Book picks similar to
The Horse Thief by Tea Cooper


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australian-fiction
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The Sunken Road


Garry Disher - 1996
    At once the story of a region, a town and people, it is also the story of Anna Tolley - "leggy, wilful and auburn-haired, always answering back" - who lives through momentous changes and earns the envy, love and hatred of those around her.

Return To Rosalee Station


Mandy Magro - 2018
    Can they find the path to forgiveness and healing, or will grief keep them apart forever?After eight years of marriage, Sarah Walsh had thought she and Matt would be together forever. But when a fatal accident serves up the cruellest punishment any mother could face, their relationship falters. Sarah is helpless as Matt flies off the rails – she braves one last–ditch attempt to try and make him see they need to work together to get through the heartache. But will it be enough? And what about her – how does she go on alone?Reeling from devastation and guilt, Matt gets the wakeup call he needs to save his marriage before it's too late. But the way forward is littered with obstacles, and he can see it's only by returning to the outback beauty and isolation of Rosalee Station that he has any chance to reclaim the man he once was. But will this separation end up costing him everything?

Silver Clouds


Fleur McDonald - 2013
    She plans to escape it as soon as the funeral is over, but then an unusual request in her Aunt Violet's will makes it impossible for her to leave.When charismatic and charming Brendan McKenzie introduces himself to Tessa, staying at Danjar Plains no longer seems such a hardship. As various secrets begin to unravel, Tessa realises letting go of her heart may hold the key to unlocking both her past and her future.From the author of the bestselling outback sagas, Red Dust, Blue Skies and Purple Roads, this moving novel is about making peace with the past, overcoming fear and insecurity, and the healing power of love.

Lyrebird Hill


Anna Romer - 2014
    The discovery that the death of her sister, Jamie, was not an accident makes her question all she’s known about herself and her past.Traveling back home to Lyrebird Hill, Ruby begins to remember the year that has been forever blocked in her memory . . . Snatches of her childhood with beautiful Jamie, and Ruby’s only friendship with the boy from the next property, a troubled foster kid.Then Ruby uncovers a cache of ancient letters from a long-lost relative, Brenna Magavin, written from her cell in a Tasmanian gaol where she is imprisoned for murder. As she reads, Ruby discovers that her family line is littered with tragedy and violence.Slowly, the gaps in Ruby’s memory come to her. And as she pieces together the shards of truth, what she finally discovers will shock her to the core – about what happened to Jamie that fateful day, and how she died.A thrilling tale about family secrets and trusting yourself...

The Last Of The Bonegilla Girls


Victoria Purman - 2018
    Can the Bonegilla girls defeat their past? Or will it come to claim them?1954: When sixteen–year–old Hungarian Elizabeta arrives in Australia with her family, she is hoping to escape the hopelessness of life as a refugee in post–war Germany. Her first stop is the Bonegilla Migrant Camp on the banks of the Murray in rural Victoria, a temporary home for thousands of new arrivals, all looking for work and a better life. There, Elizabeta becomes firm friends with the feisty Greek Vasiliki; quiet Italian Iliana; and the adventurous Frances, the daughter of the camp's director.In this vibrant and growing country, the Bonegilla girls rush together towards a life that seems full of promise, even as they cope with the legacy of war, the oppressive nature of family tradition and ever–present sorrow. So when a ghost from the past reaches out for Elizabeta and threatens to pull her back into the shadows, there is nothing that her friends wouldn't do to keep her safe.But secrets have a way of making themselves known and lies have a way of changing everything they touch...

Ronan's Echo


Joanne van Os - 2014
    The discovery of her own relative amongst the dead men begins the unravelling of a hundred years of family history, lies and secrets.

Wildflower Hill


Kimberley Freeman - 2010
    Forced to take her life in a new direction when an injury ends her ballet career, Emma returns to her home in Australia and learns that she has inherited an isolated sheep station from a late grandmother who would impart key lessons about love and motherhood.

The Sunnyvale Girls


Fiona Palmer - 2014
    Single mum Toni has been tied to the place for as long as she can recall, although farming was never her dream. And Flick is as passionate about the farm as a young girl could be, despite the limited opportunities for love.When a letter from 1946 is unearthed in an old cottage on the property, the Sunnyvale girls find themselves on a journey deep into their own hearts and all the way across the world to Italy. Their quest to solve a mystery leads to incredible discoveries about each other, and about themselves.

