Jacaranda Blue

by Joy Dettman

From the bestselling author of Mallawindy and the Woody Creek series

For forty-four years Stella Templeton has been a dutiful daughter and a good citizen, living in Maidenville, population 2,800 where nothing happens.

Until one hot summer afternoon.

An ugly act has lifted the respectable skirts of Maidenville and mystery starts to surround the daughter of the local minister. Then the disappearance of a sixteen-year-old boy adds to the neighbourhood confusion. Does something rotten lurk behind the neatly trimmed hedges and white picket fences that divide this sleepy town? No-one comes close to knowing the dreadful truth-but after forty-four years of doing the right thing, Stella Templeton is starting to blossom...

Genres: Fiction, Audiobook, Australia

326 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Joy 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.

Reviews

[Damo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stella Templeton is a 44 year old spinster living with her minister father in the small New South Wales town of Maidenville. For her entire life her domineering father has ruled every aspect of her life from controlling her finances to telling her what she can and can’t wear and who she should be friends with. Through all of this she remains upbeat, vibrant and a pillar of the small community.

Joy Dettman manages to paint the town as a quaint, friendly place that moves at a sedate page. There is a definite feeling of safety on the town’s streets with the sense of security of knowing how each day will play out. In other words, nothing of note ever really happens in Maidenville.

All of that changes one afternoon when a violent assault changes Stella’s life forever. Suddenly, the quiet, sleepy town suddenly represents a place where danger lurks and, indeed, is possible. And the certainty of sameness suddenly represents a shackled life, a life wasted and opportunities missed.

Too ashamed to report the assault we’re given an illustration of just how beaten down she is by the town and her father. A good portion of the book then takes us slowly through the many transitional moments within Stella’s mind as she copes with the assault. She passes through shame, guilt, self-recrimination, anger, resolve to up and leave, second thoughts about the whole leaving thing, defiance and minor moments of rebellion. It’s a two steps forward, one step back process as she continues to succumb to the bullying and domineering of her father to the point where I found it was becoming rather unbearable. But it served to typify just how completely cowed she had become justifying every unreasonable demand placed on her.

This is a story of self-discovery and a re-evaluation of a life. It just happens to be bookended by a couple of confronting, horrific assaults. With Stella, it just felt as though there is a constant feeling of grim determination through the majority of the story and that desperation tended to dominate her every decision.

While quite slow through the middle stages, the interest for me lay in the transformation that Stella goes through. Nothing is perfect and although she changes her life we are left to wonder whether it’s for the better or worse.

[Tracy Smyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read I did enjoy this book. My only complaint was that it was drawn out a bit in some places

[Lyn Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. I did enjoy some of the characterisation, and some of the narrative but I think the imagery and symbolism is more heavy-handed than necessary; I mean 'fair Maidenville'? Also I was quite disappointed with the ending...I can't imagine even in a country town 3 hours from Sydney that the local police and local doctor don't investigate and prosecute crimes like rape and murder, for reasons like 'because that's how the old girl would have wanted it'...Not to mention the instances of child abuse that the doctor was privy to. Perhaps women in these country towns can walk around with bung eyes and multiple bruises serving meals on wheels and nobody notices, comments or seeks to intervene.

[Gerda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A crime novel with a difference! I liked the setting of the small town of Maidenville. The characters were well drawn. It's easy to feel for Stella, the main character, but I something got annoyed with her as well for not standing up for herself enough, although the flashbacks to her youth explained a lot.
I will read more from this author.

[Reannon Bowen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have moved every Joy Dettman book I’ve ever read, the Woody Creek series being one of my all time favourites, but this story did not feel like a Dettman book at all. Such a struggle to read & I kept hoping I’d start enjoying it but I didn’t. I only kept reading because every other Dettman book has been a great. Not this one. Really disappointing.

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, but found the last part to be out of character and somewhat unbelievable.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite a different book to Joy Dettman's other books. In this book a minister's daughter is raped by a boy that she thought of as a nephew. She has always been the perfect daughter, taking care of her aging father. The book goes through her transformation post rape as she deals with the fear. She also flashes back to her childhood to her abusive mother.

