Why a Booktrail?
1979: It’s 3am and a housewife is scrubbing blood off the floor
The Grapevine
What you need to know before your trail
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 . . .
Richly atmospheric and simmering with tension, The Grapevine is an acutely observed debut novel about prejudice and suspicion, the hidden lives of women, and how the ties that bind a community can also threaten to break it.
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
Warrah Place
The cul de sac where most if not all of the story takes place. The characters live in a suburb of Canberra and that’s all the information we get. To be fair, that’s all we need as suburban Australia is clear enough to know what its about but anon enough to give it that sense of remoteness.
This is the story about what happens behind closed doors. In a quiet neighbourhood like any other. Who lives next door to you? Who is scrubbing their bathroom floor in the middle of the night?
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Grapevine
Destination/location: Canberra Author/guide: Kate Kemp Departure Time: 1979
Back to ResultsWhere Next?
