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One Night at Silver Lake
Set between Tanzania and Tasmania, this is a deeply moving novel about family and belonging, by the acclaimed bestselling author of The Rain Queen and The Beautiful Mother.
Once the boundaries of normality are broken, anything can happen …
In 1960s Tanzania, Sara Brayden spends years longing for a baby, while struggling in her conventional role as a mine manager’s wife. She was born into a life of moving with the seasons, in the company of nomad herding families, on the grassy plains of Serengeti.
As her marriage fractures, Sara’s quest for motherhood leads her on an extraordinary journey. It begins on the moonlit shores of Silver Lake, where a family tragedy sparks an encounter with a stranger she can never forget …
Her search takes her half a world away, to the island of Tasmania. There, in a place where the sound of a wild ocean floats on the air, she finds the power of a very special kind of love – only then is she ready for what comes next.
From the internationally bestselling author of The Rain Queen comes her landmark work, a novel that explores the meaning of family, identity and home, and looks at how – in the midst of heartbreak – hope and healing can be found.
Once the boundaries of normality are broken, anything can happen …
In 1960s Tanzania, Sara Brayden spends years longing for a baby, while struggling in her conventional role as a mine manager’s wife. She was born into a life of moving with the seasons, in the company of nomad herding families, on the grassy plains of Serengeti.
As her marriage fractures, Sara’s quest for motherhood leads her on an extraordinary journey. It begins on the moonlit shores of Silver Lake, where a family tragedy sparks an encounter with a stranger she can never forget …
Her search takes her half a world away, to the island of Tasmania. There, in a place where the sound of a wild ocean floats on the air, she finds the power of a very special kind of love – only then is she ready for what comes next.
From the internationally bestselling author of The Rain Queen comes her landmark work, a novel that explores the meaning of family, identity and home, and looks at how – in the midst of heartbreak – hope and healing can be found.
- GenresTasmania
448 pages, Paperback
Published April 8, 2026
About the author
Katherine Scholes
34 books107 followersKatherine Scholes was born in Tanzania, East Africa, the daughter of a missionary doctor and an artist. She has fond memories of travelling with her parents and siblings on long safaris to remote areas where her father operated a clinic from his Land Rover. When she was ten, the family left Tanzania, going first to England and then settling in Tasmania. As an adult, Katherine moved to Melbourne with her film-maker husband. After working there for many years, writing books and making films, they returned with their two sons to live in Tasmania.
Katherine's internationally bestselling novels have been translated into numerous languages. She is especially popular in Germany and France, where she has sold over two million books.
Katherine's internationally bestselling novels have been translated into numerous languages. She is especially popular in Germany and France, where she has sold over two million books.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
April 13, 2026
Big thanks to Penguin for sending us a copy to read and review.
From the sweeping plains of Tanzania to the idyllic beauty of Tasmania, we
welcome the return of renowned author Katherine Scholes back to our bookshelves and reading chairs.
A saga that encompasses grief, love, loss and hope, is enhanced with imagery and the unpredictable journey that life takes.
Sara is desperate to become a mother and the options are limited by nature, stubbornness and pride.
She takes one of the only options into her hands but encounters tragedy and a chance meeting.
Relocating to Australia with her husband creates personal and marital challenges.
Life in Melbourne disconnects her socially and from the natural world.
Destiny takes her to Tasmania where connection and validation dominate.
An immersive and lyrical narrative that takes us back to the 1960’s and offers an enriched and descriptive experience of the two places that are so similarly spelt.
Every aspect of the emotion spectrum is embedded among the values and expectations of the era.
A pleasurable delight awaits.
From the sweeping plains of Tanzania to the idyllic beauty of Tasmania, we
welcome the return of renowned author Katherine Scholes back to our bookshelves and reading chairs.
A saga that encompasses grief, love, loss and hope, is enhanced with imagery and the unpredictable journey that life takes.
Sara is desperate to become a mother and the options are limited by nature, stubbornness and pride.
She takes one of the only options into her hands but encounters tragedy and a chance meeting.
Relocating to Australia with her husband creates personal and marital challenges.
Life in Melbourne disconnects her socially and from the natural world.
