What do you think?
Rate this book
The Hiding Place
They’re good people. Why shouldn’t they get what they deserve?
When Lou sees an ad for a long-abandoned mining town up for sale, it doesn’t take her long to convince her sister and their oldest friends to go in on the idyllic property buried in the bush – a place where the four families can hide away on weekends, get back to nature and unstick the kids from their screens.
But things start to go wrong before they even arrive for their first camping trip – a rogue deer sends a trailer off the road, a neighbour complains about the fence line and squatters have set up camp down by the river. Soon none of that will matter, though, because by the end of the first night someone will be dead.
At first it seems that hiding a body is easier than keeping other sorts of a lost job, an illegal crop, an outrageous affair, a little embezzlement. But what’s buried has a way of coming to the surface, and even in the bush, it’s hard to remain unseen.
White Lotus meets The Slap in a razor-sharp literary thriller about deception and self-deception, and how far people will go to protect what they feel they ought to have.
‘Absolutely brilliant. I wish I had written this book.’ Hayley Scrivenor, author of Dirt Town
When Lou sees an ad for a long-abandoned mining town up for sale, it doesn’t take her long to convince her sister and their oldest friends to go in on the idyllic property buried in the bush – a place where the four families can hide away on weekends, get back to nature and unstick the kids from their screens.
But things start to go wrong before they even arrive for their first camping trip – a rogue deer sends a trailer off the road, a neighbour complains about the fence line and squatters have set up camp down by the river. Soon none of that will matter, though, because by the end of the first night someone will be dead.
At first it seems that hiding a body is easier than keeping other sorts of a lost job, an illegal crop, an outrageous affair, a little embezzlement. But what’s buried has a way of coming to the surface, and even in the bush, it’s hard to remain unseen.
White Lotus meets The Slap in a razor-sharp literary thriller about deception and self-deception, and how far people will go to protect what they feel they ought to have.
‘Absolutely brilliant. I wish I had written this book.’ Hayley Scrivenor, author of Dirt Town
330 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 28, 2025
149 people are currently reading
1323 people want to read
About the author
Kate Mildenhall
5 books212 followersKate Mildenhall is the author of Skylarking (2016) The Mother Fault (2020) and The Hummingbird Effect ((2023). She lives in Hurstbridge on Wurundjeri lands, with her partner and two children.
Skylarking was longlisted for Debut Fiction in The Indie Book Awards 2017, and the 2017 Voss Literary Award. The Mother Fault was longlisted for the 2021 ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year and shortlisted for the 2021 Aurealis Science Fiction Novel of the Year. The Hummingbird Effect is due for release August 2nd 2023.
With friend and author Katherine Collette, Kate co-hosts The First Time Podcast – conversations with Australian writers – a podcast now in its sixth season.
Kate is currently undertaking her PhD in creative writing at RMIT. She can be found on Instagram at @kmildenhall and Twitter @katemildenhall.
Skylarking was longlisted for Debut Fiction in The Indie Book Awards 2017, and the 2017 Voss Literary Award. The Mother Fault was longlisted for the 2021 ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year and shortlisted for the 2021 Aurealis Science Fiction Novel of the Year. The Hummingbird Effect is due for release August 2nd 2023.
With friend and author Katherine Collette, Kate co-hosts The First Time Podcast – conversations with Australian writers – a podcast now in its sixth season.
Kate is currently undertaking her PhD in creative writing at RMIT. She can be found on Instagram at @kmildenhall and Twitter @katemildenhall.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
November 17, 2025
'Here they all are, compromising on the things they hold dearest...They are such clichés, they lot of them.'
Willow Creek, where the river lazily meanders through what will surely be their slice of paradise. Lou, Ness, their mother, and a group of college friends have all stretched their finances to buy into this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create their own utopia. Their kids can run around and be kids, they can all take time out of their busy city lives and centre themselves in the earth of this age old land. Of course there'll be rules, but as long as they live by integrity and honesty, everyone will be happy. It soon becomes very apparent though that despite their modern, PC ideals, they aren't being completely honest - with themselves and with each other. Desperate to maintain the facade, despite the cracks that begin to appear by the end of their weekend away, they continue to manipulate the situation until it all detonates. Now there's no going back. 'All lies are the same. That's how we go into this mess...People are too scared to speak the truth...'.
The Hiding Place is filled with characters and a lot of drama. The many POVs can be tricky initially, but you soon get engrossed with their issues. Although I enjoyed the climactic ending, the fallout from the explosion seemed to dissipate so rapidly that I ultimately felt a little dissatisfied with the end. Potentially more literary fiction than thriller (although there is an eeriness and mystery within), overall, I found this story a very readable page turner.
