Review: Keepers of the Lighthouse

Title: Keepers of the Lighthouse

Author: Kaye Dobbie

Publisher: 3rd August 2022 by Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA

Pages: 320 pages

Genre: historical fiction

My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

A lonely windswept lighthouse island in Bass Strait hides a dangerous secret hundreds of years in the making ... Secrets and sabotage keep readers guessing in the new novel from Australian author Kaye Dobbie.

1882 

Laura Webster and her father are the stalwart keepers of Benevolence Island Lighthouse, a desolate place stranded in the turbulent Bass Strait. When a raging storm wrecks a schooner just offshore, the few survivors take shelter with the Websters, awaiting rescue from the mainland. But some of the passengers have secrets that lead to dreadful consequences, the ripples of which echo far into the future ...

2020 

Nina and her team of volunteers arrive on Benevolence to work on repairs, with plans to open up the island to tourists. Also on the expedition, for reason of his own, is Jude Rawlins, a man Nina once loved. A man who once destroyed her.

But the idyllic location soon turns into a nightmare as random acts of sabotage leave them with no communication to the mainland and the sense of someone on the island who shouldn't be there.

The fingers of those secrets from the passengers lost long ago are reaching into the present, and Nina will never be the same again ...

My Thoughts

I am such a fan of Kaye’s work having thoroughly enjoyed her previous historical fiction tales. Her latest, Keepers of the Lighthouse is no exception, in fact, I think it might be her best yet as it was such an intriguing mystery (twice over) that I found hard to put down!

‘…neither Laura nor her father could leave the lighthouse. There were lives at stake out there on the wild water. Lives that were in their hands.’

This dual time narrative just oozes with atmosphere in both the historic and contemporary tales. On a lonely isolated island stands a lighthouse where storms and secrets, dangers and revelations come to pass. Based on a real island in Bass Strait, you will be sure to feel the wind whipping through your hair and watch helplessly as ships become wrecked on the ragged rocks. Could there ever be a more perfect setting for mysteries, past and present, to arise and fill the occupants' lives with drama and danger? The two timelines: 1882 and 2020 (with occasional flashbacks to 2010) work so well together with the final connective revelations fantastic! You will be on the edge of your reading chair, furiously flipping the pages to see how all the pieces of this puzzle will fit together. And it does …. and I loved it!

Both timelines present tales of fortitude and dedication on the one hand with greed and jealousy on the other. There is romance (both past and present) but it fits in so well with the events unfolding. I loved Laura’s character with her love for the island and its way of life. Lonely? Bored? Never!

‘There is much to do here, but apart from tending the light, I make my own decisions. I value my freedom.' 'Is it freedom? You live on an island far away from the rest of the world. Many people would see that as effectively a prison. Aren't you lonely? Bored?' 

 

Keepers of the Lighthouse is a fabulous tale full of mystery and intrigue set against the wonderful backdrop of a lighthouse on an isolated island. With rich and vivid descriptions, characters to cheer and characters to curse, this is a tale that truly captivated me.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Road to Ironbark

Title: The Road to Ironbark

Author: Kaye Dobbie

Publisher: 5th August 2020 by Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA

Pages: 320 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: historical fiction, romance

My Rating: 3.5 cups

Synopsis:

A daring hold-up. Passion. Revenge. A mystery that will echo through the centuries. A compelling romantic adventure, perfect for readers who love Darry Fraser.

1874, The Victorian Goldfields.

In the town of Ironbark, Aurora Scott faces ruin as the railways supplant the Cobb & Co coach line, the lifeline of her hotel. Aurora is no stranger to adversity; the formidable publican has pulled herself from a murky past to build a respectable life in Ironbark. But when bushrangers storm the hotel, taking hostages as leverage for the Starburst Mine's payroll, Aurora has more trouble on her hands than she can handle.

This is no random act, but a complex scheme of revenge. The gang turn on each other. Shots ring out. And when the dust settles, the money has vanished, and so has Aurora Scott...

After 150 years, the mystery of the missing payroll has passed into folklore. And when journalist Melody Lawson helps her brother prepare for the town's annual Gold Hunt Weekend, she is just as drawn into the past as the tourists. But with a surprise inheritance her own family history becomes a puzzle, bound up with the fabled payroll - and as Melody follows the clues, danger mounts...

