Bay of Fires

by Poppy Gee

Sarah Avery's reckless behavior has cost her a job, her boyfriend, and the independence she desperately craves. Reluctantly home for the holidays in the tiny seaside town where her parents live, her hopes for calm are shattered when she finds the body of a young female backpacker, washed up on the shore. A year earlier, another woman went missing and hasn't been seen since: is there a killer in this benign harbor?

Journalist Hall Flynn arrives to investigate the murder, which has set the locals reeling. Haunted by demons of his own and yearning for a fresh start, Hall will do whatever it takes to break the story-and Sarah will do whatever it takes to keep her own secrets safe.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Tasmania, Crime, Australia, Book Club, Mystery Thriller

376 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Poppy Gee is the author of literary crime novels BAY OF FIRES and VANISHING FALLS. Both novels are set in Tasmania, Australia, where Poppy grew up.

"I like taking an exquisitely beautiful setting - a village in a pristine rainforest or a sleepy seaside holiday town - and flipping it, revealing the dark parts of a place and the people who live there. With its complicated history, fascinating people and dramatic beauty, Tasmania is an intriguing muse," Poppy says.

Poppy's writing has been described as reminiscent "of other writers of the geographic fringes such as E. Annie Proulx. There’s a powerful social intelligence at work here and Gee’s compassion for her characters and their predicaments is palpable. She has taken the scaffolding of a crime novel and used it to tread beyond the parameters of genre conventions and investigate the messier terrain of human frailty and endurance... it gets you thinking about people rather than plots, and is all the better for it.”
— Ed Wright, The Australian

Poppy regularly posts reviews of new releases that she loves on Instagram.

Instagram: @poppygeenovelist
FB: @authorpoppygee
Twitter: @AuthorPoppyGee

Poppy lives in Brisbane, Queensland, with her husband, three children and three cats.
She has worked as a journalist, editor and book reviewer and journalism/creative writing teacher. Lately, she spends most of her time being a mum and working on her third novel.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

A promising first book from a Australian author. Set on the coast in Tasmania, with people camping when a female tourist disappears. Who is responsible - is it a serial killer? A gentle engaging story with good characters amidst a beautiful landscape. Well worth the read with a three star rating.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have just finished this and feel very disappointed. The writing, technically speaking, is excellent and deserves a 4-5 stars - as does the characterization - but the story barely makes a 2. Bay of Fires is touted as a murder mystery, and while there is a dead body and someone with a guilty secret, the author pays little attention to building suspense and infusing menace into her plot, which it desperately needs. Instead she focuses on describing fish and wind / dust-swept landscapes, and bangs on about how lonely everyone and everything is. I don't think I've ever been so beaten over the head with a theme. Fans of mood pieces who don't care about story, and fishermen will no doubt enjoy this.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was slightly disappointed in this book. The blurb sounded exciting.... the dead body of a woman is washed up on the beach, a year after another young girl has gone missing. It started off quite well but then just seemed to move really slowly. I found it disjointed in parts and boring in others. I wasn't really able to relate to the main characters and I kept waiting for something to happen and nothing really ever did. The ending was also quite anticlimactic. Overall it was an easy read but not an unforgettable one.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a book that suffered from a form of bipolarity. It was either a love story in which the main characters were interested in solving a murder mystery, or it was a murder mystery in which the main characters happened to be looking for love, but either way, the result was a disjointed, hard to follow story where the details didn't seem to make sense and I could have read only the last 60 pages or so and understood the entire plot arc of the story.

After finishing the story, I found out that this was written in part as the author's thesis for her MFA in Creative Writing. She had wanted to emphasize the role of women in society, and thus many of her characters don't conform to traditional gender roles.

I wish I had known that going into this book, because I would have had a much stronger appreciation for certain characters. As it was, I felt the main character, Sarah, was not a likeable character because of her absolute disdain for gender norms. She read as more of an alcoholic/abusive male character, and thus I found her absolutely repulsive. She lacked empathy of any sort, and it's not until she becomes a victim of ridicule from her sister that she seems to have any emotions at all other than lust, anger, or drunken regret.

