A single mum with a secret. A kind teacher navigating newly single life. A lonely doctor who is struggling at work.
Grace, Zoe and Imogen are three women whose worlds are linked by unseen connections to friends, family and lovers. In this psychological drama, set in contemporary Hobart, they move inexorably towards an event that will change them all forever.
The Accident is an insightful exploration of the ways our formative years shape us, the resonating influence of first love and the impact of social rejection set against the healing power of friendship.
Katie McMahon’s debut, The Mistake, had her being compared to Liane Moriarty. Those comparisons are bound to continue with the release of her second novel, The Accident. However, McMahon’s voice is edgier than Moriarty’s.
This is a well-written, tightly plotted psychological drama, told from multiple perspectives. McMahon skilfully weaves clues throughout, along with some twists and turns that will have you reading ‘just one more chapter.’ The novel opens with an accident outside a Hobart high school. The Hobart setting is a refreshing change, but one we might see more of from McMahon, who also set her debut novel in her hometown.
Over the course of the novel, the reader learns that someone has died, but who, how and why are the questions that drive this story forward with delicious tension. Interspersed throughout the novel are excerpts from a coroner’s report, adding to the creeping dread that builds to the final, explosive reveal.
Told through three female perspectives, the novel covers a lot of ground, with themes around rejection, mental health, parenting and infidelity. Grace is a single mother, who co-parents with her one-night stand baby daddy. Their daughter Emma has mental health struggles and is being bullied at school, and Grace has her own secrets. Lovely Zoe is a teacher who has been dumped by a long-term boyfriend. And Imogen is a rather complex, wounded doctor. McMahon, herself a doctor, has created an extremely compelling character in Imogen.
The Accident is an insightful, often witty, and extremely enjoyable page-turner. McMahon is only getting started, but what a start this is. This is an unmissable weekend read.
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