A Chance Encounter

by J.P. Pomare, Maddy MacRae (Narrator)

In an encounter straight out of fiction, Katie might have met Mr Right on the long-haul flight from Melbourne to New York. Richard Sinclair is charming, handsome, wealthy, cultured—and married. In an open marriage, according to him. When he invites her to join him in his lush lakeside villa in Italy as his son’s au pair, it might just be the opportunity for a reset that Katie has been longing for.

The mansion at the edge of Lake Scanno is a romantic’s dream. But despite the perfect golden afternoons, tranquil waters and luxurious surrounds, all is not what it seems. In the nearby village, there are ominous rumblings about ghosts, drownings and the tragic fate of the women who came before her. What dark depths of obsession and betrayal will Katie uncover in this fairy-tale paradise? And when all the secrets and lies are unburied, will she be able to live with the devastating consequences of her choices?

Genres: Audiobook, Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Crime

Audible Audio

Published December 2, 2025

About the author

J. P. Pomare is a New Zealand author who lives in Melbourne, Australia.

He is the author of a number of critically acclaimed and best-selling novels including Seventeen Years Later, Tell Me Lies, and The Wrong Woman.

His novel In The Clearing was adapted for the screen as an eight part miniseries by Disney (The Clearing) and The Last Guests (Watching You) has been adapted as a series by Stan.

Reviews

[Nina (ninjasbooks)]

It was very engaging and I loved all the red herrings in the story. It was also emotional and the pain felt real.

[Alisonbookreviewer]

I've read better by J.P. One of my fave authors.
Katie meets an older man while working for an airline and winds up working for him at his mansion in Italy.
Richard needs a nanny for his son and wants to also have an affair with Katie as he and his wife have an open relationship.
Katie is there for different reasons which become apparent half way through the book.
Not bad twists in this short suspense

[Stacey]

Ouch. This was not good. The story lacked depth. Also, there were a lot of unanswered questions in the end. The narrator, while voicing the same character, sometimes went from a British accent to a New Yorker accent which made the listening experience very strange. The story started out promising but quickly plummeted. 👎

Audible Original:
6 hours and 44 minutes

[Jessica ❥Chatterbooks Book Blog❥]

2.5

[Lavins]

3 stars

What I enjoyed the most about this book is the writing style. I really liked it. And the narrator. These two elements elevated this book to a 3 stars because otherwise, this book would have been maybe a 2 stars.

We have the story of a flight attendant who gets into some sort of relationship with a wealthy traveller on one of her flights.

The book is extremely predictable. One can see things coming from a mile. The lack of ending is also a little bit disappointing. I didn't think the girl was just buying to the it is all done, let me go on with my life thing.

But it's a good read, it's a fairly short book and it's entertaining. I liked it.

[Sara]

4.5⭐️super quick read! entertaining, good plot, page turner! underrated!!

[Tierney Moore]

Better than other reviews suggest! This holds the interest throughout and concludes well, I thought. Super narration that brings MC Katie to life.

[Hadeer هدير]

There was potential for so much more. I loved how the story started and was invested from the very first chapter, it sparked conversations and had a much stronger impact than the ending.

It was well structured with minimal confusion, I just expected more from the plot.

[Alannah Clarke]

J.P. Pomare’s A Chance Encounter is a suspenseful and atmospheric psychological thriller that begins with Katie meeting the charming Richard Sinclair on a long-haul flight and quickly being drawn into his world. The idyllic setting of his villa on Lake Scanno, with its whispers of ghosts and tragic drownings, creates a haunting backdrop that Pomare uses to build tension beautifully. Katie’s vulnerability and Richard’s allure make their dynamic compelling, and the ambiguity around his motives keeps the reader engaged. While the pacing lingers a little too long on the romantic setup and some twists feel predictable, the novel still delivers a satisfying blend of romance and menace. Overall, it is a solid four-star read, unsettling and slow-burning, exploring how easily charm can mask danger and leaving you reflecting on trust, desire, and the risks of surrendering to temptation.

[Amanda Moreno]

Good storyline, and good plot, even though I saw the twist emerging early in the story. I gave three stars simply because for me, it was a very slow start. Which had me wanting to tune out.. then the good stuff hit about ⅓ way through.

[Mel]

This was a great read! The narrator was excellent and did a really great job of the different character voices, especially alternating between accents.
Some twists I predicted early on, but some I didn’t at all which made for an enjoyable listen with a satisfying ending.

[Andrea]

A good read from a very reliable author, but it didn't WOW me.

Currently free on Audible.

[Linda McKinney]

Immediately immersed in the story and characters. The twist about her sister was unexpected!

[Holly Roach]

3.5 stars. Overall good and I liked the narrator. Easy to listen to, but if you don’t, not missing much.

[Rachel]

Not my favourite but still a goodie.

The twists!!

[Penny Geard]

3.5 stars
A fun, entertaining little thriller. I did spot the plot twists fairly early on, but I don't think that takes away from the enjoyment of seeing it all come together.

[Jennifer Drew]

Entertaining but predictable.

[Tiffany Renee]

Very slow. Predictable. Almost DNF but decided to push through. The ending was exactly what I guessed.

[Nakia]

Smh. Katie really went in with absolutely no plan. So silly! Very obvious who did it

[Krista B]

Audiobook 2.5*
Looks like I'm in the minority here. I found most of it predictable and the parts that weren't, just weren't shocking enough.

[I’m reading]

This was just an ok read. It really wasn’t suspenseful and the ending was no surprise. It was clear very early on who the killer was.

[Dannielle Hardenstine]

The mid sentence change in accents were a bit hard for me to get past. Also I swear I just read a very similar story… woman going to some rich people’s home to find out how her sister died… hiding who she is, etc.

I feel bad for Marco. No wonder he hides in his room, his parents are whacked and the dad brings home random women he (dad) finds attractive to take care of Marco.

[James Livermore]

Underdeveloped characters, several obvious twists, very little action. Something just doesn't work for me with this writing. if you are a young girl going away to work and live with a family would you honestly let a creepy old guy hold your passport? Would this not be a major red flag? Would you leave if you found the guy rummaging through your stuff? Threatening and firing your boyfriend? What if the entire contents of the village are telling you the area is cursed and the family is sinister? You're right. No warning signs with any of that. The two sister MFCs make some absolutely inane decisions.

[EmG ReadsDaily]

'In an encounter straight out of fiction, Katie might have met Mr Right on the long-haul flight from Melbourne to New York. Richard Sinclair is charming, handsome, wealthy, cultured—and married. In an open marriage, according to him. When he invites her to join him in his lush lakeside villa in Italy as his son’s au pair, it might just be the opportunity for a reset that Katie has been longing for...'

[Sam]

For such a quick listen, this was a good thriller. I don't love it just because it was really easy to guess who all might have been involved. The twist at the end didn't even surprise me, and I only really love thrillers when I can't see the twist coming. But, it would recommend this for a quick listen if you like thrillers like me.

[Carla]

Airline stewardess on flight from Australia to NY meets Man in first class. Is he Mr Right?
She meets him while laying over in NY. There's a spark but Kate said no to a physical relationship at this point. There's a couple of twists you don't expect in this relationship. The saying "When it's too good to be true" comes to mind while reading this.
Good book

[Ant]

Hmm, not sure how to rate it. Unlikeable characters, an often quite silly plot and the ‘twist’ so predictable that it’s hard to call it a twist. But one thing that particularly irritated me was the voice of the person reading the book on audible and that could have influenced my reception of the story. Overall hard to recommend.

[Áine Reynolds]

A good story , but characters were a bit flat.


It was easy to follow and great for a quick engaging book. None of the characters stood out to me, but I did think the back stories were interesting. I loved the journal twist!

[Grace Early]

Every time you thought something exciting was going to happen it ended up being really dull. It was obvious who killed Rachel the entire time. This was the basic jealous wife killing the mistress story.

[Kyle]

The narrator did not differentiate between characters. Her voice always sounded the same whether she was speaking as a woman or man. Otherwise, it was a good story with an end I did not anticipate.