Cedar Valley

by Holly Throsby

'He strolled down Valley Road, only briefly, past the hairdresser and a small cafe. A warm wind stirred, carrying with it the faint smell of pies and horses, and the man paused for just a moment before he sat down. Benny Miller would have driven right past him in her station wagon on that bright and brimming day.'

On the first day of summer in 1993, two strangers arrive in the town of Cedar Valley.

One is a calm looking man in a brown suit. He makes his way down the main street and walks directly to Cedar Valley Curios & Oldwares, sitting down on the footpath, where he leans silently against the big glass window for hours.

The other is 21-year-old Benny Miller. Fresh out of university, Benny has come to Cedar Valley in search of information about her mother, Vivian, who has recently died. Vivian's mysterious old friend, Odette Fisher, has offered Benny her modest pale green cottage for as long as she wants it.

Is there any connection between the man on the pavement and Benny's quest to learn more about her mother? Holly Throsby is the perfect guide as Cedar Valley and its inhabitants slowly reveal their secrets.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Australia, Contemporary, Book Club, Historical

391 pages, Paperback

First published September 26, 2018

About the author

Holly Throsby is a songwriter, musician and novelist from Sydney. She has released four solo albums, a children’s album called See! and her most recent album in 2011 was called Team. Holly has been nominated for four ARIA Awards – two for Best Female Artist, one for Best Children’s Album, and one as part of Seeker Lover Keeper, her band with Sally Seltmann and Sarah Blasko.
Holly is also a council member for the animal protection institute, Voiceless.

She likes good books, cryptic crosswords, small towns and dogs.

Reviews

[Krystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

SWEET JEEZUZ I NEED A MINUTE HERE.

I just ... what?

I'm so confused.

***

*2 hours later*

Ok.

So.

This was a fantastic book.

Me and Australian small towns don't really get along. Both in life and in the literary world. I hate the small-town vibe where everyone knows everyone and gossips about everyone else's business. I hate the lack of drive, how everyone is just settled into their dull routines and passes every day the same. I've got a Took spirit, like Bilbo. I want adventure and mountains and hey if there's dragons I'm not gonna complain.

(I should also mention that, if you are from a small town, I realise my opinions of you and your lifestyle are completely unfair, stereotyped and likely untrue. Please forgive me.)

When it comes to Australian books set in small towns, they have to be pretty special. They have to give me something new and different.

You know what this book gave me?

An appreciation for the simplicity of life in a small town.

How the heck did that happen??!

Maybe it had something to do with the way Benny became a part of the town so easily? Maybe it was to do with how comforting she found it, and how naturally she got along with everyone. I'll admit it - I was envious. She made it seem like such a wonderful adventure, to go and live among these people and become one of them.

There are also some brilliant, 'Australia in the 90s' references which I really enjoyed. Who doesn't love a side of nostalgia with their small-town story? But it never went overboard; never overindulged in describing things or included things that didn't need to be included. Everything had its place. It not only held my interest but had me picturing the town so vividly. This book has such a wonderful community vibe and for the duration of reading I really felt like I was a part of it.

There's a really neat parallel between Benny settling in, and the mystery of the man outside Curios. There's so many unanswered questions and curiosities, and this book threw me from page 7. SEVEN. It effectively kept me hooked on the mystery while trying to also figure out the life of Benny's mother, who has recently passed. There's the sense that the two are connected, but there's no possible way to work out how.

Now, allow me to explain my initial comments upon concluding this novel. I won't detail any spoilers, but I'll add the tag in case it gives you too much of an idea of how things may turn out.

This is one of those books that expects you to put the pieces together yourself. It means that if you miss clues, or want things tied up in a neat little bow, you may end up as confused as I did. This is not a bad thing. It actually causes quite an interesting sensation, to not have things spelled out at the end. I was left completely mystified by the ending, and I'm still trying to puzzle it out.

There are some interesting, if familiar, characters, and I particularly enjoyed Cora's growth. She seemed so easy to look down on at the start but by the end of the novel I really appreciated who she was. Plus if I had a neighbour that constantly bought me cake I'm pretty sure we'd be BFFs instantly.

This was a true delight to read, and I think fans of Australian fiction will enjoy this small town story that revolves around a mysterious man and a new girl settling in. It's set in 1993 so there's some fun references, and it paints such a beautiful, peaceful portrait of a quaint little life.

Highly recommend.