I found myself not wanting her to find love with the leading male love interest, reporter Hall Flynn (or Flynn Hall, I don't remember which). Hall was definitely the more effeminate of the two, having been wronged by his ex-girlfriend and his best friend and shying away from meaningful relationships to avoid being hurt. He has all the empathy that Sarah lacks, and is willing to not follow the story of a lifetime when it looks like it will put Sarah at risk. Meanwhile, Sarah is pushing him away and, in Hall's words, "[being] crass" by letting him know that she didn't false advertise, and sex was all she was after (although we know better...I think).

I think Poppy Gee has potential as a writer, but this could have gone through a few more revisions before being published. Some elements just didn't fit together, and the attempt at a happy ending seems so rushed that I found myself disgusted by the 180 degree turn some characters had. Unless she was making a statement about how shallow Tasmanian people are, the ending falls very flat.

Overall, while I see the potential, this one was not an enjoyable read. At one point, I actually chose to scrub my bathtub instead of sitting down to finish the book...

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarah Avery had returned to her parents’ home in the Bay of Fires on the east coast of Tasmania, after a turbulent break-up with her boyfriend, and the quitting of her job at a barramundi farm in Queensland. It was the Christmas holidays and her sister Erica was also home, with her long-time boyfriend Steve. Sarah wasn’t coping with the trauma that was keeping her awake at night, and took to drinking way too much. She also fished day in and day out, alone and happier without company. So when a local fisherman, Roger Coker, whom everyone said was extremely strange, weird even, appeared in front of her early one morning, saying a body had washed up on the beach, Sarah was drawn to go down to check his story out. When she realized she knew the person, she was shocked, shattered!

Hall Flynn was a journalist from the Tassie Voice, a local newspaper from Hobart, and his editor had sent him to the Bay of Fires to investigate the murder, and the fact that another teenager had vanished the previous year, and had never been found. Upon his arrival at the guesthouse where he would be staying for the duration of the investigation, he learned that the Swiss tourist whose body had been found, had also stayed in the guesthouse, so Jane, owner and manager, was his first interview.

As we met the different characters who inhabited the Bay of Fires, the community seemed all too willing to point the finger at one another. Hall infiltrated each group, some willing to talk, some not… As Sarah and Hall developed a tentative but strange relationship, bitterness escalated amongst the close group of people. Everyone was scared, no-one felt safe, and homes were being locked, where they never had before. Would the murderer be found? Was it one of them?

My main problem with this book was that it was very disjointed. It was not the gripping murder mystery I was expecting, even though there was definitely intrigue and suspense throughout. I had a problem with the ending too, but I’ll say no more about that! I really enjoyed the scenery, the views of the beach, the sand in my toes that I could definitely feel! The author made me feel like I was there, that I was breathing the salt air!

Overall, an lightly enjoyable but unremarkable read. (3.5 if I could!)

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

There is something about the writing in this book that does feel "Tasmanian", and I will give Poppy one more chance to impress me with her writing, as it had so much potential, but speaking as a native of Tassie, the inaccuracies made my head spin.

What civic square does anyone cross to get to the restaurant mentioned? Is she perhaps talking about Salamance Place/Market, which is a road/thoroughfare when the Saturday market isn't running?

And as for any Tasmanian journalist who needs to have Boonie explained to him - I've never read anything more ridiculous. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but seriously? Things like that just pull me straight out of the world of the story and make the whole thing seem implausible and the characters unbelievable.

I could go on with more nit-picky details, but at the end of the day, if you're going to set your novel in a modern, real-world place, at least get the specifics right. It seems even more odd considering Poppy Gee evidently went to school here.

[Poppy Gee]

This is my debut novel. It's a crime novel, but it's also a love letter to the beautiful east coast of Tasmania where my family spent all our holidays when I was a child. Writing Bay of Fires was a labour of love I completed over many years, dipping in and out of it as I looked after my infant children. It was a joy to lose myself in writing prose about one of the most stunning places on the planet, a remote beach inside a national park, with cold, turquoise water, orange lichen-covered granite boulders, icing sugar white sand and silvery fish rising with each wave. I was a teenager when two young women met foul play in a nearby coastal community. It was horrible to think that there was someone among us in our small, peaceful community that had done something so awful. Everyone speculated intensely, yet no one was ever caught. It stills rocks the community to this day. That was the intitial spark for writing Bay of Fires. Thank you for taking the time to read it, and for sharing your thoughts on Goodreads!

