Australian Women Writers Challenge discussion

#1 of 6 Miles
"An Isolated Incident" by Emily Maguire


ABOUT THE BOOK
When 25-year-old Bella Michaels is brutally murdered in the small town of Strathdee, the community is stunned and a media storm descends.
Unwillingly thrust into the eye of that storm is Bella's beloved older sister, Chris, a barmaid at the local pub, whose apparent easygoing nature conceals hard-won wisdom and the kind of street-smarts only experience can bring.
As Chris is plunged into despair and searches for answers, reasons, explanation - anything - that could make even the smallest sense of Bella's death, her ex-husband, friends and neighbours do their best to support her. But as the days tick by with no arrest, Chris's suspicion of those around her grows.

MY REVIEW
Its been a long 4 years since Emily Maguire released a new book, and my word do I wish she gave us more of her writing to enjoy more regularly.
That aside, this was by far her best since her debut "Taming the Beast" which upon reading I described as "A spyglass into the world of abuse, weakness, strength and perversion....not for the faint hearted."
"An Isolated Incident" cemented her as one of my all time favourite authors, and I have no doubt will be hard pressed not to be my “Best Read of 2017”.
Set against a backdrop of violence in Australia's central coast, this story portrays how being a woman can be quite frankly nothing short of shitty!
I miss Chris already!
I love Emily Maguire's unapologetic, shoot straight from the hip prose and look forward to her next book.

#2 of 6 Miles
"The Old School" by P.M. Newton


ABOUT THE BOOK
Sydney, 1992. Nhu 'Ned' Kelly is a young detective making her way in what was, until recently, the best police force money could buy. Now ICAC has the infamous Roger Rogerson in the spotlight, and the old ways are out. Ned's sex and background still make her an outsider in the force, but Sydney is changing, expanding, modernising, and so is the Job.

When two bodies are found in the foundations of an old building in Sydney's west, Ned is drawn into the city's past: old rivalries, old secrets and old wrongs. As she works to discover who the bones belong to – and who dumped them there – she begins to uncover secrets that threaten to expose not only the rotten core of the police force, but also the dark mysteries of her own family.

MY REVIEW
A pretty hard slog up until the last 75 pages or so.
Liked the storyline and the idea behind it, it also tackles some very big taboo subjects...but it just wasn't all that polished.

#3 of 6 Miles
"The Dry" by Jane Harper


ABOUT THE BOOK
Luke Hadler turns a gun on his wife and child, then himself. The farming community of Kiewarra is facing life and death choices daily. If one of their own broke under the strain, well...
When Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk returns to Kiewarra for the funerals, he is loath to confront the people who rejected him twenty years earlier. But when his investigative skills are called on, the facts of the Hadler case start to make him doubt this murder-suicide charge.
And as Falk probes deeper into the killings, old wounds start bleeding into fresh ones. For Falk and his childhood friend Luke shared a secret... A secret Falk thought long-buried... A secret which Luke's death starts to bring to the surface...

MY REVIEW
Ok so firstly I need to point out that earlier this year I read an amazing book, by one of my favourite authors of all time that was similar to "The Dry", so I couldn't not compare the 2.
I have purposely rated this lower than the other book, as I did enjoy that one more.

Ok that over with, what do I have to say about "The Dry".....
I did really enjoy this book and it did stack up to the majority of the hype that has been around it since taking out "book of the year" prize at the Indie Awards back in March.
I do really enjoy reading books set in obscure remote areas of Australia and having lived in the NT for a significant period of time, I really feel at home in that barren dry heat that Australia turns on for most of it's vast land mass.
A gutsy plot for a debut novel - triple suicide - that is well written and really does propel you through the storyline with increasing intrigue into the "who dunnit".

I've seen reviews of people who foresaw the ending and listed that as a downfall of it, but for me there was enough going on throughout the book to keep me engaged enough to not be able to positively pinpoint the ending myself, until I actually got there.

#4 of 6 Miles
"Girl In Between" by Anna Daniels


ABOUT THE BOOK
Lucy Crighton has just moved in with some gregarious housemates called Brian and Denise . . . who are her parents. She's also the proud mother of Glenda, her beloved 10-year-old . . . kelpie. And she has absolutely no interest in the dashing son of her parents' new next-door neighbour . . . well, maybe just a little.
When you're the girl in between relationships, careers and cities, you sometimes have to face some uncomfortable truths . . . like your Mum's obsession with Cher, your father's unsolicited advice, and the fact there's probably more cash on the floor of your parents' car than in your own bank account.
Thank goodness Lucy's crazy but wonderful best friend, Rosie, is around to cushion reality, with wild nights at the local Whipcrack hotel, escapades in Japanese mud baths, and double dating under the Christmas lights in London.
But will Lucy work out what she really wants to do in life and who she wants to share it with?


MY REVIEW
Oh this was a brilliant read and I loved it for all of it's bogan glory! (I actually read this over the course of 1 evening.)
I've been somewhat "off" chick lit for a number of years now, but this was a refreshing sidestep from my usual go to reads these days.
Largely set in Rockhampton in northern Queensland of the east coats of Australia - which in itself is a great thing - this is a coming of age tale, in your 30s!
The locations this book weaved between were all familiar to me, so this really did just strike so many chords with me. I couldn't not love it.
The writing is unique outback Aussie and all in all its great to see an author keep it bogan real!
As much as I applaud the author for keeping true to her roots and heritage of Rocky - I can't help but feel a little sad that the people I can share this great read with will be limited due to just how Aussie this is. It will struggle to be appreciated, and even understood fully by the wider audience.
I guess on the flip side, maybe it's a good thing to keep these little gems to ourselves everyone once in a while!
I really hope that this author writes more.

#5 of 6 Miles
"In the Quiet" by Eliza Henry-Jones


ABOUT THE BOOK
Cate Carlton has recently died, yet she is able to linger on, watching her three young children and her husband as they come to terms with their life without her on their rural horse property. As the months pass and her children grow, they cope in different ways, drawn closer and pulled apart by their shared loss. And all Cate can do is watch on helplessly, seeing their grief, how much they miss her and how - heartbreakingly - they begin to heal. Gradually unfolding to reveal Cate's life, her marriage, and the unhappy secret she shared with one of her children, In the Quiet is compelling, simple, tender, true - heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure.

MY REVIEW
A very simple story which is written with exquisite care.
I loved how I didn't actually notice that the book doesn't have chapters until I was past the midway point of the book.
Oh how I adored the bolshy madam that is Jessa. She was just truly loveable.
This book bordered on having too many characters in the first quarter, but you were so quickly brought into the fold with them that they because familiar to you. I think this also might have been a factor in how fast I sped through the book too if I'm honest.
All in all I really enjoyed discovering this author, and I will look to read more of her writing.

#6 of 6 Miles
"Goodwood" by Holly Throsby


ABOUT THE BOOK
Goodwood is a small town where everyone knows everything about everyone. It's a place where it's impossible to keep a secret.
In 1992, when Jean Brown is seventeen, a terrible thing happens. Two terrible things. Rosie White, the coolest girl in town, vanishes overnight. One week later, Goodwood's most popular resident, Bart McDonald, sets off on a fishing trip and never comes home.

People die in Goodwood, of course, but never like this. They don't just disappear.
As the intensity of speculation about the fates of Rosie and Bart heightens, Jean, who is keeping secrets of her own, and the rest of Goodwood are left reeling.

MY REVIEW
An overall ok read, but at times I struggled to be interested in it.
It seemed to lack dimension and the number of characters at times overwhelming to keep up.
The ending is obviously the whole point of the book, but it seems to not be the forefront of the plot anywhere else in the book, and therefore it all just seemed a bit disjointed.