'There's always a third act. The one we never saw coming. Coming to blindside us. Disarm us. Ruin us, perhaps'.
Willow Creek, where the river lazily meanders through what will surely be their slice of paradise. Lou, Ness, their mother, and a group of college friends have all stretched their finances to buy into this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create their own utopia. Their kids can run around and be kids, they can all take time out of their busy city lives and centre themselves in the earth of this age old land. Of course there'll be rules, but as long as they live by integrity and honesty, everyone will be happy. It soon becomes very apparent though that despite their modern, PC ideals, they aren't being completely honest - with themselves and with each other. Desperate to maintain the facade, despite the cracks that begin to appear by the end of their weekend away, they continue to manipulate the situation until it all detonates. Now there's no going back. 'All lies are the same. That's how we go into this mess...People are too scared to speak the truth...'.
The Hiding Place is filled with characters and a lot of drama. The many POVs can be tricky initially, but you soon get engrossed with their issues. Although I enjoyed the climactic ending, the fallout from the explosion seemed to dissipate so rapidly that I ultimately felt a little dissatisfied with the end. Potentially more literary fiction than thriller (although there is an eeriness and mystery within), overall, I found this story a very readable page turner.
'There's always a third act. The one we never saw coming. Coming to blindside us. Disarm us. Ruin us, perhaps'.
November 22, 2025
What a bunch of awful people!! Five families, friends forever, but keeping such dark secrets from each other. They all put in together to buy an abandoned mining town in the bush, what could go wrong. Their first trip to get the lay of the land gets off to a bumpy start with a collision with a deer. Things don’t get much better when they discover squatters on the land and they have a run in with a neighbour over the property lines.
This a dark literary thriller that is quite hard to put down. These so called friends are hiding some truly awful things from each other, and their kids are running wild on the land. A very entertaining story.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster Australia for the surprise book-mail, and the matching mug.
This a dark literary thriller that is quite hard to put down. These so called friends are hiding some truly awful things from each other, and their kids are running wild on the land. A very entertaining story.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster Australia for the surprise book-mail, and the matching mug.
February 21, 2026
Unfortunately this book took me longer than expected to read due to life curveballs and an unexpected fluey thing that left me exhausted. Despite all that I just struggled to get into this story from the beginning. I found there were too many characters (I kept getting Ness and Flick mixed up) and I honestly didn’t like any of them! I hate secrets and cheating and lying. I was angry at the whole situation the entire way through and at how entitled they all were.
It could have been a great Aussie Noir crime story focusing on the little girl and fleshing out Jacob a bit more to cover that story. A missed opportunity I feel with new people coming into the area, meeting the campers, meeting the neighbours, hearing local tales etc Instead it is filled with so many irrelevant dramas, too many POVs and not much character development at all.
AD-PR Product: Thanks Tandem Collective for including me in your Australian readalong.
It could have been a great Aussie Noir crime story focusing on the little girl and fleshing out Jacob a bit more to cover that story. A missed opportunity I feel with new people coming into the area, meeting the campers, meeting the neighbours, hearing local tales etc Instead it is filled with so many irrelevant dramas, too many POVs and not much character development at all.
AD-PR Product: Thanks Tandem Collective for including me in your Australian readalong.
November 18, 2025
This book was a ride, and I had to take a minute to think about it before reviewing, because I truly didn't know how to feel.
Usually when reading, you want to find someone to relate to and like. This was not the book for that because as you read and find out more about each character, you slowly find yourself disliking them more and more, and the author did a fantastic job of that!
The plot kept me interested and I didn't know where it would end up until the last second, which is pretty much a bonus.
Where this fell a bit flat for me was that I didn't feel like I got to know each character enough. I wasn't as invested as I would've liked to be and it was very easy to mix characters up, especially at the start.
Overall, if you're looking for a lit-fic type of thriller, this may be your jam!
➛ 𝟑 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬
Usually when reading, you want to find someone to relate to and like. This was not the book for that because as you read and find out more about each character, you slowly find yourself disliking them more and more, and the author did a fantastic job of that!
The plot kept me interested and I didn't know where it would end up until the last second, which is pretty much a bonus.
Where this fell a bit flat for me was that I didn't feel like I got to know each character enough. I wasn't as invested as I would've liked to be and it was very easy to mix characters up, especially at the start.
Overall, if you're looking for a lit-fic type of thriller, this may be your jam!
➛ 𝟑 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬
November 17, 2025
If you’re a fan of The Slap… congratulations, this is absolutely your brand of domestic chaos. If you enjoy unlikeable protagonists, then pull up a camping chair because you’re in for a treat.
