The Farm by Jessica Mansour-Nahra - Book

An eerie psychological thriller,  rippling with the Gothic undertones of Rebecca, from a startling new Australian talent. The Farm enthrals from the very first page.

The radio sputters out and the cows disappear . . . It is suddenly deeply quiet,  with the bird calls and crunch of rolling tyres the only sounds. I twist slowly to look out the back window; the gate has long since disappeared.

When 37-year-old Leila suffers a health tragedy,  she doesn't recover as quickly as she expected. Her partner, James, suggests a year away from the city - they'll stay on his family farm, where the wide, open spaces and clean country air will help her come to terms with her grief.

But the property is remote and the house oppressive. Leila is disturbed by strange noises, fleeting visions and intrusive dreams. James worries that her medication is causing hallucinations.

As Leila's isolation grows amid the haunted landscape, so does her suspicion that she isn't the first woman James has relocated to the farm. Is what she's experiencing real? Or is it all in her head?

Compulsive and claustrophobic, The Farm is a Gothic ghost story ripe for book club discussion. It asks confronting questions about women's bodies,  what is expected of them,  and who is really in control. And in Jessica Mansour-Nahra, Australia has a stunning and remarkable new talent.

• Number of pages: 384 pages
• Book cover: Trade paperback