Destiny takes her to Tasmania where connection and validation dominate.
An immersive and lyrical narrative that takes us back to the 1960’s and offers an enriched and descriptive experience of the two places that are so similarly spelt.
Every aspect of the emotion spectrum is embedded among the values and expectations of the era.
A pleasurable delight awaits.
May 18, 2026
Katherine Scholes has once again delivered a masterpiece with One Night at Silver Lake, a novel that easily earns its place alongside her very best work. Set against the richly detailed backdrops of 1960s Tanzania and the wild coast of Tasmania, the story follows Sara Brayden, a woman deeply connected to the African landscape where she was raised by bush doctor parents. Now married to Richard, a conventional mining executive, Sara finds herself confined by the rigid expectations of her role as a corporate wife.
Sara deeply longs for a child and when it is revealed that Richard cannot father children (his pride refuses any alternative path to family) it becomes the catalyst for the fracture of their marriage. This leads Sara on a journey of self-discovery that begins on the shores of Silver Lake, where a sudden family tragedy and an encounter with a stranger alters the course of her life. Desperate for healing and a true sense of belonging, Sara's quest eventually takes her half a world away to the rugged, ocean-swept island of Tasmania, where she must navigate heartbreak to remake her life on her own terms.
What makes this narrative resonate so deeply to me, is how impeccably Katherine captures the spirit of both of her settings, drawing directly from her own unique personal history. Having grown up in Tanzania as the child of a European bush doctor before later making Tasmania her home, Katherine writes with such authenticity. Having lived in Africa myself, I always find Katherine’s prose to be spot on - she evokes the sights, sounds, and dust of the Serengeti plains and nomadic life with such vivid imagery that my memories come flooding back. Katherine transitions just as beautifully to the atmospheric, untamed coast of Tasmania, balancing the warmth and vastness of her first homeland with the crisp, ocean-scented wilderness of her second.
Apart from its spectacular sense of place, the novel provides a powerful commentary on women and the restrictive roles they were forced to play within a traditional marriage. Through Sara’s struggles with Richard, Katherine critiques the mid-century expectation that a wife should suppress her own identity and ambitions to serve as a decorative, compliant extension of her husband’s career.
For longtime fans of Katherine Scholes, this landmark novel delivers everything one could hope for: exquisite environmental writing, profound emotional depth, and a beautifully independent protagonist who refuses to be suppressed by the constraints of her time.
Sara deeply longs for a child and when it is revealed that Richard cannot father children (his pride refuses any alternative path to family) it becomes the catalyst for the fracture of their marriage. This leads Sara on a journey of self-discovery that begins on the shores of Silver Lake, where a sudden family tragedy and an encounter with a stranger alters the course of her life. Desperate for healing and a true sense of belonging, Sara's quest eventually takes her half a world away to the rugged, ocean-swept island of Tasmania, where she must navigate heartbreak to remake her life on her own terms.
What makes this narrative resonate so deeply to me, is how impeccably Katherine captures the spirit of both of her settings, drawing directly from her own unique personal history. Having grown up in Tanzania as the child of a European bush doctor before later making Tasmania her home, Katherine writes with such authenticity. Having lived in Africa myself, I always find Katherine’s prose to be spot on - she evokes the sights, sounds, and dust of the Serengeti plains and nomadic life with such vivid imagery that my memories come flooding back. Katherine transitions just as beautifully to the atmospheric, untamed coast of Tasmania, balancing the warmth and vastness of her first homeland with the crisp, ocean-scented wilderness of her second.
Apart from its spectacular sense of place, the novel provides a powerful commentary on women and the restrictive roles they were forced to play within a traditional marriage. Through Sara’s struggles with Richard, Katherine critiques the mid-century expectation that a wife should suppress her own identity and ambitions to serve as a decorative, compliant extension of her husband’s career.
For longtime fans of Katherine Scholes, this landmark novel delivers everything one could hope for: exquisite environmental writing, profound emotional depth, and a beautifully independent protagonist who refuses to be suppressed by the constraints of her time.
May 6, 2026
4.5 stars for this one.
I loved the description of Tanzania: the lands and its peoples.
