Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

 

I'm not sure I get the reference to the title but I did like the book.  The driving part of the plot starts when Joy Delaney  disappears and her adult children report her missing to the police.

Joy is 69 years old and never out of touch with her family.  She and her husband Stan have a wonderful marriage and are always outwardly affectionate and happy.  So why doesn't Stan report his wife missing after an argument they had? 

Their adult children Troy, Amy, Logan and Brooke meet up have very differing opinions about what they should do about their missing mother.  The character development is well done.  The differences in the children are like night and day and I enjoyed getting to know each of them.

If your mother was missing and her phone was found at home, your father had scratches on his face and it was known they had an fight - what would you do? What would you think?  There is another factor added into the story which complicates things - a young woman named Savannah shows up at the Delaney home late one night.  She has an injury to her face and says her boyfriend hurt her. She stopped and knocked on their door at random, seeking help. As she becomes part of the Delaney's life prior to Joy disappearing, you will wonder if Savannah is more than she seems.

This story has many layers and each unfolds, you glean a better understanding of every characters' fears and hopes.

I still don't understand the apples and the abandoned bicycle or the random man who picked up the bike.  Doesn't matter in the long run but it was puzzling to start the book this way.

The Silence by Susan Allott

 

You will experience the severe stifling heat of Australia and a bit of damp, cloudy England in this novel.

The characters are very real, the dialogue rings true with marital problems, tensions of a horrible job, unrealistic expectations and secrets.  Sounds like a bummer but you will love and hate on the characters and want to know what happened in their lives.

The story shifts from 1967 to 1997, back and forth.  The main narrator is Isla Green.  She is 6 years old in 1967 and loves living in her Australian home.  She adores her father. She thought everyone had a house with a backyard stretching to the ocean. Her parents are Joe and Louisa Green, both English but have moved to Australia to start a new life.  Trouble is,  Louisa doesn’t love it.  She misses England and hates the heat but I suspect her biggest problem is an alcoholic husband.

Next door are Mandy and Steve Mallory.  Isla spends quite a bit of time with Mandy and loves her.  Steve wants Mandy to get pregnant but both parties have different ideas about their future together. Steve has a horrible job as a policeman who removes aboriginal children from their families, placing them at The Home where they will be fostered and eventully learn a trade.

In 1967 women didn’t have joint accounts at the bank and have access to their husband’s  earnings. It was a different world and this makes it harder for Louisa and Mandy to make life altering decisions.

The genre is mystery, thriller, suspense and crime drama. Please read the author’s note at the end of the book. She details how the novel came about as well as her educational reading about Britain’s relationship with Australia and the colonial past.

Thinking of Steve Mallory’s police duties I would suggest watching the film Rabbit Proof Fence. It’s worthwhile.  It details a dark time when Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families to be trained and educated, placed in horific foster care and made servants.  But in Rabbit Proof Fence two sisters escape.

Be prepared to read this one straight through. Would I buy more by this author?  Oh, absolutely.  This is Allott’s first novel and I will preorder her next publication as soon as it’s an option.

Susan Allott is an English author who has lived in London and Australia. To read more about the author click HERE .

Sharing with

Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the 2022 Historical Fiction Challenge.

A Little Bird by Wendy James

 

Josephine "Jo" Sharpe is our main narrator in this Australian novel.  She returns home to the backwater town Arthurville with a bit of reluctance because of her family's past and also to help her father as he is in poor health. 

Mick doesn't blink an eye when Jo arrives at the unkempt home desite the fact that they haven't spoken for over two years. They rarely commmunicate and yet they coexist and skirt the big issue about her mother and baby sister disappearing over 20 years ago.

Jo was a journalist in a large city and her new job at The Chronicle has her writing fluff material such as the grandparent's day gathering and who won first prize for their crafting assignments. In the dilapidated newspaper office she comes across old newspaper clippings with a gossip column called The Little Bird.  Eventually Jo discovers her mother had a hand in this anonymous column which shared salacious community information such as who may be having an affair or who may have dented the fences in front of the drug store, all without naming names of course.  

There are multiple narrators in this story and you will be taken back to the 1990's when Jo's mother Merry up and leaves with the baby Amy. Merry was from a weathy family and was destined for university in Sydney until she ran into Mick one day.  Mick is/was a working class man who would never have crossed paths with Merry in any social setting.  As it worked out, Merry became pregnant and all the big plans went up in smoke. Her family was....displeased.