I always try to find at least one redeeming feature in every character I meet (real or fictional). Reader, I tried. I failed. Maybe the children were okay… though half the time I couldn’t remember which ones belonged to whom. There are a lot of POVs in this book. I ignored the kids (except Stella) entirely, and focused solely on who was married to whom. Much simpler. Much juicier.
And yet… I kept reading. There’s an early plot point that hooked me despite myself, and this being my first Kate Mildenhall, I must admit: I thoroughly enjoyed hating it. In the best, most compulsive, “oh go on then, one more chapter” way. The ending? I’m not going to soil it but I loved it (you’ll get that clever little joke if you’ve read it). It made dealing with the characters completely worth it.
It took me a while to post this review. I had to sit with the story. I thought I didn’t like the book but it was the characters I didn’t like. I enjoyed the way Mildenhall rolled out her story. I was hooked even though I was appalled at myself for caring what happened to these characters. That’s some writing chops right there.
A thorny, messy, utterly human story, perfect for readers who don’t need to like characters in order to be entertained by their terrible decisions.
Thanks to @simonschusterau @scribneraus @tandemcollectiveglobal @kmildenhall for sending me a copy of this book to read along and review.
September 17, 2025
A group of old friends have bought a property in the bush together. They each have big plans for the place, but no consensus on what they should do. To celebrate their new home away from home, these city dwellers camp out on the site - wives, husbands, (secret lovers), kids, sisters, mothers - all very different people, all with different agendas, bound by familiarity and love.
Until they’re not.
It seems clear that Mildenhall took great delight in writing this gripping, satiric, and disturbing thriller. Her characters spring to life with details that only a friend could know.
Dangerous ground for an author, but delicious fun for us.
Until they’re not.
It seems clear that Mildenhall took great delight in writing this gripping, satiric, and disturbing thriller. Her characters spring to life with details that only a friend could know.
Dangerous ground for an author, but delicious fun for us.
March 2, 2026
With this chaotic (in a good way) domestic thriller, Kate Mildenhall is certainly proving to be a versatile author. This was a really entertaining, quick audio-read.
January 12, 2026
Pro tip: don't go camping, accidently kill a man over a property line dispute and try to hide it. Someone is always watching.
The drama! The tension! The marriage betrayals! The murder of it all! The unravelling!
Kate knows how to write a twisty, fast paced novel.
The drama! The tension! The marriage betrayals! The murder of it all! The unravelling!
Kate knows how to write a twisty, fast paced novel.
January 17, 2026
From me, it’s 3.5 Stars for this drama filled friendship/family story from Kate Midenhall. I enjoyed the quintessential Aussie bush setting and authentic character dialogue. I have to say, the concept of an idyllic communal getaway spot shared between family or close friends is an idea I’ve considered often myself…. I’m happy to have read this first now… my sense of consequence has been heightened somewhat and I probably won’t be rushing in to anything without a whole lot more thought! 😆
Despite a bit of page skipping through (in my opinion) unnecessarily explicit sex and a graphic animal slaughter scene, I really liked this book.
I’d happily try another of Midenhall‘s novels.
Despite a bit of page skipping through (in my opinion) unnecessarily explicit sex and a graphic animal slaughter scene, I really liked this book.
I’d happily try another of Midenhall‘s novels.
November 3, 2025
This book was a journey. It starts with 4 families who have all pitched in together to purchase a large parcel of river land in an old mining town as a weekender to go camping together. It has one run down pub with no working toilets. The whole book takes place on their first weekend away.
It had it all. Told from multiple points of view (at least one from each family) it was confusing to begin. With siblings Lou and Ness, their Mum, their best friends Josie and Flick, plus partners and multiple kids, as well as the neighbour and squatters, I really struggled to keep track of who was who. There was also at least 6 different characters who narrated throughout so it was a little confusing, especially in the first half. But once I figured out the dynamics and how everyone knew each other it became easier. There was certainly a lot of action to keep the pages turning including car crashes, infidelity, poisonings, missing persons, manslaughter, cover ups, animal shootings, historical death, kids going missing. Everyone also had a secret they were keeping from their partner or the group going into the weekend and none of the characters were very likeable.