How interesting to go back to a time when your husband had all the say and you just had to tow the line. I enjoyed watching Sara become her old independent self. Her upbringing was amazing and it was sad to see this stifled by Richard.
The descriptions of the landscapes were beautifully done. I felt like I was there: both in Tanzania and in Tasmania.
Grief was a big part of this story and it was handled with care and thoughtfulness.
I will definitely read her other books.
I loved the description of Tanzania: the lands and its peoples.
How interesting to go back to a time when your husband had all the say and you just had to tow the line. I enjoyed watching Sara become her old independent self. Her upbringing was amazing and it was sad to see this stifled by Richard.
The descriptions of the landscapes were beautifully done. I felt like I was there: both in Tanzania and in Tasmania.
Grief was a big part of this story and it was handled with care and thoughtfulness.
I will definitely read her other books.
April 22, 2026
Wow!! What a book! Hold on tight for the roller coaster of emotions. Such a powerful book of loss and ultimately healing. So many personal life connections it was uncanny. Thank you for writing such a healing heartfelt story. If I ever had to write a thesis on a book comparing it to my life….
July 29, 2026
Enjoyed this book about a woman struggling in her marriage where her husband uses coercive control.
June 26, 2026
From the plains of Tanzania to the coast of Tasmania, this is a beautiful story of family, identity, and finding your place.
Set in the 60s and beginning in Tanzania, Sara Brayden, daughter of nomadic doctors, has spent years longing for a baby whilst struggling to live up to the expectations of a mine managers wife. Her husband stubbornly refuses to seek out help so they may conceive, so she decides to take matters into her own hands.
She ventures to Silver Lake, only to be met by a family tragedy. An encounter with a stranger unsettles her further.
Her husband is transferred to Australia, where she struggles to assimilate, placing further pressure on both her marriage and herself. She yearns for the peace and the beauty of nature, of which she was born in to.
I loved this one on so many levels. The imagery of Tanzania was beautifully depicted as was the wild coastline of Tasmania. So very different places but each rugged, unspoilt and stunning. Sara’s story shows the way women were expected to blend into the background, supporting their partner, accepting the life they had. A very independent and head strong woman, Sara refuses for her life to be defined like this.
It was a wonderful, emotionally profound book that I wholeheartedly recommend.
4.8 stars
Set in the 60s and beginning in Tanzania, Sara Brayden, daughter of nomadic doctors, has spent years longing for a baby whilst struggling to live up to the expectations of a mine managers wife. Her husband stubbornly refuses to seek out help so they may conceive, so she decides to take matters into her own hands.
She ventures to Silver Lake, only to be met by a family tragedy. An encounter with a stranger unsettles her further.
Her husband is transferred to Australia, where she struggles to assimilate, placing further pressure on both her marriage and herself. She yearns for the peace and the beauty of nature, of which she was born in to.
I loved this one on so many levels. The imagery of Tanzania was beautifully depicted as was the wild coastline of Tasmania. So very different places but each rugged, unspoilt and stunning. Sara’s story shows the way women were expected to blend into the background, supporting their partner, accepting the life they had. A very independent and head strong woman, Sara refuses for her life to be defined like this.
It was a wonderful, emotionally profound book that I wholeheartedly recommend.
4.8 stars
May 11, 2026
One Night at Silver Lake is a beautiful story of identity, family and belonging. Set between Tanzania and Tasmania in the 1960s this is a deeply moving novel that I was completely immersed in.
The narrative of this book was wonderful. It explores ancestors and connection to the land, identity, heartbreak, grief, hope and the role fate can play in shaping our lives.
It was heartbreaking to watch the joy and passion slowly seep out of Sara’s life as her husband’s, and society’s, expectations slowly eroded her sense of self. But her journey towards healing was powerful to witness.
The landscapes are a character of their own in this book also. The way nature and the environment formed the settings was vividly descriptive, so much so that you felt like you were there alongside Sara.
Overall a stunning and emotional sweeping saga that I definitely recommend.
Thank you to Penguin Aus for a copy to review.
The narrative of this book was wonderful. It explores ancestors and connection to the land, identity, heartbreak, grief, hope and the role fate can play in shaping our lives.
