This is set in two different timelines, which means that it takes a while to get going, and I'm not sure the sections from Alex's point of view really added much anyway. I liked Cooper and Rusty, but disliked everyone else, even the heroine Oli, who should never be allowed to parent even a hamster. The twists and turns were pretty good, and the ending satisfactory.

However, despite this being a hardback book, my edition was riddled with typesetting errors, typos and a weird way of setting out conversations which made it hard to work out when one person had finished speaking and the other started. I waited months and months for this to be published in Canada - the date kept being put back - but the time clearly wasn't spent with the proof-reader. ( )

The "Housemate Homicide" dominated the news nearly a decade ago in Victoria, when one girl was killed, one disappeared and one was convicted of murder. Now the convicted killer has served her sentence, and the missing housemate has turned up dead.

Oli Groves was a young journalist who worked on the original case and she remembers it well. She never understood then what had prompted the murder. Now she has been assigned to the case again, but the newspaper wants a more modern approach: a podcast as well as print articles.

The double time frame is challenging from the beginning as Oli and the photographer she is working with try to track down as many of the people involved in the original case as they can. Oli is still trying to work out the motive behind the original killing. She is convinced there is much more to the story than was originally uncovered.

The plot becomes increasingly more complex as the book develops and raises issues that are very contemporary in their overtones. ( )

Successful Australian crime writer Sarah Bailey is back with a standalone thriller, The Housemate. Olive Groves is a journalist in Melbourne and worked on the housemate homicide case nine years earlier. Elements of the case remain in question when new evidence comes to light that will shake things up.

"Secrets tend to come out eventually, whether they are forced into the light kicking and screaming, or simply float to the surface. The pulsing momentum of unfinished business can be strong." Page 45

Oli has a few annoying habits (like stubbing out her cigarettes wherever she pleases) but is a compelling character and I enjoyed her relationship with younger colleague Cooper, who is at the forefront of developing a true crime podcast. The dynamic between hardened and experienced Gen Y journalist Oli when paired with enthusiastic millennial Cooper was entertaining, and mirrored the struggle and contrast between traditional media and the rise of the podcast.

Taking place between Melbourne and the Dandenong Ranges, I was caught up in the pressure cooker environment of being the first to break a story or publish a new lead and the consequences for inaccurate copy in this high pressure journalistic setting.

Sarah Bailey is the author of the bestselling Gemma Woodstock trilogy The Dark Lake, Into the Night and Where the Dead Go and I have no hesitation recommending The Housemate for those looking for a way into this author's work and those seeking a break from the standard police procedural.

* Copy courtesy of Allen & Unwin * ( )

The Housemate is a standalone crime novel from Australian author Sarah Bailey, best known for her popular series featuring Detective Gemma Woodstock.

When the body of a woman is found on a property in rural Victoria, interest is revived in a decade old mystery. Olive Groves was a junior reporter when the ‘Housemate Homicide’ - where a dispute among three young housemates led to the murder of one and the disappearance of another - occurred, and now rumour suggests that the missing woman has resurfaced. Given her familiarity with the case, Oli is eager to investigate further, but annoyed when her editor insists she works with a young podcaster, Cooper Ng.

In what is a well-conceived and interesting plot, Oli, aided by Cooper, digs into what really happened between the housemates on the night of the murder, and slowly uncovers a cabal whose elite members are willing to kill to keep their secrets. While I found the complex mystery intriguing, I did feel the pace of the first two thirds or so of the novel was quite slow, with much of the tension and action being confined to near the end.

Oli is an intuitive, driven investigative journalist, her methods to unearth the story are sometimes uncomfortable, but I appreciated her determination to uncover the truth. I liked how Bailey explored the tension between old and new media through the relationship between Oli and Cooper.
Oli’s personal life is a bit of a mess though, and becomes more complicated when elements of the Housemate case forces her to face some difficult truths about her relationship, and herself. I wasn’t always sympathetic to her issues, but I thought she was a well-realised, complex character.

With its cleverly plotted, absorbing mystery, The Housemate is compelling crime fiction. ( )