About the Author

J.P. POMARE is an award-winning author whose debut novel, Call Me Evie (2018), won the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best First Novel. In the Clearing (2019) was made into a Disney+ Original Series, The Clearing, while Tell Me Lies (2020) was a #1 Audible bestseller and was shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel and the Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction. The Last Guests (2021) was critically acclaimed and made into a Stan Original TV series, Watching You. His fifth book, The Wrong Woman (2022), was a top-ten bestseller and was highly acclaimed, as was Home Before Night (2023). 17 Years Later (2024) was shortlisted for both the 2025 Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction and the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel, and is currently being adapted for the screen. The Gambler is his eighth novel. J.P. Pomare was born in New Zealand and lives in Melbourne with his wife and daughter.

Reviews

This is a chillingly superb novel. It is a thriller, cleverly plotted, and will have you likely reading it in one sitting.
*NATIONAL [PRINT] REVIEW, The Weekly Times, [AUDIENCE: 50,808, ASR: 3,789]*

review to come.
*[ONLINE] INCLUSION, Pedestrian ‘Summer Reads’ special*

inclusion to come.
*[ONLINE] INCLUSION, Assembly Label ‘Summer Reads’*

review to come.
*[ONLINE] REVIEW, Newtown Review of Books*

inclusion to come.
*QLD [PRINT] REVIEW, Noosa Style Magazine*

Some startling surprises towards the end and a dark, thoughtful conclusion with keep you frantically turning the pages.
*ACT [PRINT], Review, Canberra Weekly, [AUDIENCE: 43,073, ASR: AUD 260]*

A twisty tale full of suspense and mystery.
*NATIONAL [PRINT], New Idea, [AUDIENCE: 211,855, ASR: AUD 7,821]*

Pomare's use of news reports and court testimony serves to add credibility to what is an incredible plot, full of false leads, misdirection and lies.
*QLD [PRINT] COURIER MAIL, [AUDIENCE: 166,502, ASR: AUD 2,227]*

The acclaimed author of Call Me Evie and In the Clearing returns with this twisty psychological thriller [...]
*WA, The West Australian (Saturday edition), [AUDIENCE: 205,782, ASR: AUD 564]*

A whodunit with a limited number of possibilities that encourages the reader to guess between a handful of possibilities.
*VIC [PRINT], Herald Sun, [AUDIENCE: 306,571, ASR: AUD 4,872]*

It is a deliciously tight and twisty tale that is guaranteed to keep you turning the pages into the wee hours.
*NATIONAL [PRINT], Good Reading Magazine, [AUDIENCE: 8,000, ASR: AUD 1,158]*

Tell Me Lies is a fastpaced, mystery thriller by Melbourne-based Kiwi author JP Pomare.
*NATIONAL [PRINT], The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, [AUDIENCE: 144,211, ASR: AUD 12,289]*

New Zealand-born award-winning author J.P. Pomare spins another intriguing tale in his latest thriller.
*NATIONAL [PRINT], Reader's Digest, [AUDIENCE: 200,104, ASR: AUD 5,717]*

A BRAND new fast-paced psychological thriller from the new master of the genre from the author of Call Me Evie.
*VIC [PRINT], Sunraysia Daily, [AUDIENCE: 7,268, ASR: AUD 450]*

Some startling surprises towards the end and a dark, thoughtful conclusion with keep you frantically turning the pages.
*ACT [PRINT] Canberra Weekly [AUDIENCE: 43,073, ASR: 481]*