My Thoughts

I have read and enjoyed previous stories by Kaye and therefore was excited to read her latest tale. Here is another dual timeline narrative with dates ranging from 1855 to 2017. Kaye does a great job at moulding and interweaving all the pieces of the puzzle to build suspense and present a good mystery - providing an even blend between both the contemporary and historical tale. This is a story about family secrets and how their revelation will have a major impact on the present.

 

In the past we have Aurora who is facing ruin at her hotel if the Cobb & Co coaches transfer to rail. Then one day bushrangers storm her hotel when the last coach is present. The fallout from that incident will ripple out over the years to present day Ironbark and the annual Gold Hunt Weekend. Melody returning home suddenly finds herself at the centre of family secrets and far reaching revelations. Chapters alternate between Aurora and Melody and I found the present day events more engaging. There are many interesting secondary characters that help provide real depth to the storyline. There are some interesting twists that provide for entertaining reading. 

 

‘The stories about Aurora were more tantalising. On the surface, she was a respectable woman, a widow with business acumen, who ...  if you dug deeper, you found something a little murkier ... after the hold-up, her name became very well known. She was idolised, possibly because she had vanished and was presumed dead. I was of the opinion that dead people were often whitewashed by history ... however, not everyone at the time believed the official version of her life story. ’

 

At times, particularly in the hotel hold up, events moved somewhat slowly with not a great deal happening. Kaye has multiple puzzle pieces on her storyboard that she moves around, with the final few passages moving at a very fast rate. I was not really onboard with the ghost, it was on the periphery of the story and therefore had little to contribute. There were twice as many dates as needed - 1855, 1874, 1990, 2017 - and this was a little awkward in the narrative. 

 

If you enjoy some light historical fiction with a little romance, then The Road to Ironbark is sure to be the book for you. It is a solid story with Kaye doing a clever job of blending the two stories together to make for an enjoyable read with some great twists. 

‘Life could be cruel and there were regrets, but you had to make the most of it. You had to grasp your opportunities and hold on to them.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Willow Tree Bend

Title: Willow Tree Bend

Author: Kaye Dobbie

Publisher: 18 September 2017 by Harlequin (Australia), TEEN / MIRA

Pages: 352 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: women’s fiction, contemporary, cultural Australia, mystery

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

An interrupted phone call and a mysterious disappearance brings a family’s secret past crashing into the present…

It’s 1969 and small-town girl Faith Taylor longs for the excitement of the city. Leaving her family home in Willow Tree Bend, Faith lands a job at The Angel — Melbourne’s most infamous nightclub. While Faith relishes her new-found freedom, she can’t help but notice that there are some things about the club that don’t add up. So when a policeman shows her a shocking photograph, and reveals that a former waitress was murdered, Faith realises she must help to bring down the shadowy owner behind the club’s activities.

More than thirty years later, what happened at The Angel remains a closely held secret, never spoken about. When Faith disappears, her sister Hope — now a famous movie star — is left with an intriguing, though frustrating, piece of the puzzle. But with a tell-all documentary film crew constantly by her side, how can she find where Faith is — and what she’s hiding — while making sure her own secrets stay hidden?

Faith’s daughter, Sam, is also concerned by her mother’s uncharacteristic behaviour. When she overhears a clue to Faith’s past, she’s determined to unearth the truth. What is the connection between The Angel and Willow Tree Bend? What does Faith's disappearance mean? And what will happen when the final secret is revealed?

My Thoughts

The previous work of Kaye’s, ‘Mackenzie Crossing’, was a superb five star read for me. So I was excited to read her latest tale. Whilst not as captivating, ‘Willow Tree Bend’ was still an engaging read.

“There were things going on here that I didn’t understand, like a dangerous undertow beneath a calm surface.”

Here is another dual timeline story, however on this occasion, it was only a thirty year gap - late 1960s and the year 2000. Dobbie does a great job at moulding and interweaving all the pieces of the puzzle to build suspense and present a good mystery - providing an even blend between both the contemporary and historical tale. This is a story about family secrets and how their revelation will have a major impact on the present.

This narrative is presented through three voices - Faith in the 1960s and Hope (her sister) and Sam (her daughter) in the present. We see Faith as a young girl from the country who finds work in the city and the troubles she encounters. Her sister, Hope (by the year 2000) is a famous Hollywood actress who has returned to her country home and learns herself, about what had unfolded back in the late 60s. Then there is Sam, and her story is all about reaching understandings in her relationships with family members and a prospective partner. Sam is struggling with all these well kept secrets and is trying to ascertain the truth.

