Six Minutes

Lexie leaves her three-year-old daughter Bella with the other mothers in her playgroup while she pops out to the shop for biscuits. When she returns six minutes later, Bella has disappeared. None of the other mothers or children realise she is no longer there.  She has just vanished.

And so the nightmare begins for Lexie and her husband Marty as the mystery become ever more tangled the longer the little girl is missing.

Could Lexie have left the gate open accidentally so that Bella wandered off on her own? Does an unexpected visit to the playgroup by one of the husbands hold the clue? What are the motivations behind one of the mothers, Tara, and her secret blog? Why did schoolteacher Brendan lie about his whereabouts? And what about Lexie and Marty themselves - why did they move from England and have to change their surname? All these clues and many more form the background to this story. And then there's the jaded cop, Caruso, who fears the worst has come to this small town near Australia's capital city, Canberra.

This is a fast-paced and mostly well-constructed thriller (ideal for wintry afternoons!) and it certainly keeps you guessing with nearly every character having secrets or up to no good. The setting of Canberra was familiar to me, having myself been part of similar mothers' groups there in the past, and for those who know the city, the town Merrigang has aspects of Hall, Tharwa, Murrumbateman and Gundaroo. The inclusion of "trial by social media" with its trolls and hysteria is an all too accurate reflection of what can happen in our times when a child goes missing. Lexie's neurosis and wavering doubts about Marty which had their foundation in an earlier event felt overworked at times but 
fortunately, unlike real life, there is a happy - if slightly too pat - outcome to this story otherwise I wouldn't recommend it as a light read.


3 1/2 stars

(Australian booksellers below, the book does not appear to be available in other countries as yet.)

Booktopia
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Amazon.com.au

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