The Grapevine Winner of the Stylist Prize for Feminist Fiction

<p>Australia, 1979. It's the height of summer and on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac a housewife is scrubbing the yellow and white chequered tiles of her bathroom floor. But all is not as it seems. For one thing, it's 3 a.m. For another, she is trying desperately to remove all traces of blood before they stain. Her husband seems remarkably calm, considering their neighbour has just been murdered.<br><br>As the sun rises on Warrah Place, news of Antonio Marietti's death spreads like wildfire, gossip is exchanged in whispers and suspicion mounts. Twelve-year-old Tammy launches her own investigation, determined to find out what happened, but she is not the only one whose well-meaning efforts uncover more mysteries than they solve. There are secrets behind every closed door in the neighbourhood - and the identity of the murderer is only one of them . . .<br><br>Richly atmospheric and simmering with tension, <i>The Grapevine</i> is an acutely observed debut novel about prejudice and suspicion, the hidden lives of women, and how the ties that bind a community can also threaten to break it.</p>