Home Before Night (by J.P. Pomare)
I’ve been enjoying J.P. Pomare’s dark and suspenseful novellas through my Audible membership. They’re perfect for the spooky reading season, which is why I eagerly listened to “Home Before Night.”
Set in Melbourne during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, “Home Before Night” is a psychological thriller. Residents are ordered into an 8 p.m. curfew and lockdown. When single mother Lou’s teenage son, Samuel, fails to return home one evening, her anxiety escalates as his phone goes silent and his social media remains dormant. Haunted by her own buried secrets from the past, Lou embarks on a desperate and clandestine search to find him, knowing she can’t risk involving the authorities. The story revolves around the clash between maternal instinct and her hidden guilt.
Pomare skillfully weaves tension and unreliable perceptions throughout the novella. While I enjoyed it, it didn’t quite match the intensity of his other novellas. The prologue was particularly captivating with its extreme suspense.
I also enjoyed the beginning of the story, but it gradually lost momentum, making me feel bored and eager for the conclusion. However, the story picked up near the end, and I was fully engaged again. The ending was superb, with heightened suspense, fast-paced action, and a surprising twist. The twists and turns were what I’ve come to expect from Pomare, and the ending literally gave me chills.
While “Home Before Night” may not be my favorite Pomare novella, it’s still a compelling story. I usually don’t enjoy books set during the COVID-19 pandemic, but in this particular story, the lockdowns were cleverly employed as a necessary obstacle to enhance the narrative.
The audiobook, available only on Audible, was well-narrated by Aimee Horne and Ed Oxenbould. As a novella, it’s approximately four and a half hours long.
I have another review on my blog for a J.P. Pomare novella. You can find it linked below.
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