With thanks to Allen & Unwin for my ARC to read and review.

[Phrynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started so well with a really intriguing mystery occurring at the same time as a young woman arrives in town searching for her roots. It appears the two things are related but a lot of the book passes before we start to get a glimmer of how.

I enjoyed the way the book was written and liked the descriptions of small town life. There was humour too, some of it dark. The characters were a teeny tiny bit stereotypical and there were an awful lot of them.

My problem was the ending. It was not that I did not understand it but it was a terrible fizzer, and I felt the author had built the mystery up and up and then dropped it. The book became just a study of small, country town life. Nothing wrong with that but I felt I had been set up for more and did not get it.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Benny Miller was surprised at how much at home she felt in Cedar Valley, even as she arrived. Although she had never been there before, she felt welcomed. A friend of her recently deceased mother, Odette Fisher, had offered Benny the use of her cottage – the one her mother Vivian had lived in for a while – and Benny was looking forward to meeting Odette and getting to know the town, as well as details about her mother. Benny had left her father, the friends she had in the share house, and Sydney on this quest – it was 1993 and she felt a youthful exuberance.

Cora Franks was the owner of Cedar Valley Curios & Oldwares and although she noticed the well-dressed man sitting outside, leaning against her shop window, she was busy and soon forgot him. It also turned out that Cora was Benny’s next door neighbour and had known Benny’s mother. Both Benny and the stranger arrived in Cedar Valley on the same day, but when Benny saw him, she was sure she didn’t know him…

Cedar Valley is my first by Aussie author Holly Throsby and I found it an intriguing read, with two parallel mysteries that didn’t seem to be completely resolved. I found myself laughing aloud on occasion; enjoyed Benny’s character as she tried to learn more about her elusive mother. A good read until the last page – Cedar Valley finished with a very abrupt and unsatisfying ending. When I looked to the next page to continue reading and saw “Acknowledgements” I was astounded!

With thanks to Allen & Unwin for my uncorrected proof ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

[Brooke - Brooke's Reading Life · Rating 5 out of 5]

*www.onewomansbbr.wordpress.com
*www.facebook.com/onewomansbbr

Cedar Valley by Holly Throsby. (2018).

On December 1st 1993, two strangers arrive in Cedar Valley. One is a calm looking man who sits down on the footpath silently for hours. The other is 21 year old Benny who has made contact with her recently decreased mother's friend Odette to learn more about her mum. Is there any connection between the man and Benny's search for information on her mum?

I loved this book. It's set in a small town, and it's written how I imagine living in a small town would be like (sorry to any small town people who find it stereotypical haha). There are two main storylines involved. One is around Benny, a young woman who has moved to this town to find information on her recently deceased mother; I really felt for Benny on her journey as she discovers things about her mother who she barely knew, while building connections with people who knew her mum years ago. The second storyline is around an unknown man who arrived on the same day as Benny, sat down on the footpath and died - very similar to the real life case of the Somerton Man/Tamam Shud case (seriously fascinating if you are into true crime mysteries!) which is referenced throughout this book. I smashed this book in one day because I found it so interesting. The characters all seemed realistic and believable, and the way the storylines intertwine is very clever. Would be happy to recommend this excellent book.

[Amanda - Mrs B's Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com
Inspired by one of Australia’s most profound and unsolved case mysteries, ‘The Somerton Man’, comes Cedar Valley, the second novel from musician turned writer Holly Throsby. Cedar Valley is an authentic and weaving small town Australian mystery. With secrets, family connections and a vibrant community at the very core of this novel, Cedar Valley is a profound tribute to Australia’s regional centres.

Opening on the pivotal first day of the summer season in the year 1993, Cedar Valley sees two newcomers arrive in this small town on the same day. Benny is one of these freshly arrived strangers. Benny is a university student, twenty one years old and is desperate to find out more information on her recently deceased mother, Vivian. Helping Benny uncover the secrets of her lineage is Odette, a local resident of Cedar Valley and an old friend of Benny’s mother. An old cottage awaits Benny in the town of Cedar Valley, as she attempts to uncover her mother’s past. By coincidence, another newcomer arrives in Cedar Valley. This man is impeccably dressed and is drawn to a local antique shop. It is quite shocking for the townspeople of Cedar Valley when the unknown man dies on the pavement of the place he has been sitting at for hours on end. Cedar Valley tries to make sense of these two different mysteries simultaneously, while drawing on the possible connection between these two strangers. Cedar Valley is a meandering tale, with expert host Holly Throsby in the control centre.

