Review: The Night Tide

Title: The Night Tide

Author: Di Morrissey

Publisher: 13th September 2022 by Pan Macmillan Australia

Pages: 416 pages

Genre: contemporary, mystery

My Rating: 3.5 cups

Synopsis:

After an election upheaval, Dominic Cochrane decides it's time to leave his twenty-year political staffer career behind. He opts to stay at a friend's converted waterside boatshed in a quiet bay in a Sydney backwater.

The long-time neighbours take Dom into their fold, but his peaceful retreat is quickly upended as he becomes embroiled in a tragic mystery.

As money sharks circle treasured family homes in the secluded community, tensions mount as their way of life is threatened, secrets are exposed and old wounds reopened. Can Dom unravel what really happened so many years ago, or have the secrets been swept away on the dark night tide?

My Thoughts

Di Morrissey is one of Australia’s most successful and prolific authors. Her latest, The Night Tide, involves a mystery with a family tragedy. Once more there is much on offer here to entice the reader with a variety of themes and stories - personal development, lifestyle, family secrets, small community living and of course, Di’s considered focus on the environment.

‘Life is full, complicated, busy . . . but when you look back, it was happy.’ She looked at him. ‘You don’t always realise it at the time.’ She glanced away, her lip trembling slightly as she added in a low, tight voice, ‘And now I feel so angry with him. How dare he . . . just leave us . . .’

This time Di gives readers an interesting male lead which makes for a nice change as he takes time out of the rat race to reflect and review on his life. As always there are a range of secondary characters and life in a small rural community. I appreciated not only the descriptions of the wonderful location but also the acknowledgement of land versus development debate. I did, however, find the mystery to be the weakest link. I kept waiting for some big reveal but much like the story, it was a gentle reveal - dare I say, a little disappointing? That being said, I would rather the book have had a central focus on the environment and corporate takeovers of the natural bush for development; or, on Dominic (lead character) and the search for a new start in life. The mystery reveal was insipid and fell flat for me.

‘So little was known. What was the point of dragging all this up again after a quarter of a century?’

A Di Morrissey book is always guaranteed engaging reading. A thoughtful story to lose yourself in for a few hours.

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: Before the Storm

Title: Before the Storm

Author: Di Morrissey

Publisher: 27th October 2020 by Pan Macmillan Australia

Pages: 432 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: women’s fiction, contemporary

My Rating: 3.5 cups

Synopsis:

Face her demons? Or run?

After being double-crossed by a devious colleague, career woman Ellie Conlan quits her job on principle. With no idea what to do next, she retreats to Storm Harbour, an idyllic Victorian beach town.

Ellie's grandfather runs The Storm Harbour Chronicle, the trusted local newspaper. As Ellie is drawn into a story about a development which could split the coastal community - and involves her with the influential O'Neill family - an event she has long suppressed threatens to overwhelm her.

Dark clouds gather as rumours fly and tensions mount. And when a violent storm breaks and rages, Ellie will finally have to confront her past.

My Thoughts

‘I bet everyone in this town has a story of one kind or another.’

A Di Morrissey book is always a guaranteed engaging read. On offer this time around is a well rounded tale about a rural community with all the family and friendships in small community living. A key and interesting theme Di gives to this tale is one of the importance of the media, particularly when it comes to shining the light on both freedom of speech and keeping those in power accountable. 

‘Enough!’ bellowed Patrick. ‘I run this paper. Council runs the town. Let’s stick to what we do, whether or not we agree on the ways in which we do it. I don’t try to run the council, so don’t you try to tell me how to run my newspaper’

Before the Storm also tells the tale of Ellie who is searching for the life that fits her best - whether it be in the corporate city world or living with her grandfather in the rural community of Storm Bay assisting him with the publication of the local paper. So it is clear that there is much on offer here to entice the reader with a variety of themes and stories - personal development, lifestyle, family secrets, small community living and of course, the importance of the media. 

‘... you’re not happy here, in your apartment, in the city. A minute ago you sounded so flat and worried. Now you’ve come alive with energy and passion. Ellie, you don’t want to be here, that’s all it is.’

I did enjoy this book, not so much as Di’s previous tale on ‘The Last Paradise’ (HERE), but still a solid and engaging read. It goes a little slow in places and some of the characters and dialogue was stereotypical at times. Overall, however, this is another engaging and thoughtful story to lose yourself in for a few hours. 

‘I believe one sees a place, no matter how well you think you know it, through the prism of past and present sensibilities, don’t you think?’ ... ‘Memories so often dictate emotions.’

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: The Last Paradise

Title: The Last Paradise

Author: Di Morrissey

Publisher: 24th October 2019 by Macmillan Australia

Pages: 341 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: contemporary, women's fiction

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

Grace has the perfect life: a job she loves, a beautiful daughter and a rich, successful husband. But one night, when their world falls apart in a shocking disaster, Grace suddenly sees what she couldn't admit - her marriage and her husband are a fraud.

With the life she knew in tatters, she takes an assignment promoting the launch of a unique luxury hotel, hidden in a stunning, untouched oasis in the heart of tourist-crazed Bali.

Here, in this last paradise, Grace gathers the strength to take charge of her world. And, inspired by a woman's story from long ago, she discovers a path to a future she'd never dared to imagine.

My Thoughts

I was excited to finally sample one of  Australia’s most successful novelists, Di Morrissey. Her latest, The Last Paradise, is set mostly in Bali - and captures the great fascination Australia has with Bali (Australians account for more than a quarter of tourists in Bali). There is absolutely loads of information and it’s well worth the read. 

Yet there are more threads to this tale apart from a love of all things Bali. Di examines tourism over the years in Bali, investigates the breakdown of a marriage for the lead character and also recounts the history of K’tut Tantri from the 1930s - who left her life in the U.S to forge  new one in the tropical paradise of Bali.

‘... as she stepped back from the embrace and saw the emotionless look on her husband’s face she wondered, had she traded genuine unconditional love for security? Was it too late to do something about it?’

Out of these three threads, I enjoyed learning about all about Bali - past and present - the most. At times there were a few too many information dumps for my liking, however, it was interesting to learn of the steps in developing a luxury hotel in Kuta. The main character, Grace and her journey of independence from her controlling husband, swung from naivety to empowering with a sprinkle of repetitiveness. Still, it was worthwhile to take the journey with her as she stood up to the challenge and regained her independence. Interspersed throughout were excerpts of the life of K’Tut and her experiences especially during Japanese occupation during the War. This is tied in with Grace’s story in terms of being strong in difficult circumstances. 

‘I’m not sure what it is about it that’s got me so intrigued–K’tut herself, or the times, or how different old Bali was from the one we know today.’

The Last Paradise is a dedicated tribute to Bali - past, present and future. If you are at all interested in this exotic location, then this is a definite must read. With a spotlight on tourism woven around the tale of one woman’s journey to regain and remould her life’s destiny. 

‘The whole place is like a movie set, a dream job in a location you can’t imagine. I feel as if I’m in the last paradise on the planet.’

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.