[Reynje · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just want to know if Grumpy the Cat is okay! Is that too much to ask?

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarah Avery has returned home to Tasmania in secret, silent disgrace. She's broken up with her boyfriend and quit her job at a fish farm in Queensland, and is back in time for Christmas. Her family has a beach shack in the isolated Bay of Fires national park and head there every year for Christmas and New Year's. Her parents are there: Philippa, or "Flip" as she's known, a pharmacist; and Dr John Avery, a history professor at the university. Her younger sister Erica as well - a flight attendant, pretty and a bit vapid. The Bay of Fires village is a small one, consisting of a guest house made from a converted Nissen hut; three beach shacks and a shop; the Shelley's holiday house; and a campground. The Avery's own one shack; the one closer to the guest house belongs to Flip's best friend, Pam, and her husband Don; while the blue one farther away belongs to Roger Coker, a strange fisherman who lives there year-round with his cats.

On the day after Boxing Day, Roger discovers the body of a dead woman on the beach: topless, wearing a red polka-dot bikini, her body covered in gashes and partially eaten by sea creatures. Sarah, going to see, recognises the woman: a Swiss tourist called Anja who was staying at the guest house. It's clear to everyone in the community that Anja must have been murdered, probably by the same psycho who is behind the earlier disappearance of Chloe Crawford, a teenager who was holidaying with her family. Almost instantly many of the assorted holidayers and campers point their fingers at Roger, the oddball, the freak, as the guilty party. Personal, small-minded judgements against each other begin to fly as the community starts to turn on itself out of suspicion and fear.

The day after the discovery, a journalist from a local paper arrives for an extended stay. Hall Flynn is in his forties and single, a bad driver who can only sleep with a woman when he's drunk. He takes a shine to Sarah, who is the first woman he's slept with, drunk, in a long time who he'd like to spend more time with. Sarah becomes slightly obsessed with the mystery, and shares her theories with Hall, but she's prickly and hard to get to know.

Sarah has her own issues to contend with. There's the ugly truth of her breakup with Jake, her heavy drinking and her growing fear that she's a violent person. Her opinion of herself is sinking, especially after she wakes up on Boxing Day morning in the sand, lying in a pool of vomit with her fly undone and the last thing she can remember is picking up seventeen-year-old Sam Shelley and letting him have a drink. She doesn't know what happened but she fears the worst, and she fears the others in the bay finding out - especially his clingy mother, Simone, an American woman who runs a successful furniture business and has the only posh, new beach "shack" in the area.

There aren't many suspects in such a small area, but both Hall and Sarah contemplate them all while the community turns on itself, tensions run high and Roger is targeted. These are people Sarah's known all her life; what will she do with the truth when she learns it?

Mystery novels are not my usual fare - it's one of the few genres I don't generally read, with the exception of a few literary mysteries like this one, from time to time - so I can't really compare this to anything else. However, I absolutely love reading books set in my home state, and Poppy Gee hasn't written some bland generic novel here. Her debut is intelligent, literary, nuanced and deeply embedded in the local scenery. It touches on a range of issues, prominent among them the environment and environmental practices, fishing infringements, sensationalising media, scapegoating (especially of defenceless, vulnerable individuals who perhaps suffer from an intellectual disability of some kind), the appropriation of Aboriginal lands by white graziers, the ethics and morals around sound reporting, alcoholism, violence, marital woes, sexism, feminism and judgemental women. That might seem like a long list, but it all comes out through the narrative with natural ease.

I really enjoyed Sarah as a character. She was a woman in her thirties struggling with the decisions she'd made, struggling to understand what kind of person she was and whether she even liked herself. She was intelligent but moody, a bit of a hard-arse who really, secretly, wanted to be loved and cared for by a man she could respect and be an equal to, but she doesn't know how to open up. So used is she to working with - and being the boss of - all-male crews, and absorbing the sexism and crude opinions that come with them, that she's quite the opposite of girly-girl Erica. Sarah is athletic and very strong, and because she doesn't dress up or wear make-up or make her hair pretty, she's been mistaken as a lesbian more than once.

