Review: The Forthright Woman

Title: The Forthright Woman

Author: Darry Fraser

Publisher: 30th November 2022 by Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA

Pages: 400 pages

Genre: historical fiction, romance 

My Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:

Widow Marcella Ross won't let anything - or anyone - stop her from discovering the truth behind a deadly family mystery ... Mystery and romance collide in this compulsive historical adventure from a bestselling Australian author.

1898, South Australia 

At the gateway to the Flinders Ranges lies Kanyaka Station, once a thriving sheep and cattle property, now abandoned and in ruins. But a discovery in her late mother's papers draws recently widowed Marcella Ross out to its remote landscape in search of clues to the disappearance of her Uncle Luca, an Italian immigrant whose fate seems to have been bound up in that of his mysterious partner - also long-since vanished. When Marcella is nearly run over by a handsome stranger, she discovers he too is entangled in the secrets of the past. When tragedy and obsession threaten Marcella's fragile independence, how far will she have to go to unlock the secrets of Kanyaka - or solve the puzzle of her own future?

1955 

After learning that they are unlikely to have children, Frances and Joe MacDonald have taken the unusual step of buying a caravan and travelling together through the outback. They stop and camp at Kanyaka Station, where Fran becomes mesmerised by the past. Family lore holds that an ancestor met an untimely end amid the desolate ruins. But what truly happened, and to whom, at the isolated station? As fate alters the course of her life, Fran's footsteps echo another woman's from so long ago ...

As the mystery unravels, will these two women have the chance to take control of their own destinies?

My Thoughts

Darry Fraser has proven once again why her Australian historical fiction writing is high on the list of must reads. The Forthright Woman is another wonderful tale to immerse yourself in with a strong female lead in male dominated colonial Australia. I love the fact that in each of her novels, Darry takes her female lead and explores with them at a time when women were on the cusp of acquiring some form of independence. Into this Darry can always be relied upon to weave an intriguing mystery with just the right amount of romance.

‘Marcella had strolled around what felt like a vast field of broken dreams. Homes were silent, and the empty rooms within were devoid of memories.’

When you pick up one of Darry’s books, you know you are in for something special. You not only get a rollicking good yarn but also some exceptional research embedded within the tale that takes it to the next level. This time Darry presents a dual timeline, set in 1898 and in 1955 in South Australia. The cast of characters are engaging with a particular nod to Mrs Costa! With great strength, courage and determination, two women embark on life changing journeys. Perhaps Darry’s greatest strength is her richly detailed settings which almost become a character in their own right. Australia’s harsh outback living is on display and life at the turn of the century could be cruel indeed - those opening chapters were brutal. 

‘It was hard enough being born in this country of immigrant stock from the Continent not to mention being a lone woman and coming into hostile territory. Hostile more because she had no husband, not so much because of the weather and terrain.’

Throughout it all Darry provides the reader with a strong historical setting of the day to day living from a time long passed. Issues of female independence are once more put under the spotlight as Darry gives a little taste of what life was like for widowed women who may have wished to retain their independence. In a time when Aussie authors are making their mark in historical dramas, Darry has done a fabulous job with wonderful storytelling, putting herself right up there with the best in these Australian colonial sagas.

‘She bristled. There it was again, that universal assumption that she would just go where the men in her life took her.’

If you like to escape to a time long gone, a time when women attempted to exert some form of independence, all with a dash of mystery and romance, then this will be the book for you. Life wasn’t easy for women who were often regarded as male property and I admired the many strengths of the lead character, Marcella Ross.

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.