Sing Fox To Me is one of those novels where there is a symbiotic connection between the lives of the characters and the natural environment they inhabit. This is a powerfully atmospheric work that evokes the cold, wet earthiness of the remote Tasmanian wilderness in which it is set. A place where Dreamtime mythology gives meaning to the lives of those who live there – mostly quiet and brooding types more attuned to the forces of nature than to one another.

It is in this setting that we meet David and his twin sons, Jonah and Samson. They have just made the long journey from Queensland to Tasmania, where the boys meet their grandfather, Clancy, for the first time. David’s wife, the boys’ mother, has recently moved out of their home, and they are drifters seeking refuge at Clancy’s house. As they arrive, the sense of unwelcome is a discomforting experience and there is an emotional disconnect between Clancy and his long-absent son. Relations between the young brothers are also frayed; one of the twins is resentful of the special attention given to his sibling who has Down syndrome. As each family member struggles with their own personal anguish they establish independent routines that minimise their shared connection.

The themes of loss, abandonment and betrayal sit heavily, casting a dark shadow over the characters in this story. But another influence is also at work here, and it relates to the disappearance of Clancy’s daughter, David’s sister, River, many years earlier. This mystery is connected to another – why does Clancy keeps a Tasmanian tiger pelt rolled up and locked away from view? It is only when another child goes missing that the connection between these details becomes clear. Something wild on the mountain has been disturbed and its instincts are primal.

Natalie Platten