With the tagline ‘Strange things happen in small towns’ I knew that I was going to enjoy Cedar Valley, the second novel by Holly Throsby. Cedar Valley is also second novel I have read by this author. I read and enjoyed Goodwood, Throsby’s debut novel when it released last year. Cedar Valley shows us how Throsby has continued to thrive as a small town Australian fiction writer. This second novel is even richer than her first, demonstrating just how well versed Throsby is in encapsulating regional Australia.

Small town rural fiction doused with plenty of mystery and intrigue are the best words I can use to describe Cedar Valley. If you had the pleasure of reading Goodwood, Throsby’s first novel, you are going to really appreciate this second offering. Throsby has refined her craft and the end result is a book that captures the sense of community, togetherness, vibe and a natural curiosity of small town Australia. This is Throsby’s passion and clearly she has a great deal of affection for accurately representing small town Australia. This is an authentic tale, filled with characters that we know we would easily bump in to down the street, or share a drink with at the local pub. Connected to this is the wonderful sense of nostalgia that I gained from the time period this novel is set, the early 1990s. Throsby’s depiction of this time in our not too distant past was spot on.

I liked the way in which Cedar Valley morphed into a path of self discovery for the lead of the story, Benny. A newcomer to Cedar Valley, following the death of her mother, with only scant clues to her mother’s background, Benny becomes covered in the fabric of this colourful community. It is a great journey to follow, full of interesting clues, some dead ends and of course startling discoveries. Connected to this is how the community comes to embrace Benny along with how Benny comes to lean on the people of Cedar Valley. It is an endearing touch and I appreciated this aspect of the book very much.

The central mystery of the novel, the baffling case of the stranger who comes to Cedar Valley and unexpectedly dies, is one of the prime reasons why I was enthralled by this book all the way through. When I discovered this is segment of the story was loosely based on the cold case that has baffled Australia’s greatest sleuths for decades, I found it quite remarkable. It sparked something in me, an innate need to find out more about the Somerton man case. Throsby handles this aspect of her novel with plenty of poise and a steady guiding hand. Many may pick up that this is a highly character orientated and slow burn style mystery novel, but it is well worth investigating. The end comes rolling past you with a sense of satisfaction.

Sometimes it is hard to imagine how a seemingly inconsequential death of an unknown person can have such as ripple effect on a small town. Cedar Valley shows the care, concern, support, intrigue and effective nature of communities, such as the endearing one represented on the pages of this novel. Throsby has extended herself and has provided readers with another profound small town Australian mystery novel.

*Thanks extended to Allen & Unwin for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.

Cedar Valley is book #133 of the Australian Women Writers Challenge

*Book ‘T’ of the a-z author challenge 2018

[John Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holly Throsby goes from strength to strength, if not her music, this book is an improvement on Goodwood, in that she really seems to get small town Australia, in NSW at least. I loved the story in its side by side narrative between a young woman leaving her father and Sydney at the invitation of her Mum's best friend and the death on the same day as her arrival of a mysterious man in the mythical town of Cedar Valley. Factored in is the recent death of Benny's Mum and her trying to come to terms with this with her Mum's old friend Odette.

The characters of Cedar Valley are well thought out and one gets the true feeling of what it means to live in a small town in NSW and how an incident like a stranger showing up and dying can shake them all up.

Holly pulls it all together in the end without crossing all the tees and dotting all the i's. Recommended.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cedar Valley is the second novel by Australian songwriter, musician and novelist , Holly Throsby. It's the first day of December, 1993, a Wednesday, when twenty-one-year-old Benny Miller drives to Cedar Valley in the hope of learning more about her mother. An enigmatic woman, Vivian Moon was not much of a mother: she virtually abandoned her daughter at five months into the care of Benny’s vaguely competent father, Frank Miller, visiting only sporadically, and not for years before her recent death. At the invitation of her mother's best friend, Benny is staying in Odette Fisher's vacant cottage in Cedar Valley.

Once settled in, Benny ventures down Valley Road into a crowd of people gathered on the footpath outside Cedar Valley Curios and Old Wares. There on the pavement sits a neatly dressed man, dead. Who he is, how he died and why right here in Cedar Valley, are all mysteries. But before any details are known, some people are already remarking on the uncanny similarity to that famous unsolved case, Adelaide's Somerton Man.

