Panic by Catherine Jinks

Title: Panic

Author: Catherine Jinks

Genre: Thriller/Mystery

Publisher: Text

Published: 7^th January 2025

Format: Paperback

Pages: 352

Price: $34.99

Synopsis: BRONTE NEEDS A PLACE TO LIE LOW.

She posted a drunken rant that went horrifically viral. Now – jobless, friendless and broke – she’s forced to volunteer as a carer on an isolated rural property. She won’t be paid for looking after dementia sufferer Nell, but at least she’ll have a place to stay.

Bronte’s host is Nell’s daughter Veda, who runs spiritual rebirthing retreats. She also claims the rights of a sovereign citizen and rejects the authority of the state, refusing even to register her car. She has acquired a small but devoted following.

Are they harmless cranks, with their conspiracy theories and outrage at government overreach? Or dangerously paranoid domestic terrorists? And what is the dark secret that Nell, in her confusion, keeps harking back to?

Bronte, increasingly uneasy, would be getting far away from the whole place – if she had anywhere else to go.

~*~

Ever since posting a drunken rant online, Bronte’s life has fallen apart. She’s lost her job, her family isn’t helping, and all her friends have abandoned her, taking her horrid ex-boyfriend’s side and believing the worst in Bronte and the best in him, it seems. Now, Bronte is forced to take a volunteer job as a carer, on an isolated rural property near Bathurst. Bronte is there to help Veda’s mother Nell while Veda runs her spiritual rebirth retreats. But there’s more to Veda than meets the eye. She, along with her partner Troy, and a loyal band of followers are sovereign citizens – people who don’t recognise the laws that keep us safe on the roads, that help people get medical treatment, or call themselves free people who don’t recognise the government. Veda’s following seems to be eager to please her, though Bronte is unsure about them – not wanting to get mixed up in anything.

Bronte’s troubles start when she gets in the middle of helping Nell and Prish, Veda and Troy’s rabid beliefs that baffle neighbour Iris, a nurse. Veda’s loyal sovereign citizens and conspiracy theorists are determined to prove they’re right, and eager to get Bronte on their side. She’s trapped with them, unable to get to her phone unless Veda says she can. The police didn’t believe her about the previous video and gaslighting, so she’s not sure if they will now. And Nell is hiding a dark secret – one that could jeopardise everything her daughter has created. It’s a compelling novel, filled with questionable characters who are outside the law. Or people like Bronte, who feels betrayed by everyone she thought she could trust and is hoping to rebuild that trust. It’s also a novel that navigates victim blaming and how women like Bronte are cast as a villain for speaking their mind or acting out when thrust into unfortunate positions. In doing so, it shows that there are people who might see the person who has done something immoral – like Bronte’s boyfriend cheating on her with her friend – getting away with being awful whilst Bronte is cast as a villain for showing the world the reality of awful people. Her method may have been questionable or problematic, which does make her slightly unreliable and flawed. This shows two things. One, everyone makes mistakes and a mistake like Bronte’s shouldn’t be punished as adversely as it was. And two, whilst I didn’t condone what led Bronte to Gwendolynne, I think that the novel proved that having power and money like Bronte’s ex is what makes people like Callum get away with bad behaviour.

Another thing this novel highlighted was the toxicity of social media, and how it can be weaponised against people. It might not be as drastic as what happened to Bronte, but anything can be used against people. It takes a lot for Bronte to work this out, I felt too. And it also shows the dangers of extreme beliefs that lead to cults and people like Veda, who refuse to see that there are people out there willing to help, and who can help when things get tough. It’s a novel that feels easy, but is actually layered and complex as you unpack the sovereign citizen movement, how and when we believe women, for example, and the negative impacts of social media, as well as trauma and our ability to heal. Panic examines the paranoia that some people feel as well, related to trauma or feeling like you have lost control of everything. It shows the fragility of life, and the ease with which Bronte dismisses Veda’s sovereign citizen beliefs as conspiracy theories – to the point it feels like she agrees. Ultimately, I think this novel showed the dangers of such beliefs and movements that seem to prey on vulnerable people, and what the price of keeping secrets for decades is. This eye-opening story shows the need to listen to people, as well as respecting them.

Panic was an intriguing novel with a premise that felt timely and relevant, and one that might make people think the world a little bit more.