Wintering

Longlisted, Australian Book Industry Awards, Literary Fiction Book of the Year 2019

Shortlisted, Sisters in Crime Davitt Awards, Adult & Debut 2019

Longlisted, Colin Roderick Award 2019

Shortlisted, Queensland Premier's Award for State Significance, The Courier-Mail's People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award, Queensland Literary Awards, 2019

When Jessica’s partner disappears into the dark one night, there is the mystery of what happened to him – his deserted car, the enigmatic final image recorded on his phone. There is the strange circle of women, widows of disappeared men, with their edgy fellowship and unhinged theories. And the forest itself; looming over this isolated settlement on the remote tip of Tasmania.

For Jessica there is also the community, an outpost of shacks, a watering hole and the last convenience store, in which her partner was accepted but she is still a stranger. Why do they believe things that should not – cannot – be true? For her own sanity, Jessica needs to know two things. Who was Matthew? And who – or what – has he become?

Kneen’s Wintering is haunting, suspenseful, and edgy. A cinematic thriller of a novel infused with environmental and psychological urgency.

‘What Kneen manages to do, as does Atwood, or even Murakami, is make her narrative worlds, wherever they lead, seamless and seductive… Wintering remains tense and taut throughout, with a strong sense of place, cool engagement and the ghostly traces of environmental and personal degradation.’ – Saturday Paper

‘Drama and twists that leave you exhilarated…Kneen has jumped, unafraid, into many shades of rough territory.’ – Courier Mail

‘Kneen also finds room for strength and kindness in this sleek and gripping novel.’ – Australian

‘A triumph…One of Kneen’s greatest strengths is her ability to write with humour, pathos, sadness, joyousness and candour in equal measure.’ – Sydney Morning Herald