Detective Sergeant Anthony Simmons has his constables on the job: photos, fingerprints, a post mortem by the strangely fascinating Dr Ping Williams, routine enquiries of witnesses and, when all that fails to identify the mystery man, a sketch artist for the public appeal for information. Clues come from unexpected sources: even Tony’s elderly mother, Elsie provides useful input.

Meanwhile, Benny visits Odette in her hillside house and the two gradually discover the woman that Vivian was. There are surprises in that for both of them, and some of what they learn is disturbing. Of course they also discuss the dead man: it’s naturally the talk of the whole town, and everyone has a theory.

What a marvellous tale Throsby gives the reader! An intriguing plot with several twists and a few red herrings to keep the pages turning until the final “aha” moment. All this in a setting so well rendered that, along with the cover picture, readers familiar with the area are sure to have a certain town fixed in their minds. But it could be any NSW small town with its attractive and its less desirable qualities, and that includes the residents.

While some are necessarily a little stereotypical and therefore one-dimensional (the obligatory sleazebag, his eternally complaining wife, the overweight cop), the townspeople are, of course, what makes this novel. If they are all are believably flawed, many are also kind and generous and wise (of that wife, Elsie Simmons says that some people connect to the world through their complaints about it). Even the busybody has unexpected depth. It soon becomes apparent why they love their town.

Throsby’s second novel is clever and captivating and heart-warming. There’s plenty of (sometimes very black) humour and more than one mystery to be solved. Readers unfamiliar with the work of this talented author are likely to seek out her debut novel, Goodwood. A brilliant read.

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first glance this author appears to have an infinity with famous names, Benny Miller? from Benny Goodman and Glen Miller? Mark Foy? (Mark Foys was a department store in Sydney in the 50s. This young author Holly Throsby, daughter of Margaret Throsby (guessing the Margaret Throsby) may have had assistance in naming her characters and some older readers maybe a little amused by these coincidences.
The story is centred around Benny Miller a young woman who has been invited to visit Odette Fisher an old friend of her mother's in Cedar Valley and an incident that occurs on 1 December, the same day Benny arrives in town, where a man dressed in a brown suit sits down in front of a shop and quietly dies.
How does any child abandoned by a parent, particularly a mother by virtue of an expected nurturing after a birth cope with a sense of loss and guilt as does Benny Miller. Her peripheral vision does just that and for which has formed her hesitant and insecure personality. Why did her mother abandon her, was it her fault? On taking up Odette’s offer she hopes to have some light shed about her mother, someone she never knew. Many that knew Benny's mother do not have good memories of her, a woman who it appears did not conform to their standards, a woman who was always looking for excitement, who travelled a great deal and had many lovers. Vivian's personality is in stark contrast to her daughter's quiet and inhibited personality.
The mystery surrounding the man in the brown suit consumes the entire read and his strange death creeps into everyone's existence. Slow but well judged investigations take place by the local Police, however with peaked interest many are doing their own sleuthing and then from an unlikely source a connection is made from an incident that occurred in Adelaide in 1948. It appears Cedar Valley’s brown suited man 1993 is a copycat from the Adelaide man so many years before. In the mix are all the colourful characters of this small town where gossip is rife and everyone knows everyone else's business but why did he pick on their town, why did he sit down in front of the Curio shop, why didn't anyone check on him and who was the blond woman. Not until the end of the book are all the pieces of the puzzle put together with the solution being no more than an attention seeking need.