“I was becoming more and more convinced that there was a dark underlying thread to this tale that I either wasn’t seeing or no one was telling me about.”

I have to admit to struggling a bit with the slowness of the tale; at times, not a great deal was happening and I found myself becoming disengaged from the story. Nothing really happened by a third way through and the pace only increased in the last twenty percent. I appreciate that Kaye was leaving little clues sprinkled throughout her narrative, but there was just not enough for it to be compelling.

Willow Tree Bend is a solid story with Kaye doing a good job of blending all three stories together very smoothly. Take some time to go back in time with the Taylor girls to unravel well kept family secrets.

‘The pain never goes away, does it? It fades, but when you dig a little, there it is, still hurting.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release

Review: Mackenzie Crossing

Title: Mackenzie Crossing

Author: Kaye Dobbie

Publisher: 21st  November 2016 by Harlequin (Australia) TEEN/MIRA

Pages: 352 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: mystery, historical fiction, contemporary romance, women’s fiction, culture-Australia
My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

An old photograph holds the key to a missing man, a past love and a long-lost mountain village.

A passion for photography draws two stories together across time to Mackenzie Crossing.

Neville ‘Pom’ Darling, is on the hunt for the perfect photograph.

Skye Stewart, is searching for her long lost grandfather.

It’s 1939, and Neville, escaping an unhappy marriage and his memories of the Great War, finds himself in Mackenzie Crossing on the day of the terrible Black Friday bushfires. He meets the beautiful Georgie Mackenzie and in an instant knows that she is the subject he has been looking for. As the heat intensifies, Georgie and Pom begin to wonder if they have a future together; but first, they must survive the blaze.

Almost sixty years later, Sky Stewart returns to the area in search of her grandfather. Did he survive the Black Friday bushfires? Who is the exotic woman in the photograph she found? But when she arrives in Elysian, the closest town to where Mackenzie Crossing used to be, she finds more of her hidden past than she bargained for. A more recent past which she would prefer stayed forgotten…

My Thoughts

“Mackenzie Crossing was wild and lonely, not at all what she’d been expecting, but there was also a beauty about it. A desolate beauty that was beginning to creep into her heart despite herself.”

Checking off another addition to my growing list of Aussie outback authors, Kaye Dobbie delivers a fabulous drama. I found the 1939 and 1997 stories were both compelling, always a hard thing to do when dual timelines run concurrently in a story. I believe this was because both captured my attention with worthy mysteries that kept me guessing right up until the end.

“Royal commissioner who said, and I quote, “… it appeared the whole state was alight on Friday thirteenth of January nineteen thirty-nine”

The infamous Friday 13th January, 1939 – ‘Black Friday’ - when it felt as if the entire state of Victoria was ablaze, presents the story of the Neville Darling. 1997 finds Skye Stewart, having recently discovered her grandfather was not her biological grandfather, undertakes to discover who this mysterious Neville Darling really was. Combine that with the flashbacks to her teenage years, almost 20 years ago and ‘that’ night, and one understands why this book is full of twists and turns.

The narrative alternates between Neville’s story in 1939 and Skye’s in 1997 (with some flashbacks to Skye’s past with Finn as teenagers - you’re going to love him!), Mackenzie Crossing is well paced and has three fascinating plots that will engage you to the very end. It will jump back and forth between time periods but I did not find this difficult to follow.

“It came from familiarity with the summer fires, and possibly the ‘she’ll be right’ attitude, which he found in equal measure frustrating and endearing.”

I found Mackenzie Crossing to be a brilliant read - it was extremely well done. The 1939 Black Friday bushfires were horrific and the way the people dealt with it at the time was amazing. Neville’s relationship with those on the mountain is most memorable. But this is also a tale about secrets, both past and present, with the impact it has on those we love or can’t help loving. As Skye struggles to unravel the mystery behind her biological grandfather, in the contrastingly frozen and wintry present, you will inwardly cheer for her progress, especially when it comes to finding true love. I have no hesitation in highly recommending this wonderful Aussie drama.

“Over time, though, being out here in the never-never, the isolation, the stillness of the bush and mountains, began to restore his battered soul. Not completely—he’d probably never be completely mended—and why should he, when so many were dead? But there was a sense of renewal that he’d never expected.”

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release