A long time when it's only you and your whits

Blurb:

Perfect isolation. No phones. No neighbors. No help...

Ex-cop turned criminal lawyer Tim Fontaine and his wife Amy are heading for their weekender - a restored farmhouse in remote bushland known as Black Pig Bend.

But even before they've eaten dinner, three outlaw bikers arrive on the scene. Suddenly Tim's house becomes a fortress. Who are these people? Why have they come? Who sent them?

As the lights go out and darkness descends, their idyllic world is transformed into a nightmare from which there is no waking up. Tim must grapple not just with formidable adversaries, but with unsettling questions relating to his own past, both as cop and lawyer, and even to his marriage.

But even if they survive this night against appalling odds, the ordeal is far from over. For when the past comes knocking, it will not be denied ...

Review:

I thought the description of this book was interesting which is why I requested it from Netgalley.  However, the start is very confusing as there are just too many characters and too much time is spent on their back story to the detriment of the development and progression of the front story.  We zig-zag backwards and forwards in time as each member of the gang is introduced.  I know the author is using this device as a means to ratchet up the tension in a story which, in reality has little to none.

Given the time spent on each person's back story these characters have the characters lack substance and indeed the main characters were less fleshed out as they are meant to be the victims.  And we never get to know about Tim's wife at all.

The plot is not new either and the characters lack substance and depth (even given the amount of time the author spends on each characters back story.  Throughout the novel these character make silly mistakes which made we scream at my Kindle.

We also know the person behind the event so despite the twists and turns of the novel, the ending was no surprise.  To be honest it was a bit of a let-down and easy to forget.  But I don’t want to make up your mind for you … read the novel and come to your own conclusion.

Full Disclosure: ARC received from Netgalley for an honest review.

I rated this 2 stars on Netgalley and 'It was OK' on Amazon (3 stars) and Goodreads (2 stars).