There seems to be a recent rise in new crime fiction from Australian authors, which is great news for fans of the genre. Monica Vuu is one of the new kids on the block with her first novel, “When One of Us Hurts”, due to be published in July 2023. Set in a remote seaside town in Tasmania, Vuu’s debut novel tells the story of a small community and its people through two characters – Livvy, a teenage girl who has lived in Port Brighton her whole life, and Marie, who moved there as an adult and always remained an outsider. Each recounts her version of events surrounding a murder-suicide in alternating first person chapters.
Livvy introduces us to her step-brother Johnny and has us wondering from Page 1 what exactly happened to his friend Sebastian and why Johnny is feeling guilty about Sebastian’s death. She is incredibly protective of her brother, which includes heading into town to hang out at Port Brighton’s only café to keep a watchful eye and ear on the goings on. Through Livvy’s narrative Vuu creates sympathy for Johnny, who is hated by the town and refuses to even leave the house.
Marie, Johnny’s mother, is living in some kind of residential home. She has a powerful dislike of Port Brighton, and a housemate who she treats with offhand cruelty. Vuu controls the two very different voices with precision and authenticity; the contrast between the two narrators is stark, and our sympathies definitely do not lie with Marie.
Port Brighton is full of characters who are either friendly and likeable, or instead incredibly distasteful. There are no in betweens. However, you quickly get the sense that nothing and no one is as they appear to be. Livvy reveals, piece by piece, glimpses from her past, and each one contains a shock for the reader. You try to line up Livvy’s narrative with Marie’s – because of course, that’s what crime fiction readers do – but the pieces do not fit. You must just keep reading as the tension rises and the narrative hurtles towards its conclusion.
Vuu deftly handles multiple time shifts throughout the novel until it all comes crashing together at the end. The final chapters contain twists enough to keep any reader happy, and the emotional punch of the climax is powerful. This is one the most intriguing crime novels I have read and the story stayed with me long after I closed the book for the final time. I look forward to reading her second novel.
Author: Monica Vu
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
ISBN: 9781761265051
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This book review is supported by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.
