A Shockingly Deep and Twisted Thriller: Read Our Review of 17 Years Later by J.P. Pomare

Who really killed the Primrose family?

The family’s young live-in chef, Bill Kareama, was swiftly charged with murder and brought to justice. But the brutal crime scarred the idyllic town of Cambridge forever.

Seventeen years later, true-crime podcaster Sloane Abbott tracks down prison psychologist TK Phillips. Once a fierce campaigner for an appeal, TK now lives a quiet life with Bill’s case firmly in his past.

As Sloane lures a reluctant TK back into the fight, evidence emerges that casts new light on the Primroses – and who might have wanted them dead.

While the list of suspects grows, Bill’s innocence is still far from assured. What will it cost Sloane and TK to uncover the truth?

J.P. Pomare is an award-winning author whose debut novel, Call Me Evie, won the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best First Novel. And his novel In The Clearing was made into a Disney+ Original Series, while Tell Me Lies was a #1 Audible bestseller and was shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel and the Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction.

As soon as I finished the first page of Pomare’s latest novel, 17 Years Later, I knew I was about to be thrown into a dark tale; I was instantly on the edge of my seat. In this, seventeen years have passed since the Primrose family massacre. The more I read on, the more I felt engrossed in the mystery that TK and Sloane uncover.

I certainly admired the pyschological aspects of the murder mystery, but was also enthralled by the characters. TK takes the cake with his complex past and the reasons for why he stopped investigating Bill’s case.

The story’s tone, although dark, kept me in constant suspense throughout. During the second half, when the mystery began to unveil, my heart leapt when I realised who was really behind the atrocities at the start of the story. But with one twist came another and another, and by the last page, the shock I experienced was unreal. I thoroughly enjoyed 17 Years Later and would highly recommend it to those craving a new, intense thriller with great characters, and an even greater mystery.

Buy a copy of 17 Years Later here.