You will go back and forth between the two time lines, mysteries are revealed and finally by the end of the book you'll discover what happened to baby Amy and Jo's young mother.

Overall it was a decent read but a bit slow here and there.  I was wanting more atmospheric details about the Australian setting but there is little of that.  There is the occasional mention of the extreme heat and dusty roads but that's it.

Publication date November 30, 2021 by Lake Union Publishing.  Genre: General Fiction and Women's Fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book.  I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine. 

A Note From the Publisher:

Wendy James is Australia’s queen of the domestic thriller. She is the author of nine novels, including An Accusation, The Golden Child―short-listed for the 2017 Ned Kelly Award―and the bestselling The Mistake. Her debut novel, Out of the Silence, won the 2006 Ned Kelly Award for first crime novel and was short-listed for the Nita May Dobbie Award for women’s writing. Wendy has a PhD from the University of New England, and she works as an editor, teacher, and researcher. She writes some of the sharpest, most topical domestic noir in the country.

Sharing with Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the 2021 Historical Fiction Challenge.

Under the Golden Sun by Jenny Ashcroft

 

This historical novel transported me to Ilfracombe and London England, Malaysia and Australia. I will say I enjoyed every bit about this novel from the travel, the character development, the WW II setting and the heartwarming storyline.

The story begins in March of 1941 with our main character Rose headed to London to meet her family for her twenty-fifth birthday. Her parents are in Ceylon but she expects to see her Uncle Lionel and brother Joe.  The war time shortages are apparent with descriptions of mock eggs and chocolate cake.  The cake had prunes and beetroot but when the nation is rationing you celebrate how you can.

Rose is still experiencing grief from a loss and her American fiance Xander isn't exactly the epitome of loving support.  Reading a discarded newspaper on her train to London, Rose, on the spur of the moment, answers an advertisement regarding a young boy who is need of a chaperone to Australia.  Walter aged four is a lonely but bright little fellow and you'll fall in love with him. Rose goes to the house in London to meet the child and this dramatically changes her life. Walter's mother was from Australia and was recently killed in an accident.  

The ship voyage, the strengthening bond between Rosie and Walter and the new family in Australia had me riveted. I loved this book and actually hope the author will add a second book to follow up.  I don't want to see these characters go away! The storyline could be picked up with Rose's life, I'd love to know what happens to Walter and so much more.

Publication date March 15, 2022 by St Martin's Press.  Genre: Historical Fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book.  I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine.

Sharing with Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the 2021 Historical Fiction challenge and Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline

 

This historical fiction starts off in nineteenth century London giving us a glimpse of the good and bad in society. Two of our main characters, Evangeline and Hazel,  are exiled to prison in Tasmania or as it's refered to in the book, Van Dieman's land.  

Evangeline is an educated woman employed as a governess in an affluent household.  She is an innocent and when the adult son takes a liking to her, she is easily seduced in believing it's true love.  He gifts her an expensive ruby ring before going away on a holiday, telling her to keep the gift a secret. As you can imagine, she is "caught" with the ring, accused of stealing and sent to prison. Can it get worse?  Yes. Yes it can. Evangeline finds she is pregnant while awaiting her court date.  Her sentence is transporation and she is sent to a prison in Tasmania.

On the ship she meets Hazel, a very young woman who knows a good deal about natural medicine and midwifery.  Hazel was accused to stealing a silver spoon and for that, she is also sentenced to transportation. They form a friendship and take care of one another. Hazel learns to read as Evangeline teaches her during their time together. Eventually she is able to assist the ship's doctor with other pregnant prisoners and minor ailments.

Our other main character is a nine year old aboriginal girl named Mathinna.  She lives with a group of extended fanily on Flinders island as the aboriginals were exiled there with promises of a better life. This is a heartbreaker of a story.  The Governor's wife fancies the looks of Mathinna and takes her from all she knows to "become civilized" in their household.  She is a toy, a pet, to the the woman who only cares about parading her about to friends to show Mathinna can dance and learn to speak French. It's despicable.

She doesn't fit in with the white culture and they've stripped her of her connections with her heritage. 