For a book with some serious topics, it was written in a light-hearted, almost comical way which I really enjoyed. But the ending didn't wrap it all up and I was left questioning some of the storylines, especially Josie's. It was an interesting read, reflecting on how seemingly "good" people justify abhorrent decisions.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Australia for providing me with this ARC through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
It had it all. Told from multiple points of view (at least one from each family) it was confusing to begin. With siblings Lou and Ness, their Mum, their best friends Josie and Flick, plus partners and multiple kids, as well as the neighbour and squatters, I really struggled to keep track of who was who. There was also at least 6 different characters who narrated throughout so it was a little confusing, especially in the first half. But once I figured out the dynamics and how everyone knew each other it became easier. There was certainly a lot of action to keep the pages turning including car crashes, infidelity, poisonings, missing persons, manslaughter, cover ups, animal shootings, historical death, kids going missing. Everyone also had a secret they were keeping from their partner or the group going into the weekend and none of the characters were very likeable.
For a book with some serious topics, it was written in a light-hearted, almost comical way which I really enjoyed. But the ending didn't wrap it all up and I was left questioning some of the storylines, especially Josie's. It was an interesting read, reflecting on how seemingly "good" people justify abhorrent decisions.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Australia for providing me with this ARC through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
November 6, 2025
Australia noir, but make it out of the outback for a change. A group of friends, lovely lives, long-held friendships, an easy familiarity with each other, band together to buy a property - a chance for them to take holidays there, to disconnect from city life, and for the kids to run wild. The first weekend out there starts badly - a wild deer causes an accident, there are squatters living on the property down by the river, the surveying and hence the fence line is incorrect, greatly annoying the curmudgeonly neighbour, and most annoying of all, by the end of the first day, someone is dead. From then, a spiral of coping mechanisms, uncovering of secrets, and fracturing of lives occurs at increasing pace, all culminate in a end of weekend talent show - in which everyones’ talents are on display, willingly or not. Covering everything from marriage, to the hypocrisy of adults, to the violence of rural life, this novel, written in chapters from each main character’s point of view, shows that despite what Whitney Houston said, if you teach the children well and let them lead the way, it may not work out that well for you.
January 5, 2026
4.5*
what a fantastic start to the year- I loved Mildenhall's writing style and I'm super keen to read more! the thriller aspect of this book was interwoven with some great characterisation, with all of the friends and family members flawed and interesting.
what a fantastic start to the year- I loved Mildenhall's writing style and I'm super keen to read more! the thriller aspect of this book was interwoven with some great characterisation, with all of the friends and family members flawed and interesting.
December 24, 2025
Fast paced with a plethora of unlikeable characters.
February 13, 2026
It was good but damn the ending could have gone a million different ways, the one chosen just seemed the least climactic.
October 19, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5 Stars
“They’re good people. Why shouldn’t they get what they deserve?”
When Lou spots an ad for an abandoned mining town up for sale, she convinces her sister and their oldest friends to go in on the idyllic property—somewhere to escape on weekends, reconnect with nature, and unstick the kids from their screens. But before they’ve even arrived, trouble brews: a rogue deer sends a trailer off the road, a neighbour takes issue with their fence line, and squatters have moved in by the river. By the end of the first night, someone will be dead—and soon the tangled web of lies, betrayals, and buried secrets will begin to surface.
If the premise sounds familiar—friends gathered together, fractured by secrets—Kate Mildenhall’s execution gives it a distinct Australian edge. Her writing is strongest when she lingers on the setting: the creak of the bush, the shimmer of the river, the claustrophobia of heat and guilt. The tension builds slowly, not with twists and shocks, but with the quiet dread of people unravelling. The story moves at a dawdling pace, much like the river the characters love to swim in—steady, reflective, but occasionally stagnant.
While I admired Mildenhall’s descriptive prose, the dialogue sometimes felt dated and forced. Phrases like “righto,” “bush dunny,” and “meet the bloke” jarred with the otherwise modern tone; few Australians under sixty speak that way anymore. The explicit lesbian sex scene also felt misplaced and unnecessarily crude, adding shock value rather than depth.
The ending, too, felt rushed and muddled—Stella’s motivations weren’t clearly communicated, and some subplots (particularly the drug storyline) added little. Most of the adults were deeply unlikeable, with only Marnie and the children offering any real warmth or sanity.
Despite this, The Hiding Place captures the quiet menace of secrets festering beneath a sun-bleached surface. It’s an easy, atmospheric read that reflects on privilege, guilt, and the ways good people justify bad choices.
Thank you to Kate Mildenhall, Simon & Schuster Australia, and NetGalley for the ARC.
“They’re good people. Why shouldn’t they get what they deserve?”
When Lou spots an ad for an abandoned mining town up for sale, she convinces her sister and their oldest friends to go in on the idyllic property—somewhere to escape on weekends, reconnect with nature, and unstick the kids from their screens. But before they’ve even arrived, trouble brews: a rogue deer sends a trailer off the road, a neighbour takes issue with their fence line, and squatters have moved in by the river. By the end of the first night, someone will be dead—and soon the tangled web of lies, betrayals, and buried secrets will begin to surface.