Southern Ruby


Belinda Alexandra - 2016
    Family secrets. A twist of fate. The stunning new generational saga from Belinda Alexandra, bestselling author of TUSCAN ROSE.In New Orleans - the city of genteel old houses and ancient oak trees covered in Spanish moss, of seductive night life, of Creole culture, voodoo and jazz - two women separated by time and tragedy will find each other at last.Amanda, orphaned as a child and suffering the loss of her beloved grandmother, has left Sydney in search of a family she never knew. Ruby, constrained by the expectations of society and class, is carrying a lifetime of secrets. Amanda’s arrival sparks revelations long buried: a double life, a forbidden love, and a loss that cannot be forgotten.Southern Ruby is a sweeping story of love, passion, family and honour. Alternating in time between the 1950s and the eve of Hurricane Katrina, it is also a tribute to a city heady with mystery, music, and superstition, which has borne the tumults of race and class and the fury of nature, but has never given up hope.Praise for Belinda Alexandra’s novels:'Unforgettable … intrigue, passion, betrayal – all the ingredients for a must-read novel. And that is this author’s specialty’ Woman’s Day‘A passionate and powerful family saga’ Australian Women’s Weekly‘Filled with glamour, heartbreak, drama and suspense’ The Age‘Totally enthralling’ Herald Sun

Mr Chen's Emporium


Deborah O'Brien - 2012
    What she finds is a dusty main street lined with ramshackle buildings.That is until she walks through the doors of Mr Chen's Emporium, a veritable Aladdin's cave, and her life changes forever. Though banned from the store by her dour clergyman father, Amy is entranced by its handsome owner, Charles Chen ...In present-day Millbrooke, recently widowed artist Angie Wallace has rented the Old Manse where Amy once lived. When her landlord produces an antique trunk containing Amy's intriguingly diverse keepsakes - both Oriental and European - Angie resolves to learn more about this mysterious girl from the past.And it's not long before the lives of two very different women, born a century apart, become connected in the most poignant and timeless ways.

River of Salt


Dave Warner - 2019
    After having to give up his brother to save his own life, hitman Blake Saunders flees the Mob and seeks refuge on the other side of the world. Two years later he has been reborn in a tiny coastal Australian town. The ghosts of the past still haunt him, but otherwise Coral Shoals is paradise. Blake surfs, and plays guitar in his own bar, the Surf Shack. But then the body of a young woman is found at a local motel, and evidence links her to the Surf Shack. When Blake’s friend is arrested, and the local sergeant doesn’t want to know, it becomes clear to Blake – who knows a thing or two about murder – that the only way to protect his paradise is to find the killer.'Part Goodfellas and part love letter to Australian coastal towns, this wonderfully imagined crime novel is like riding the perfect wave.' Michael Robotham‘Dave Warner captures the heyday and spirit of the surf music scene perfectly. This is a pitch-perfect crime thriller of epic twists and turns.’ Jim Skiathitis, composer, guitarist, The Atlantics

The Roadhouse


Kerry McGinnis - 2019
    It has been years since her last visit and her relationship with her mother, Molly, is strained but Charlie is determined to patch up their differences.The reunion, however, is interrupted when Molly suffers a heart attack. With her mother airlifted out for life-saving surgery, Charlie is left to take the reins of the struggling family business, alongside friends old and new, including the captivating local stockman Mike.The authorities declare Annabelle to have taken her own life, but when a woman’s body turns up at an abandoned mine site, Charlie begins to wonder what else is being covered up, and why.Beginning a search for the truth, a perilous bush chase unfolds that threatens her own life, causing Charlie to wonder whether she ever knew Annabelle at all …From the bestselling author of The Heartwood Hotel comes the suspenseful new outback mystery from Australia’s authentic rural writer and beloved voice of the bush.

The Prodigal Son


Sulari Gentill - 2016
    and dull. He longs to return to the bright lights of Europe.Until an old friend persuades him to join Sydney Art School. There, under the tutelage of the renowned Julian Ashton, Rowland learns to paint and finds himself drawn into the avant-garde world of Sydney’s artistic set. But murder rears its ugly head and Rowland must decide who his friends really are.www.RowlandSinclairNovella.com

A Place to Remember


Jenn J. McLeod - 2018
    Two women are desperate for him to remember.Running away for the second time in her life, twenty-seven-year old Ava believes the cook’s job at a country B&B is perfect, until she meets the owner’s son, John Tate. At twenty, the fifth generation grazier is a beguiling blend of both man, boy and a terrible flirt. With their connection immediate and intense, they begin a clandestine affair right under the noses of John’s formidable parents. Thirty years later, Ava returns to Candlebark Creek with her daughter, Nina, who is determined to meet her mother's lost love for herself. While struggling to find her own place in the world, Nina discovers an urban myth about a love-struck man, a forgotten engagement ring, and a dinner reservation back in the eighties. Now she must decide if revealing the truth will hurt more than it heals...Get it as an ebook now https://books2read.com/ap/RWKlqv/Jenn... Also avail in print at https://www.jennjmcleod.com

The Dressmaker


Rosalie Ham - 2000
    She plans only to check on her ailing mother and leave. But Tilly decides to stay, and though she is still an outcast, her lush, exquisite dresses prove irresistible to the prim women of Dungatar. Through her fashion business, her friendship with Sergeant Farrat—the town’s only policeman, who harbors an unusual passion for fabrics—and a budding romance with Teddy, the local football star whose family is almost as reviled as hers, she finds a measure of grudging acceptance. But as her dresses begin to arouse competition and envy in town, causing old resentments to surface, it becomes clear that Tilly’s mind is set on a darker design: exacting revenge on those who wronged her, in the most spectacular fashion.