The fates of the young women in this book could be explored further and I wish the author had done so. While it wrapped up sufficiently, I would have rather the book were longer and more detail about the character's fates and conditions on Van Dieman's land. More of Mathinna in later life would have been good as well.

Sharing with Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the Historical Fiction Challenge.

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

The Good Sister is a twisty story about twins who have an unconventional upbringing. They are devoted to one another and you'll learn more about their relationship through journals as written by Rose. Fern is the sister who is completely dependent on Rose yet is quite a capable young woman, one who doesn't realize her potential and abilities.  

Fern is so likeable but there is something a bit off about her.  She has a keen mind for detail and a practical way of examining a situation.  Black and white with no gray area, as an engineer, socially awkward yet confident.

Rose appears to have her life together, has a lovely home and clearly takes care of Fern. Still, Rose's husband has left her and she wants to have a baby.  Right from the beginning you will see how Rose manipulates Fern, steers her a particular direction  so it seems it's Fern's idea. 

We read about the childhood experiences she and Fern endure through her journals and their mother is not kind.  It's a dysfunctional family drama with hints of the ending  surfacing early on in the book.  Still, it's well written and I wasn't tempted to put it aside. The sister with the dark side is gradually developed in this story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced readers copy of this book.  I was not compensated for the review and opinions are all mine.  This book will  be published 13 April 2021.

Genre is mystery and thriller/women's fiction.

 Sally Hepworth is an Australian author who lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Force of Nature by Jane Harper

“When five colleagues are forced to go on a corporate retreat in the wilderness, they reluctantly pick up their backpacks and start walking down the muddy path.

But one of the women doesn’t come out of the woods. And each of her companions tells a slightly different story about what happened.”(From the book jacket)
The men and women are separated and they are meant to come of the wilderness at the same meet up point. This is supposed to be a team-building event with the Bailey’s company and I can say for sure, I’m certainly glad I have never been forced to participate in such an exercise. The women are so very different from one another, some with secrets and some vying for the alpha role once they are lost.

“Later, the four remaining women could fully agree on only two things. One: No one saw the bushland swallow up Alice Russell. And two: Alice had a mean streak so sharp it could cut you.”

Alice was a real can of worms. I did not have this figured out early at all so this was quite a good read for me.  On their own in the bushland it’s easy to panic. “It’s the panic that gets you. Makes it hard to trust what you’re seeing.”

The weather plays a big part in this story. It’s freezing cold, it rains, it makes it miserable for search parties looking for Alice. The isolation the women feel is clearly conveyed as you read about their part of the story.

“Jill sometimes thought that in another time and place, she and Alice might have been friends. At other times, she thought not. Being around Alice was like owning an aggressive breed of dog. Loyal when it suited, but you had to stay on your toes.”

Food and wine weren’t mentioned much but there was this:
Beef stew made by the campfire. “A kookaburra perched nearby, watching Beth with her black eyes. Beth picked up a strip of beef from one of the abandoned packets and tossed it toward the bird, who scooped it up with the tip of her beak.”
I didn’t know they ate meat!

Aaron made dinner for Carmen. Spaghetti Bolognese and red wine. Sauce was from scratch too. So I had thought of making the spaghetti dish but we had Linguine Pompeii so, that’s the representative dish.

This is the second book in the series starring Federal Agent Aaron Falk and I sincerely hope there will be many more stories to follow. He’s a law enforcement with the specialty in financial crimes.

He used to be SWAT, a bad ass cop who busted in and arrested the bad guys. One time his team went in and a malnourished old man was sitting in a tattered chair. There was graffiti on his walls, there was a drug kitchen set up and thugs living in his home. The man thought one of the criminals was his grandson. Dementia was setting in and these guys took full advantage of it.  Aaron realized later all this could have been caught with a look at his financial records, bank statements and charges.

It goes way beyond that too – follow the money trail and you find more than small drug operations. Prostitution, pornography, large scale drug operations. Follow the money. Falk was following up on contracts Alice was meant to get from the company.

I liked The Dry better than this one but I will happily read another starring Federal Agent Falk.

