingers held high, swearing she'd never come back. And she hasn't, until now.
At her parents' house Abigail finds a party (read: town meeting) in full swing over something iffy found on the beach - a thigh bone. And although iffy things aren't uncommon in Port Kingerton, Abigail's surprise arrival forces a family - and an entire town - to unpack a twenty-four-year-old secret that rocked this tiny place to its core: that time they found something much iffier ...
Through Abigail, her grandfather Old Dick Fancy's unreliable memories and the collective voices of the town itself, Port Kingerton unravels as old wounds are picked open, skeletons fall from closets and unlikely bonds are forged. But will Abigail finally change the past ...?
Fresh, punchy, expertly crafted and deliciously wry - the author of The Other Side of Beautiful returns with a tour de force of a small-town mystery where a homecoming lifts the veil on a time when a town failed to stand up for its girls.
My Thoughts
Kim Lock’s, The Other Side of Beautiful was one of my very favourite reads from over the past couple of years - I own it in multiple formats. So it was therefore with great anticipation that I embarked on her follow up novel, The Fancies. Whilst the writing and subtle messages are still clearly present in Kim’s writing, this was a very different sort of tale.
‘… she was tired of running and simply would not anymore. So be it. She would stop and face it, the tidal wave of emotion, and she would deal with whatever that meant, whatever that came with.’
This is a story told from three different perspectives with larger-than-life characters. Firstly, there is Abigail just out of jail, Old Dick (Abigail's grandfather) who brings a hefty dose of humour and then 'Them' - various people from Port Kingerton in third person. This is Australiana on steroids - the dark/dry humour, the laid back mentality and culture, the shenanigans and the language (both foul and otherwise). Mysteries and secrets from the past arise and generational family rivalry stir up the town
‘Maybe they never stop being what other people say they are, and it goes on and on, generation after generation, until it’s just a town where everyone thinks they know who everyone else is, but no one knows who they really are themselves.’
Scratch the surface a bit more and by the end when all is settled, it is clear that Kim’s writing is wonderful. With themes of how people are quick to judge (especially in small rural towns) the bias towards people out of prison and the treatment of young women are just some of the issues placed under Kim’s spotlight. One of my favourites concerned Abigail and how she learned to pause and consider her reactions - not everything had to be an angry confrontation.
I have to say I am a little saddened but that is purely personal as I am just not a fan of this style of dialogue or Australian dark humour. However, if I dug a little deeper, my love for Kim’s writing and thought provoking ideas were still evident.
‘They were both searching for the exact same thing: freedom. The liberty to be whoever they really are.’
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.
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