Nail-biting, atmospheric, and unputdownable, The Cane is the brilliant new thriller for fans of Wimmera and The Dry.
The Cane transports you to Quala, a North Queensland sugar town, in the 1970s. Barbara McClymont walks the cane fields searching for Janet, her sixteen-year-old daughter, who has been missing for weeks. The police have no leads. The people of Quala are divided by dread and distrust. But the sugar crush is underway, and the cane must be burned.
Meanwhile, children dream of a malevolent presence, a schoolteacher yearns to escape, and history keeps returning to remind Quala that the past is always present. As the smoke rises and tensions come to a head, the dark heart of Quala will be revealed, affecting the lives of all those who dwell beyond the cane.
The Cane is an evocative and atmospheric thriller, ushering in an exciting new voice in Australian crime fiction. Maryrose Cuskelly is the author of award-winning true crime and non-fiction, including Wedderburn: A True Tale of Blood and Dust. The Cane marks her first foray into fiction, and it’s as dark, gripping and twisty as her true crime work.
Cuskelly was born in Queensland, where, in the 1970s, a series of high-profile child abductions and murders shocked the community, including the disappearance of Mackay schoolgirl Marilyn Wallman. Memories of these horrific events stuck with Cuskelly and inspired The Cane. The novel delves into the disappearance of a 14-year-old girl in a fictional North Queensland town, where sugar cane and mysterious disappearances seem to go hand in hand.
The setting is imperative to The Cane, and it is hauntingly portrayed. Cuskelly paints the cane fields as treacherous, yet they also provide livelihoods to many of the townspeople. I could sense the fear of getting lost amongst the cane – or worse. She also touches upon the violent history of the canefields – when slaves from the Pacific Islands were forced to work them. The novel reveals the racial tensions that were present in this Queensland town during the 1970s.
This is the kind of thriller where it’s necessary to pay attention to the details; the plot zings along and there are multiple narrators. Once you get acquainted with the many townspeople, local students, teachers and police officers, the pieces of the puzzle come together in impressive fashion, making for a breathtaking finale.
The Cane joins the list of truly excellent Australian rural crime reads. For those readers who enjoy small-town intrigue, haunting settings and a mystery that doesn’t let up, put The Cane at the top of your TBR pile.
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