As Far as You Can Go

by Lesley Glaister

In Lesley Glaister’s spellbinding outback thriller, a young couple’s flight from a cold and dreary English winter traps them in a sunbaked nightmare

For Cassie, the ad in the newspaper is a dream come true. Spending a year managing a farm in western Australia away from everything and everyone she and her commitment-phobic boyfriend, Graham, know could be exactly what he needs to realize it’s time to think about getting married and starting a family.
 
But their fantasy adventure isn’t quite what Cassie imagined. Woolagong, an old sheep station, is on the remote fringes of the desert, where the weather is stifling hot all the time. And the outback is crawling with all manner of lethal creatures. There’s no telephone, no radio, and no electricity—no contact with the outside world. Cassie and Graham send letters home but never receive any in return.
 
And then there are the employers. Larry and his wife, Mara, live a very private life, which includes some peculiar habits. But what most unsettles Cassie and Graham is the distinct feeling that they’re being watched.
 
Filled with menace and a creeping sense of dread, As Far as You Can Go is Lesley Glaister at her spine-chilling best.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Australia, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller, Suspense

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2004

About the author

Novelist Lesley Glaister was born in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England. She grew up in Suffolk, moving to Sheffield with her first husband, where she took a degree with the Open University. She was 'discovered' by the novelist Hilary Mantel when she attended a course given by the Arvon Foundation in 1989. Mantel was so impressed by her writing that she recommended her to her own literary agent.

Lesley Glaister's first novel, Honour Thy Father (1990), won both a Somerset Maugham Award and a Betty Trask Award. Her other novels include Trick or Treat (1991), Limestone and Clay (1993), for which she was awarded the Yorkshire Post Book Award (Yorkshire Author of the Year), Partial Eclipse (1994) and The Private Parts of Women (1996), Now You See Me (2001), the story of the unlikely relationship between Lamb, a former patient in a psychiatric ward, and Doggo, a fugitive on the run from the police, As Far as You Can Go (2004), a psychological drama, in which a young couple, Graham and Cassie, travel to a remote part of Australia to take up a caretaking job, only to be drawn into the dark secrets of their mysterious employers. Nina Todd Has Gone (2007) was another complex psychological thriller. Chosen, a dark and suspenseful book about a woman trying to rescue her brother from a cult, was followed by Little Egypt in 2014. This novel - set in the 20's in Northern England and Egypt, won a Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Award. Her next novel, The Squeeze, published 2017, centres on a relationship between a teenage Romanian sex-worker - a victim of trafficking - and a law-abiding, family man from Oslo. It's an unusual and (of course, twisted!) love story. Because not all love is romantic. In 2020 Blasted Things was published. This one is set just after World War 1 and is about the warping after-effects of a global war on society and on individuals. The two main characters, Clementine and Vincent, both damaged in different ways, must find their way in the post-war period. For them this results in a most peculiar kind of relationship and one that can only end in distaster.

Lesley Glaister lives with her husband in Edinburgh with frequent sojourns in Orkney. She has three sons and teaches Creative Writing at the University or St Andrews. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Reviews

[Lucille · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has there ever been a character named Larry who didn’t turn out to be a complete creep? This was not Glaister’s best effort, but it wasn’t horrible either.

[Icy-Cobwebs-In-Space · Rating 5 out of 5]

REVIEW AS FAR AS YOU CAN GO

Definitely one of the best books of 2014, AS FAR AS YOU CAN GO is a consuming, all-engrossing literary novel which I couldn't put aside till finished. Ms. Kaiser' s approach is amazingly subtle and quiet--but when the momentous events occur--and many there are--their effect is all the more powerful for not being telegraphed.

The characters themselves are amazing. Protagonists Cassie and Graham are truly babes in the woods, very self-focused, so that they overlook all clues that don't seem to directly pertain to them, which means they consistently miss both the Big Picture, and the smaller pictures too. They are incredibly naive, for 21st century adults.

When they temporarily emigrate from England to Western Australia (with eyes wide shut and brains on hold), their lifestyle is immediate barely improved over what England's convicts transplanted to Australia in the 18th century experienced. And their hosts! Larry, Mara, and sidekick & dogsbody Fred are such fully-delineated individuals, they really need a fourth dimension to explain themselves. (Not to exclude the inimitable Ziggy.)