Hall seems an unlikely partner for Sarah, at first. He's no alpha-male, no macho Aussie bloke. He's a good reporter saddled with a bad editor, he's smart and not unattractive, but after his girlfriend of many years left him for his best friend, he's been unable to have meaningful relationships with any woman - and not interested in it either. He drinks, too, and smokes, and his driving made me cringe, but I really liked him. He seemed so down-to-earth, honest, not pretentious or posturing. Both Hall and Sarah are misfits in their small universes, suffering from insecurities and a lack of confidence, and I couldn't help think that they'd be great together - if they could give up their silly insecurities.

The mystery side of the story played out nicely, albeit slowly. This is a mystery narrative that revolves around the characters, getting to know them, learning and then unlearning them as new evidence comes to light. It's the kind of mystery that is designed to make you suspect almost all the characters at one point or other. The actual truth would have been anti-climactic but was made more interesting by the ethical and moral dilemma it threw up at Hall and Sarah.

Because I don't generally read mystery or crime or thriller novels, I can't really give you a sense for how successful it was as a mystery-suspense novel, only as a literary novel. I can say that there were a few scenes that were nicely creepy, some that were full of tension that would come out of nowhere and unsettle you nicely. While I did find that the plot was at times a little slow and uneventful, for a literary mystery-suspense story, it worked quite well and at a more intellectual level. Gee unwound the story of Sarah's Queensland disgrace slowly, letting readers balance the new information with a growing sense of Sarah as a person, which enables her to remain a sympathetic character.

The landscape itself was the strongest element to the whole book. The descriptions of the location where vivid and realistic, and peopled as it was with distinctly Australian characters, the world of Bay of Fires came vibrantly to life - which is what you want when your mystery novel depends on the interactions between the characters to maintain both the mystery and the suspense. While at times Gee's language was a little awkward and slowed me down, there were also some really beautiful lines as well, like "At the bar, a flannelette row of farm workers peered from beneath caps." [p.158] Gee's love for the real Bay of Fires Conservation Area (which does not, in reality, have a campground or guest house or shop as it does in the novel, only some shacks) comes across strongly, and the novel carries with it a real sense of place.

The mystery of the two missing women is loosely based (inspired, but not a recreation of) two real-life cases: the disappearance of German woman Nancy Grundwaldt in 1993 and the death of Italian Victoria Cafasso in 1995, tourists to the Bay of Fires whose cases were never solved - though in 2011 a retired police officer came out publicly with information on the Grundwaldt case. In a place like Tasmania, with its peaceful, beautiful scenery and small, half-a-million population, the two cases gripped everyone's imaginations and are yet to be forgotten. In this way, too, Poppy Gee's novel will resonate with Australian readers at a more personal level.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book, which I read as a literary novel more than a mystery - the mystery propels the story forward but it is the stylistic writing and the incredibly well-captured characters that keep you reading. It's gritty and realistic, and any time you add sinister tensions to a scenic landscape, you're going to get a wonderfully creepy atmosphere. There aren't many stories set in Tasmania, and in general, Australian authors seem overly conscious of the "cultural cringe" and avoid that sense of familiarity with location that, conversely, American authors embrace so whole-heartedly. Personally, I love reading stories set in places I recognise, and have lived in. Gee incorporated plenty of local sites and landmarks and places, without a trace of the dreaded cultural cringe, and for that I thank her. I'm very interested in what Poppy Gee writes next, because she's a talent to watch out for.

On a side note, I was a bit put-off by something about this book: this is an Australian writer, the story is set here, my edition was published in the UK, and yet the spelling is American. It was very jarring to read "color", "harbor", "tire" and so on, when everything else was so distinctly Australian. A pet peeve of mine.

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘The storm broke the night before the body of the second missing woman was found.’

The body of a female backpacker washes ashore in the Bay of Fires on the east coast of Tasmania, a year after a teenage girl went missing. This is an isolated holiday community: some families have holidayed there annually for years. Everyone knows everyone else, everyone has an opinion about who might be responsible, and a number of people have secrets they’d rather keep to themselves.

Sarah Avery’s parents have a shack at the Bay of Fires, and Sarah, her sister and parents have holidayed there for years. Sarah’s not having a great holiday: she’s left both her boyfriend and her job in Queensland and is finding both escape and misery in alcohol. When the bikini-clad body of Anja Traugott is found on the beach, journalist Hall Flynn is sent from Launceston to investigate.

‘It was the day after Boxing Day when the fisherman found the body.’

