CANBERRA WEEKLY 28 OCTOBER 2021: ROMANCE AND FAMILY DRAMA
This week in the Canberra Weekly I reviewed three Australian novels about families, relationships and romance.
First up is Birds Of A Feather (HQ) by Tricia Stringer.
In the Canberra Weekly I said:
“Popular Australian author Tricia Stringer returns with another engaging tale of friendship and changing times with Birds Of A Feather. Eve has been a dominating influence in Wallaby Bay for decades, but now with her health and finances declining she finds that her power is waning. The return to town of her troubled goddaughter, Julia, offers some respite, but it is short lived as Julia has her own demons. Together with the abrasive Lucy, they have to stick together in order to overcome their losses and carve out a new way forward. A good, warm-hearted read with relatable and empathetic characters.”
Joanna Nell has enjoyed good success with her earlier novels The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village and The Great Escape From Woodlands Nursing Home and with new novel, The Tea Ladies Of St Jude’s Hospital (Hachette) she sticks closely to the same engaging formula. In the Canberra Weekly I said:
“With her first three books, Joanna Nell demonstrated a flair for long titled novels with sympathetic senior characters. It is a pattern that she continues with her latest outing, The Tea Ladies Of St Jude’s Hospital. Set in a volunteer cafeteria in the eponymous St Jude’s Hospital, it follows the efforts of two mismatched older women, and a young schoolgirl, as they battle against the threatened closure of the cafeteria. Despite their differences they form strong bonds of friendship as they take the battle up. Brightly written with smart snappy dialogue and some nice servings of humour, this is an enjoyable ‘feel good’ read.”
Popular rural romance novelist Fleur McDonald also sticks pretty close to the successful formula of her earlier novels, with a bit of mystery and crime, lashings of romance and relationship dynamics and lots of spot-on descriptions of the rural countryside and its people: Deception Creek (Allen & Unwin).
In the Canberra Weekly I said:
“Detective Dave Burrows is worried by the return of recently released offender Joel Hammond to the small rural town of Barker. Hammond has a long and sorry history with some of the town’s residents, but he also has his supporters, some of whom harbour doubts about his conviction. As tensions rise in the town, recently divorced local farmer Emma Cameron has her own problems to deal with. This is another entertaining tale of rural romance and crime by the ‘Voice of the Outback’, Fleur McDonald. Featuring credible, well sketched characters and authentic rural settings, it is sure to appeal to Fleur’s many fans.”
So in all, some good reading for fans of Australian drama and romance.
For more reviews here is the link to the Book Pages at the excellent Canberra Weekly site: Books – Canberra Weekly