If the premise sounds familiar—friends gathered together, fractured by secrets—Kate Mildenhall’s execution gives it a distinct Australian edge. Her writing is strongest when she lingers on the setting: the creak of the bush, the shimmer of the river, the claustrophobia of heat and guilt. The tension builds slowly, not with twists and shocks, but with the quiet dread of people unravelling. The story moves at a dawdling pace, much like the river the characters love to swim in—steady, reflective, but occasionally stagnant.
While I admired Mildenhall’s descriptive prose, the dialogue sometimes felt dated and forced. Phrases like “righto,” “bush dunny,” and “meet the bloke” jarred with the otherwise modern tone; few Australians under sixty speak that way anymore. The explicit lesbian sex scene also felt misplaced and unnecessarily crude, adding shock value rather than depth.
The ending, too, felt rushed and muddled—Stella’s motivations weren’t clearly communicated, and some subplots (particularly the drug storyline) added little. Most of the adults were deeply unlikeable, with only Marnie and the children offering any real warmth or sanity.
Despite this, The Hiding Place captures the quiet menace of secrets festering beneath a sun-bleached surface. It’s an easy, atmospheric read that reflects on privilege, guilt, and the ways good people justify bad choices.
Thank you to Kate Mildenhall, Simon & Schuster Australia, and NetGalley for the ARC.
January 3, 2026
Set in Australia this “thriller” book is about a group of friends who buy a rural property as a second home they spend the weekend checking it out with their children in tow. As characters go….this group are annoying as hell and boring to go with it. Seriously my eyes glazed over reading Josie’s character. Anyway the not so friendly neighbour ends up unalived by someone in the group.
I didn’t enjoy this “thriller” book. Each chapter is each character telling the story of what happened over the weekend. If you’re into woke, politically correct this would probably appeal to you but it wasn’t great for me.
I didn’t enjoy this “thriller” book. Each chapter is each character telling the story of what happened over the weekend. If you’re into woke, politically correct this would probably appeal to you but it wasn’t great for me.
August 4, 2025
'Bodies disappear out here.'
This was a fantastically crafted thriller, full of twists and turns and thought provoking questions. What I especially loved about this one is that even at the start of the novel, things are not alright. Everything is fragile but still managing to function, and it doesn't take much to bring everything crashing down.
There are multiple POVs through this book, and while at the start of the book I was worried it was going to be overwhelming, all the voices are distinct and easy to differentiate. I especially loved the bonds of friendship that the characters shared, despite all the tension and the awful events happening. It seemed so realistic, and you could see how the characters kept tangling themselves in knots trying to protect one another.
I love that the wildness of the Australian landscape is front and centre in this book, and it even serves as its own character - wild, claustrophobic, menacing. The discussion of land rights and how nature can be weaponised felt very timely, and really helped to immerse me as the reader into the story.
If you're looking for a thriller read, definitely consider giving this book a try! Thank you so much to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
This was a fantastically crafted thriller, full of twists and turns and thought provoking questions. What I especially loved about this one is that even at the start of the novel, things are not alright. Everything is fragile but still managing to function, and it doesn't take much to bring everything crashing down.
There are multiple POVs through this book, and while at the start of the book I was worried it was going to be overwhelming, all the voices are distinct and easy to differentiate. I especially loved the bonds of friendship that the characters shared, despite all the tension and the awful events happening. It seemed so realistic, and you could see how the characters kept tangling themselves in knots trying to protect one another.
I love that the wildness of the Australian landscape is front and centre in this book, and it even serves as its own character - wild, claustrophobic, menacing. The discussion of land rights and how nature can be weaponised felt very timely, and really helped to immerse me as the reader into the story.
If you're looking for a thriller read, definitely consider giving this book a try! Thank you so much to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
February 13, 2026
This was a real page turner for me - it drew me in and kept me in til the end. A commentary on “how well do you really know your mates” and an interesting exploration of the chaos/ darkness that might (?) exist in us all (… does it?).
A death covered up, an affair, a project undertaken behind everyone’s back, financial secrets, etc. Phil’s inner world and fragile masculinity explored expertly and humorously. I liked the fast paced nature, the eery sense of being in the bush, the suspense, the unlikeable characters, all the secrets finally unfolding, the relatable backdrop of being away with friends — yet the unrelatable plot line.
