Readers of S.J. Finn’s latest novel may feel squeamish absorbing some of the detailed accounts of paedophilia, especially since Finn goes out of her way to show that things are never as morally clear-cut as we might like. Both Finn and the editors at Sleepers Publishing deserve commendation here: this is a book that refuses to accept simple responses to complex social concerns. While the question of what to do with offenders awaiting trial isn’t likely to incite the same ‘everyone-has-an-opinion’ reaction as, say, Christos Tsiolkas asking if it is all right to hit somebody else’s child, it is one that needs answering, and the novel will surely be responsible for more than a few arguments around the book-club table.

The novel does stumble with exposition and character. Too much important information is neatly summarised in the diaries that Joni finds hidden in a secret compartment of her bookshelf, or is overheard at the local pub/hospital/farmhouse, or is expounded by characters while talking aloud to themselves. Nevertheless, some beautifully rendered imagery – such as the stag with ‘antlers as wide and high as a winter fruit tree’ – makes for what is often highly evocative reading. A good start to the year for one of Australia’s best small presses.