The Dry by Jane Harper

 The Dry.  It starts with a funeral and a mystery of how Aaron Falk is connected to the deceased.  Three coffins are displayed in the front of the church.  Lying dead is Aaron’s friend Luke along with Luke’s wife and young son, Karen and Billy.   Luke and his family were murdered and it looks like it was murder-suicide.  Luke was found with half his head blown off, his shotgun next to him in his truck.  His wife and son were also shot but the baby, Charlotte, was left untouched. Is this situation what it appears or is there another explanation and motive?

As Aaron Falk stands against the wall in the church, some of the close knit community give him hard looks and I’m immediately hooked to know the backstory. Aaron is now a federal police officer, one who investigates financial crimes.  Aaron and his father were basically run out of the community almost 20 years ago as it was suspected one (or both) had something to do with a young woman’s death.

Aaron didn’t come back just to pay respects to his friend but because Luke’s father summoned him with a message. “Luke lied. You lied.” This is in reference to their alibi the day Ellie Deacon was found dead.

So you see, there are two stories intertwined in this mystery.  Luke and his family and young Ellie Deacon.  Aaron Falk was meant to stay only 24 hours, enough time to see his friend buried and head back to Melbourne but Luke’s father implores him to look into his son’s suicide and murder. Even though 20 years have passed since Ellie was found dead it seems as if it happened only a week ago, as far as some townspeople are concerned.  These mysteries dovetail into a satisfying end, in my opinion.  I’m a big fan of series so I will add this to the series I plan to immerse myself into this coming year.

The writing was very detailed, I could immerse myself into the story and see what was being described.  The author painted a picture of the harsh environment and climate, the relationships both warm and those tense.  So many passages I liked in this book.

“City people wanted to move to the country but weren’t prepared to look out and not see another soul between them and the horizon.”

“He could understand them seeking out the idyllic country life style; a lot of people did.  The idea had an enticing wholesome glow when it was considered from the back of a traffic jam or while crowed into a gardenless apartment.  They all had the same visions of breathing fresh., clean air and knowing their neighbors. The kids would eat homegrown veggies and learn the value of an honest day’s work.

But on arrival, as the empty moving truck disappears, they gazed around and were always taken aback by the crushing vastness of the open land.  The space was the thing that hit them first, there was so much of it.”

One of my favorite authors and I will buy anything Jane Harper publishes.

Scrublands by Chris Hammer

 

I’ll say straight away that I liked this book and would read more by this author. There were a few things that I didn’t care for but overall, what a great plot. Anyone can read from the book cover/descriptor the story of a priest who guns down 5 men in front of his church. The journalist, Martin Scarsden, arrives in town to report on how the residents are coping a year after the tragedy. Martin is suffering from PTSD after an incident in the Gaza strip, his editor sending him out on this story to give him a chance to get back in the journo game. Why would an admired priest turn killer?

Best I can describe the way the story unfolds is to think of a nesting doll. There are layers and layers of stories that intertwine, the residents’ dark secrets, the greed, guilt and love and motivations of the characters. There are multiple crimes that are revealed in this investigative journalist’s report.
Some of the character names are a hoot – you have Harley Snouch and Mandalay “Mandy” Blonde who are supporting characters.

I’m learned about bush fires in the Scrubland, how they work, quite different from a house fire. Smoke inhalation gets you in a house fire but a bushfire flat out cooks you. This was addressed in another Australian book I enjoyed, Jane Harper’s debut book The Dry. The scenery described is almost apocalyptic, the land has a harshness and character of its own.

What I didn’t care for was how the character Codger Harris was introduced. He’s waaaay out in the Scrubland where it’s dry and extremely hot. When Martin arrives at Codger’s dilapidated house he finds the old man inside, naked and masturbating. Sorry but that part just didn’t fit into the story, it didn’t blend and it was an unnecessary detail to introduce us to Codger. It was established how unbearably hot it is, so much so that Codger didn’t wear clothes in this isolated part of the scrubland. By the way, he is an integral part of this story and has his own interesting past which dovetails with the ending.

Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

The beginning of this book starts with an except of a poem

by Dorothea Mackeller:

I love a Sunburnt Country, 

A land of sweeping plains, 

Of ragged mountain ranges, 

Of droughts and flooding plains.

Bill Bryson is an entertaining, witty author of nonfiction books.  In my longing for travel I read about other countries.  Armchair traveling.  That works right now.  I have a few of his other books on the to-read shelf.