It was heartbreaking to watch the joy and passion slowly seep out of Sara’s life as her husband’s, and society’s, expectations slowly eroded her sense of self. But her journey towards healing was powerful to witness.
The landscapes are a character of their own in this book also. The way nature and the environment formed the settings was vividly descriptive, so much so that you felt like you were there alongside Sara.
Overall a stunning and emotional sweeping saga that I definitely recommend.
Thank you to Penguin Aus for a copy to review.
May 18, 2026
This was my first novel by Katherine but it certainly won't be my last.
I've already added her back catalogue of books to my tbr list.
What wonderfully detailed descriptions are provided for where Sara grew up on the Serengeti. I could picture myself there with her, going on adventures, experiencing the good and bad times.
I was amazed at what life was like for women back in the 1960's, not being able to hold a bank account in their own name without their husband's permission. I'm so glad times finally changed, for the better in that case!
I don't want to give any spoilers away, so let's just say I absolutely loved how things turned out for Sara in the end.
I've already added her back catalogue of books to my tbr list.
What wonderfully detailed descriptions are provided for where Sara grew up on the Serengeti. I could picture myself there with her, going on adventures, experiencing the good and bad times.
I was amazed at what life was like for women back in the 1960's, not being able to hold a bank account in their own name without their husband's permission. I'm so glad times finally changed, for the better in that case!
I don't want to give any spoilers away, so let's just say I absolutely loved how things turned out for Sara in the end.
May 20, 2026
Scholes took me to Africa with her beautiful and vivid descriptions of places, in this heartfelt family tale. The action all happens in a Tanzanian mining town and later, in a quaint little neck of theTasmanian bush.
Main character, Sara is humble, intelligent, warm, strong and independent, struggling with the still raw, grief of losing her parents doubled with the overwhelming sadness of facing infertility.
Set in another era, the book explores family dynamics in a male-dominated culture, the burden of expectation and the growing gulf between husband and wife, raised in vastly different worlds.
I enjoyed it immensely.
Main character, Sara is humble, intelligent, warm, strong and independent, struggling with the still raw, grief of losing her parents doubled with the overwhelming sadness of facing infertility.
Set in another era, the book explores family dynamics in a male-dominated culture, the burden of expectation and the growing gulf between husband and wife, raised in vastly different worlds.
I enjoyed it immensely.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 25, 2026
One Night at Silver Lake is a brilliant new adventure romance novel set on the plains of Tanzania and on the shores of Tasmania.
It's a kind of a love triangle but much more of an adventure to finding out more where you really want to be in life and with whom and who is right for you.
What happened that one night at Silver Lake and would she ever forget?
Sara the main character has a lot to think about.
Will she find happiness at Wild Thyme Cottage?
Read it and see in this new brilliant novel One Night at Silver Lake by Katherine Scholes.
I really loved this novel filled with many twists and turns holding your interest right up until the very end.
It's a kind of a love triangle but much more of an adventure to finding out more where you really want to be in life and with whom and who is right for you.
What happened that one night at Silver Lake and would she ever forget?
Sara the main character has a lot to think about.
Will she find happiness at Wild Thyme Cottage?
Read it and see in this new brilliant novel One Night at Silver Lake by Katherine Scholes.
I really loved this novel filled with many twists and turns holding your interest right up until the very end.
May 6, 2026
My favourite Katherine Scholes so far. This story evokes the wilds of Tanzania and the natural beauty of Tasmania, dual backdrops for Sara’s heart aching story. I loved seeing Sara grow as an individual, pushing back against 1960s expectations of a woman and wife, through personal struggle gaining strength to forge her own way. Katherine Scholes delivers a novel with true heart and compelling tension.
May 8, 2026
Four and half stars. Beautifully written. The descriptions of Tanzania and Tasmania almost made you feel as though you were there. The relationship between Richard and Sara was indicitave of how it really was in that era.
May 3, 2026
Cool. So I take it we're all part of the I despise Richard club?