As an outsider, Hall has a different perspective of the community. As a journalist, he’s asking some tough questions. As a man, he’s attracted to Sarah Avery. Through his eyes, we see a different side to many of the community members, and find relationships that others appear not to be aware of. And, in the end, it’s Hall Flynn who finds out what has happened.

I picked up this book because of the setting. And while the missing girl (Chloe Crawford) and the death of Anja Traugott are the mystery in this novel, it is learning about the members of the community that becomes the central focus. For me, the most likeable character was Hall Flynn. I found Sarah Avery a prickly character who seems, for much of the novel, determined to make her existing problems worse. I enjoyed the way in which Ms Gee’s writing made the Bay of Fires come to life: as both a landscape and a community.

This is Ms Gee’s first novel, and some of its inspiration is drawn from real events during the early 1990s. Nancy Grunwaldt, a German back-packer, went missing along the Tasmanian east coast in 1993; and an Italian tourist, Victoria Cafasso, was murdered on the north-east coast of Tasmania in 1995. It’s not a perfect novel: some aspects of particular characters didn’t work well for me, but overall it held my interest and kept me turning the pages.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

[Leanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bay of Fires is situated on Tasmania’s east coast. It received its name from Captain Tobias Furnes in 1773 when he sighted many fires lit along the coast, leading him to believe that the area had a large population. It is this gorgeous part of Australia that Poppy Gee sets her first novel, a murder-mystery. The body of a backpacker washes ashore in the Bay of Fires, a small, close-knit community and so begins our journey with Gee. Sarah Avery is a local, returning to the Bay of Fires after a stint running a prawn farm up in North Queensland. Her reasons for returning are a closely guarded secret, but as you continue reading, you realize that she isn’t the only one with secrets.

The body of the backpacker serves as fodder for the locals to gossip, speculate and rekindle old prejudices. There are many potential suspects and Gee keeps you interested and guessing all the way through. For me, the part of this novel I enjoyed the most was Gee’s character descriptions. Every single character in this novel is flawed, deep and innately human. There is no glossing over and no beating around the bush with Gee's writing. She brings you a real view of humanity and all its potential ugliness.

Gee lost me a few times moving quickly from being in one scene in one paragraph, and in the next sentence being in a totally different time in a different scene. This left me feeling somewhat disjointed, almost like watching an avant garde movie. But perhaps I’m used to be being molly-coddled and having my hand held throughout other novels.

Overall I enjoyed Gee’s first novel and I look forward to reading the next one!

#aww2013

[Sandy Sexton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel, set in Tasmania, was a mystery with an engaging plot, but it was much more than that. The description of the setting was convincing, showing the beauty of Tasmania's east cost. The characters were interesting and well drawn, and there were non-judgemental glimpses into their relationships and personal lives which which explored human experience.

Like Dick Francis, we are given an insider's look into people's occupations - the life of a newspaper journalist and the role of a fish farmer were explored. I enjoy finding out about different career paths, which I believe is why Dick Francis' novels have such wide appeal.

If I have a criticism, it is that some of the cuts to different scenes were abrupt, but the advantage of this is there were no long transitional passages so the forward pace of the novel was maintained, and modern readers are accustomed to such rapid shifts.

I became very fond of the two protaganists, and hope to have opportunities to read more about them. Please, Ms Gee, may we have some more?

[Katej · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up because I thought it would be interesting to read a novel with a local flavour and I've been on a mystery novel kick lately. I'm so glad I did, I loved every page. The story was compelling, the characters interesting and well developed and the mystery gripping enough to keep me turning pages long after bed time. I'm definitely looking forward to more from Poppy Gee.

[Andrea Barton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bay of Fires by Poppy Gee is part mystery, part romance, part study of an insular beachside community. The evocative descriptions of Bay of Fires’ social and physical landscape kept me hooked.
Sarah Avery returns to the town where she grew up after things didn’t work out for her so well in Brisbane. Her love of marine life is palpable and she’s a fiercely independent, strong, yet deeply flawed character. The slow reveal of what really happened up north helps to explain why she is so prickly.
Her love interest, Hall Flynn is a journalist who arrives in town to write about the dead backpacker who washed up on the beach. A slow-burn romance plays out between Hall and Sarah alongside their investigations into the murder.
This is a moody, unhurried, captivating read.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was alright. I disliked the characters and I didn't get wowed by the story, but i didn't mind reading it. It was strongly driven by the setting

[Orbs n Rings · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mystery novel with an unconventional twist.

