Gripping novel keeps you reading til finish loved this book and highly recommend book and Aithor

Fearless is the third novel by Australian author, Fiona Higgins. At Ubud, the Bali home of all things alternative, the Puri Damai resort hosts the Fearless retreat. Six Westerners are booked in for the week, a disparate group from far corners of the globe. Their fears or phobias differ just as much as they do. For some, it has taken courage just to get here; another joins in almost by accident; for still others, it’s a last resort (pardon the pun).

English Henry’s passion is bird-watching, but what paralyses him is public speaking. Aussie Janelle has quit her job on impulse, and hopes that overcoming her fear of flying will enable a relationship. French Remy’s fear of heights is holding back his career, while American Annie’s snake phobia has suddenly re-emerged. Italian Lorenzo has been dragged here by his wife, who is trying to get pregnant: is he afraid of fatherhood, or something else? And Aussie Cara had been hiding in Bali from the trauma of her loss for four years. She’s been told she has a fear of intimacy.

Pak Tony, their facilitator, explains the various activities that form the retreat, and some of the group wonder just how effective they could be. Isn’t it all new-age claptrap designed to pander to their First World problems? But their fears and phobias are real to them. As Remy says: “Suddenly there was an emergency inside of me…” And their retreat experiences seem to have some profound effects, whether or not they are the intended ones. But then something terrible happens, and now they really know fear.

Higgins gives the reader a wholly plausible plot with some quite topical twists and a heart-thumping climax. Her characters are well developed and appealing for all their very human flaws. Their dialogue (including Pak Tony’s ever ready clever maxims and positive aphorisms) is natural and believable. Bali itself is well rendered, as are the snippets of Sydney, Melbourne, Derbyshire, California and Paris. She gives the reader plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, but manages to explore some serious and sensitive subjects as well.

Readers familiar with Higgins’s first novel, The Mothers Group, will enjoy finding out what happened to Cara after her escape to Bali. Those planning to read The Mothers Group should be aware that Fearless does contain a rather large spoiler. Funny, moving and thought-provoking, this is Higgins best yet.
With thanks to GoodReads Giveaways and Allen & Unwin for this copy to read and review.