April 11, 2026
ONE NIGHT AT SILVER LAKE (Penguin Random House 2026) by Katherine Scholes is a fascinating insight into life in the 1960’s in the dual settings of Tanzania (gaining independence) and Tasmania. The author’s work is informed by her own experiences of growing up in Tanzania, the child of a European bush doctor who ran mobile clinics across the plains.
Similarly, the main character Sara is the daughter of doctors who work in the bush, and Sara, when not at boarding school, makes friends with Maasai children and sees them sporadically throughout the year while travelling with her parents. She is an independent and curious child who has adapted to the harsh living conditions. By the time she is a young adult, she is resilient, skilled and determined to live life on her terms.
But this changes when she falls in love with Richard, a mining executive, who has very different ideas of what his fair-skinned wife should be – how she should dress, her behaviour, her cooking, her socialising and her friendships. He loves her but, in the way of the times, with conditions attached.
Mostly Sara copes with these constrictions because they still live in her beloved country of birth and she frequently seizes the opportunity to hike or explore or visit her friends.
Both hope for a baby, and when it’s revealed (early on) that Richard cannot father children, his reaction is angry, overwrought and demanding. No, there will be no adoption. No, there will be no sperm donation. Not even from his own brother, who carries similar genes. Sara is disappointed, desperate to widen their family and unsure how she will cope if she is to remain forever childless.
This book was never predictable. Life-changing events occur at every turn and they were not what I expected. In particular, the choices characters made seemed unusual or out of character, but then subsequently proved to mirror their real personalities. Too much detail would be a spoiler, but there are relocations, deaths, love, loss, friendships and adventure. While Sara’s marriage fractures, her quest for motherhood leads her back to her roots of moving with the seasons like nomadic herding families on the Serengeti – a journey to Silver Lake that ends in tragedy, an encounter with a stranger she cannot forget, and the special power that she finds in heartbreak, family, hope, identity and home.
A mix of commercial and literary fiction, this book surprised me with its reveals – not twists exactly, but unexpected decisions by the characters that took the narrative to places not even on my radar. Each of these surprises is a pleasant hook that drives the narrative forward and brings the reader closer to Sara and her yearning desire.
For lovers of nature and the environment, this book is a treasure trove of imagery, research and examples of both flora and fauna native to Tanzania and to Tasmania, with questions about the indigenous inhabitants of both places. Setting is key, and Scholes writes in an evocative and tender way about landscape, relationships, physical hardship, emotional conflicts and how individuals can choose to remake their lives according to what they want rather than what they have been given.
Lots of moral and ethical questions would make this a good bookclub pick.
Similarly, the main character Sara is the daughter of doctors who work in the bush, and Sara, when not at boarding school, makes friends with Maasai children and sees them sporadically throughout the year while travelling with her parents. She is an independent and curious child who has adapted to the harsh living conditions. By the time she is a young adult, she is resilient, skilled and determined to live life on her terms.
But this changes when she falls in love with Richard, a mining executive, who has very different ideas of what his fair-skinned wife should be – how she should dress, her behaviour, her cooking, her socialising and her friendships. He loves her but, in the way of the times, with conditions attached.
Mostly Sara copes with these constrictions because they still live in her beloved country of birth and she frequently seizes the opportunity to hike or explore or visit her friends.
Both hope for a baby, and when it’s revealed (early on) that Richard cannot father children, his reaction is angry, overwrought and demanding. No, there will be no adoption. No, there will be no sperm donation. Not even from his own brother, who carries similar genes. Sara is disappointed, desperate to widen their family and unsure how she will cope if she is to remain forever childless.
This book was never predictable. Life-changing events occur at every turn and they were not what I expected. In particular, the choices characters made seemed unusual or out of character, but then subsequently proved to mirror their real personalities. Too much detail would be a spoiler, but there are relocations, deaths, love, loss, friendships and adventure. While Sara’s marriage fractures, her quest for motherhood leads her back to her roots of moving with the seasons like nomadic herding families on the Serengeti – a journey to Silver Lake that ends in tragedy, an encounter with a stranger she cannot forget, and the special power that she finds in heartbreak, family, hope, identity and home.
