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A Woody Creek Novel #3
Moth To The Flame
The third book in the dark and addictive Woody Creek series from bestselling Australian author Joy Dettman
"She trips the fine line of pleasure and pain that makes her a compulsive read ... Brilliant." Sun Herald
In Moth to the Flame , Joy Dettman returns with another dazzling tale of the unforgettable characters of Woody Creek.
The year is 1946. The war ended five months ago. Jim Hooper, Jenny Morrison's only love, was lost to that war. And if not for Jenny, he would never have gone.
"An eye for an eye," Vern Hooper says. An unforgiving man, Vern wants custody of Jenny's son, his only grandson, and is quietly planning his day in court.
Then Jenny's father Archie Foote swoops back into town. Archie offers Jenny a tantalising chance at fame and fortune; one way or another he is determined to play a part in her life.
Is Jenny's luck about to change, or is she drawn to trouble like a moth is drawn to the flame?
"A story of love and loss, Moth to the Flame captures the reader's attention on the first page and sustains it to a satisfying conclusion." Daily Examiner
"Dettman is an effortless, assured and accessible storyteller ... [this] is her most ambitious saga yet" The Saturday Age
Fans of Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker will love Joy Dettman.
"She trips the fine line of pleasure and pain that makes her a compulsive read ... Brilliant." Sun Herald
In Moth to the Flame , Joy Dettman returns with another dazzling tale of the unforgettable characters of Woody Creek.
The year is 1946. The war ended five months ago. Jim Hooper, Jenny Morrison's only love, was lost to that war. And if not for Jenny, he would never have gone.
"An eye for an eye," Vern Hooper says. An unforgiving man, Vern wants custody of Jenny's son, his only grandson, and is quietly planning his day in court.
Then Jenny's father Archie Foote swoops back into town. Archie offers Jenny a tantalising chance at fame and fortune; one way or another he is determined to play a part in her life.
Is Jenny's luck about to change, or is she drawn to trouble like a moth is drawn to the flame?
"A story of love and loss, Moth to the Flame captures the reader's attention on the first page and sustains it to a satisfying conclusion." Daily Examiner
"Dettman is an effortless, assured and accessible storyteller ... [this] is her most ambitious saga yet" The Saturday Age
Fans of Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker will love Joy Dettman.
592 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2011
40 people are currently reading
203 people want to read
About the author
Joy Dettman
22 books163 followersJoy Dettman was born in country Victoria and spent her early years in towns on either side of the Murray River. She is an award-winning writer of short stories, the complete collection of which, Diamonds in the Mud, was published in 2007, as well as the highly acclaimed novels Mallawindy, Jacaranda Blue, Goose Girl, Yesterday's Dust, The Seventh Day, Henry's Daughter, One Sunday, Pearl in a Cage, Thorn on the Rose, Moth to the Flame and Wind in the Wires. Ripples on a Pond is Joy's fifth novel in her Woody Creek series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
June 10, 2024
EXCERPT: . . . picking up the milk bucket she walked out to the paddock to call the goats in, as Gertrude had called them, by tapping on the bucket's base. She'd milked goats before. Hoped they'd allow her to milk them. They came, three gentle old nannies to stand in line. Thy didn't argue about her out-of-practice hands either, maybe relieved to give up their load.
She'd learnt a lot on this land. Hadn't learnt much in Melbourne. Loved and loathed this land. Loved its bounty, its sky, its moonlight. Same moon as Melbourne's, but bigger up here - more sky for it to grow fat in. More star too. Different sounds. Different smells.
Still loathed the smell of goats, but by the time that orange moon had escaped the hump of dark trees, she had two thirds of a bucket of free milk; pints of milk for porridge, for puddings. She had wood on the wood heap; an old black stove where the kettle was always boiling, the oven always ready to cook. If she belonged anywhere, it was here. If she'd learnt anything in her twenty-four years, it was how this place worked.
