Bruny, by Heather Ross

Set in the not-too-distant future, the events of Bruny are all too believable. Astrid ‘Ace’ Coleman is a UN conflict resolution specialist based in New York. When a contentious bridge between the Tasmanian mainland and Bruny Island is blown up she is called in to facilitate a rapid rebuild, using foreign labour, in time for the upcoming state election. The fact that her twin brother is the state’s premier and her half sister is the opposition leader complicates her role and only slightly stretches credulity. Ross absolutely nails the complicated politics and economics of protest and activism and is eerily prescient on the topic of foreign interference in Australia’s governments. The tone is lively and amusing, which make the undertones of dark deeds all the more menacing. The characters and family relationships are satisfyingly complex; the romance is sweet, but perhaps introduces one layer too many; the climactic storm is terribly convenient. The last two chapters serve as an extended and unnecessary postscript—not all loose ends need to be tied up neatly with a bow. But they also serve as a warning against complacency, with the sense that the extreme actions depicted in the novel have only bought time until something even worse happens.