Tasmania

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Review: The Great Divide – L J M Owen

The Great Divide

L M J Owen

Echo Publishing $29.99

ISBN: 9781760685829

 

Description:

In the rural Tasmanian town of Dunton, the body of a former headmistress of a children’s home is discovered, revealing a tortured life and death.

 

Detective Jake Hunter, newly-arrived, searches for her killer among past residents of the home. He unearths pain, secrets and broken adults. Pushing aside memories of his own treacherous past, Jake focuses all his energy on the investigation.

 

Why are some of the children untraceable? What caused such damage among the survivors?

 

The identity of the murderer seems hidden from Jake by Dunton’s fog of prejudice and lies, until he is forced to confront not only the town’s history but his own nature…

 

 

My View:

The start of an interesting series perhaps?

 

The beginning was a little slow for me, it took me a while to enter into this quiet secret filled landscape but then BOOM! L JM Owen does not hold back – there are deaths and mayhem and a twist that may surprise you.  The item in the office (no spoilers here) must be the most sinister, gruesome trophy I have come across in all my reading of crime fiction.

 

Detective Jake Hunter is an interesting character and I feel there is more to him than has so far been revealed.

 

When you have finished reading this pay attention to the final pages. For me the most powerful part of this narrative is in the acknowledgements (p295); “This work is, in many ways, an acknowledgment of the experiences of children deemed by their adults as unworthy – of respect, of nurturing, of protection.

To you, I say: I see you.  Hear you. You matter. And I am sorry; you deserved better.”

 

Thank you L J M Owen.

 

 

 

 

 

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Post Script: The Crossing – B Michael Radburn

the-crossing

The Crossing

The Taylor Bridges Series #1

B Michael Radburn

Pantera Press

ISBN: 9780980741872

 

Description:

Redemption is born of guilt, and weighs heavy on even the strongest man.

 

Traumatised by the disappearance of his daughter Claire, Taylor Bridges’ marriage breaks down, and he exiles himself to Glorys Crossing in Tasmania. Taylor is the only ranger in this isolated town adjoining a national park… a town dying a slow death as the rising waters of the new dam project slowly flood it.

 

Struggling with the guilt of Claire’s disappearance, Taylor is a chronic sleepwalker. When another young girl the same age goes missing, Taylor begins to question himself… uncertain of what happens when he sleepwalks.

 

It’s a race against time not just to find the missing girl, but in Taylor’s search for redemption and a past better left lying at the bottom of the new lake.

 

 

My View:

I have just discovered a new favourite Australian crime fiction/mystery series writer, B Michael Radburn – you are a star!

 

Let me introduce you to this wonderful talented author:

“B. Michael Radburn is a self-professed bloke from the “wrong side of the tracks”, whose fall into writing offered an escape from the fatal attraction of drugs and alcohol. Wonderful high school teachers made him realise that writing, when shared, offered faith in one’s self.

 

Writing from his farm in the hauntingly beautiful Southern Highlands of NSW, his work reflects both natural and supernatural environs. Described as “Ian Rankin meets Stephen King”, Radburn is the author of three full-length novels: The Crossing, Blackwater Moon and The Falls.

 

Radburn loves his family, jamming out the blues and his motorcycle! He also loves giving back and inspiring others from all walk of life – his Harley Davidson chapter (Sydney HOG) works with Father Chris Riley’s Youth off the Streets program.

 

Radburn uses these opportunities to talk to youth living rough in Sydney – offering reading and writing as “therapy” and sharing his own teenage experiences.” https://www.panterapress.com.au/shop/category/15/b-michael-radburn

 

The Crossing  – the first in the Taylor Bridges series  has all the elements I love in a crime/mystery read –  a great Australian setting and the first Australian novel I have read set in Tasmania – the setting evocative, beautiful, cold and Radburn deftly weaves a little bit of debate around conservation into this mystery – very topical and well done. Characters – great character development and empathetic protagonists. Radburn captures the essence of “small town” isolation and narrow minded thinking that breeds fear of strangers/difference (can I plant an ear worm – think Duelling Banjos Deliverance…) ultimately this type behaviour delivers vigilante style punishment; there were some very disturbing yet credible scenes centred on this theme.

 

The plot – complex and multilayered – as I reflect on this read (I finished this book a few weeks ago) I am recalling some of the more subtle yet pervasive themes surrounding family – and in this book not all is quite as it seems!  Family – loss of, dealing with grief, protecting loved ones, and unconditional love… and sadly abuse within families…so much material here. Then there is the overarching theme of redemption. Add to all these delicious elements a missing child and a ticking clock and you have a compelling read!

 

 

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Post Script: Past The Shallows – Favell Parrett

Past The Shallows

Past the Shallows

Written by: Favel Parrett

Narrated by: David Wenham

Length: 4 hrs and 43 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release Date: 08/02/2016

Publisher: Hachette Australia Audio

 

Description:

Past the Shallows is the award-winning, best-selling debut novel from Favel Parrett about the bonds of brotherhood and the fragility of youth, narrated by David Wenham.

 

Everyone loves Harry. Everyone except his father.

Three brothers – Joe, Miles and Harry – are growing up on the remote south coast of Tasmania. The brothers’ lives are shaped by their father’s moods – like the ocean he fishes, he is wild and unpredictable. He is a bitter man warped by a devastating secret.

 

Miles tries his best to watch out for Harry, the youngest, but he can’t be there all the time. Often alone, Harry finds joy in the small treasures he discovers in shark eggs and cuttlefish bones. In a kelpie pup, a big mug of Milo and a secret friendship with a mysterious neighbour. But sometimes small treasures, or a brother’s love, are not enough.

 

Winner – The ABIA Award (Newcomer of the Year) 2012. Winner – The Dobbie Literary Award 2012. Shortlisted for The Miles Franklin Literary Award 2012. Shortlisted for The ABIA Award (Book of the Year) 2012. Shortlisted for The ABIA Award (Literary Book of the Year) 2012. Shortlisted for The ABA’s Bookseller’s Choice Award 2012. Shortlisted for The Indies Award (Debut Fiction) 2012.

©2011 Favel Parrett (P)2016 Hachette Australia Pty Ltd

 


My View:

The combination of Favell Parrett’s words and David Wenham’s narration equals a beautiful experience for the soul and the ears! I have listened to a few audio books but this one beats them all – the narrative is poignantly read, is often heartbreaking, honest, and brutal and real. The ending – is not pretty – but pays homage to the bonds of siblings forged strong and unbreakable by the explosive temperament of a bitter and twisted father.

 

A mystery is slowly revealed. As a past tragedy unravels another is created. A brilliant audio book!

I have now added Favell Parrett to my must read authors list. David Wenham is a narrator of some note!