I found Bay Of Fires quite a refreshing change from other stuffy mystery novels. In Bay of Fires you have Sarah Avery a free-spirited soul who loves spending her time fishing the beaches of the bay on the Tasmania coast. You also have a community of dysfunctional individuals who come together to spend their Summers on the Bay of Fires. And then there is the mystery of the young female tourists, one who went missing and the other who shows up dead and bloated on the beach.

Upon arriving at the bay, Sarah Avery is looking for a fresh start and some time to get her thoughts together, on what may have happened between her and her boyfriend. Recently having broken up with him her wounds are still fresh. But when she finds a young female dead on the beach and foul play is suspected, her problems are placed on the back burner for a while, as she and the town ponder who the killer might be. Then as if Sarah doesn't already have enough on her mind, a journalist named Hall Flynn shows up to do research and bring in a breaking story. Flynn has now given Sarah a new reason to forget her recent troubles but not her past secrets.

When it comes to quirky characters this novel is full of them and their personalities are very intense and totally apparent. You can immediately relate to the love and hate relationship between Sarah and her sister, the mentally disabled town loner who is picked on and bullied. Then you have the town gossiper, a teenage peeping tom and lets not forget a group of trailer homies who spend their summers on the beach. With all the different personalities in the Bay Of Fires, I was left wondering what could possibly happen next, especially when every character you turn to seems to be harboring a secret.

Throughout the story Gee makes sure to provide the reader many vivid details of the beautiful and unforgiving land in and around the Bay of Fires in Tasmania. Like a tapestry, Gee has taken the characters and woven that thread that makes them all unmistakably human. I don't feel this novel is for everyone and I would only recommend this book to those with an open mind and looking for a mystery novel with an unconventional twist.

[Magill · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I think this was reasonably well-written, I just did not warm up to this book. I wondered about that as I was reading and it wasn't the writing style, although I did find it to be a bit jarring at times (some people have called it disjointed, which I did not feel quite so strongly). While that could have been part of my tepid feeling towards the book, I think that the bigger issue for me was that I did not particularly like any of the characters.

Sarah's introductory views of friends and family (and I did have a hard time at first remembering which ones were her parents) did colour one's impressions and that didn't really improve through the book. Sarah and her own self-loathing, as well as Hall's issues, etc. etc. were neither of them particularly appealing, even as the story progressed. The dysfunction seemed greater than the story's ability to resolve.

Except for the characters self-created tension, the mystery never seemed to be particularly tense or suspenseful, and was more of a backdrop to Sarah's story. I have forgiven books for that weakness before so can't get twitty about that, but Sarah's story or Hall's weren't enough to carry this (at least for me).

I will say that I liked Sarah's profession, a nice change.

[Dina Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was interesting and well-written, but I didn't feel much of a connection to it. The mystery in the story kept my attention, but I didn't really love any of the characters.

The story takes place in a small coastal town in Tasmania. A dead body is found on the beach. A reporter, a fishing farmer, and other folks in town try to figure out whether the cause of death was murder or an accident. And if it's murder, is there a connection between this death and the young woman who disappeared around a year ago?

[Eva · Rating 1 out of 5]

Slow start, reprehensible characters with few redeeming qualities, and a crime drama that takes forever to get anywhere and then it leads to nothing. Easy read but really very boring. The characters are typical archetypes and they lack dimension and warmth, especially despised the Boo Radley wannabe. Instead I recommend The Singer by Cathi Unsworth

[Malissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read more than 1/3 of this book and was bored to tears. I tried to finish it and couldn't. The plot moved slowly, the character development moved slowly, and I wasn't captivated at all by this book.

[Ed Buckner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished this quite a while back but neglected to change the category to "Read." I certainly recommend it--good plot, engaging details about Tasmania. And, I just learned, the author answers question about her book--a pleasant surprise. --Ed Buckner

[Josephine Pennicott · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was my pleasure recently to be on a ‘Something Rotten in the Apple Isle’ panel for Sisters in Crime where I met Poppy Gee and Livia Day aka Tansy Roberts. We were all raised in Tasmania and chose to set our mystery/crime books there. I loved this panel because not only did I get to meet both writers, but it was fascinating to hear how Tasmania shaped all our work. Livia said how impressed she was that when Poppy was talking about the murder of Victoria Cafasso that semi-inspired her book, I brandished an original folder of newspaper clippings on exactly that subject. More on my clippings later.