I did find some parts while she was burying the rapist that I found drawn out. I just wanted her to get on with it.

[Di · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in a small town in rural Queensland, this is the story of Stella, 44 year old spinster and dutiful daughter of Martin Templeton the local minister. It is also the story of a town where nothing happens, a town full of quirky characters from the stuffy and demanding Martin Templeton, the diminutive doctor, the local gossips, the grand old lady and former head mistress, the surly teenagers, the life-long friends and former loves. It is a story in the vein of Rosalie Ham, but with a violent twist.

It is very well read by actress Deidrie Rubinstein.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was stumbled upon by a friend of mine and has since been read by most of our bookclub. Hits you with a sucker punch about page 7 then you can't put it down. End a touch unbelievable, but I really enjoyed the story and the intriguing characters of the small town of Maidenville.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this read, as I always do with Joy Dettman novels. It's about a small country town spinster Stella who lives with her ageing minister Father. It involves, rape mystery and murder. Kept me reading until the end. The end was a little disappointing though.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's eye-rolling elements in this book. Like the main characters constantly addressing each other as 'father' and 'daughter' – cringe. And annoyingly vague allusions to childhood trauma.

But there IS something satisfying about watching Stella evolve, and Miss Moreland is a hoot.

[Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read, love Joy Dettman so long as she keeps writing I will keep reading. Always look forward to her new books.

[Tonia Elson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all time favourite books. It got me hooked. Love her work

[Rachel Mateo · Rating 4 out of 5]

bringing joy to my life

[Erin72 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gripping yet some of the scenes quite disturbing

[Bronwyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good read from this author,

[Rima Staugas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping and realistic beginning but too neatly tied up at end uncharacteristic of reality.

Good description of Trauma, violence and its effects

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and great story.

[Rosalyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joy Dettman at her best - intriguing reading until the last sentence.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Joy Dettman's books. this one does not disappoint but I preferred the Woody Creek series.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joy Dettman's villains are always vile, and this one is no exception. Infact, the defiling was almost too abhorrent for me, but I was invested in Stella's character so stuck the story out.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once it got going, l enjoyed it.

[Bronwyn Rykiert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was pretty good I thought.

[Doreen Meadows · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story with a surprising twist.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I expected. A snapshot of a country town and the secrets of its residents.

[Carinya Kappler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joy Dettman does exhibit a deep and sometimes sinister understanding of complex small town relationships. Through her character Stella Templeton (local daughter of the pastor) the author shows how individuals communicate with each other even though they are bound by rigid rules of etiquette and years of silence and secrecy.
Who does one trust in a small town setting? Even years of devotion and care can be betrayed by another.
This is a difficult scenario to enjoy but unfortunately it is completely believable.
This book is beautifully written, I found it easy to read but found some parts unnecessarily explicit and other decisions made by characters very frustrating.
Not a book for every reader.
Carinya

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A riveting read. The author has not held back in telling this brutal story and showing how someone can rise above awful things that happen to them and find strength to find their own way and their own self.
A couple of niggly things that bothered me, Stella calling Miss Moreland "dear" - it didn't ring true. If anything, it should be the other way around, Miss Moreland calling Stella "dear", and also the ease with which Dr Parsons worked out what had happened.
Love to read a sequel of this book - there's so many possibilities!

[Ruth Bonetti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first novel I read in a while, during a lull after drafts, edits, proofs of my next book. I zoomed through in a day, mostly read under a tree on the beach. An easy page-turner read, in spite of a dark topic (rape of a middle-aged spinster by a teenager she'd largely raised) but the writing was deft, insightful and sensitive.

[Dana Mitra · Rating 2 out of 5]

The world needs no more books of gratuitous rape of a woman in the first chapter, ongoing misogyny throughout and some little bit of hope at the end. Blech. Read first chapter, read the ending. Skimmed the middle. This book is dated and tired. Was published in 1999 and at least you can see some progress. It wouldn’t get play today I hope

[Denise Elwyn McKenzie · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.