With her new book Dove as lyrical and evocative as her debut, Georgia Harper continues to dazzle and enthrall. The story follows the lives of three characters living in a conservative and patriarchal rural Queensland town: Dove, a self-sufficient woman considered an outsider by most of the town; Noah, a young husband and father who feels trapped in his life; and Bella, Noah’s teenage daughter. One day, after a row with her neighbour turns violent, Dove writes a provocative question on the wall of her property, ‘What would you do if you had a whole day on Earth free of men?’

What started as a simple expression of frustration quickly becomes a lightning rod for the town. The words the women of Mablethorpe write on the wall tell a familiar story: overworked, undervalued, objectified, and blamed. As their voices rise, the attitude of the men in the town ticks over from discomforted to dangerous. In the background, secrets are uncovered about the long-ago disappearance of local 16-year-old Amanda.

As Dove, Noah and Bella all try to navigate their emotions about the wall, as well as the reality of what its message means for their lives and their relationships, a heartbreaking depiction of toxic masculinity emerges and the damage wrought by a culture of silence becomes clear. The way Harper slowly reveals information is masterful. Realistically, not a lot happens for the majority of this book, but the way the story is written makes it just as gripping as a thriller. It will keep you reading late into the night.

Content notes for domestic violence, abortion, and medical malpractice.