Quick Review – On the Edge by Kate Horan

Publisher: HQ (Trade Paperback – 1 January 2026)

Series: Standalone

Length: 372 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Get ready for one of the more compelling pieces of Australian crime fiction released earlier this year, the powerful and twisty On the Edge by Kate Horan.

Plot Synopsis:

Desperate people do desperate things…

Sixteen years ago, teenage Maddie Marshall’s body was found on a desolate beach near her hometown, Carrinya. Vibrant, feisty Maddie was the only daughter of a high-profile politician. The case was the talk of the town but was ultimately never solved.

Nel Foley, daughter of the town doctor and Maddie’s best friend, was the last known person to see her alive, and the Carrinya rumour mill was vicious. Nel fled the town and has never been back. Until now.

Now a 32-year-old city GP, Nel returns after her father’s sudden death, determined to get in and out as quickly as possible. Begrudgingly, she agrees to run his clinic for a few weeks, but during that time she meets local mum Sophie Warner and that changes everything.

Sophie’s husband Ryan, a prominent local real estate agent, was Maddie’s boyfriend and Nel is certain he played a role in her death. When Nel discovers that Ryan is not the loving husband and father that he seems, she decides she must prove what he did all those years ago. But as she starts to unravel the past, she discovers the truth is far more complex than she could have imagined.

A twisty, suspenseful mystery about the desperate things people do when they’re on the edge.

On the Edge was an excellent and intense read from rising Australian author Kate Horan, which was a great early highlight of the 2026 reading year. The second book from Horan following her debut The Inheritance, On the Edge was an interesting take on the classic small-town Australian crime fiction novel, which took its mystery in some outstanding directions.

A lot of elements of On the Edge will be familiar to fans of Australian fiction, with a protagonist forced to return to their hometown after leaving years ago in the aftermath of a dark event, in this case the suspicious death of protagonist Nel’s best friend, Maddie. Horan does an excellent job of introducing Nel and showcasing her trauma at returning, with some flashback sequences adding in some extra context. Naturally, Nel takes the chance to start her own investigation into the historic crime thanks to new evidence recovered from her dead father’s files.

While there are some familiar story beats to On the Edge’s initial plot, Horan makes this format her own thanks to her use of the secondary protagonist Sophie. The wife of Ryan, the obvious suspect to Maddie’s murder, Sophie spends most of the book dealing with Ryan’s domestic abuse, while also being haunted by the secrets from her past. This provides a great alternate perspective to the narrative, which helps to make On the Edge really stand out, especially with some well-placed reveals. Horan uses many of these story elements to drive up the book’s drama, with Nel forced to confront her family’s feelings and the scorn of the town, while Sophie works to escape her husband, and this personal struggle adds to the desperation to find the truth.

Everything perfectly leads up to the big finale for On the Edge, which I think was the strongest part of the entire book. Horan came up with a very impressive twist around Sophie, which was honestly the narrative highlight of the entire story, and I was very impressed with how well the author set it up. I did think that Horan perhaps went a twist too far after this big reveal, especially with the timing and location of the final revelation, but it was still an interesting inclusion that had the appropriate build behind it. Horan wraps this up with some relatable happy endings, which was honestly needed after some of the darker elements of the book.

This was an impressive piece of Australian fiction from Horan, who produced a fantastic story of desperation, historical trauma and murder. The use of the alternating perspectives from two women caught at opposing ends of the mystery was a true highlight, and I appreciated how effectively the author layered the clues to all the reviews in both their storylines. Horan also expertly built up the alternating personal issues from both protagonists, and their struggles melded well with the overarching hunt for the truth. On top of that, Horan also captured some of the true lows of family domestic violence in small-town Australia, which unsurprisingly is becoming a recurring theme in Australian crime fiction. Throw in some great depictions of small-town Australia and the struggles associated with them, including a unique perspective from a local doctor, and this was a deeply compelling read that really highlighted Horan’s abilities as an author.

Overall, On the Edge was a great second novel from Kate Horan, and one that I’m glad I picked up. Featuring a brilliant story loaded with impressive twists and turns, as well as some complex character-driven narratives, On the Edge was one of the stronger Australian set novels from the first half of 2026, and I look forward from reading more from Horan in the future.

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