The Grapevine by Kate Kemp

Book Blurb
Australia, 1979.

It’s the height of summer and on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac a housewife is scrubbing the yellow and white chequered tiles of her bathroom floor. But all is not as it seems. For one thing, it’s 3 a.m. For another, she is trying desperately to remove all traces of blood before they stain. Her husband seems remarkably calm, considering their neighbour has just been murdered.

As the sun rises on Warrah Place, news of Antonio Marietti’s death spreads like wildfire, gossip is exchanged in whispers and suspicion mounts. Twelve-year-old Tammy launches her own investigation, determined to find out what happened, but she is not the only one whose well-meaning efforts uncover more mysteries than they solve. There are secrets behind every closed door in the neighbourhood – and the identity of the murderer is only one of them . . .

My Review
The Grapevine is the debut novel from Kate Kemp and was published on March 13. This is an original take on a whodunnit, with the events bring told from the perspective of twelve year old Tammy. Tammy takes things very literally, and likes order so when nineteen year old Antonio is murdered she decides to find out who killed him using the same skills she puts into her scientific observations on ants. As she lurks in the shadows of Warrah Place, watching her neighbours she finds that many of her neighbours have secrets, and are not who they seem to be.

I loved Tammy as a character and I think many will identify with her on many levels. She is becoming a teenager, feels awkward and has no friends her own age. Her social skills are limited, especially as she takes everything at face value, not understanding the nuances of society and other people her own age. She is incredibly observant, noticing small details that others miss and often flies under the radar so she can hide and uses this to help with her detective skills. In Tammy’s chapters there are so many one liners and witty moments especially from her naivety, literal thinking and observations of her neighbours.

Kate Kemp’s characters are brilliantly drawn and nuanced; she really gets how neighbours put on a falseness to each other and only speak how they really feel behind closed doors. There is certainly those who are prejudiced about race, gender and sex, seeing themselves as better than those around them. One of the characters I was drawn to was Guangyu Lau, living with her husband, mother in law and teenage daughter Jennifer. For all she lives with family she feels very alone and misunderstood. I thought her burgeoning friendship with Ursula heartwarming, both flourished in this friendship, able to talk and laugh. There are many other colourful characters inclulding Debbie who is fighting for feminism whilst living with her aunt and Colin, who becomes Tammy’s side kick.

This is not your usual crime novel, yes there is the murder of a nineteen year old young man, but the police investigation is not at the heart of this book. I found it refreshing to see the crime from the view of a twelve year old, who takes things as she sees them, fact and fiction, black and white. From the first chapter we are privy, as the reader, to who killed Antonio but not to why, although you can hazard a guess. But what made this such an engaging read was the secrets of the residents of Warrah Place, seeing what really happened behind closed doors; I felt like that nosey neighbour who hides behind the curtains to spy on her neighbours.

The Grapevine is an impressive debut from Kate Kemp. The nuanced characters, the whitty observations and one liners that lighten the mood and the perfect plotting made this such an addictive read. I loved everything about this book, and the themes of friendship, family and acceptance gave it a warmth to offset the horrible murder. I hope Kate Kemp is going to release another book as I will definitely be buying it.

I would like to thank Phoenix books and Tracy Fenton from Compulsive Readers for the invite to be part of this blog tour in return for my honest review.