Louise Glaiser demonstrates a powerful mind and an extensive imagination. I will definitely be rereading AS FAR AS YOU CAN GO.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC e-book copy of this title from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first read by Lesley Glaister and I enjoyed it very much. Strong characterization and deep insight into the motivations and inner thoughts of the main characters are enhanced by a tense plot line and a very thorough creation of place. I really felt the dusty isolation and squirmed at the insect onslaught of the deep outback as characters brushed away jewel toned flies, endless swarms of mosquitos and kicked away beetley creatures the size of small birds.

This novel is not for those that want blood drenched wars of attrition between heavily armed adversaries or hard as nails protagonists. This novel is more about manipulation of regular people. Choices. Where we are when a line has been crossed that leads us to a new line... The unexpected discovery of evil and how we react. What we will do to keep what we (have convinced ourselves) need. I found this novel to be compelling yet completely realistic.

4 stars.

[Marian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Lesley Glaister for her creepy psychological drama and cool British vocabulary. For anyone who hasn't read her Trick or Treat, it is worth finding. As Far as You Can Go is another good one -- Cassie takes a job for and her boyfriend Graham in the middle of the Australian outback hoping it will make her boyfriend commit. But as soon as they arrive it seems they are over their heads and trapped in a strange no-man's land. Scary and good, although the end could have been stronger.

[Naomi Longstaff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked up in a charity shop after reading the blurb on the back, although was almost put off by the Independent review on the front cover describing it as ‘an erotic psychological thriller’! There's nothing erotic about it, though it does contain past the watershed elements which readers may find disturbing (or a bit silly!). It reminded me, in a way, of the excellent film 10 Cloverfield Lane in what it was trying to achieve, but sadly only very slightly. However, I did want to read it to the end once I got into it, so not a bad choice overall.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cassie has an interview with Larry for a job in Western Australia. The role involves general housekeeper and carer for Mara, Larry's wife. Cassie's boyfriend, Graham, is part of the deal although he isn't aware of it.

A slow-burn psychological thriller which kept me turning the pages, despite this being my second read. I love the way she writes and her descriptions transported me to the sun-blazed desert on the other side of the world.

I'm surprised and saddened that Lesley Glaister isn't more well-known. She's a top notch author.

[Jye Douthat · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars is probably generous. Although it’s not a book I would normally find myself reaching for it did ultimately keep my attention and I was able to read it quickly. Thrilled writing is difficult but there was enough twists to keep me engaged. Maybe I will read more thrillers now?

[multitaskingmomma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Original Blog Post: eARC Review: As Far as You Can Go by Lesley Glaister

Lesley Glaister pushes both her main characters and the reader As Far As You Can Go in her gripping novel on the unexpected finds in the Australian outback. From the first chapter to the last, there's that niggling feeling at the back of the neck that someone, somehow, is a master puppeteer controlling everything. Who it is may be obvious, but why and how are the questions that make you want to get to the very end of the story. Is everything satisfactorily answered by then? I think that question is better left to you reading this book yourself!

Cassie is unsure of Graham, the king of uncommitted, and needs to prove to herself and him that they can have a decent go on their relationship. She answers an extremely vague ad for a couple willing to move to Australia for a year in the hopes that having him away from distractions would get him to buckle down and be a responsible adult.

Graham, on the other hand, is making his irresponsibility a rebellion of sorts. He doesn't want to do as he is told, doesn't want to carry his weight, so he simply falls back on being useless and lets other people like Cassie and his best friend Jas support him. He's even estranged himself from his parents in an effort not to be adult. Will his childish psyche survive the rigors of the outback or make him crack?

While I've never been to Australia, I've experienced it through books and stories shared by friends and family. The culture is different yet familiar at the same time as I've grown up to tales of characters like the bunyip, read some of the aboriginal stories, and know enough to realize that the bush is far friendlier than the dreaded outback. Yet people live, even thrive in those wild, empty, vast lands where the closest neighbor could be several hundred kilometers away! It's mind blowing for the rest of the world yet normal for people who live Down Under.

