Signs of Damage

‘One thing's for certain: The truth will come out, even if it's only those truths its characters choose to believe. Let the book club debates begin!’ —ABC Arts

It was as if the present and the past were linked: a spider’s web, wherein a shock to one strand could make the whole structure shake.

The Kelly family’s idyllic holiday in the south of France is disturbed when Cass, a thirteen-year-old girl, goes missing. She’s discovered several hours later with no visible signs of injury. Everyone present dismisses the incident as a close brush with tragedy.

Sixteen years later, at a funeral for a member of the Kelly family, Cass collapses. The present and the past start to collide as buried secrets come to light and old doubts resurface. What really happened to Cass in the south of France? And what’s wrong with her now?

A gripping tale of unravelling memories and moral ambiguities, Signs of Damage wrestles with the difference between understanding other people, and trying to explain them.

Praise for Signs of Damage:

‘Meanwhile, for various reasons, a younger generation of Australian authors has found it difficult to establish themselves. Diana Reid bucks this trend through intelligence, stylistic elan and a rare competence with narrative.’ — The Saturday Paper (Best Books of 2025)

‘Eloquent and arresting prose and tender insights. It is unsurprising that Reid is a rising name on the literary landscape.’ — The Daily Telegraph

‘The writing is taut, the mysteries abundant, and the trauma plot deftly handled and subtly subverted, in a book whose pages turn themselves.’ — The Guardian

‘A page-turning book that is hard to put down.’ — The Australian

‘As with Diana Reid's debut Love & Virtue, Signs of Damage delves into questions of trauma, memory, friendship and what it means to have your story told by someone else. A page-turner that will give book clubs plenty to discuss.’ — Sydney Morning Herald

‘The third offering from this talented Aussie author is already generating a lot of buzz and for good reason - it's as thrilling as her debut, Love & Virtue.’ — Woman's Day

‘An engaging read.’ — Artshub

‘A triumphant return for a home-grown talent.’ — Australian Women's Weekly

‘An engrossing, meticulously crafted drama.’ — Books+Publishing

Praise for Love & Virtue:

‘An absolute cracker, Love & Virtue lobs right into the current moment with a clarifying light. I hope EVERYONE reads this book.’ —Helen Garner, author of The First Stone and The Spare Room

‘Loved it … It’s electrifying.’ —Annabel Crabb

‘I inhaled it … an amazing book.’ —Mia Freedman

Praise for Seeing Other People:

‘This! Was! So! Good! ... Diana Reid you are in a total league of your own.’ —Zara McDonald, Shameless Podcast

‘Seeing Other People will be the book of the summer.’ — PedestrianTV

‘An extraordinary new voice in Aussie lit.’ —Zoë Foster Blake, author of The Wrong Girl and Textbook Romance