“It was all so utterly strange, so far beyond my experience, that there was no possible way to orient myself. I felt as if I had fallen into some crazy experimental film, where I was the only actor without a script, the only player who had no idea what was going to happen next.”

The Accusation is the eighth novel by award-winning Australian author, Wendy James. High school drama teacher Suzannah Wells is as surprised as anyone in Enfield Wash when eighteen-year-old Ellie Canning turns up in a farm hut, barely clad and half conscious. She claims to have escaped after being kidnapped and held captive for several weeks by two women somewhere near the town.

When the Police search her house, along with others in the area, Suzannah’s not worried: she and her mother Mary have nothing to hide. But no one is more stunned that Suzannah when she is arrested for abduction and imprisonment. She can’t understand how, but the evidence (and there’s a lot of it) seems to overwhelmingly implicate her and her demented mother.

Having only been in town since the start of the year, Suzannah hasn’t made a lot of friends, but the one she thought she could rely on, celebrity PR agent Honor Fielding has become the unofficial guardian for Ellie, managing her interactions with the press, and Honor can’t (or won’t) talk to Suzannah.

Soon enough social media and online press are digging up anything they can about her past life, none of it flattering and, as the tide of public opinion turns against Suzannah, Ellie quickly becomes a media star, very much flavour of the month, an inspiration for teenaged girls claiming control of their lives. As Suzannah awaits a committal hearing, she faces the very real prospect of jail with no idea how this awful situation arose.

This is a cleverly constructed mystery and even the most astute reader will be formulating and then discarding a number of theories before the truth finally begins to crystallise. Narratives from several perspectives, clearly dated, are supplemented by transcripts of dialogue forming a documentary titled Abducted: the Ellie Canning Story.

James populates her novel with a cast of very relatable characters. While many are busy looking out for number one, most temper this with kindness towards others. But when a certain character films something rather than acting on it, readers will be gasping at the utterly calculated selfishness of it. Mary's semi-demented utterances are often hilarious and occasionally quite insightful, and these are not the only instances of humour: much of the dialogue is blackly funny. This retelling of an 18th Century English case is a riveting read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harper Collins Australia.