Canadian model Makedde Vanderwall arrives in Australia for a shoot. Her hopes of catching up with her best friend and fellow model die the instant Mak stumbles upon said friend’s mutilated corpse. The local police, in the form of Detective Andy Flynn, suspect this killing to be the work of a serial killer with a deadly fetish. As a cop’s daughter, Mak is no stranger to the legal process; still, she finds herself frustrated with Flynn’s refusal to either discuss or involve her in the case.

Unable to bear this, Mak decides to do some investigating on her own, and her primary suspect is her dead friend’s secret lover. Meanwhile, Mak finds herself ever more attracted to Andy, who is undergoing a turbulent divorce. Immersed in all of this, Mak realizes just a bit too late that she is well and truly caught in the serial killer’s devious web as he has been drawing ever closer to her. Who is this deviant ,and will Mak escape him when no other victim has?

Tara Moss, a top Australian model/author, makes her US debut with a spine-chilling story in Fetish. A gorier than the usual romance but not as violent as true crime, Moss’ debut novel befits the growing genre of romantic thriller. It smoothly weaves the diverse elements of romance and sex with deadly danger and police procedures to make a suspenseful story. Moss’ description of the local color is naturally authentic, but the local Aussie slang as used by Andy’s colleague, Detective Cassimatis, is almost incomprehensible at times.

Moss expertly keeps the readers in a well-maintained suspense as to the killer’s true identity with a variety of quick and deadly plot twists. However, the romance between Mak and Andy springs up a bit too suddenly to be altogether believable and works out too conveniently plot-wise. The overall feel of the novel is that it is somewhat raw and confusing, with various sidetracks that don’t always lead anywhere. Still its effectiveness and potential are undeniable.