[Cass Moriarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Cedar Valley (Allen & Unwin Books 2018), author Holly Throsby depicts the minutiae of small-town life with pitch-perfect precision. The rural Australian archetypes (of people, of buildings, of community groups, of so many things) are familiar and relevant, and contribute much to this novel’s entertainment factor.
Cedar Valley is a village brimming with secrets, lies, gossip and innuendo, and when a well-dressed stranger appears one day in 1993, sits himself outside the local antiques shop and waits there, unmoving, for hours, the rumours begin to fly.
Cedar Valley reminded me a little of The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham – so many of the townsfolk named and identified by their eccentricities, their unusual habits and their secret vices. At the very heart of the town lies an unexplained crime that at first seems unconnected to the locals. But as the narrative progresses, the links between this historical event and this small community become crucial to solving it.
21-year-old Benny Miller is another stranger who arrives in town on the same day as the man and moves into the green cottage belonging to Odette Fisher, an old friend of her mother. After leaving university, her boyfriend and her father, Benny is looking for answers about the mystery of her mother’s life and recent death. Odette takes Benny under her wing, and as the two women become acquainted, and grow to like and respect each other, the past is gradually uncovered.
This novel is peopled with a wonderful cast of characters and is written with wit and humour and a keen observation of human nature. And the book rockets along at a cracking pace – even though the setting and characters are fairly quiet by nature (even the local police are almost comical in their pursuit of the truth), the plot nevertheless unfolds rapidly and with just the right amount of tension to keep our attention. This is one of those books that whisper ‘just one more page’ to you until you find you have consumed the entire book, all the time never knowing exactly what you will find at the end. I haven’t yet read Holly Throsby’s debut, Goodwood, but I’m keen now to do so, especially as I noticed a tangential mention of Goodwood in this book.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very intriguing mystery and lots of different characters. I enjoyed it. 3.5*

[Francene Carroll · Rating 2 out of 5]

*spoilers*

A simply written tale about simple characters that provides a rose-tinted view of small town life. Vivian Moon's motives for abandoning her child and ignoring her best friend for 20 years have no ring of truth to them and she is revealed at the end as a one-dimensional 'bad' person.

The mystery doesn't amount to anything satisfying and the writer provides a lot of details that go nowhere. For example, what was the story with Benny's bizarre attraction to Tom which is mentioned several times? Who were the scary guys in the white ute?

There is a lot of description of mundane daily activities that many readers seem to love but which just aren't my cup of tea. It just seems to circle around the same information without taking off. Characters repeat the same things to each other that the reader already knows and there is a lot of other superfluous dialogue. I feel the way the author uses the Tamam Shud case is lazy as she just hijacks all the details for her own story without doing anything interesting with them.

If you get a warm glow from reading about small town life and gossipy women you'll enjoy this, but it wasn't for me. Holly Throsby has talent but if she wasn't a well known musician I seriously doubt this book would have been published in its current form.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was interesting - I'd never heard of the Somerton Man before. However I felt the ending was unsatisfactory - it wasn't clearly resolved, to my way of thinking.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this very Aussie book that explored the classic Somerton Man mystery from a whole other angle.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book and thought the small town in the hills and the characters in it were well drawn

[Shelleyrae at Book'd Out · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cedar Valley, Holly Throsby’s second novel, is a contemporary mystery firmly rooted in a small town Australian setting.

On the first day of December 1993, a man in a brown suit seats himself on the pavement in front of Cedar Valley Curios & Old Wares. When store owner Cora Franks eventually finds time to confront him, she is shocked to discover he has died. Amongst the crowd that gathers to witness the spectacle of a dead man, stands Benny Miller. Having only arrived in Cedar Valley that morning, Benny is both fascinated and disturbed by the incident, but she is too distracted by her need to learn more about her recently deceased mother, Vivian Moon, to give the dead stranger much more than a passing thought.

While Benny is settling in to the town, developing a relationship with Odette, her mother’s one time best friend, in the hopes of understanding why Vivian abandoned her as an infant, the police begin to investigate how a dead man came to be sitting on a footpath in Cedar Valley. Wearing a vintage brown suit, and shiny black shoes, the man has no identification and the coroner can’t determine a cause of death.

Some readers will recognise the parallels between the enigma of the dead man in Cedar Valley, and that of ‘The Somerton Man’, the subject of one of Australia’s most enduring mystery’s. The local police are baffled by the strange similarities between the two cases and struggle to make sense of it.

Various residents of Cedar Valley play a role in the story, from the local chemist, to the towns ‘womaniser’, and Detective Sergeant Simmons ailing mother, Elsie, who many not remember what she was told yesterday, but can recall events from decades before. I enjoyed the setting, the people, the town and its environs are easy to visualise.

Though the pace is a little slow and meandering for my taste, Throsby moves the story forward and eventually reveals a surprising connection between Benny, the mystery man, and the town of Cedar Valley. The conclusion is a little vague, but fits the theme of unanswerable questions that runs through the novel.

