Kathryn's Inbox

Almost from the first page, I had the sense that there was something more, some kind of detail or plot twist to Catch Us the Foxes , the debut novel from Nicola West. The only difficulty was that I was not quite sure what was up. On the one hand, here was a cleverly crafted scene, opening with an author giving a talk--at a packed Sydney Opera House no less--about her best selling work of auto-fiction. The novel then becomes a story within a story, as the reader is treated to Marlow 'Lo' Robertson's bestseller about how she discovered the body of her best friend, who had been murdered at the local Showgrounds--while the local show is on, no less. Lo is also stunned to discover a collection of strange symbols on her best friend's back, symbols that her father--the local police sergeant--forbids her to talk about. Soon, it becomes apparent that the town and some of the most important people in it, may be involved in something top secret, and deeply depraved. The question i...

Hi all, something exciting today, a guest post from an amazing new Australian author. I loved reading the piece that Nicola sent me and hope you do too ~ Kathryn. Hi, readers of Kathryn’s Inbox! My name’s Nicola, and I’m the author of the debut Australian novel, Catch Us the Foxes . Set in the bucolic seaside town I grew up in, Catch Us the Foxes is a gripping psychological thriller that follows a young journalist’s gruesome discovery at the town’s annual show. With national interest in the murder of the reigning showgirl growing by the day, the journalist must decide if she wants to help keep a dark secret or break the biggest story of her career. The novel is inspired by my love of small-town murder mysteries (I’m obsessed with Twin Peaks), as well as my desperation to escape my former hometown, and my experience as the daughter of a third-generation police officer. It also explores the horrifying yet well-documented rumours of ritualistic slayings that allegedly took place in the a...