The Grapevine

by Kate Kemp · 2024

In the sweltering summer of 1979, a quiet cul‑de‑sac on Warrah Place in Canberra erupts into a nightmare. At 3 a.m. a housewife scrubs blood from her bathroom tiles while her husband, unnervingly calm, has just killed their neighbour, Antonio Marietti. As dawn spreads the shocking news, whispers turn to gossip and suspicion tightens around every home. Twelve‑year‑old Tammy, determined and curious, launches her own investigation, uncovering hidden grudges, secret lives, and a web of prejudice that binds the community together and threatens to tear it apart. Kate Kemp’s debut, The Grapevine, is a claustrophobic, atmospheric thriller that reveals how the ties that hold a neighbourhood together can also conceal a murderer.