A mix of commercial and literary fiction, this book surprised me with its reveals – not twists exactly, but unexpected decisions by the characters that took the narrative to places not even on my radar. Each of these surprises is a pleasant hook that drives the narrative forward and brings the reader closer to Sara and her yearning desire.
For lovers of nature and the environment, this book is a treasure trove of imagery, research and examples of both flora and fauna native to Tanzania and to Tasmania, with questions about the indigenous inhabitants of both places. Setting is key, and Scholes writes in an evocative and tender way about landscape, relationships, physical hardship, emotional conflicts and how individuals can choose to remake their lives according to what they want rather than what they have been given.
Lots of moral and ethical questions would make this a good bookclub pick.
September 25, 2026
4.5 stars.
In 1960s Tanzania, Sara Brayden spends years longing for a baby while struggling in her conventional role as a mine manager’s wife. As her marriage fractures, a family tragedy on the moonlit shores of Silver Lake sparks an unforgettable encounter with a stranger, leading her on an extraordinary quest for motherhood. Her search takes her half a world away to the island of Tasmania. There, in a place where the sound of a wild ocean floats on the air, she finds the power of a very special kind of love - and only then is she ready for what comes next.
I was completely wrong to expect a 'cosy' small-town historical fiction! Sara’s life in Tanzania truly amazed me - she is a strong, assertive woman with grand dreams, yet shackled by the constraints of her era. It was such a lovely experience following Sara’s journey of growth and self-discovery on the page.
The descriptions of nature in this book, set across both Tanzania and Tasmania, are fantastic. The prose captures their vastness with breathtaking scenery - reading it made me want to pack my bags and visit these locations in person.
The entire story is beautifully written, and I was completely transported while reading. I’d highly recommend this!
(Thanks to Penguin Australia for a gifted review copy)
See my bookstagram review.
In 1960s Tanzania, Sara Brayden spends years longing for a baby while struggling in her conventional role as a mine manager’s wife. As her marriage fractures, a family tragedy on the moonlit shores of Silver Lake sparks an unforgettable encounter with a stranger, leading her on an extraordinary quest for motherhood. Her search takes her half a world away to the island of Tasmania. There, in a place where the sound of a wild ocean floats on the air, she finds the power of a very special kind of love - and only then is she ready for what comes next.
I was completely wrong to expect a 'cosy' small-town historical fiction! Sara’s life in Tanzania truly amazed me - she is a strong, assertive woman with grand dreams, yet shackled by the constraints of her era. It was such a lovely experience following Sara’s journey of growth and self-discovery on the page.
The descriptions of nature in this book, set across both Tanzania and Tasmania, are fantastic. The prose captures their vastness with breathtaking scenery - reading it made me want to pack my bags and visit these locations in person.
The entire story is beautifully written, and I was completely transported while reading. I’d highly recommend this!
(Thanks to Penguin Australia for a gifted review copy)
See my bookstagram review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
It was the 1960s in Tanzania when Sara Brayden lost her parents; the nomadic life she'd led with them changed in an instant. Marrying Richard, becoming a mine manager's wife, Sara's life changed even further. When Sara visited Richard's brother Troy at Silver Lake, the one night she was there held despair, tragedy and maybe a little hope for the future. Richard was sent to Australia to a mine in Broken Hill where he'd be for some time, then across to Western Australia. Sara felt alone and lonely in the bare, emotionless house in Melbourne while Richard was away.
When she discovered an inheritance left to her in Tasmania, she went to view it, against Richard's instructions. There Sara's life changed yet again. Meeting family members of a person she'd met in Tanzania; being welcomed into that family; viewing the nearby ocean and it's wild beauty; all led Sara to an emotional feeling of hope, of healing. She felt she was ready...
One Night at Silver Lake is another heartfelt, poignant historical novel by Aussie author Katherine Scholes which I really enjoyed. Filled with heartbreak and hope, family and loneliness, identity - which Sara lost for awhile - and deep feelings of coming home, I felt for Sara as I joined her in her journey. Highly recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley & Penguin AU for my digital ARC to read and review.
When she discovered an inheritance left to her in Tasmania, she went to view it, against Richard's instructions. There Sara's life changed yet again. Meeting family members of a person she'd met in Tanzania; being welcomed into that family; viewing the nearby ocean and it's wild beauty; all led Sara to an emotional feeling of hope, of healing. She felt she was ready...