This story could well be a movie in the mind, with descriptions so vivid you can almost taste the blood-red dust in your mouth and feel the relentless sun pulling out rivulets of sweat from your body. Heat so strong is could desiccate you (I wonder if the story of the cows and the water tank has some basis in truth?) in a landscape so unusual and colors so vivid that paintings of it would leave you asking if the artist exaggerated it somehow.

The trio that meet Cassie and Graham in Australia are a motley crew, and you wouldn't truly know who manipulates who, although my suspicions did pan out in the end. And for a book with every other chapter talking about sex, somehow it manages to stay in the background and not play a starring role. It's just the people themselves and their interaction in a remote area which provides all the focus.

Lesley Glaister clearly shows her talent as a playwright in As Far As You Can Go, with her style of writing quickly introducing elements so crisp and clear they can just about be heard, smelt, and even felt. The unending sheen of sweat, stifling heat, and sheer feeling of desperation practically rip off the pages. Beautiful.


Note: Copy provided by publisher through NetGalley for an honest review.

[Cathy Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

The remote outback of Australia is a perfect setting for this novel of disquiet and dread. So many of the things that make this region uniquely beautiful are the exact same things that prey on Cassie's and Graham's minds-- poisonous creatures that can be hiding in any nook or cranny, the harsh red rocks and soil that cover everything in layers of dust, the towering gum trees that never seem to provide shade. The heat alone is almost enough to drive them mad because there never seems to be enough water to bathe properly. They never feel clean or cool.

Add to the setting a cast of characters guaranteed to make you nervous. The man who makes grocery deliveries sometimes seems to be a friend, but at other times, he feels more like a foe. Larry, always cool and immaculately turned out, is a superior sort who seems to relish watching Cassie and Graham stumble as they try to acclimate themselves. Larry's wife Mara seems to have some sort of mysterious mental problem and must be kept medicated most of the time. Everything seems determined to keep Cassie and Graham off balance and unsure of themselves.

I didn't really find the storyline surprising, but the book is meticulously plotted and very adept at keeping the reader's sense of unease and dread simmering. Although I did figure out almost everything that was going on, the process of deduction was an enjoyable one albeit detrimental to my opinion of the English couple.

In many ways, As Far As You Can Go can also be considered a character study of Cassie and Graham-- two rather spoiled and self-centered people who are thrown in a situation that is completely beyond anything they could imagine in their wildest dreams. Their strengths and weaknesses are laid bare as they gradually uncover the truth about what's happening at Woolagong, and the story isn't neatly tied up with a little bow at the end. No, at the book's conclusion, the author allows us to speculate on what the future holds for Cassie and Graham-- and I enjoyed letting my imagination fill in the blanks.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Cassie spots a newspaper ad for a couple to relocate to the Western Australian outback to work as housekeepers on a remote station, she thinks it might be the solution she’s been looking for. She wants her boyfriend Graham to grow up and to commit to her and maybe start a family. Spending time alone together might focus him and perhaps get him back to painting. He agrees to go but things don’t work out as anyone could possibly have foretold. Their employers are odd, to say the least, and Graham and Cassie find themselves out of touch with any sort of civilisation and trapped in an increasingly unsettling atmosphere.
I found this a well-paced and well-plotted psychological thriller, with some excellent characterisation and a wonderfully evocative sense of place. I could feel the shimmering heat that pervades the station, see the primitive conditions they encounter and share their growing sense of dread. The couple find themselves constantly off-balance as they try to second-guess what is really happening, and although the reader is usually one step ahead of them, the conclusion is neither predictable nor melodramatic. It’s a compelling and suspenseful read with, for me, just the right amount of horror and tension, nothing too over-the-top, and always keeping (just about) within the bounds of the possible. An excellent read and one which I heartily recommend.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy or what! I loved it. It's quite fun that Cassie and Graham just don't get what's going on - that the reader is always several steps ahead. The end was slightly too sudden but the book overall is well paced and deliciously descriptive. Other readers have said that the Australian outback almost becomes a character in itself - and I agree. Would definitely recommend.

[Polly Krize · Rating 3 out of 5]

A relationship experiment goes drastically wrong as a British couple travels to Australia for a year of discovery. An assortment of mysterious characters make this a mildly suspenseful story, but it seems to miss the mark.

