The Hiding Place

This novel moves from the familiar and domestic to a place of unimaginable horror with an ending that will make you gasp. A group of old friends has pooled funds and bought a rural property as a retreat, a bush block they can escape to from the city. This weekend, they have come together for their first visit. First and last.

Astute observations of a locked-down world

Ronnie Scott’s second novel explores themes of abandonment, attachment and the idea of home. Characterised from the beginning by a sense of uncertainty, Shirley is a novel where anything can happen, and probably will. Names are ambiguous, sexuality is fluid, relationships are impermanent; the world is in flux.