Book review: Katherine Faulkner's debut novel Greenwich Park

Katherine Faulkner. Photo / Supplied

Greenwich Park
by Katherine Faulkner
(Raven Books, $33)

Katherine Faulkner's debut draws on her experience as a mother, journalist and Cambridge graduate - and was apparently inspired by being thrust into intimate relationships with strangers as part of her antenatal class (the novel was completed on maternity leave and was written under the auspices of a Faber Academy novel-writing course).

Set among a wealthy group of inter-married Cambridge graduates in one of London's flasher boroughs, this lithe psychological thriller kicks off in that antenatal class where Helen, finally pregnant after years of tragedy, meets a strange new friend, Rachel.

Why is she there alone? Because her husband texts and tells her he's working late; her brother and his pregnant wife also make excuses - so when Rachel starts a conversation with Helen and, of all things, offers her a glass of wine - "Our mums all got smashed when they were pregnant. We all bloody survived!" - Helen, always polite and never wanting to offend, joins her.

Over the next few weeks the mysterious, extroverted Rachel just happens to be wherever Helen is in Greenwich Park. And Helen's out a lot because her architect husband has begun renovating their multimillion-pound home. (The tagline for this is "when you have it all, you have so much more to lose.")

While the story is told mostly by Helen, this benefits from chapters dedicated to the point of view of cynical sister-in-law Serena and hard-nosed journo Katie, who's covering a rape case.

Another rape, which occurred a decade earlier at Cambridge while all were students, which Katie uncovers as part of her research, will have ramifications for all, but it's a slow first half, as Faulkner concentrates on building the relationship between Rachel and Helen and introducing us to the world of privilege Helen and her brothers and their partners belong to.

Just when you think you know where this is heading, Faulkner pivots and delves deeper into the lies and secrets that lie at the heart of a damaged family, and a much more interesting story emerges.

It's a promising debut but there are some weaknesses; none of these characters are particularly likeable and, despite Rachel making Helen feel like she's standing "on a clifftop path, when the wind is just a little too strong at your back", she's soon a house guest and Helen's busy fetching her clean sheets.

It's a bit of a stretch and Helen's gullibility, her inability to read the danger signs which are obvious to all around her, is something Faulkner never sells convincingly.

"How do you unmake a friendship?" Helen ponders at one point - and after scant reflection puts it in the too-hard-basket.

However, once the narrative's in play, the second half blooms into an exciting page-turner, complete with the requisite last gasp twist, a classic femme fatale, and a setting that's tailor-made for one of those sleek British miniseries.

Reviewed by Greg Fleming