A dystopian Australia affected by climate change, where everyone is microchipped for their own safety is the setting and is not as farfetched as you might think.

Mim, a geologist with two young children is advised by The Department that her engineer husband Ben who works at a mine on an Indonesian island has gone missing. Is he actually missing or is that he can’t be tracked? The Department controls everything and tells her to remain at her house asking her to surrender the family’s passports. She passively agrees at first until her own attempts to get hold of Ben by phone fail, she begins to question what’s happened. She’s insecure and vulnerable without Ben. With no answers and struggling to cope with her two young children, Mim heads off on a ten-hour drive to her mother’s house where she realises the growing danger. This then sets her on a perilous path to find Ben no matter the cost.

This is a gripping read. More than once I winced at what Mim was about to do wishing she wouldn’t but cheering her on nonetheless. The role as a mother was beautifully done with all the anxieties and insecurities attached. It’s a difficult choice to drag your kids out of their environment on what is anything other than a wild goose chase across a hostile environment of land and sea in a search for the man she loves and depends on. Yet with the threat that her children could be taken from her by The Department, the choice is obvious.

I wondered about her family. Her brother has the controlling interest in the family farm and his hostile reaction to Mim wasn’t clear as earlier family conflict is only a hint. What we do know is that Mim is reacting to the perceived threat, doesn’t have time to think through what she has to do, makes mistakes along the way and puts herself and her children in danger. Yet she faces it with a bravery she has barely time to consider in her single-minded pursuit to protect her children and get to Ben.

As the journey progresses, her love for Ben is thrown into question when she meets Nick, her first love and even more so when she discovers what Ben has actually done. I wasn’t entirely convinced about Nick’s motivations and her relationship with him – was it more than the money she offered?

The Motherfault is a satisfying and thrilling story well written. Is Ben a hero or not? Does Mim manage to protect her children and survive? You’ll have to read it and find out.