Didn’t love the intricately described slaughter scene. The arch of teenaged Stella revealing all to the group was exciting (it was all finally in the open!), yet it felt wrong for the kids to be dragged through it. And while Stella’s breaking might be understandable it was a bit of an energetically down place to leave it (was this the author’s intention?). The very ending also felt a bit flat/ distant/ zoomed out too far when we’d been so extremely zoomed in for the ride… Maybe the author was trying to end lightly without letting everyone off the hook? I’d found myself wondering mid way how it was going to be wrapped up and came to the conclusion there would be no really good options so the ending was just “okay”.
A death covered up, an affair, a project undertaken behind everyone’s back, financial secrets, etc. Phil’s inner world and fragile masculinity explored expertly and humorously. I liked the fast paced nature, the eery sense of being in the bush, the suspense, the unlikeable characters, all the secrets finally unfolding, the relatable backdrop of being away with friends — yet the unrelatable plot line.
Didn’t love the intricately described slaughter scene. The arch of teenaged Stella revealing all to the group was exciting (it was all finally in the open!), yet it felt wrong for the kids to be dragged through it. And while Stella’s breaking might be understandable it was a bit of an energetically down place to leave it (was this the author’s intention?). The very ending also felt a bit flat/ distant/ zoomed out too far when we’d been so extremely zoomed in for the ride… Maybe the author was trying to end lightly without letting everyone off the hook? I’d found myself wondering mid way how it was going to be wrapped up and came to the conclusion there would be no really good options so the ending was just “okay”.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2025
Kate Mildenhall is a wonderful Australian writer who writes across historical fiction, dystopian and mystery/thriller genres. Her latest book The Hiding Place was a literary thriller which I lapped up.
In it a group of friends that have camped together over decades all pitch in to buy an isolated abandoned mining town in the bush. Couples, kids and a grandma descend one weekend for their first visit and a working bee to kick off their ownership. The dynamic is a little different this time with one couple divorced, kids growing up and a few little secrets and fears bubbling under the surface. And things start going wrong almost immediately culminating in a dead body on night one. For the characters involved on that first night hiding the body seems like a breeze compared to some of the other issues being left unspoken across the group.
On the one hand this was a book about the dynamics of a group of long-time friends as their lives evolve and change and on the other it was an outrageously ridiculous series of events involving dead bodies, lies, deception, affairs and an insane ending!
For a book with a dead body at its centre this was actually kind of funny in an OMG I can’t look away from this it is so outrageous kind of way. It was a page turner. The characters felt real and the tension was too. Watching mostly good people justify bad choices made for an intriguing read.
I liked the way Mildenhall described the landscape. The bush setting gave opportunities for discussions of ownership of land and environmental issues but wasn’t heavy handed.
I also love that the author was inspired by her real-life camping friends to write this story. I hope that her friends do not see themselves in this story!! Might make for an awkward next camping trip. Overall I enjoyed myself reading this thriller that does not take itself too seriously.
Thank you @netgalley and @simonschusterau for my #gifted copy.
In it a group of friends that have camped together over decades all pitch in to buy an isolated abandoned mining town in the bush. Couples, kids and a grandma descend one weekend for their first visit and a working bee to kick off their ownership. The dynamic is a little different this time with one couple divorced, kids growing up and a few little secrets and fears bubbling under the surface. And things start going wrong almost immediately culminating in a dead body on night one. For the characters involved on that first night hiding the body seems like a breeze compared to some of the other issues being left unspoken across the group.
On the one hand this was a book about the dynamics of a group of long-time friends as their lives evolve and change and on the other it was an outrageously ridiculous series of events involving dead bodies, lies, deception, affairs and an insane ending!
For a book with a dead body at its centre this was actually kind of funny in an OMG I can’t look away from this it is so outrageous kind of way. It was a page turner. The characters felt real and the tension was too. Watching mostly good people justify bad choices made for an intriguing read.
I liked the way Mildenhall described the landscape. The bush setting gave opportunities for discussions of ownership of land and environmental issues but wasn’t heavy handed.
I also love that the author was inspired by her real-life camping friends to write this story. I hope that her friends do not see themselves in this story!! Might make for an awkward next camping trip. Overall I enjoyed myself reading this thriller that does not take itself too seriously.
Thank you @netgalley and @simonschusterau for my #gifted copy.
November 10, 2025
A once in a life time opportunity presents its self when Lou comes across an old secluded mining town for sale. It would be the perfect location for her friends and sister to take their families to holiday and create a legacy
They pack up their kids and caravans to make the journey for the inaugural first stay on the property, with big plans and nature at their footsteps this will be the tree change they have all needed
However before they even arrive disaster occurs and they almost loose a caravan thanks to a wayward deer. This introduces them to their new neighbours who live almost too close for comfort.
Has this purchase been the right choice? They all know each other well enough to survive any obstacle, but when someone ends up dead, will these friendships survive
The backdrop plays such an important part in the story and feels so real and eerie I felt I was in Willows Creek.