ABOUT 'MOTH TO THE FLAME': The year is 1946. The war ended five months ago. Jim Hooper, Jenny Morrison's only love, was lost to that war. And if not for Jenny, he would never have gone. "An eye for an eye," Vern Hooper says. An unforgiving man, Vern wants custody of Jenny's son, his only grandson, and is quietly planning his day in court. Then Jenny's father Archie Foote swoops back into town. Archie offers Jenny a tantalising chance at fame and fortune; one way or another he is determined to play a part in her life. Is Jenny's luck about to change, or is she drawn to trouble like a moth is drawn to the flame?
MY THOUGHTS: Are you familiar with that song 'If it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all . . .'? That could have been written for Jenny Morrison.
I am absolutely enthralled and enchanted by this series. Poor Jenny, she just seems to lurch from one disaster to the next, but she just keeps on going. She's a stayer, despite the fact that she is always running away from something, or someone. She will never let those children down. She always has their welfare at heart.
Dettman has cleverly combined Jenny's story with a social commentary on Victorian life in this era. The hardship of living in a rural era, the historical events, the harshness of a judgmental society is all portrayed with a heart-wrenching honesty and clarity. But she also demonstrates how a small town pulls together in times of tragedy; how they help their own, even someone they have shunned and vilified in the past.
Moth to a Flame takes some very strange turns, unexpected but satisfying. Joy Dettman had me feeling all the emotions - I laughed, I cried, I railed against the injustices that Jenny endured, but my final tears were ones of happiness. I can't wait to see where Dettman takes me next. Wind on the Wires is already sitting on my bedside table, ready to go.
#MothtotheFlame @JoyDettman
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
THE AUTHOR: Joy Dettman sees herself as a wife, mother and grandmother, who steals time from her family to satisfy her obsessive need to write.
Joy was not always a wife, mother and grandmother. She can recall her early obsession with newspaper cartoons. They were her picture books. A newspaper shoutline allowed her to break the code of reading prior to entering a school room, thus addicting her for life to the printed word.
DISCLOSURE: I own my copy of Moth to the Flame by Joy Dettman.
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
She'd learnt a lot on this land. Hadn't learnt much in Melbourne. Loved and loathed this land. Loved its bounty, its sky, its moonlight. Same moon as Melbourne's, but bigger up here - more sky for it to grow fat in. More star too. Different sounds. Different smells.
Still loathed the smell of goats, but by the time that orange moon had escaped the hump of dark trees, she had two thirds of a bucket of free milk; pints of milk for porridge, for puddings. She had wood on the wood heap; an old black stove where the kettle was always boiling, the oven always ready to cook. If she belonged anywhere, it was here. If she'd learnt anything in her twenty-four years, it was how this place worked.
ABOUT 'MOTH TO THE FLAME': The year is 1946. The war ended five months ago. Jim Hooper, Jenny Morrison's only love, was lost to that war. And if not for Jenny, he would never have gone. "An eye for an eye," Vern Hooper says. An unforgiving man, Vern wants custody of Jenny's son, his only grandson, and is quietly planning his day in court. Then Jenny's father Archie Foote swoops back into town. Archie offers Jenny a tantalising chance at fame and fortune; one way or another he is determined to play a part in her life. Is Jenny's luck about to change, or is she drawn to trouble like a moth is drawn to the flame?
MY THOUGHTS: Are you familiar with that song 'If it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all . . .'? That could have been written for Jenny Morrison.
I am absolutely enthralled and enchanted by this series. Poor Jenny, she just seems to lurch from one disaster to the next, but she just keeps on going. She's a stayer, despite the fact that she is always running away from something, or someone. She will never let those children down. She always has their welfare at heart.
Dettman has cleverly combined Jenny's story with a social commentary on Victorian life in this era. The hardship of living in a rural era, the historical events, the harshness of a judgmental society is all portrayed with a heart-wrenching honesty and clarity. But she also demonstrates how a small town pulls together in times of tragedy; how they help their own, even someone they have shunned and vilified in the past.
