The complications that arise when your school life combine with your home life are explored in Pet, a tense and atmospheric novel by Catherine Chidgey. As Mrs Price entices the children in her Catholic-educated classroom to become her favourite, protagonist Justine is drawn into the inner circle, affecting the friendship between her and her best friend Amy. There are further complications when it becomes apparent a thief is operating within the classroom, heightening the complex emotions and dynamics, developing to reveal the perpetrator.

Set in 1980s New Zealand, with additional chapters set in 2014, there is such stomach-churning tension throughout this book, you really feel like you’re experiencing the emotions portrayed by Justine and her classmates. This really adds to the suspense, which is delivered in layers throughout the narrative, building to the main event.

Following the success of Remote Sympathy, Catherine Chidgey’s impressive novel that was longlisted for the Women’s Prize For Fiction and shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, Pet delivers a completely different subject but provides the same distinctive prose and immersive reading experience that will transport you to the events taking place. A unique plot provides a dark undercurrent in this unassuming and well-paced drama: another excellent and admirable story from this talented author.