Running Against the Tide

by Amanda Ortlepp

This suspense novel touches on some deeper societal issues and has some wonderful characters in Jono and Ryan. South Australian’s will recognise the settings. 

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About the Book

(from the publishers)

Brimming with malice and threat, Running Against the Tide is about long-held prejudices and fractured relationships, and cements Amanda Ortlepp as one of Australia’s most compelling storytellers.

Erin Travers is running away from her life and taking her two sons with her to a small town on the ruggedly beautiful Eyre Peninsula. The close-knit township is full of happy childhood memories for Erin, but she is bringing a whole lot of baggage with her.

When the peaceful community is disrupted by theft and arson, everyone has different ideas about who is responsible. In a small town where lives are tangled too closely together, old grudges flare, fingers are pointed and secrets are unmasked.

My Thoughts

A woman in danger, trouble with her children, an ex-husband who isn’t who he pretends to be–there is much to love about this second novel from Australian author Amanda Ortlepp.

As a story of a woman trying to make a new start in a country town she used to know well but which is alien to her two sons, one of whom seems to slide into the community easily while the other struggles to overcome resentment of the move and find his place, this is an intriguing read. Sense of place was muted but realistic and I enjoyed reading about a part of the world I know reasonably well. The characters of Jono and Ryan are beautifully done. You really feel Ryan’s frustration and anger. Likewise Jono is a bit of busy-body, quick to judge and interfere, and Ortlepp uses him well to keep you off-kilter.

Is this a story brimming with malice and threat? Not as much as I expected after reading the blurb. The malice doesn’t really happen until half way through the novel, and the threat is low key until it suddenly explodes in the final scenes. There are many red-herrings, some of which are great and others that perhaps aren’t carried for long enough to keep us guessing. Some of the clues that all is not well seem to come from nowhere (is it possible that Erin, or her nosey neighbour, wouldn’t notice the garden being made over?). Erin remains a rather ineffectual character and this isn’t one for armchair sleuths though Ortlepp does a great job playing with your certainties for a while.

Though a satisfying read, for me, the first and second halves of the novel didn’t quite gel. By the time Erin was in danger I wasn’t as invested as I might have been. There are a few hints within the first half that something is not right in Erin’s world, yet these weren’t developed enough for me to wonder about Erin’s state of mind or if there really was someone out to get her. Perhaps, in seeking to keep us guessing, the characters most likely to be tormenting Erin remain too absent.

Running Against the Tide is a good escapist read and a great way to spend an afternoon.

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About the Author

Amanda Ortlepp is a Sydney-based writer, born in Adelaide in 1981. As a child she was a voracious reader with ambitions of one day becoming an author; it was only after she turned thirty that she revisited her love of fiction and started writing at nights and on weekends while working full-time.

In 2015 her debut novel, Claiming Noah, was published in Australia and New Zealand and became a bestseller. Its ethical dilemmas and emotionally-charged themes struck a chord with mothers and book clubs in particular. Claiming Noah will be available in the US and Canada from July 2016.

Read More about Amanda Ortlepp