Moth to a Flame takes some very strange turns, unexpected but satisfying. Joy Dettman had me feeling all the emotions - I laughed, I cried, I railed against the injustices that Jenny endured, but my final tears were ones of happiness. I can't wait to see where Dettman takes me next. Wind on the Wires is already sitting on my bedside table, ready to go.
#MothtotheFlame @JoyDettman
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
THE AUTHOR: Joy Dettman sees herself as a wife, mother and grandmother, who steals time from her family to satisfy her obsessive need to write.
Joy was not always a wife, mother and grandmother. She can recall her early obsession with newspaper cartoons. They were her picture books. A newspaper shoutline allowed her to break the code of reading prior to entering a school room, thus addicting her for life to the printed word.
DISCLOSURE: I own my copy of Moth to the Flame by Joy Dettman.
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
September 25, 2013
And again Jenny Morrison's gobsmacking fecundity lands her in nothing but strife. God this was enjoyable. Trial upon trial. Couple of nasty backhanders plus abortions by the score. Ray had seemed so promising at the end of the last book. Dismal bastard here. He's the king of shock reappearances though, so I'm suspicious of the fact that we didn't really have a corpse we could see and kick. Still no Return of Sissy and her absence is keenly felt, although Margot's clearly on her way to filling her rank size elevens. Huge dollop of Margaret and Lorna in the second half and their riotous adventures suitably distracted from the Sissy hole, and what a cack they were too. Tears before bedtime in Book 4 I suspect when they'll be cat fighting with Jenny face to face. Can't wait for that. The two significant carkings at book's end felt almost under-milked. There was more to be wrung out of each of them. We was robbed of last words twice! No fair, Joy. Still, you'll hear no further whinges from me, this is sublime entertainment. The Woody Creek books are Grade A suds and among my very favourite addictive things to read. Joy Dettman is one of the best storytellers in Australia.
August 13, 2020
I've made no secret of the fact that I absolutely adore this series and am totally enthralled by Jenny Morrison's life story. And if you thought that things couldn't get any worse for poor Jenny, then you're in for a nasty surprise. Trying to escape Woody Creek once again sees her marrying one of her former school mates, the illiterate, stuttering Ray King, who promises to take her and her three children in and give them a better life. Does he keep his promise? Of course not! Born under an unlucky star, Jenny stumbles from one bad situation into the next, and my heart kept breaking over and over again.
In part three of the series, we get a glimpse into the post war era in rural Victoria, and I am finding Dettman's observations of society at the time fascinating and eye opening. She just "gets" it - the small town politics, the political views of the era, the townspeople's everyday struggles. I loved reading about Woody Creeks other residents and enjoyed revisiting all the characters that make this series so utterly addictive for me. The problem with long sagas is that inevitably some characters die, as some of the little ones grow up and flee the nest, and I got so attached to them all that this was a painful process for me.
As gut wrenching as Book 3 turned out to be, it ended on a hopeful note, and I will have to throw myself straight into the next installment. With over 400 pages in each book, the series will keep me busy for a while!
In part three of the series, we get a glimpse into the post war era in rural Victoria, and I am finding Dettman's observations of society at the time fascinating and eye opening. She just "gets" it - the small town politics, the political views of the era, the townspeople's everyday struggles. I loved reading about Woody Creeks other residents and enjoyed revisiting all the characters that make this series so utterly addictive for me. The problem with long sagas is that inevitably some characters die, as some of the little ones grow up and flee the nest, and I got so attached to them all that this was a painful process for me.
As gut wrenching as Book 3 turned out to be, it ended on a hopeful note, and I will have to throw myself straight into the next installment. With over 400 pages in each book, the series will keep me busy for a while!
March 12, 2015
3.5 stars
The Moth to the Flame is the third installment in Joy Dettman’s addictive Woody Creek series. It is a family saga set in small town Australia, a place where everyone knows each other’s business. It follows of the trials and tribulations of Jenny Morrison, a young woman who seems to attract her fair share of drama, heartache, love and death. The third book in the series takes the reader to 1946, just months after the end of World War II. Dettman cleverly weaves her story of Jenny and the inhabitants of Woody Creek, evoking the historical events and harshness of Australian society in this era. I first read this series back in 2013, where I devoured Pearl in a Cage and Thorn on the Rose in close succession. Although only picking up the third book until now, I found it easy to reacquaint myself with the Woody Creek folk. Moth to the Flame was not quite as good as the previous two books in the series, but nonetheless I was immediately tempted to pick up the next book, Wind in the Wires.