A warm, engaging read, I liked Cedar Valley, it’s the sort of novel to fill a lazy afternoon picnicking in the country

[Saturday's Child · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was with great anticipation that I began reading Holly Throsby’s latest novel because I was really entertained by her debut novel Goodwood. This one is once again set in a small country town and the style of Holly’s writing allows me to picture both the town and the characters that live there. She captures life in a small town in such a realistic way. I was not disappointed with this novel as it had me turning pages and I loved the way she used an old unsolved mystery to weave some fact into her fiction. My only criticism was the ending which I felt was a just a bit abrupt.

[*Lee* · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was quietly hooked on this book till the last couple of chapters and then I was all WTF about that dead-end, nothing of finish. To the point I almost had a Bradley Cooper “silver linings playbook” moment. Disappointing as Throsby teased out such an an intriguing story, and I had lived Goodwood.

[Rusalka · Rating 4 out of 5]

After my last read, I picked this up and within 3-10 pages, I instantly relaxed. I felt my shoulders untighten and from the weird aggro vibe from the last book I slipped into a familiar world where I understood what was happening, how people talked, the shape of the town (of course there is an award winning pie shop in this tiny town, just like every tiny town in Australia!). Even the house Benny moves into sounds almost like a carbon copy of a holiday house I stayed in as a kid. I was home in 90s Australia which has massive issues and I am very glad we have moved on somewhat from there, but the familiarity was like a massive hug from a long time friend you hadn't seen for years.

Benny, our protagonist, moves to this tiny coastal town in country NSW to get to know her estranged mum's best friend, as she didn't really know her mum who has just died. However, on the same day Benny moves to town, an unknown man dies on the street of this town as well. The town is obviously drawn into this mystery of who he is and why he died, and Benny along with it. We learn about not only the man, but the cast of the town, and Benny along the way of trying to work out what has happened.

There are shoutouts to well known Australian mysteries that are part of our folklore. But essentially the book is about the town and the people within it, and Benny and her finding her place and feet in the world. The mystery is sort of secondary, and that is particularly prevalent with the ending that just kind of fizzles out. Unlike others, I don't think this is a problem as life does that at times - things don't have climatic, well rounded, all tied up endings. Things just end. And then you talk about inviting your Dad to Christmas. I think if I had been in a different headspace though, I would have found that very annoying..

Like Holly Throsby's music, I will go back for more of her writing. I really loved being immersed in it.

[Donna Derons · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Strange things happen in small towns,” asserts the cover of Cedar Valley, and that’s as good a place to start as any. Holly Throsby’s second novel is a mystery on several levels. The most overt is the mystery of the man who sits down in front of the curio store and dies. Who is he? Who killed him, or is it suicide? Why are there such obvious parallels to a similar case some 50 years prior? These questions underpin the novel and taunt the reader, some with the temerity to remain unanswered.
Other mysterious and strange themes float through the novel in tandem. Who was Vivian Moon and why did she desert her daughter? Who is Ed sleeping with (and what’s the attraction)? Is Cora really just an interfering old busybody? What’s with the symbols on the comb?
I really enjoyed this novel. I’ve never lived in a small town, but this felt like a very real depiction of what it might be like... the slight claustrophobia, the lack of choice in friends and lovers. The characters were well drawn and I just loved Odette. Nothing is black and white, nothing is definitive. It’s a gentle, meandering novel that leaves us with questions, which is no bad thing. A solid 4 stars.

[Jessica Morel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not disappointed, just underwhelmed. I loved Goodwood and whilst this was good, it fell a little short.

I enjoyed small town Cedar Valley circa 93 and thought the characters were captured superbly.

Not sure what was missing for me but an enjoyable read nonetheless.

[pages_amour · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars

Whilst I hate to be harsh, there is no way for me to sum up this book other than a huge disappointment.

I think the main issue with this book is that it's marketed as a murder mystery, which lulled me into a false sense of interest, anticipating the usual crime fare that I adore; twists, intrigue, suspense, and this book contained quite simply none of that. Cedar Valley is centred more around the small town lifestyle, a concept which I could have amended my initial expectations to enjoy, if it hadn’t been a one-dimensional exploration of the topic.

The characters felt completely flat, the detective, Simmons, invoked a strong and inexplicable dislike from me, the main character Benny had a personality that to call it vanilla would be an insult to the flavour, and her quest to find solace about her mothers abandonment didn’t have the emotional impact it relied upon, as not only did I find it hard to care about Benny, but her illusive mother was reduced to just being a bad person and given no dimension beyond selfishness. The only character with any type of spark was the local busybody, but even her character didn’t stand out enough to make me feel any sort of compulsion to read this.