Stories I liked: There was a landowner, Thomas Austin  who released 24 wild rabbits to hunt. Those rabbits bred, naturally, causing a devastating  effect on the country, eating their way through everything. The history of how two dozen rabbits became 3 million and what carnage they caused was incredible.


Reading about the Aboriginal artwork was interesting to me as well. "Imagine if there were some people in France who could take you to the caves in Lascaux and explain in detail the significance of the paintings.  Why the bison was bolting from the the herd, what the three wavy lines mean - because it was as fresh and sensible to them as if it were done yesterday. Well, Aboriginals can do that.  It is an unparallelled achievement, scarely appreciated.  That is worth a mention here."

I liked reading about the Aboriginal art but was saddened to read about their treatment hundreds of years ago as well as this century.

Creatures! The many toxic poisonous creatures that live in Australia gobsmacked me.  All in one place on earth, how did they develop such dangerous levels of venom?! Also, the saltwater crocodile stories were very interesting.

Stories that could have been cut short:  At the one third mark in this narrative I found his comedic writing amusing but could tell I wasn't going to get the history lesson I desired. The side stories of his escapades such as running from dogs he never saw and a long winded explanation of how all dogs universally  despise him went on a bit long.

The explanation of cricket was meant to be funny but it wore thin fast.  It would have been interesting to read how they actually played the game.

Overall it was a good book and kept my interest for most of the 305 pages.  I had previously enjoyed his book about England, Notes from a Small Island, tempered with reservations about his behavior there. 

Would I read more by Bryson?  Maybe. I have a few books planned for camping trips and will leave them for others at the campground library.

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

This was my first book by author Kate Morton and I enjoyed it very much. I’ve referred to it as a written form of Downton Abbey as a form of comparison. But I didn’t like Downton Abbey when I tried watching a few episodes from the first season. Funny how much I enjoyed this book as some of the subject matter mirrors that show. 

Grace is the narrator of this story, a proverbial fly on the wall at a great estate, watching and listening to the upper class as their lives unfold. Grace starts telling the story of her service at Riverton, starting when she was 14 years of age. In the present, Grace is 99 years old but as she describes her service and the servants she worked among you are swept into the past. Mr. Hamilton, Mrs. Townend, Nancy and Alfred all take on a life and I found myself picturing them quite vividly. The children of the estate – David, Hannah and Emmeline – are the beautiful upper class, destined for brilliant futures. 

While the plot is unfolding and giving away what will happen in the future, I still found myself wishing for different outcomes.


*SPOILER ALERT* Then scroll down for the food! 

Grace talks to Ursula, the producer of the movie about Riverton, and tells her she never married Alfred. Then later in the story as Grace recounts Alfred’s courtship I still found myself pulling for them to become a couple. But I knew that wouldn’t happen because 99 year old Grace stated it didn’t happen. She also mused about what happened to Hannah’s marriage to Teddy (this was before Hannah was engaged to Teddy). Even though old Grace as the narrator gave away some of the plot there were still some twist when you read about the courtship of her and Alfred, and the interactions of Hannah and Teddy as well as a big fat surprise (for me) at the end of the book. 

The poet who took his life by the lake at Riverton was mentioned from the very beginning but the circumstances and the truth was not revealed until the few last chapters. There is food mentioned here and there throughout the book but it isn’t a food-centric novel. A few that jumped out at me, and made me hungry, were these three passages: 

Sylvia has brought me a cup of steaming tea and slice of lemon cake. 

Watched with wonder as after course of splendid fare disappeared up the chute (dumbwaiter) – mock turtle soup, fish, sweetbreads, quail, asparagus, potatoes, apricot pies, blancmange – to be replaced with dirty plates and empty platters. 

I lingered by the window, hoping, imagining the soup - ham, leek and potato – bubbling atop our wood stove, filling our tiny kitchen with its salty film of steam. So vivid was my imagining I could smell the broth….

From Drop Box

Potato Leek Soup 2 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil 3 medium potatoes, any type, peeled and cut into small cubes 3 leeks, white and light green parts only, washed and thinly sliced Salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock 

Method 

Put the butter or oil in a large, deep pot over medium heat. When the butter melts or the oil is hot, add the vegetables. 

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until starting to soften, 2 or 3 minutes. Add the stock, adjust the heat so it gently bubbles, and cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

 

This book has more than one story line, there are multiple narratives and I hung on to each and every one. Of the Kate Morton books I have read so far, this is by far the very best one. It’s not predictable and the armchair traveling in this took me to Cornwall and London England, Sydney Australia and New York City. Traveling and mystery - what more could I ask for?!

The story lines all come together in spite of many characters living and dying in different time periods. There is a mystery about one of our main characters named Nell. The book starts in 1913 with Nell as a 4 year old, hiding out aboard ship destined for Australia. A lady she refers to as The Authoress tells her to hide and wait for her. But the lady never returns and young Nell is left alone with her suitcase at a port in Australia. A port master can’t leave a small child alone so he takes her home for the evening. No one reports her missing, no one comes to claim Nell so eventually the port master and his wife keep her. No formal adoption, they just move away and start fresh.  Years later the Port Master and wife have four daughters and Nell thinks they are all her natural family.

 On Nell’s 21st birthday her father (the port master) tells her about how they found her. It’s devastating to lose one’s identity just like that. In a snap Nell feels she doesn’t belong and tries to find out where she does belong.  The story skips back and forth in time so you know what happens with Nell until her death late in life. This introduces us to another major character – her granddaughter Cassandra.

 Cassandra is close to her grandmother Nell and after her death she inherits everything. But there is one property she is surprised to find out about. The deed to a house called Cliff Cottage in Cornwall England.

 Cassandra’s story starts in 1975 but we jump to 2005 and things get mysterious. She is the one who will search the clues left about Nell’s true identity. I like her character very much and enjoyed her chapters.

 The Authoress is revealed as Eliza Makepeace (what a cool name!) and she is an adventurous character. She is also the writer of fairy tales. Her back story is fascinating and weaves into Nell’s story eventually. There are quite a few other characters that play crucial parts but rather than get into it all – please read this one if you are a Kate Morton fan. Twists I didn’t see coming and a good conclusion with mysteries solved.

  Some food mentions here but it’s not a foodie book. Bowls of beef and rosemary stew Pasta with pine nuts and Gorgonzola cheese Morgy Broth Sandwiches (and tea of course) Roasted chicken and smoked Gouda pressed sandwich.  There's a bit of leftover spinach in there too.  A simple side salad with grape tomatoes, feta and balsamic vinegar dressing. Oh. Yeah.  This was a treat Cassandra may enjoy at the hotel in Cornwall.

 

 Are you fans of Kate Morton's novels?  If so, which are your favorites?  I have read this one as well as The House at Riverton and The Lake House.

The Lost Man by Jane Harper

They are at the Stockman’s grave, a landmark so old, no one can remember who is buried there. But today, the scant shadow it casts was the last hope for their middle brother, Cameron. The Bright family’s quiet existence is thrown into grief and anguish. Something had been troubling Cameron. Did he lose hope and walk to his death? Because if he didn’t, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects… (From Goodreads)



Right away Jane Harper’s descriptive prose grabs your attention. You are plunged into the hot desolate landscape and have a clear image of the unforgiving Australian desert. We begin with one brother standing guard near his older brother's dead body.  Bub had to spend the night to keep dingos from Cameron's body.  In the morning Nathan Bright, the eldest in the family, arrives and asks Bub what he knows.  What would bring Cameron Bright to the isolated area near the Stockman's grave?

When Cameron didn't turn up at Lehmann's Hill to meet Bub an alert went out on the radio.  Anyone living in that desolate part of Queensland would be on the lookout for Cameron or his truck. Dehydration can kill you quickly, as could an accident where you'd not be discovered in time.  Cameron was well organized and knew the dangers and how to be prepared with a truck full of supplies.  Yet here he was, near the Stockman's Grave without water, shade or vehicle.

 As you get to know the characters you realize how the three brothers were shaped, or should I say scarred, by their father Carl Bright. The revelations keep coming and you can sympathize with every single person in that family.  Nathan is the main voice in this book but you do get other's perspectives. A few characters are not likable or I should say, it's hard to warm up to them. Yet learning their backstories made me sympathetic to them.  The outback desert can be bleak place to raise a family.