The Moth to the Flame is the third installment in Joy Dettman’s addictive Woody Creek series. It is a family saga set in small town Australia, a place where everyone knows each other’s business. It follows of the trials and tribulations of Jenny Morrison, a young woman who seems to attract her fair share of drama, heartache, love and death. The third book in the series takes the reader to 1946, just months after the end of World War II. Dettman cleverly weaves her story of Jenny and the inhabitants of Woody Creek, evoking the historical events and harshness of Australian society in this era. I first read this series back in 2013, where I devoured Pearl in a Cage and Thorn on the Rose in close succession. Although only picking up the third book until now, I found it easy to reacquaint myself with the Woody Creek folk. Moth to the Flame was not quite as good as the previous two books in the series, but nonetheless I was immediately tempted to pick up the next book, Wind in the Wires.
February 27, 2017
O I am loving this series.
December 12, 2019
Thought I’d have a break with this series but no I’m now reading Book 4.
November 20, 2018
Wow these books are awesome. Such a joy to read about our own Australian life and history. In parts sad, poor Jenny has the worst luck!
I think Jenny's children and those she fosters can thank Granny for her mothering instinct. Poor little Jenny suffered under Amber and the inept Norman and against all odds ended up being a decent human being and a good mother.
I think Jenny's children and those she fosters can thank Granny for her mothering instinct. Poor little Jenny suffered under Amber and the inept Norman and against all odds ended up being a decent human being and a good mother.
October 8, 2023
Wasn’t sure if I wanted to read this as it is a whopping 528 pages and although you can read it as a stand alone book it does carry on from another but I found it totally made sense and was a great read I was pleasantly surprised.
July 28, 2017
Audio version
December 19, 2017
I am really enjoying this series. It was hard to put it down as I just wanted to know what would happen next ....... just one more chapter ...... Ok, just one more.
November 5, 2018
I can’t get enough of this series!!! Absolutely loving it!!
July 2, 2025
This is the final book of three in Joy Dettman’s Woody Creek saga. As I loved the first two of this series I was compelled to read it. The author is a wonderful story teller but somewhat frustrating as she deals her characters terrible life choices and makes other characters tell lies and keep secrets.
This aside I found this book as wonderful as its predecessors.
It does finally reach a conclusion but keeps the reader hanging on until the very last page.
Recommended for all saga lovers!
This aside I found this book as wonderful as its predecessors.
It does finally reach a conclusion but keeps the reader hanging on until the very last page.
Recommended for all saga lovers!
October 28, 2025
Tired of these stories about abusive, selfish men and how women were taken advantage of in early Australia. Makes my blood boil. I’m hoping Jenny manages to get her act together in the end but I just can’t continue. I’m so over this genre.
May 29, 2019
What a great story teller Joy Dettman is. Loving this series, so pleased I have book 4 to go straight on to.
April 27, 2020
This one is better than book 2. Poor Jenny. I hope she'll have better luck in book 4. Looking forward to Wind In The Wires.
July 8, 2021
Start reading a Joy Dettman book and you will not be able to put it down. Another brilliant novel, can't wait for the next one.
August 17, 2021
My library only has the first and last 2 of this series in paperback, so now I've moved onto audiobooks.
Slower going, but I have to find out what happens!
Tomorrow I start listening to book 4...
Slower going, but I have to find out what happens!
Tomorrow I start listening to book 4...
September 29, 2022
Can this series get any better? I’m obsessed. I want Jenny to have a win. Can’t wait to start on the 4th instalment.
Joy Dettman is a true artist, her books are pure magic.
Joy Dettman is a true artist, her books are pure magic.
