Pheasants Nest by Louise Milligan

Louise Milligan is an award-winning writer and journalist who has brought her expertise and writing skills to produce a searing novel tracing what happens to a young woman who humiliates the wrong man, The Guy, on a girls’ night out. Kate Delaney is that woman, finding herself living a nightmare, grabbed by The Guy, brutalised, bound and gagged and hauled into the boot of his car. She has no idea of what will happen to her and tries to keep herself sane by imagining the good times especially with her boyfriend Liam. Meanwhile, the police initially concentrate on Liam as an obvious suspect and it is up to him and Kate’s close friend to try and follow the clues along the Hume Highway in a desperate attempt to rescue Kate.

Milligan’s cleverly crafted story makes it easy to imagine Kate’s terror; as a journalist she has in-depth knowledge of what happens to missing women. Milligan also vividly describes the fears that Liam and close friends and family have for Kate and the background story of the trauma that police go through when they cannot locate missing persons or find suicide victims gives depth to the story.

I found Pheasants Nest difficult to read because of the dark reality of the violence that women face. However, I was forced to return to it after several breaks to find out Kate’s fate. It is a memorable, suspenseful book. The publisher has provided a set of reading notes that give a focus for in-depth discussion.

Themes: Journalists, Kidnapping, Missing persons, Violence against women, Police.

Pat Pledger