You’ll Never Find Me

Judges' comments

Indianna Bell has written a strong, disciplined and assured psychological thriller that explores the erosion of a criminally violent mind. Set in an isolated caravan park on an endlessly stormy night, a hermit-like man receives a knock on his trailer door. He opens it to find a young woman soaked through and seeking shelter from the rain. So begins a cat-and-mouse revenge film which plays upon the well-trodden horror trope of young, female murder victims.

The claustrophobia of the tight, one-bedroomed caravan requires a deft hand and multiple creative turns that keep the two characters locked into their mysterious psychological and locational connection. Bell focuses the reader’s attention upon the tension and manipulations of the present timeline while also weaving in inexplicable flashes of horrific unreliable memory. The effect is to destabilise the reader’s foundational expectations of the tropes. This is a strong debut from a writer who clearly cares for the horror genre and has something to say.