September 29, 2023
Book series #3
July 22, 2014
Oh my God there were a lot of idiots in this book. I just find some of the characters really frustrating. For starters Jenny marrying someone like Ray. The author made him sound like a likeable character, but as soon as they got married Ray turned on her. Seriously, could Jenny have any more bad luck. It's starting to become a little unbelievable and far fetched now. And for him to come back and dump his illegitimate kids on her was just mean. And how cruel are Vern and his daughters? Making Jenny believe that Jim was dead all these year but wasn't, and then stealing Jimmy off her. Plus Lorna is like a leach. Margot is just plain annoying and turning into a spoilt brat. Surely after all these years she could get rid of her lisp? It just gets on my nerves every time. It was good to see some of the really nasty characters die in this book, although it sounds mean in saying that, but I think it opened up the story a bit more. Loved the ending when Jenny finally found Jim again, but did it have to take so long for it to happen? I hope that they will be able to find Jimmy again in the next sequel. Stealing a child from their mother and letting him believe that his family is dead is just barbaric. Also, I think that Myrtle should tell Cara that she's adopted as she will find out sooner or later anyway.
December 26, 2013
This is part of the Woody Creek series and I have been waiting for it to be on the shelf at the library for months. Finally!! One of the reviewers describes this as a book written as though you are sitting at the kitchen table drinking tea whilst someone gossips about the people in the local town. This is so apt as that is exactly the feeling you get from these books. You feel a lovely sense of being enveloped in a community and getting to know everyone's dirty laundry - in a nice kind of a way. By no means all happy, happy, joy, joy but enough highs to keep you smiling.
March 8, 2011
I was really looking forward to the third installment of the Woody Creek series so was so excited to find this in the store!
I enjoyed it, probably not as much as the first two books. It was a little bit predictable and drawn out. I was getting very frustrated with Jenny and hoped she would get her life together.
The ending once again was left open with none of the crucial questions answered. I'm thinking there will be another book to tie up all the loose ends. Well, I'm hoping anyway!
I enjoyed it, probably not as much as the first two books. It was a little bit predictable and drawn out. I was getting very frustrated with Jenny and hoped she would get her life together.
The ending once again was left open with none of the crucial questions answered. I'm thinking there will be another book to tie up all the loose ends. Well, I'm hoping anyway!
March 22, 2011
I was disappointed in this book. I may have read it too quickly but the character of Ray didn't really work for me, he was so wooden and blank, I think he could of given the reader something. I also felt it was pretty improbable that Amber was going to be released. It was also annoying that Sissy still lisped at 20 years of age - surely something would have been done about that - it seemed so silly. The way is certainly paved for another chapter in the lives of Woody Creek residents.
January 22, 2013
I enjoyed this last instalment of the story of Jennifer Morrison King from Woody Creek. I am disappointed that there is not another book to carry on the story as I would have liked to see what happened after Jenny found her son Jim again and I would have liked to have seen how Georgie and Margot's lives turned out?
There were some great characters in this series, sad as it was.
I would highly recommend this series.
There were some great characters in this series, sad as it was.
I would highly recommend this series.
January 17, 2014
This is the third one in this series - I gave it a 3 instead of a 4 just because I didn't like the ending - I felt it was a little disjointed from the rest of the story and seemed to cut short the other threads of the story - I guess I'll have to read the next one. You just have to find out what happens to poor Jen next
October 2, 2013
I enjoyed it like the first two in this set. May be a bit depressing for some, the characters lives always take a turn for the worst. The ending on this one left me expecting maybe another one coming in the series? Hopefully :-)
April 25, 2012
This is a story of great courage by a woman in the face of a series of disastrous consequences, both from her own actions and through the selfishness and cruelty of others. It is well worth reading. I also enjoyed the local setting.
November 5, 2012
Maybe not as good as 'Pearl' and 'Thorn', but necessary reading if you want to find out what happens to the Morrison-Hooper extended families. And I did, and still do - so now reading 'Wind in the Wires'...
June 15, 2011
I enjoyed this but felt at times it was taking to long to get somewhere.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews