Book picks similar to
Return to the High Country by Tony Parsons
australiana
bones
rural-australia
country
Secrets Of Whitewater Creek
Sarah Barrie - 2014
She's had to be. Her life revolves around running her property almost single-handedly on next to no money, and waiting out her four years of probation - a rap that she took for one of her closest friends. But there's an end to her problems in sight. Jordan’s probation period is almost up, and if she can just make the cattle sale, there’s a chance she can pull herself out of more than ten years of serious debt and keep her precious farm. The last thing she needs is for Reid Easton to walk into town. Detective Senior Sergeant Reid Easton drives into Whitewater Creek on a mission to wrap up a three-year drug investigation; his only lead, Jordan Windcroft. The attraction between the two is immediate, but Reid is undercover and Jordan has a secret she can’t risk him discovering. Neither will jeopardise their cause, not for something as transitory as love.
Blood Secret
Jaye Ford - 2013
The police are looking in the wrong places, and Max's friends and his business partner keep hinting at another, darker side to him.But Rennie Carter understands about double lives – after all, that's not even her real name …And she has a secret too – a big, relentless and violent one that she's terrified has found her again … and the man she loves.
Lake Hill
Margareta Osborn - 2017
Except en route to a new life on the coast at Lakes Entrance she finds herself - courtesy of a rockslide - stuck in the remote mountain town of Lake Grace. Yet maybe fate is on her side. Because Lake Grace is home to Rick Halloran - ex-rodeo king, sculptor and grazier - and the man with whom she enjoyed a brief, unforgettable romance twenty years ago. Not only that, but Julia has dreamed of running her own cafe, and she's just spotted a For Sale sign outside the prettiest little tea-room by the lake . . .Julia is finally on the verge of the life she's always wanted. Then her long-buried secret knocks at the door . . .
Wattle Creek
Fiona McCallum - 2012
Spending long, hard days on a farm he has no affection for, and nights ignoring the criticisms of his mother, Damien can no longer remember what he's living for. But in a small town like Wattle Creek, there are few people to turn to - and Damien learned long ago to keep his problems to himself.Until Jacqueline Havelock, a young psychologist escaping her own issues, arrives fresh from the city and makes Damien question everything he has known about himself…also igniting a spark in his lonely heart.Soon Damien is daring to ask for more than an ordinary life, and can glimpse the possibility of happiness. Will this accidental farmer dare to fulfil the long-forgotten legacy of his father and find peace in the arms of the doctor?Or will the ghosts of their pasts threaten the fragile new lives they've just begun to build?
Just One Kiss
Susanne Bellamy - 2015
Amy is certain she can resist the attraction of this man who holds a secret. But is Amy as strong as she thinks she is? Will the truth of Dan’s past tear their love apart?
The Cedar Tree
Heather Reyburn - 2020
As if adjusting to a new and isolated lifestyle isn’t enough, the handsome new owner of Tullagulla shows up and Grace is thrown into turmoil. Torn between the gentle stranger and her hot-headed husband, Grace is forced to confront her feelings and question her loyalties, while her love for Tullagulla further challenges her ability to make a life changing decision. When tragedy strikes, will a century old ghost help her or destroy her?
"The Cedar Tree is a sweeping story of outback life and the every day struggles of life on the land. The characters are raw and relatable. I can't wait to read more in this series." Sarah Williams, Bestselling Author.Similar in style to Barbara Hannay, Cathryn Hein, Sarah Williams, Fiona McArthur, Victoria Purman, Fiona Palmer and Tricia Stringer.
Sticks and Stones
Katherine Firkin - 2020
He just had to pretend.'It's winter in Melbourne and Detective Emmett Corban is starting to regret his promotion to head of the Missing Persons Unit, as the routine reports pile up on his desk.So when Natale Gibson goes missing, he's convinced this is the big case he's been waiting for - the woman's husband and parents insist the devoted mother would never abandon her children, and her personal accounts remain untouched.But things aren't all they seem. The close-knit Italian family is keeping secrets - none bigger than the one Natale has been hiding.Just as the net seems to be tightening, the investigation is turned on its head. The body of a woman is found . . . then another.What had seemed like a standard missing person's case has turned into a frightening hunt for a serial killer, and time is running out.But to really understand these shocking crimes, Emmett and his team will need to delve back through decades of neglect - back to a squalid inner-city flat, where a young boy is left huddling over his mother's body . . .
The Vet from Snowy River
Stella Quinn - 2021
A rebellious teenager. And meddling but well-meaning townsfolk. Vera gets more than she bargains for when she runs off to a new life in the country ... A fresh and funny rural romance, perfect for readers of Alissa Callen and Rachael Johns.Vera De Rossi no longer believes in love ...And thanks to her ex-boyfriend- she's also broke, jobless, and staring down the barrel at a court case that could land her in prison. Turning to her talent for baking, Vera opens a cafe in Hanrahan, a cosy tourist town in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains.Josh Cody, once Hanrahan's golden boy, escaped sixteen years ago with gossip hard on his heels and a pregnant girlfriend in tow. Now he's back: a qualified veterinarian - and a single dad with a lot to prove. A new start and a grumpy teenage daughter ... it's a lot to juggle, and there's no room in his life for further complications. But that's before he walks into The Billy Button Cafe and meets its prickly owner ...Reeling from the past, Vera has no intention of being sidetracked by the hot vet with his killer smile. But fate has a way of tripping up our best intentions and between a stray cat and a busybody with a heart of gold, this is a town - a family - unlike any other. And, whether Vera wants it or not, is there anything a family won't do to help one of its own?Funny, feel-good and entertaining, a stellar romance debut from an award-winning new talent.
Cherry Season
Trish Morey - 2015
"just divine ...
Cherry Season is gorgeous.
" Beauty and Lace
Dan Faraday is too busy for love. With the long hours running the family orchard, he doesn't have time to go on dates, and if he did, he would be looking for someone who fits into his ten-year plan. Someone traditional, reliable and dependable - someone just like him.Someone the total opposite of beautiful drifter Lucy Marino. A free spirit who chases the moment, she's in town for the fruit-picking season. The only certain thing in her life is constant change and while she's tempted to see how cute Dan might be if only he smiled, she's not the type of girl to wait around.But as the cherry trees blossom, Lucy and Dan are increasingly drawn to one another. In spite of their differences, each begins to wonder if maybe they have a future after all.
With the weight of Dan's family legacy on his shoulders and Lucy afraid of losing the only life she's ever known, can Dan give Lucy a reason to put down roots before the seasons change?
A Passionate Life
Ita Buttrose - 1998
Cold Chisel wrote a song about her. Rupert Murdoch was so impressed by her talents, he asked her to be the editor-in-chief of both the Daily and Sunday Telegraphs – and in doing so, become the first woman ever to edit a major Australian metropolitan newspaper.In her extraordinary career, spanning over fifty years, Ita Buttrose has been involved in every aspect of the media, from newspapers and magazines to television and radio and now, electronic publishing. From her creation of a new type of women's magazine in Cleo and then ITA, to her appointment as the youngest-ever editor of The Australian Women's Weekly (a distinction she still holds today), a passionate love of journalism has driven her every step of the way.Refreshingly candid about the challenges she has faced as a professional woman, not only in her career but also in her love life and as a mother, A Passionate Life describes those ground-breaking years with Ita's trademark clarity, precision and wit.In this substantially revised and expanded edition, Ita also shares her views on current affairs and the state of the media today, including an insider's perspective on the Murdoch empire. We hear about her significant recent contribution to various health awareness campaigns, particularly Alzheimer's Australia; her coverage of the 2011 royal wedding; her new incarnation as a rap star; the making of Paper Giants and her recent venture into the new territory of electronic publishingAn appealing and lively autobiography by one of Australia's most distinguished journalists. A Passionate Life will strike a chord with working women everywhere.
Little Bird
Sharon Dempsey - 2017
But that is only the start of his problems.Welsh Detective, Anna Cole is running away from a dead-end relationship and the guilt of her mother's death. She hopes secondment to the Police Service of Northern Ireland will provide a distraction. There is a killer on the streets targeting young women and leaving behind macabre mementoes to taunt the police.Can Declan and Anna work together to catch the deranged killer before he strikes again?And is it ever possible to leave the past behind you?
Redstone Station
Therese Creed - 2013
During various placements at farms and stations during her time at college she was shocked at the second-class status of women workers, whereas her grandfather, Sam, who owns Redstone, has always treated her as an equal. For his part, Sam is delighted to have his granddaughter back on board. In shaping Alice he tried to avoid the mistakes he'd made with her mother, Lara, and she has lived up to his high expectations, graduating from Ag College with flying colours. He now sees Alice as his last chance to preserve his beloved station and successfully take it into the future. Exceptionally hard-working, with great horsemanship, an instinctive understanding of animals and a natural aptitude for farming, Alice is determined to justify her grandfather's faith in her. But will her budding regard for one of the stockmen throw her, and the future of Redstone, off track?
One More Song
Nicki Edwards - 2017
Now he's the star of Melbourne's hottest musical, and home is wherever the next standing ovation is - why bother going home to visit his parents when his dad couldn't care less about his success?Meanwhile, nothing much has changed for Edwina in the last decade, which is exactly how she likes it. Eddie adores her nursing job and Yallamba community - she can't imagine living anywhere else. And even if she wanted to, she could never leave her beloved grandparents, who raised her and love her like their very own daughter. She's not going to abandon them in their old age. Not for anything.So when Harry and Eddie bump into each other on one of Harry's flying visits home, their instant mutual attraction seems as pointless as it is intense. There's no way they could ever work it out... Is there?
The Mahdi
A.J. Quinnell - 1981
— The greatest "miracle" in fourteen hundred years is about to take place...a miracle orchestrated by British Intelligence and the CIA, joined incredibly by the KGB. — One blinding eruption of flame--and three millions Arabs at Mecca will think they're witnessing the arrival on earth of the Mahdi, the reincarnation of Muhammad, fourteen centuries after the prophet's death. It is a plan of immense audacity and unthinkable consequences.
Infinite Splendours
Sofie Laguna - 2020
The act severs Lawrence from himself. Like the stammer Lawrence develops, where words collide and are blocked, so is he. When Lawrence reaches early adulthood, he starts a friendship with the son of one of his workmates. He connects with the boy he once was, damaged beyond repair. At the heart of Lawrence's desires is the longing to be made whole. But after he is savagely beaten by the boy's father and his workmates, Lawrence decides to retreat from the world. He stays on in his mother's country home, and lives as a hermit for the next thirty years. When a single mother moves into the abandoned farm next door to Lawrence with her teenage daughter and ten-year-old son, his isolation is shattered and he withdraws completely. But the mother asks him to get back to work on the vegetable garden he'd been tending on their land before their arrival. Her boy David is left alone at home a lot, and he and Lawrence begin a friendship. The sense of tension and foreboding is almost unbearable as we witness the boy's growing interest in Lawrence and the older man's blossoming at the chance of the tenderness he has been denied his whole life. In the end, an act of breathtaking courage and sacrifice will save both Lawrence and the boy, but by then your heart will have shattered into a million pieces. Miles Franklin-award winner Sofie Laguna's new novel is both dark and confronting, but transformative through the light, redemption and joy the author so masterfully conjures in its pages. You finish the book with a sense of wonder and exhilaration for what she has achieved and what the book has given you as a reader.