With the ultimate Aussie dream of a tree change at the forefront of the story, it provides an realistic premise and is even more haunting as things begin to fall apart
Filled with multiple POVs, secrets and short sharp chapters, this dark literary thriller will keep you hooked in until the epic conclusion
I absolutely devoured this fab story! Needing to know all the secrets. The friendships bring such depth but show you never really know someone!
Thank you Simon and Schuster for my gifted review copy
They pack up their kids and caravans to make the journey for the inaugural first stay on the property, with big plans and nature at their footsteps this will be the tree change they have all needed
However before they even arrive disaster occurs and they almost loose a caravan thanks to a wayward deer. This introduces them to their new neighbours who live almost too close for comfort.
Has this purchase been the right choice? They all know each other well enough to survive any obstacle, but when someone ends up dead, will these friendships survive
The backdrop plays such an important part in the story and feels so real and eerie I felt I was in Willows Creek.
With the ultimate Aussie dream of a tree change at the forefront of the story, it provides an realistic premise and is even more haunting as things begin to fall apart
Filled with multiple POVs, secrets and short sharp chapters, this dark literary thriller will keep you hooked in until the epic conclusion
I absolutely devoured this fab story! Needing to know all the secrets. The friendships bring such depth but show you never really know someone!
Thank you Simon and Schuster for my gifted review copy
March 4, 2026
Low key wish the murder storyline wasn’t present. This story had a lot of great element to showcase the down fall of an upper middle class Australian utopia, and the murder storyline detracted from this, meaning many of elements of this story felt unnecessary, illogical and/or rushed. I enjoyed the imagery of the property and land and I think there were a lot of great topics touched on like land ownership (who really owns land and what are the real boundaries), but the premise did not feel well executed, and I hated all the characters.
October 13, 2025
bold / unputdownable / ripped through
November 24, 2025
a most anticipated read that didn’t hit as hard for me as mildenhall’s other works unfortunately, still, a great premise and was lots of fun to read!
February 15, 2026
What a rollicking cracker of a story! Hard to say too much more without giving things away, so I’m just going to recommend it. If possible, plan to read it in one sitting.
March 1, 2026
A non-event populated by a very large cast.
November 25, 2025
I dnf this :<
December 24, 2025
I listened to the Hiding Place by Kate Mildenhall via audiobook through Libro FM.
If you’re a lover of books with messy characters, tricky dynamics between friendship groups, secrets and lies then this book is one you’ll likely enjoy. A friendship group purchase a rural property together with the intentions of spending time together away from the rat race and building a legacy for their children. On a weekend soon after the property settles, their apparently cosy dynamic unravels rather spectacularly.
This is a reasonably fast moving book (though not I listened on 1.9x the speed) but there are chapters with multiple characters points of view to keep up with and variable relationships amongst the group. This is a book where there is a spectacular finish - definitely bang for your buck.
An interesting part of this was the tying of all the details together and the reader remembers this is a story within a story, being discussed by a couple of the locals. Pretty effective when I think about it.
If you’re a lover of books with messy characters, tricky dynamics between friendship groups, secrets and lies then this book is one you’ll likely enjoy. A friendship group purchase a rural property together with the intentions of spending time together away from the rat race and building a legacy for their children. On a weekend soon after the property settles, their apparently cosy dynamic unravels rather spectacularly.
This is a reasonably fast moving book (though not I listened on 1.9x the speed) but there are chapters with multiple characters points of view to keep up with and variable relationships amongst the group. This is a book where there is a spectacular finish - definitely bang for your buck.
An interesting part of this was the tying of all the details together and the reader remembers this is a story within a story, being discussed by a couple of the locals. Pretty effective when I think about it.
January 31, 2026
Skipped quite a few paragraphs and didn’t miss anything really. Thought the ending a bit hard to take. Not very nice people really.
November 13, 2025
Similar to a very recent book by Holly wainwright. I'm sure they wrote them at the same time rather than copied! Anyway entitled unlikeable characters .. didn't enjoy it.
February 9, 2026
The hiding place_JW
This novel explores the dynamics of a group of friends who decide to but a country place together. In this case, its a dilapidated old pub in an abandoned mining town in the middle of the bush.
Here’s a neat summary of the group provided by a reviewer: “Four families buy in: Lou and her wife, Marnie; two of their oldest friends, Flick and Josie, with their respective partners; Lou’s recently divorced sister, Ness, and their mum, Avril. But there are tensions at play in the group – one of them is using the land to grow psychoactive plants and two are having an affair. There are stresses about money and work. The vision that Lou believes unites them is further undermined by individual insecurities and petty resentment. It’s an ensemble primed for conflict.” (https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...) And there are squatters living in a caravan on the periphery of the property.
