Wow, this is pretty darn awesome. A middle aged couple, Trudy and Bruce (such uniquely Australian names), happen upon a secluded mansion containing a gallery on The Great Ocean Road. They go inside and what happens inside effectively poisons the rest of their lives. Brown’s writing is mercifully free of cliche and conveys the horror of the couple’s experience and ongoing trauma in such a visceral way, it is utterly involving. Trudy and Bruce make some deeply questionable decisions after the event but our sympathies remain with them; we understand they will never feel wholly safe again and all their relationships will suffer because of what happened, despite their best intentions. You just want to take them by the hand and lead them to a really good counsellor. The ending is comforting but you get the sense this experience will never truly go away for them, or indeed for us as readers.
After the Darkness is an excellent read. This is my first Honey Brown book but won’t be my last.
