The Grapevine

A Mystery Novel by Kate Kemp

Published 2025

Length 352 pages

From Little Stack

Australia, 1979. The residents of Warrah Place are rocked by the news of Antonio Marietti’s death. The gossip spreads like wildfire between the neighbours on this quiet cul-de-sac. And in this community of secrets, lies and prejudice, soon the flames of rumour and suspicion are fanned. Pulled into the intrigue, twelve year-old Tammy decides to launch her own investigation but is unprepared for what she discovers. Not everyone on Warrah Place is who they seem.

This captivating debut will have you hooked, the tension sizzling as brightly as the sun beating down on the neighbourhood. A fantastic summer thriller.

As Featured in Historical Fiction Books to Read This Summer by Emma Alvey

Publisher Description

It's the height of summer in Australia, 1979, and on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac a housewife is scrubbing the yellow and white checkered tiles of the bathroom floor. But all is not as it seems. For one thing, it's 3am. For another, she is trying desperately to remove all traces of blood before they stain. Her husband seems remarkably calm, considering he has just murdered their neighbour.

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, an amateur observational scientist, is not alone in feeling determined to find out what happened. There are secrets behind every closed door in the neighbourhood, and the identity of the murderer is only one of them.