An Isolated Incident has been marketed as a thriller but it’s actually not; it’s a study in grief. Bella Michaels is brutally raped and murdered near the small Australian town where she lives and her sister, Chris, must somehow live through her grief. It’s not so much a whodunnit as a study in how violent death affects those close to the deceased; how it sullies everything around it. Chris is a beautiful creation. Every part of her struggle to absorb the shock of what happened rings true. The greatest part of her grief lies in knowing she will never again be loved in the way her sister loved her, and her sister’s absence suffocates her. A worthwhile read but not a pleasant one.
