The Canvas Killings

THE CANVAS KILLINGS is the debut novel written by Elise Janes, the pseudonym for writing combo Elise Wackett and Jane Abbott. It's a fast-paced, sometimes gruesome story set in past and present Australia.

The Past: 30 years ago renowned artist James Montague Ballantyne was convicted of murdering eight people, using their remains in his infamous paintings.

The Present: Sam Reed is a dependable, normal family man and teacher, who intervenes in a violent robbery, an act shared on social media by a couple of nearby witnesses. That unwanted attention means a carefully constructed life starts to unravel through no fault of his own. Meanwhile his friend and colleague, Aiden Voss is grieving the loss of his sister to a supposed suicide, surprised by the ferocity of his friend's unravelling.

The catalyst for the past and present to collide with force is journalist Tamsin Fischer, who has a family connection to the Ballantyne murders, and believes that Sam is the murderer's missing son, and the only person who can lead her to her mother's remains. It's her idea to establish an unlikely alliance with Voss to try to get to the truth.

Obviously there's going to be some gruesome elements to a story where human remains are used and abused by the murderer, and it is probably even more stark in this story because on the one hand art, and the other the materials used in its evocation. That's nothing however compared to the intergenerational trauma and complex relationships being played out. Employing a lot of suspense, some potentially unreliable narration, and a lot of misdirection, what starts out as a bit gruesome, quickly becomes almost saga like in it's exploration of ambition, grief, dysfunctional families, betrayal, regret and revenge.

Needless to say there's a lot going on in THE CANVAS KILLINGS. At some points almost to the level of overwhelming, especially in the build up as the complex backstories of all three main characters are revealed, necessary for the later collision's to be understood, but definitely a lot for the reader to take in to start off with. That quantity of information is, however, delivered with some humorous dialogue and a self-awareness in most of the characters which makes for engaging reading, even as the action ramps up, and the entire plot gets more and more complicated. It is highly likely that it's the characterisations that will most grab reader's attention in this one, overriding the ick factor of elements of the plot, and compensating amply for the complications thereof.

I have to admit I love a well executed potentially unreliable narrator thread line. It forces the reader to double down on concentration and mistrust. It makes you question what the characters say they do or see, and what you, as the reader, thinks you've worked out or know. The field of past infecting present has been raked over many many times now, and this debut novel THE CANVAS KILLINGS, ably negotiates that frequently turned over soil. It's got surprising elements, that gruesome storyline, and a good exploration of old and new friendships. Let's hope this duo of author's are plotting their next undertaking.