There are a lot of characters to keep track of – and the narrative is propelled by the perspectives of Lou, Phil, Ness, Flick, Josie, and Lou’s 16-year-old daughter, Stella. I had to create a reference diagram of all the characters and the ways in which they were related to each other. And some of the characters felt a bit one-dimensional. I’ve happened to read three books in a row that all featured gay women in a lead role. By happenstance. The other two were “Chosen Family” and “The Fraud”. This novel also features a gay woman, Lou, as a leading character though there was nothing in the portrayal of Lou that spoke to this aspect of her identity. It felt more like a need on the part of the author to include diversity as a factor than anything else.
Perhaps the best part of the novel is the way in which it pokes fun at middle-class urban ontologies (if there is such a thing). One part of the novel describes the cation in the local corners store – a place (I’m going from memory here) where it is impossible to buy ‘The Saturday Paper’. The group creates an Acknowledgement of Country, written on a sign carefully placed at the front fence, which proclaims: “This is Aboriginal land” and “Sovereignty was never ceded”. But the group has no intention of giving up any portion of the land. “But, like, what’s the point of having the sign here?” one child asks. “If we’re not actually going to give the land back?” When the adults are debating what to do about the squatters, full of righteous indignation that a family is making themselves so at home on “their” land, Lou’s daughter Stella thinks to herself: “That family would have more of a connection to this place than they all do, and they’re not doing any harm.” She “bets that if they were First Nations or refugees or someone else ‘deserving’ the adults would be falling over themselves for them to stay”.
And then there is a death – and the novel explores the lengths to which people might go to protect themselves. I won’t unravel more of the plot here except to say that there is a predictable but dramatic reveal at the end of the novel.
I loved Mildenhall’s book ‘The Mother Fault”. This one feels much flimsier and more obvious in terms of the themes and characters. Despite this, it would make a very good mini-series and I couldn’t help thinking that this a major influence on the writing.
This novel explores the dynamics of a group of friends who decide to but a country place together. In this case, its a dilapidated old pub in an abandoned mining town in the middle of the bush.
Here’s a neat summary of the group provided by a reviewer: “Four families buy in: Lou and her wife, Marnie; two of their oldest friends, Flick and Josie, with their respective partners; Lou’s recently divorced sister, Ness, and their mum, Avril. But there are tensions at play in the group – one of them is using the land to grow psychoactive plants and two are having an affair. There are stresses about money and work. The vision that Lou believes unites them is further undermined by individual insecurities and petty resentment. It’s an ensemble primed for conflict.” (https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...) And there are squatters living in a caravan on the periphery of the property.
There are a lot of characters to keep track of – and the narrative is propelled by the perspectives of Lou, Phil, Ness, Flick, Josie, and Lou’s 16-year-old daughter, Stella. I had to create a reference diagram of all the characters and the ways in which they were related to each other. And some of the characters felt a bit one-dimensional. I’ve happened to read three books in a row that all featured gay women in a lead role. By happenstance. The other two were “Chosen Family” and “The Fraud”. This novel also features a gay woman, Lou, as a leading character though there was nothing in the portrayal of Lou that spoke to this aspect of her identity. It felt more like a need on the part of the author to include diversity as a factor than anything else.
Perhaps the best part of the novel is the way in which it pokes fun at middle-class urban ontologies (if there is such a thing). One part of the novel describes the cation in the local corners store – a place (I’m going from memory here) where it is impossible to buy ‘The Saturday Paper’. The group creates an Acknowledgement of Country, written on a sign carefully placed at the front fence, which proclaims: “This is Aboriginal land” and “Sovereignty was never ceded”. But the group has no intention of giving up any portion of the land. “But, like, what’s the point of having the sign here?” one child asks. “If we’re not actually going to give the land back?” When the adults are debating what to do about the squatters, full of righteous indignation that a family is making themselves so at home on “their” land, Lou’s daughter Stella thinks to herself: “That family would have more of a connection to this place than they all do, and they’re not doing any harm.” She “bets that if they were First Nations or refugees or someone else ‘deserving’ the adults would be falling over themselves for them to stay”.
And then there is a death – and the novel explores the lengths to which people might go to protect themselves. I won’t unravel more of the plot here except to say that there is a predictable but dramatic reveal at the end of the novel.
I loved Mildenhall’s book ‘The Mother Fault”. This one feels much flimsier and more obvious in terms of the themes and characters. Despite this, it would make a very good mini-series and I couldn’t help thinking that this a major influence on the writing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews