Beware of Dogs: Winner of the Banjo Prize 2019. A gripping and tense survival thriller for readers of Margaret Hickey, Maryrose Cuskelly and Garry Disher.

by Elizabeth Flann

Winner of the 2019 Banjo Prize for Fiction

She's isolated. Trapped. Hunted. An almost unbearably tense Australian survival thriller.

Not much daylight left now.

So begins the field diary of Alix Verhoeven, whose impulsive acceptance of an offer to spend Easter on a remote island has turned into a terrifying ordeal. Hiding in a tiny cave, she carefully rations out her meagre supplies, while desperately trying to figure out how to escape the men hunting her. She is determined not to be a victim.

What do they want with her? She knows it's nothing good - she overheard enough on that first night to flee. But now she's got little food or water, no way of calling for help, and only her skills as an exploration geologist and memories of Atkinson's Bushcraft Guide to survive.

By day she is disciplined and lives by strict plans, but at night she finds herself haunted by questions about her life that she has never wanted to face.

And her time is running out.

Genres: Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Survival, Audiobook

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accepting an offer to spend Easter on a remote Island will turn out to be the most terrifying experience of Alix Verhoeven’s life. This story is mainly told in field dairy form as we follow Alix hiding out in a small cave away from the men who are hunting her. With little food or water, Alix is desperate to find a way of escaping because she knows if she doesn’t she will not make it off the island alive.

Beware of Dogs by Australian author Elizabeth Flann is the winner of the 2019 Banjo Prize for Fiction and well deserved. This book was intense and was most definitely a page turner one in which I did not want to put down. Highly recommended.

[Suz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another audio read, of which I am barrelling through a lot lately. A kidnapping story, taking place on a fictional Australian coastline on an island. Very content heavy on botanical information, the author must have a very comprehensive knowledge of the flora in the Australian landscape. This was interesting to some extent but rather repetitive as time went on. In survival, food rationing, clothes cleaning/airing, etc.

A field diary is the main method of communication in this story, and Alix is the woman who was unlucky enough to have accepted a last-minute invitation to an Easter long weekend away at a remote beach cottage with a long time ago neighbour. An instinct that unfortunately didn’t kick in until much to late for Alix. She is a very capable, focussed, and smart woman, it’s a shame she did not catch on to the odd characters who invited her for this weekend away.

She is smart and knowledgeable given her career in the outdoors, she is a rock climber and experienced in all things outdoors. Her thoughts naturally go to her personal life, a failed marriage, career, university life, family life, her feelings of connectedness to time and place. Missing her family and her unsuccessful relationship with her remaining sibling and dwelling on the loss of loved ones.

I wasn’t convinced on the temperature situation (I hate being cold). It was the Easter long weekend, she’d have been freezing, and this wasn’t touched on at all. This fell flat to me, as I realise now this review is quite flat. I probably should have reviewed closer to the time of reading.

If I held this book in my hand, I don’t think I’d have finished it. Too content heavy on the plants eaten for hopeful survival and the organisation of her cave that was her shelter during capture.

[Arna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a different type of thriller to what I usually read but I really enjoyed it!

At its core, this is a book about survival. Against all odds and in harsh conditions - a remote Australian Island. Every chapter started with a paragraph or two about native plants and their uses and I loved that.

The story comes together slowly, putting the pieces together to show how on earth Alix managed to find herself in this situation.

I also enjoyed how half the book was in diary form, though some entries were overly descriptive in a way that didn’t read much different to the rest of the book.

If you’re looking for something a little different (and Australian based woo hoo) this is definitely one to add to your TBR 😊

Thank you @harpercollinsaustralia for the gifted copy. 🌴

[Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not quite the ‘claustrophobic survival horror’ the back of the book promised me. It was rather slow, with many, many flashbacks. Most of the book was taken up with the main characters inner monologue/diary entries in which she lamented her situation often and we as readers got to be there for such moments as: Alix finds some berries, Alix is cold, Alix is tired, Alix finds some more berries, Alix writes in her diary about finding the berries.

One of the reviews on the ARC cover stated,
“If you loved The Dry, Scrublands or The Hunted, you will love Beware of Dogs.”

I would like to amend that to say that if you loved those books then you have great taste and will not enjoy this. This book is watered down, slow and boring and is not even in the same league as those other titles.

Don’t waste your time.

[Renee Hermansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alix, although not too happily, accepts an offer from an old neighbour, Dave, to go away for Easter. Dave deliberately tells her nothing of where they are going and Alix finds herself on a island with Dave, his creepy mate Matt and Matt's girlfriend Lana.
From here the tale turns into one of survival and Alix does all she can to survive day to day while avoiding the terrible two men.
The story often goes back to her memories, which are interesting. There is a lot of suspense keeping you interested and wondering what will happen to Alix next, will she survive is always the big question. I love hearing what she has to eat to survive. What she has to endure everyday.
Thanks to Better reading for a chance to read and review this great book which I would recommend.

[Brooke - Brooke's Reading Life · Rating 5 out of 5]

*www.onewomansbbr.wordpress.com
*www.facebook.com/onewomansbbr

**4.5 stars**

Beware of Dogs by Elizabeth Flann. (2021).

Not much daylight left now...
So begins the field diary of Alix, whose impulsive acceptance of an offer to spend Easter on a remote island has turned into a terrifying ordeal. Hiding in a tiny cave, she carefully rations her meagre supplies while desperately trying to figure out how to escape the men hunting her. But she's got little food and water, no way of calling for help, and only her skills as a geologist and memories of Atkinson's 'Guide to Bushcraft' to survive. By day she is disciplined and lives by strict plans, but at night she finds herself haunted by questions about her life that she has never wanted to face. And her time is running out.

If you are looking for a story that will keep you mentally on the edge of your seat the whole time, with your body tense from suspense, this book is 100% for you! Winner of the 2019 Banjo Prize for Fiction, it is easy to see why. I really enjoyed the combination of experiencing both Alix's current situation, as well as her flashbacks to previous events including not only how she got into this specific situation but also her history in general. The writing is excellent; even though the author states in the author's note that the island is fictional, the description of it is truly immersive giving the feeling you are right there with Alix. I loved this tense and suspense-filled page-turner. Will Alix be able to get out of this horrifying situation? Read to find out!
Overall: an enthralling survival thriller story that you won't easily forget, highly recommend.

[Amanda - Mrs B's Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com

‘I’m on the island of bad dreams. Please find me.’

Upon reading the opening page of the winner of the 2019 Banjo Prize for Fiction, Beware of Dogs, I clearly understood why this highly original book was selected as the recipient of this coveted award. A death-defying thrill ride awaits the reader as soon as they crack open the spine of Elizabeth Flann’s debut novel. Never have I encountered such an utterly gripping and white knuckled story, that kept me glued to my reading chair.

At the centre of Elizabeth Flann’s debut offering is a Alix Verhoeven, a woman with a successful career but a broken personal life. When Alix impulsively accepts an invitation to visit a remote island off Australia’s shores, she gets much more than she bargained for. This relaxing getaway morphs into a horrific fight for survival, as Alix takes refuge in a cave shelter, trying to stay alive and outwit the men who are hunting her. Alix is a fighter and she is determined to overcome this terrible ordeal. Alix must draw on her personal resolve and skills set as a geologist to make a plan of escape. In this abhorrent situation, Alix manages to rise above her extenuating circumstances. Alix has a plan, but can she survive long enough to save her life?

I have to admit that I was perplexed by Beware of Dogs to start off with. It seemed to have an odd title and I’m not sure how the title was connected to the blurb I was offered. It is always risky taking a chance on a new author, but as this was the 2019 Banjo Prize Winner for fiction, Elizabeth Flann’s novel caught my interest. I’m glad that I took a chance on Beware of Dogs, despite some initial trepidation, as it proved its weight in gold.

I appreciated the structure of this novel. The prose has a literary tinge, but Beware of Dogs falls easily into the thriller and suspense genre, with some accompanying crime elements. Over seventeen gripping chapters and an aftermath, the reader rolls along with Alix as she relays her survival story. Each chapter is headed by a significant quote from the King James Bible, the Atkinson’s Guide and student magazine excepts. These openers enable the reader to get to grips with the oncoming turn of events. Interlinked with Alix’s astounding first hand experiences and her routine diary entries are flashbacks to poignant memories from the past. In these sequences Alix reflects on her tragic family history, career highs, friendships, marriage and relationship breakdown. The tone our chief narrator takes is reflective and regretful. There is also the sense that Alix is not quite done with her time on earth, if she manages to survival this ordeal.

What urged me to turn page after page at high velocity was a number of factors. Firstly, I developed a strong connection to Alix, she was a complex and layered character. I enjoyed the drip feed style of Alix’s accomplishments, it absolutely gripped me. I admired Alix’s tenacity, determination, inner strength and ingenuity. Alix’s background knowledge of bush survival techniques left me in awe, it was definitely a learning process for me! I cheered Alix on the whole way and I rooted for her cause. I had high hopes that Alix triumph over adversity and make it off the island alive. Another reason why I remained completely stuck to this novel was the strong sense of intrigue and danger. I wondered how such a clever woman managed to get herself in such a terrible and unbreaking bind to begin with. I desperately wanted to know if Alix made it out the other side. Above all, I hoped that the horrible men hunting Alix would be held to account for their actions. The mystery surrounding why these men were hell bent on taking Alix to this island and silencing her by any means possible aided my swift response to this book.

On another note, I thought the sense of place was captured incredibly well by Elizabeth Flann, despite that it clearly states in the Author’s Note that the central island stage of Beware of Dogs is a fictional representation. From the specific localised fauna and fauna, to the rocky faces and deep waters, the strong images conjured by Flann’s generous prose helped place me as the reader right next to Alix in her tough fight for survival.

With themes of sorrow, contemplation, fear, retribution, crime, family experiences, communication, marital breakdown, career, ambition, friendships, dark web crime, violence, murder, abuse and suppression, Beware of Dogs does take a sinister route. However, the rich and unique story that emerges from the fog of darkness is well worth these trying elements. Five stars from me.

Beware of Dogs is book #3 of the 2021 Australian Women Writers Challenge

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining read that deals with many issues quite well, including survival, violence against women, grooming, fitting in and religious zealotry. It has the same problems of the Tom Hanks movie Castaway with little in the way of two way conversation and so can become report like and repetitive.
My biggest personal gripe was the lack of understanding for being a real world geo, notwithstanding discussion of a hammer instead of a geopick. It just gives that feel of someone writing a story rather than the telling of experiences. It needed a real life geology story to make it sound authentic. The travelogues were much better.
I also have a gripe about the school kid quiz at the end. It makes me remember what I hated about school English studies and what still keeps a lot of people away from adult reading.

[Jay Dwight · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gee I found this a slow read, and ultimately a disappointing one.

We quickly learn Alix is hiding on a desolated island, keen not to be found by the others on the island, especially the two males. The reason why she fled and is in hiding is only hinted at for much of the book. I know the whole scenario is meant to be tension filled - but as she only nearly comes into contact with those trying to find here three times in the entire book, and those were only very fleeting instances, I felt little tension at all. Certainly not permeating the whole book.

The book focuses a lot on Alix's bush tucker skills and this may have held you interest if this is something you are into, but I am not. With so much detail around this aspect and it dominating the story, this is why this one dragged on for me.

Sometimes, a slow book has a big payoff at the end. This one didn't have that for me either. We only really find out why Alix went into hiding in the last 15 pages or so, after Alix was eventually rescued. So no tension there as the situation was largely resolved.

Perhaps if there were more encounters with those attempting to find Alix on the island, and the threat of discovery seemed more prevalent; and if we learned more detail of the why she went into hiding throughout the story; - maybe the book may have held more appeal for me.

Described on the back of the book as a tense thriller... I found it anything but.

[Steffi Miles · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story opened strong on a tense premise, but problems with pacing and tiresome minutiae bloat this book. To be brutal, I think this needed more critique and editing to tighten up.
Protagonist Alix has all the makings of a good heroine, yet she does not go the toilet, take a bite of food, a sip of water, or even have a though without it captured on the page. The time spent on Alix’s inner and outer mechanics borders on indulgent.

Tension... where was it? Alix’s survival skills were so over sharpened she doesn’t make a mistake in evading her captors. This makes for less cat and mouse and more mouse-meditating-in-a-cave-for-weeks-on-end
Bad guys named ... Dave Grogan and Matt?

Entirely underwhelmed by the finish. About the half way mark I realised that this book was not going to be what I wanted and that I could skip large tracts of text without missing anything important.
This book is mostly in depth descriptions of bush skills and survival, with a weak storyline explaining Alix’s stay on the island.

2 unfulfilled stars

[Helen Weir · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’d highly recommend it as a great new addition to Australian fiction and can see why it won the Banjo prize for literature. I read this novel pretty quickly despite a rather busy week as I got very involved in the story. It’s a very well-crafted story with a great flow between (main character) Alix’s daily struggle to survive and her complex backstory. There is a very cinematic element to the writing, which makes it easy to keep reading.

The reader is quickly taken in with Alix’s situation, where she clearly fears for her life. Just how much in danger she is, and quite how she got to that point is a bit unclear at first - and you might initially wonder whether the level of danger or is a real or perceived threat.

Without giving too much away, the reader is careful drip-fed details on exactly how Alix got into this precarious position, where she finds herself having to use her wits and bushcraft to survive. You discover early on that she is a highly qualified geologist with an interest (and knowledge that thankfully comes back to her) on botany and general Australian bush survival. This capacity works in her favour, and the reader is likely to be impressed at some of the survival skills she employs to beat the odds.

There were moments I got a bit angry at how such a highly intelligent woman such as Alix could have agreed to go along on such a fateful trip when she clearly was never that keen to go. Alas, whenever I thought that for too long, I realised a highly-intelligent-but-less so-with-relationships character flaw is pretty realistic for many.

Definitely worth looking out for this new Australian novel!

[Hayley (meet_me_at_the_library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beware of Dogs, winner of the 2019 Banjo Prize for fiction, was my first book for 2021—and it was a stellar way to start my reading year.

The story is partially told via diary entries, which really worked for me—in fact, I couldn’t get enough of those sections and I would’ve been happy if the whole story had been told in that way. The diary entries really helped to immerse me in Alix’s story and added a real sense of desperation and foreboding. I was so engrossed in this gripping survival story, I highly recommend it!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from HarperCollins in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An atmospheric and at times claustrophobic read, I was hooked right from page one. The main driver for me was the compelling protagonist, Alix -- no damsel in distress, but a smart, resourceful and complex heroine who, though hunted by men and haunted by demons from her past, refuses to let them get the better of her. (Plus she's taught me a thing or two about how to survive in the Australian bush.) Highly recommend.

[Richenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me in its grip from the get-go and I remained there through Alix’s journey of fear and survival, with all the associated gut wrenching and celebration of small victories. Alix’s reliance on local flora and fauna is well described and educative, as well as being a celebration of something uniquely Australian. The flashbacks to Madagascar, Western Australia and beyond help to carve a picture of a complex woman, who with the terrifying hand she has been dealt, plans and survives.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely tense and compelling. I loved the way Alix used bushcraft to survive, it was fascinating to read about all the indigenous plants, and I really enjoy seeing people being capable and good at something (I would totally have been caught on the first day). This felt to me like a mix of Cast Away and Wake in Fright, and a character study of how someone copes under extreme pressure.

[Kerry A · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the constant threat of discovery and violent repercussions, this made for a very dark and compelling read. Loved the bush tucker skills and the intelligence Alix applied in an attempt to survive this horrific ordeal. I recommend this if you love a tense suspenseful read.

[Lucy Inglis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could not put this book down! Such a compelling, tense read - highly recommend.

[RG · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easter holiday on an island with the next door neighbour becomes a survival thriller with some lit horror elements. The split of diary story telling and regular plot works well.

[Kay Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a novel that sets us up for expectations of a very tense page-turning tale based around events that Alix Verhoeven has catapulted herself into from the moment she accepts an invite to a weekend house party on an isolated island. The opening words of her field diary entry dated Friday 13 April starts us off on the story that also arouses our curiosity. Why is she terrified to the point her ‘heart is pounding’?

In this well structured rather literary take on a thriller that sits quite comfortably within the emerging crime fiction genre of Australian Noir, author Elizabeth Flann introduces us to Alix Verhoeven who is a very skilled, resourceful, highly organised young woman; a geologist well respected in this field.

As the day-to-day mounting fear and tension for Alix, her field diary provides very interesting information around ‘bush tucker’ survival foods and skills as she recalls studies with Professor Atkinson’s Guide to Bushcraft for Geology Students. Alongside the tension and fear Alix has quieter moments during nights in a 'not-quite-cave that is really more of a shallow rock shelter' where she can’t lie down or fully stand. As Alix reflects on moments across her life to this point we get to know her and where the complexities of her life take shape. I could feel sympathy with the constricted tightened muscles and joints along with Alex as she emerged each morning to go through her self-disciplined well-planned day to ensure some exercise, food gathering and familiarisation with the surrounding area.

The style of this novel allows the landscape of the island (there’s a hand-drawn map to check it out ourselves) to become a character itself in this and in other circumstances would no doubt be a most interesting exploration in it own right. Although the author informs us it is a fictional place. There are quite cinematic moments within this well-written book and I wonder whether it will gain an option. It would be quite a chilling and very visual work in the right hands. Alix is a very complex character, and the book hints at topical matters around women, law enforcement, wealth and youth boredom along with loneliness and isolation that this brings.

It is no surprise Elizabeth Flann was the Banjo Prize 2019 recipient.

My thanks to Georgia Williams of Harper Collins for the opportunity to review the uncorrected proof version of Beware of Dogs by Elizabeth Flann.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alix Verhoeven’s diary entry begins on Friday the 13th – an ominous beginning to her story. She outlines the routine she has self-imposed to ensure her survival on this island of the damned: foraging, exercising, diarising, and exploring the terrain whilst meticulously erasing any trace of her forays. A geologist, she carries a small backpack with field trip essentials, and has rationed her supplies to last for 10 days. Professor Atkinson’s Guide to Bushcraft has been invaluable, but she broke the golden rule – and told no-one where she was going.
Dave Grogan, former ‘boy next door’, his mate Matt, and the dodgy Duffy brothers, owners of salivatingly menacing Rottweilers are the only ones who know. But what exactly is the menace they pose?
By night Alix hides in a tiny cave dreading discovery, formulating a survival plan, enduring night terrors featuring her strict Dutch missionary father, who has doomed her to hellfire. Her meagre rations have gone rancid, the cabin’s pantry is padlocked but she’s determined to escape.
In ‘Beware of Dogs’, Elizabeth Flann incrementally reveals backstory to slowly build the tension. And it's palpable! The chapter introductions begin with pertinent snippets from the Professor’s bushcraft guide, but segue into King James Bible quotations as the horror escalates. How had it come to this?
Thanks to Better Reading and HarperCollins for an advanced reading copy.

[Nic · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book stayed with me for quite a while. It’s chilling, and really succeeds in putting you into the mind of Alix and her desperate situation, being cut off from anyone who can help her escape these predators. It might not be for everyone, as it goes into minute detail in how she survives on a day to day basis while hiding from the men hunting her and attempting to forage to eat and drink enough to survive. I really enjoy these sort of survival tales that go into detail, as I find the story so much more realistic.

However, the book keeps flashing back to Alix’s earlier family life and history, and I found these parts to be pretty irrelevant and boring. The last 10% of the book was also extremely rushed and jarring compared to the earlier parts, which really affected my enjoyment of the overall story.

For the most part, if you like disturbing thrillers, I think you should give this one a go. It’s been a while since I’ve felt quite as scared for a character while reading as I did with this one.

[Melanie McKissock · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nerve-racking tale that quickly drew me in and kept me engrossed until the end. Alix is fighting for her survival, using her bushcraft knowledge to meticulously plan how to outlast her would-be tormentors on a secluded island. The calm she tries to create for herself by keeping a diary contrasts dramatically with the dangers that surround her, from real and imagined predators, but no matter what she does, the sense of something dark and menacing grows ever nearer.
Alix's story, and the reason she is on the island, are gradually revealed. She is a complex, haunted character and the more I got to know her, the more I wanted her to survive. A tense, dark read - hard to believe this is a debut novel.

[Kerryn Lawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed 90% of this book and unfortunately it was the last 10% that disappointed me. I loved the concept and story with the suspense building and building throughout. I was enjoying trying to think of how it might end and if that might be how the author chose to finish the story. But, there was a point that the story fell off a cliff and it felt like it was a story that had somewhere more important to be. The ending felt rushed and didn’t seem in keeping with how the rest of the story was built. It’s a shame, because I did enjoy it, I just felt the ending let the rest of the book down..

[Roz Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book. I couldn't put it down - a real page-turner. It has so many layers to it that it would be a pleasure to re-read it just to enjoy them all over again. The author brings us into her nightmare world right from the very beginning with flashbacks to her own past and the events that have led to her being in her precarious situation.

[Chiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can see why this book won the Banjo Patterson Award for fiction, a tense thriller set on a remote Australian island. I loved the diary entries and seeing into Alix’s mind. This had me on the edge of my seat. The entry diaries definitely held my attention more and I marvelled at the knowledge it takes to stay alive in Australia when you have nothing but your skills and wits to keep you going.

[Lisa Bacon-hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surviving

This story started well, it was certainly engaging, however some elements didn’t ring true for me and I was frustrated by her stupidity in the first place, trusting people she barely knew. The reasons behind her predicament also felt a bit silly. The ending was predictable and a little disappointing.

[Kerry RM · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry. Not a fan of this one

[Joanie222 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook

[marlin1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this as an audiobook but couldn’t settle with it. The narration was good as was the storyline but I think I felt it repetitious with Alix’s daily activities. That said I really wanted to know how the story played out, so when the paperback version became available from my library I picked that up instead and began to enjoy it much more.
In this instance the written word allowed me much more imagination than me listening.

[Lisa Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An original thriller set in a harsh Australian landscape that sets woman against predator and woman against nature. Although I longed for a few more thrills and conflict, the story of survival against the elements was interesting enough to keep the story moving. Alix, the female protagonist in this story, was a force to be reckoned with.