One Night at Silver Lake is another heartfelt, poignant historical novel by Aussie author Katherine Scholes which I really enjoyed. Filled with heartbreak and hope, family and loneliness, identity - which Sara lost for awhile - and deep feelings of coming home, I felt for Sara as I joined her in her journey. Highly recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley & Penguin AU for my digital ARC to read and review.
August 16, 2026
One Night at Silver Lake is a story about family, love, identity, and finding where you belong. The story is set in the 1960s, between Tanzania and Tasmania.
Sara lives in Tanzania with her husband and really wants to have a baby, but their marriage starts to fall apart. After a sad event at Silver Lake, she meets a stranger who changes her life. Her journey takes her to Tasmania, where she finds love.
The novel explores the lives of women in the 1960s. Women had fewer choices and were often expected to focus on their husbands and families. Sara’s journey shows how women can become stronger and make their own choices. It also makes us think about how much women’s lives have changed since the 1960s.
Nature is also an important part of the story. The plants, animals, and beautiful landscapes of Tanzania and Tasmania connect with the characters and their feelings. They show ideas of freedom, change, survival, and belonging.
Overall, the story shows that family is not only about where we come from. It is also about the people we love and the place where we feel at home.
Sara lives in Tanzania with her husband and really wants to have a baby, but their marriage starts to fall apart. After a sad event at Silver Lake, she meets a stranger who changes her life. Her journey takes her to Tasmania, where she finds love.
The novel explores the lives of women in the 1960s. Women had fewer choices and were often expected to focus on their husbands and families. Sara’s journey shows how women can become stronger and make their own choices. It also makes us think about how much women’s lives have changed since the 1960s.
Nature is also an important part of the story. The plants, animals, and beautiful landscapes of Tanzania and Tasmania connect with the characters and their feelings. They show ideas of freedom, change, survival, and belonging.
Overall, the story shows that family is not only about where we come from. It is also about the people we love and the place where we feel at home.
September 26, 2026
What a beautiful cover!
I can definitely appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of the two remarkably different settings — Tanzania and Tasmania — but I think my issue was too much of the storyline felt contrived.
I kept finding myself thinking, “Well, that’s convenient…” 😂
I listen to the Reading Between Deadlines podcast (Rachael Johns and Anthea Hodgson - authors) and they often talks about editors questioning these sorts of things when preparing a book for publication, and I think there’s a limit to how many coincidences I’ll happily accept in one story. This one may have just pushed me past mine!
I can definitely appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of the two remarkably different settings — Tanzania and Tasmania — but I think my issue was too much of the storyline felt contrived.
I kept finding myself thinking, “Well, that’s convenient…” 😂
I listen to the Reading Between Deadlines podcast (Rachael Johns and Anthea Hodgson - authors) and they often talks about editors questioning these sorts of things when preparing a book for publication, and I think there’s a limit to how many coincidences I’ll happily accept in one story. This one may have just pushed me past mine!
July 9, 2026
A beautiful, beautiful book. I just loved it. So much enjoyment gaining knowledge about the Serengeti and Tanzania - the research is brilliant.
A truly beautiful book with well drawn characters and believable incidents.
Sara is someone I'd love to meet. The conclusion was beautiful but nothing in the book is forced.
I loved every second and recommend this highly for anyone who loves a book with excellent information of places you've heard about but know little of. A truly wonderful book.
A truly beautiful book with well drawn characters and believable incidents.
Sara is someone I'd love to meet. The conclusion was beautiful but nothing in the book is forced.
I loved every second and recommend this highly for anyone who loves a book with excellent information of places you've heard about but know little of. A truly wonderful book.
September 23, 2026
What an interesting childhood with most unusual parents - and then married to a strait-laced Australian in times when the man holds all the power in a marriage. There are some great themes running through the story - family, home, nature, culture. The author passes on a knowledge of times and places and makes a fascinating story.