 In the beginning I thought it was a slow start yet I was interested and kept reading.  Getting less than halfway through I couldn't put it down.  The end of just about every chapter left you wanting more. One of those books where you say, Ok after this chapter I’m going to go to bed, or do some work, or put the book aside. Nope, you just have to read one more chapter!

  There’s a map – I love maps and since the places are referenced right from the beginning I was able to refer to the map and see the distances. This is important to the story to see how far it is from the Bright Homestead to the Stockman's Grave and then to Nathan Bright's ranch.

  The Stockman's grave is mentioned throughout and with it come various stories about who he was and how he came to be buried in the middle of the desert.  Near the end Nathan tells his nieces the true story which he read at a national Library in Brisbane. I liked the story even if it was sad.

The heat - One curious thing was the mention of the heat in December, 45 degrees. I’m guessing the temperature is Celsius which means it’s 113 F. More appropriate for the hot December summer. Perhaps that wasn’t converted for the publications in the U.S. School of Air – these days the school work and teaching is handled by video and internet, teachers able to schedule video chats. Before those amenities the School of Air was handled via radio.

Children in the Outback didn’t have a convention school setting. It was up to the parents to supervise the lessons that were delivered by radio.

 If you enjoyed Harper's first book, The Dry, then I think you will like this one.  I'll read every book she writes.  When I heard The Lost Man was coming out I was initially disappointed that Aaron Falk wasn't the star character.  This is a stand alone from the first two books but I liked it very much.  Maybe this one will be made into a movie too.  Looking forward to The Dry coming out in theaters.

Well done again, Jane Harper!

The Fragments by Toni Jordan

This is a literary mystery set primarily in Brisbane Australia.  The genre and locale hooked me right away so I promptly requested a copy from NetGalley.

Imagine a famous author who publishes a ground breaking literary masterpiece, one people talk about and analyze over the years.  The author has another book about to published, people eagerly awaiting the story, when a horrific tragedy strikes. The author dies in a warehouse fire, the flames destroying all copies of the latest book.  Only fragments are recovered and her mourning fans and scholars are left with scraps of sentences, forever wondering about this lost masterpiece.   That is the story of Inga Karlson, the author who became a legend. The fragments of her manuscript along with photos of Inga and her personal belongings are exhibited around the world for decades.  Loyal fans and scholars line up to view this exhibit, some of the devotees young enough to be Inga's grandchildren.  She is epic.

Cadence "Caddie" Walker's obsession with Inga Karlson's lost manuscript has her standing in line in the blazing Brisbane heat, awaiting the opening of the exhibition so she may view this collection.  In line near Caddie is an old woman named Rachel Lehrer.  She speaks with Caddie, asking what her favorite lines were from the scraps left of the book.  In return, Rachel "quotes" this sentence fragment of the unpublished book. And in the end, all we have are the hours and the days, the minutes and the way we bear them, the seconds spent on this earth and the number of them that truly mattered. But that last part wasn't written anywhere.  Is it the imaginary conjuring of an old woman?

The book is divided in three parts.  I thought the first part had a few slow spots, certainly not enough for me to abandon the book.   I was very intrigued with the perspective back in the 1930's about Rachel Lehrer and her family.  When the story took that reminiscing turn to the past I was completely engaged.  It hops with a fluid transition from 1986 and Caddie Walker's obsession to the 1930's story line.  You don't see what one has to do with another until part two of the book. Then the puzzle connects.

 Nearing the end of part two I was on the fence regarding my feelings for Caddie.  She was about to take up with someone I know isn't a good person; someone who will use her up. I'm torn with the entwining stories of Rachel and Inga in the past and the Caddie/Jamie/Philip mess in the 1980's.  Caddie needs to be shaken by the shoulders as I, the reader, clearly knows what needs to be done here!

There is mystery, love, a snapshot of domestic violence in the 1930 era and a satisfying conclusion to the story.  Also, a surprise about several characters in part three of the book.  I would like to know what became of  a few supporting characters but there certainly was a clear resolution.  I would read more by this author. Adventurous setting for me, Kookaburra and Queensland and Brisbane......I am armchair traveling again.

Food stuff:  Chili Lentil Soup, pizzas of Margherita and vegetarian varieties, sundaes, cakes, chicken a la King.