[Bridget Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it; compelling, gripping, evocative

[Chelsea Bridson · Rating 1 out of 5]

As Far as You Can Go was, unfortunately, a huge disappointment for me. I struggled to connect with the story from start to finish, finding it slow, dragged out, and lacking any real substance. There was hardly any plot to keep me engaged, and the narrative felt repetitive and uninspired.

The characters were another letdown. None of them were relatable or well-developed, which made it hard to care about their journeys or decisions. Their actions often felt confusing, and any attempts at character depth seemed to fall flat.

The story itself lacked imagination and was frustratingly predictable. There was no tension or excitement to keep me invested, and the few twists it attempted were underwhelming at best.

The only reason I managed to finish the book was sheer curiosity, but that was more down to my own personality than the quality of the writing. I hoped it might redeem itself in the end, but it never did.

I can’t recommend this book to anyone. It felt like a missed opportunity, with little to offer in terms of engaging storytelling or meaningful themes. Safe to say, this one won’t be staying on my shelf.

[Billy Gunn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of Tea, I started it and all looked good up until chapter 9. A couple up sticks from the UK to experience pastures new, a job offer for Cassie takes her to the deep Outback. Her stereotypical player boyfriend comes with her. An artist with a love of soft drugs and another polar opposite girl down the road behind his full-time girlfriends back.

Cassie takes Graham (the boyfriend) they arrive in Australia and meet with their weird employer Larry. From what I gathered, the couple are there to help around the house, station and help with Larry's oddly ill wife...

It is billed as a thriller, psychological chiller genre book. After 9 chapters I didn't see anything "Scary" or plot twists.

We do however see a lot of Erotic, relationship questioning type stuff. So actually maybe it is a thriller just a different type of thrill?

But I read for a bit of horror/thriller action which doesn't seem to be there.

[Barbara Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it, so so.

I liked this book, read it quickly. I really couldn’t stand the characters though, Larry with good reason. The story was OK but how could Graham and Cassie go along with the whole idea? How were they content with their living quarters? She even found it to be lovely, really? Mara, how weird was she, they all thought it normal that she was in a shed and walked around naked! And the painting of her body just to be smudged? Fred, who has no thumbs yet gave a thumbs up, a fact that was said many times by Cassie, no thumbs.
I had my Echo read it to me for some parts, didn’t realize how many dashes (-) are in the text, Echo said dash as though it was a word.
Do I recommend it, yes but - oh Cassie and Graham had no income yet had a house to come back to. I liked and disliked this book at the same time. Sorry author, I may not read another.

[Stefanie Lozinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have no idea how to rate this. It’s not what I was expecting, that’s for sure, especially the amount of explicit sexual content (which I skipped over, though none of it could be describe as erotic or lust-inducing, it’s horrifying, and some of it plain criminal) On the other hand, this is one of the scariest books I’ve ever read, and I found the writing and characterization itself fantastic. I just didn’t know it was going to be scary. I was expecting The Dry, and was reminded instead of a mixture of Gerald’s Game and the game Firewatch. I felt super unsettled by this whole book, but I tore through it. I think the author accomplished what she set out to do, but “enjoy” is the wrong word describe the experience of reading this.

[Archana Radhakrishnan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a fantastic spooky to the point of scary thriller. I LOVED it.

Loved the way the Australian Outback has been depicted, I almost started experiencing what the main characters were going through themselves in this isolated crazy setting!

Only bone of contention - the ending could have been a lil more firmer and a lil less of the insects' description throughout the book, specially coz it got boring after a while.

Read my full review here
My Review

[James Kester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written!

This book held my interest from the very first pages. The characters so vividly described ,flawed and real. I don't think I have a book similar to this one before. I will most certainly read another book by this author.

[Michelle Josupeit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!

I saw this book on line and went to buy it, & saw I all ready had it in my Kindle library. I read cover to cover because it was that good. My only regret is not realizing I had this novel sooner!

[Angela Rennison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down...loved it

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a real page-turner, with a hint of menace running through it.

[John Travers · Rating 3 out of 5]

bit douglas kennedy...

[Connor Wallace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very atmospheric but too slowly paced - about 150 pages too long and a very predictable payoff that seemed obvious from the start

[Patriciagoodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Lesley Glaister read & m on my 2nd already! Really enjoyed this. The plot quite plausible and sufficiently different. Held me throughout, & that takes some doing!!