September 18, 2026
I thought it had a lot of potential in the beginning when the main character was in Tanzania, as her life in the Serengeti and Geita was interesting, but after arriving in Australia the story became a bit long winded by the end.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The main character, Sara, has had a very unorthodox upbringing in 1960's Tanzania, daughter of doctors who travelled the country helping all peoples, the tapestry of the land and its inhabitants are intricately woven into her personality. After marrying mining manager Richard, her desire to become a mother overpowers her, and ultimately creates cracks in the fabric of the marriage. The death of her husband's brother leads her to several life-changing opportunities that offer her a chance at achieving the happiness she desires.
The story is unique and generous in its description of the country of Tanzania and its peoples. However, I could not find a connection with Sara.. I found her to be a little erratic in some things and decidedly stoic in others. Nevertheless, it is a very well written and researched book that is definitely enjoyable
The story is unique and generous in its description of the country of Tanzania and its peoples. However, I could not find a connection with Sara.. I found her to be a little erratic in some things and decidedly stoic in others. Nevertheless, it is a very well written and researched book that is definitely enjoyable
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August 31, 20268. Really enjoyed this book.
September 24, 2026
Poignant. Moving. Memorable.
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September 25, 2026
Excellent read very interesting. Really enjoyed the setting
September 30, 2026
*Audiobook. Narration was enjoyable. The story did feel a bit long winded and preachy at times.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
1967, Tanzania, East Africa. Sara Brayden is married to Australian mine manager Richard and they both want to have a large family. After five years Sara’s arms are still empty, all the other women have children and she feels out of place and doesn’t fit in.
Sara’s parents were doctors, they travelled giving medical care where it was needed, following the herding families of the Serengeti plains and she’s more at home outside and in the bush.
Sara knows her marriage is falling apart, Richard is distant and his job keeps him busy. But when it comes to having kids he’s stubborn and won’t consider any other options and it has driven a wedge between them.
Sara goes to Silver Lake and to see a relative, they don’t she's visiting and Sara comes across a tragic scene, and Dr Evan Larsen helps her and it's life changing.
I received a copy of One Night at Silver Lake from Penguin Books Australia and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I felt like I was looking at the vast Serengeti plains, the wildlife and reminiscing about her unconventional childhood alongside Sara and with the Maasai children, and later at the rocky shores and forests of Rhondda a tiny mining town in Tasmania.
Richard expected Sara to conform and adapt and never took her feelings into account and he had no empathy. He didn’t understand his wife, what was important to her, Sara’s loss of her parents and loneliness and this was made worse by not having children and she felt like she was a failure.
How have I never read anything by bestselling author Katherine Scholes before (kicking myself), she has a catalogue of eight novels and I’m going to be adding them to my Goodreads want to read list.
Five stars, I highly recommend and you will be totally captivated and swept away by One Night at Silver Lake and it will make ponder the links we all have to earth, the land, animals, plants, people and those who lived here before us.
Sara’s parents were doctors, they travelled giving medical care where it was needed, following the herding families of the Serengeti plains and she’s more at home outside and in the bush.
Sara knows her marriage is falling apart, Richard is distant and his job keeps him busy. But when it comes to having kids he’s stubborn and won’t consider any other options and it has driven a wedge between them.
Sara goes to Silver Lake and to see a relative, they don’t she's visiting and Sara comes across a tragic scene, and Dr Evan Larsen helps her and it's life changing.
I received a copy of One Night at Silver Lake from Penguin Books Australia and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I felt like I was looking at the vast Serengeti plains, the wildlife and reminiscing about her unconventional childhood alongside Sara and with the Maasai children, and later at the rocky shores and forests of Rhondda a tiny mining town in Tasmania.
Richard expected Sara to conform and adapt and never took her feelings into account and he had no empathy. He didn’t understand his wife, what was important to her, Sara’s loss of her parents and loneliness and this was made worse by not having children and she felt like she was a failure.
How have I never read anything by bestselling author Katherine Scholes before (kicking myself), she has a catalogue of eight novels and I’m going to be adding them to my Goodreads want to read list.
Five stars, I highly recommend and you will be totally captivated and swept away by One Night at Silver Lake and it will make ponder the links we all have to earth, the land, animals, plants, people and those who lived here before us.
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