Genuinely the book circles around the same old conversations for the first 300+ pages, followed by some end revelations that were hardly surprising, before the novel finished completely abruptly. I turned the page to the acknowledgments with multiple red herrings and questions remaining unresolved, which is the last thing you want in a mystery novel.

Maybe my discontent with this novel is due to the fact that Australian rural crime is one of my favourite niches that has never failed me before, but ultimately I find it hard to see what the direction of this novel was in the slightest sense.

[Dayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book felt long, and yet unfinished. Benny Moon moves to a tiny town somewhere on the South Coast of NSW (I presume) on the same day that a man mysteriously and quietly dies in the Main Street. There is a connection to an unsolved mystery, and links all over the place that started to remind me of that meme of Charlie and the conspiracy threads.
Throsby at times writes like a novice, and given this is her second book I suppose that's not unexpected. There are elements of detail that are just superfluous and distracts you from the actual focus. Characters are sometimes undefined or one sided. There's an entire sub-plot about an unfaithful man that honestly amounts to very little. This is my problem with crime books - there is perhaps a temptation to include so many red herrings that it becomes distracting and confusing.
A light read, that went on a little too long and did not provide a satisfying conclusion.

[Molokov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holly Throsby's second novel Cedar Valley follows a similar formula to the first - it's a mystery set in a small town, but that's about the only similarity. This book intertwines the mysteries surrounding both the dead man in Valley Road and Benny Miller's mother and although it's a slow unravel - at the pace of a country town, in fact - it's still so easily readable to keep you engrossed to the very last page. There's such an easy-going way that the characters of the town are introduced and explored, with plenty of depth to the characters, you could easily imagine them as the ensemble cast of something like "A Country Practice" but as a slow-paced crime investigation show.

[Jessica Lourigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended by a friend, I had very high expectations of this book and I wasn’t disappointed. Throsby has a simple way of telling a tale that draws you to the characters and the town. So many times I wished I could stroll down the Main Street in town or enjoy a drink at the local with Tom and Odette. I think I was expecting some literary poetic genius that wasn’t there. But still I wasn’t disappointed. It’s very simple in the telling but still very touching. I was intrigued by the true story of the Somerset Man and look forward to reading more by this author. On a side note it was exciting to see the local florist in Cedar Valley shared my surname 😉

[Lyndal Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

This delightful portrait of life in a small country town mixes Australia-in-the-90s-nostalgia with a dose of family intrigue and a very mysterious death to create a heartwarming and thoroughly enjoyable read.
Holly Throsby is a huge talent. Her novels have won many awards and she’s also a singer/songwriter - I loved Under the Town and her collaboration with Sarah Blasko and Sally Seltmann (Seeker Lover Keeper) is perfection.
How good is Holly Throsby? 🙌👏🙌

[Erin Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know that scene in Silver Linings Playbook (the movie, not the book) where Bradley Cooper’s character finished the book he was reading and flips out and throws it out the window? Yeah....that’s how I felt at the end of this!

But after thinking about it abit more, and googling ALL the book club discussions about it, I’m not so frustrated anymore.

I loved the setting, the characters, the evocative language which took me right to that small town Main Street destination...another great read from Holly Throsby.

[Daisy G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book so charming and readable - I didn’t want it to end and when it did end, it ended rather suddenly with still a couple of questions unanswered. While I like things tied up all really neatly, I get that sometimes they aren’t entirely. Overall, great writing, as always, by Holly Throsby. As a reader, you get a good feel for place and characters in her books.

[Halena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the setting of this book. It was a realistic version of an Australian country town. The characters were believable and I thought Odette was wonderful. Unfortunately I felt that Benny was not portrayed in enough detail. I’m being fussy but this is an enjoyable summer read.

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hat an unusual book! It starts with Benny moving to Cedar Valley to try to learn something about her mother, who she hardly knew. Add to that a stranger who comes to town sits down and promptly dies. It had a very dark undertone to it and left things unanswered 😔

[Rosie Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really think that Holly Throsby is one of the best writers of small Australian towns I've read. She writes them with a real affection and warmth, but not too sweet, and it's the little details she includes that makes them feel so true to life. I absolutely adore her debut Goodwood, and while I didn't find Cedar Valley quite as compelling, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Characters I'd love to have a cup of tea with, and a mystery that genuinely kept me guessing until the end.