[Tansy Hepton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read, interesting premise and atmospheric although I didn't warm to any of the characters really - would they be that naive?

[Michael meadows · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ehhhh.

[aprilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Barely OK so 2 stars fits, but nearly drove me to drink. Glad it's over.

[Zeb Kantrowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cassie and Graham are both at dead end jobs and their relationship isn’t going anywhere. Graham is a painter but for the last year or so he’s done nothing. Cassie answers an advert for housekeeper/companions (a couple) in a rural location. When Cassie meets with the advertiser her tells her that he owns a sheep ranch in the outback of Western Australia. The couple he is looking for must be self-sufficient and looking for an adventure. They will be expected to cook, clean, garden and do personal care duty.

Cassie feels it’s the perfect opportunity for her and Graham to get away from everything that’s wrong with their relationship and start anew. There is one proviso, they won’t be paid if they stay for less than one year. Cassie figures that the year away will bring them closer together and give Graham the chance to concentrate on his painting.

When they arrive at the Woolagong Station, after twenty-three hours of travel, Cassie finds out that everything isn’t what Larry said it was. The station is on the edge of the desert, it’s run down without a phone, radio or television or internet. There’s no running water or bathroom. The Station itself looks as if it hasn’t been active in years. Their nearest neighbor (Fred) is a quirky sort and his place is forty miles away.

Larry’s wife Mara lives in a room in a shed where he keeps her sedated most of the time. Larry tells Cassie that his wife can be violent and that as a Doctor he prescribes her medication to keep her docile. The main house where Larry lives is off limits to Cassie and Gray except for the kitchen where cooking is done on an old style stove. The Station is so isolated that they have nowhere to go when they’re not working. The hot Australian sun can burn you in a short time if you are caught out in it without water and sunscreen.

When cleaning under the sink, Cassie finds a set of three keys. She figures that they have to be for the ‘private side’ of the Station. Larry goes off with Fred on a shopping expedition, leaving Cassie to care for Mara. Cassie confuses Mara’s medication and Mara who is less befuddled than normal tells her stories that convince her to use the keys she found. Opening up the door to Larry’s study she finds rooms with an internet connection and closed circuit TV.

Larry has been watching (and taping) Cassie and Gray. She also finds tapes of the previous couple who stayed at the Station. Most confusing she finds a bathroom with a shower/tub and toilet. What is Larry’s end game? The story is a cross between Stephen King and Alfred Hitchcock. There are all the twists and turns of a great thriller, good read.

Zeb Kantrowitz zworstblog.blogspot.com

[Terra Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Far As You Can Go by Lesley Glaister is a desolate thriller set in the Australian Outback. Cassie feels like something needs to change between her and Graham, her boyfriend of three years. He randomly goes off and she has suspected him of wandering a time or two. When she sees the ad looking for a couple to go to the Australian Outback she decides this will be the test. Just the two of them in the desert to see if they can make it or if it be the end of them.

The job entails living in the remote edges of the Outback and helping to take care of of the mentally unstable Mara as well as cook and clean for her husband Larry. At first it's just the distance that's hard, there are no phones, no email, no way to contact their family. Cassie longs to share information with her twin sister Patty so she begins to write her letters in the hopes that the next time the neighbour Fred comes by he will take the letters into town and post them.

No letters come back though, and desperate for some sort of conversation she begins to turn to Larry who has impressed her with his kindness towards his wife. Cassie begins to feel like she's being watched even when she's alone. She begins to get lethargic and blames it on the sun. The one bonus is that Cassie and Graham have exposed their secrets and are now working towards something.

Then the strange turns into stranger and Cassie and Graham find themselves torn as they attempt to unravel the mystery and debate about running. But where do you run to when you are trapped in the middle of no where?

I really enjoyed this book! I read it in two days actually and was immediately drawn into the tense prose and the dark desolation of it. I loved the detail that was used to describe the Australian Outback and it's barren beauty. I did begin to wonder why the English don't just buy cigarettes the way we do here with filters and pre rolled but I went along with it.

The action was slow to build but it made sense, you were always waiting for the next twist and turn that the novel would throw at you. However, what I didn't like was the end. It was .... too neat and yet gave no real details of how the characters were dealing with the aftermath of what they had been doing.