Showing posts with label Anna Romer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anna Romer. Show all posts

I Scored a Hat-Trick!

No, I haven't given up reading and taken up cricket (that's where the term "hat-trick" originated back in the 19th century and means taking three wickets with three consecutive balls by the same bowler). My "hat-trick" was of a different kind.

This morning searching my library's new items catalogue I made three exciting discoveries:  three books by three Australian authors I follow, to be released in three consecutive months.

Worth Fighting For by Mary-Anne O'Connor

From Darwin to Pearl Harbour, Sydney to Papua New Guinea, a compelling story of courage, honour and a great love set against the epic backdrop of the Second World War.

Eighteen-year-old Junie Wallace is a smart girl and, with her two brothers away at war and her third brother just killed in action, she knows there is only one way to save the family farm for her grieving parents. Unfortunately, that solution involves marrying the unscrupulous Ernest, and breaking the heart of the young drover she loves, Michael.
But the war is looming ever closer, and when Pearl Harbour brings the threat of Japanese aggression to Australian shores, the fates of many becomes inextricably interwoven.

From the explosive battles of the Pacific campaign to the desperate fighting in the Papuan New Guinea rainforest; the dancehall gaiety of Sydney’s Trocadero to the terror of the Darwin bombings, this epic family saga brings home the importance of mateship and of fighting for what you believe in, even when impossible odds seem stacked against you, even when all seems lost…

Worth Fighting For is a resounding testament to the enduring force of love: a reminder of what can be achieved if you draw on your reserves of courage and listen to the truth in your heart.

From Mira/Harlequin Australia, due out October 2016.

Mary-Anne O'Connor
is the author of Gallipoli Street.

Beyond the Orchard by Anna Romer

Lucy Briar has arrived home in turmoil after years overseas. She’s met her fiancĂ© in London and has her life mapped out, but something is holding her back.

Hoping to ground herself and find answers, Lucy settles into once familiar routines. But old tortured feelings swarm Lucy’s existence when her beloved father, Ron, is hospitalised and Morgan – the man who drove her away all those years ago – seeks her out.

Worse, Ron implores Lucy to go to Bitterwood Estate, the crumbling historic family guesthouse now left to him. He needs Lucy to find something– an old photograph album, the very thing that drove Ron and his father apart.

Lucy has her own painful memories of Bitterwood, darkness that has plagued her dreams since she was young, and she’s hesitant to return. But as Lucy searches for the album, the house begins to give up its ghosts and she is driven to put them to rest.

And there, held tightly between the house, the orchard and the soaring cliffs, Lucy uncovers a long-hidden secret that shattered a family’s bond and kept a frightened young girl in its thrall ... and Lucy discovers just how fierce the lonely heart can be.

From Simon & Schuster Australia, due out November 2016.

Anna Romer
is the author of Thornwood House and Lyrebird Hill.

Mackenzie Crossing by Kaye Dobbie

A passion for photography draws two stories together across time to Mackenzie Crossing.

Neville ‘Pom’ Darling, is on the hunt for the perfect photograph.

Skye Stewart, is searching for her long lost grandfather.

It’s 1939, and Neville, escaping an unhappy marriage and his memories of the Great War, finds himself in Mackenzie Crossing on the day of the terrible Black Friday bushfires. He meets the beautiful Georgie Mackenzie and in an instant knows that she is the subject he has been looking for. As the heat intensifies, Georgie and Pom begin to wonder if they have a future together; but first, they must survive the blaze.

Almost sixty years later, Sky Stewart returns to the area in search of her grandfather. Did he survive the Black Friday bushfires? Who is the exotic woman in the photograph she found? But when she arrives in Elysian, the closest town to where Mackenzie Crossing used to be, she finds more of her hidden past than she bargained for. A more recent past which she would prefer stayed forgotten…

From Mira/Harlequin Australia, due out December 2016.

Kaye Dobbie is the author of Sweet Wattle Creek, Colours of Gold and more.

Book Review: Thornwood House by Anna Romer

When Audrey Kepler and her eleven-year-old daughter, Bronwyn, move to Thornwood House on the outskirts of  Magpie Creek, a small town in rural Queensland, it doesn't take them long to fall under its spell. The house, willed to Audrey by Tony Jarman, Bronwyn's father, was once the home of his grandfather, Samuel Riordan.

Audrey finds a faded photograph and a letter in the old house and becomes obsessed with the rumour that Samuel Riordan killed Tony's grandmother back in the 1940s, on his return from the war. In her attempt to discover the truth she uncovers another family tragedy and in doing so places herself and her daughter in danger.

Like many, I cannot pass up a book that involves old photographs, letters and abandoned houses. Throw in a mention of World War II and it is definitely heading for my TBR pile. Sadly that's where this book sat, overlooked, until recently and once I'd read it I wondered why I had left it there for so long.

Thornwood House intrigued me from the start. Described as an Australian gothic mystery it certainly falls into this category. What could be more gothic than the sorrowful drabness of the rainy-day funeral which opens the story? Or the suspicious circumstances surrounding a death? Or the person you thought you knew turns out to be an enigma? The elements are all here: mystery, horror, death, romance and a touch of the supernatural. From the first chapter to the exciting denouement, I was totally absorbed in this tale of family secrets.

The story moves smoothly between three time frames: 2006, the 1940s and the 1980s, giving glimpses of the Magpie Creek community in those eras. It is told from Audrey's perspective as she and her daughter adjust to rural life so different to the hectic city living they left behind. Audrey's obsession with Samuel Riordan is fed by letters, a diary and the reluctance of some people to talk about the past. The more she delves, the more she discovers about Tony that raises many questions about the man she thought she knew, his family and the manner of his death. Eventually Audrey pieces together all the clues and makes the connection between the past and the present.

The author's love of the Australian landscape is evident in the vivid descriptions of the old homestead and the countryside in which it nestles. Through Audrey's exploration of her new home the beauty and serenity of Thornwood is experienced first-hand, as well as the unsettling places she stumbles across. The stifling heat of the Australian bush, familiar to me and so accurately described, is at odds with the chilling discoveries Audrey makes.

The atmosphere of the abandoned house and its contents adds to the gothic feel. Shadows, creaking floorboards and light playing through windows are nothing new, but Anna Romer has a knack for building suspense. She cleverly manipulates our imaginations, resulting in many breath-holding moments throughout the book.

The residents of Magpie Creek and the surrounding properties, both newcomers and longtime residents, are a nice balance and reflect the mix of today's society. Audrey's first encounter with one of them is far from welcoming and raises doubts about the wisdom of her move to such an isolated place.

A refreshing introduction to the story line is Danny, one of the main characters. He has a disability that when revealed to Audrey also took me by surprise. The interaction between Audrey and Danny adds warmth and calmness to the story. There are some very lovely and humorous exchanges between them. Anna Romer's depiction of Danny and his disability makes this a very memorable part of the book.

I enjoyed this debut novel from Anna Romer and heartily recommend it to those who love an Australian setting or favour books by authors such as Kate Morton and Kaye Dobbie.