I recently finished Poppy Gee’s debut crime novel Bay of Fires which Poppy wrote as part of a thesis for her Masters in Creative Writing programme (for which she received the Dean’s Award for Excellence) and I am making it part of my Australian Women Writers Challenge (which I am woefully behind despite all good intentions).

I still remember my father’s distress over the slaying of young Italian tourist Victoria Cafasso on a deserted beach in Tasmania’s East Coast in 1995. I’d long had the habit of heading off to similar desolate beaches to enjoy time alone and so this murder was my parents’ worst imaginings. The case horrified a lot of Tasmanians and the images of Victoria’s distraught parents on those chilly, blue/grey Tasmanian beaches remain with me. Shortly after Victoria’s death, her father also died, allegedly of a broken heart. This particular case has haunted me for years and I kept all the clippings in my ‘crime-file’ – a rather grandiose name for a voluminous collection of clippings which I rifle through when seeking inspiration. Writing the word inspiration next to such a tragic murder feels most cold-blooded, but I am also totally intrigued/horrified by how something so terrible could occur.

Adding to the public interest was that the case was never solved. Victoria was a very attractive young woman which, alas, always ensures more media coverage, but her killer remains at large.

Before Victoria’s death, a young, vibrant German tourist, Nancy Grunwaldt, disappeared while cycling around Tasmania in 1993 – again on the East Coast. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Nancy’s vanishing and her family returned to Tasmania for a journey no parent would ever want to make. It’s horrendous to know that her grieving family have never had closure and have been left to speculate for so long.


And so two young women who met met some sinister fate in Tasmania are forever linked in many people’s minds, but why you may be wondering has this anything to do with Bay of Fires? I mention these two haunting cases because Poppy herself mentions the two women and concedes she was inspired by the two cases for her book.

In Bay of Fires a small community is divided when a young girl’s body washes up on a Tasmanian beach where previously another young attractive female tourist had vanished. Poppy points out that Bay of Fires is not the story of Victoria Cafasso or Nancy Grunwaldt, but she simply wishes to acknowledge the two women. I would describe Bay of Fires as a literary mystery observing the ripple effect of murder – a theme that also fascinates me and with which I have worked repeatedly over the years both in short stories and novels.

WHAT KEPT ME TURNING THE PAGES IN THIS BOOK:

I found Bay of Fires a tense and absorbing read with characters skilfully depicted. I was very impressed by Hal and think Poppy did a wonderful job of bringing a male character to life. Poppy obviously knows this area of Tasmania well – her parents owned a holiday shack at the East Coast and she evokes the ‘shack holiday’ texture and the atmosphere of her fictional sleepy fishing village beautifully. I was very drawn into the story of what happens in a small community when a woman’s body is washed up amongst them. Bay of Fires skilfully shows the disruptive force that suspicion can bring to a community. I’m also a lover of secrets and the ‘microcosm of the macrocosm’ of small communities and Poppy obviously shares my love of the secret heart and the shadows that lie within us all.

The descriptions of the girl’s dead body are quite graphic but extremely well done. Poppy has quite a stern eye and is not one to romanticise her characters or death.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE AS MUCH ABOUT THIS BOOK:

Admittedly, the cover initially didn’t grab me, but it grew on me as I read the book and I appreciated the cover for its retro quality a lot more and could see that it would not only stand out on a shelf but also appeal to both male and female readers. A minor point, but I wasn’t a fan of the character of Sarah. She’s well-depicted but I sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of books with ‘kick-arse’ women out there. I’m not saying I crave passive female characters, but I do get weary of women characters who can do everything so much better, whether it’s drinking, wrestling, belching or sex better than any man. I also pondered about the denouement wondering whether I would have preferred Poppy’s original idea (but I’m not giving away the ending!)

CONCLUSION

Bay of Fires is a sinister, gripping debut novel of strength, intelligence and literary appeal for both male and female readers. The book really made me think about using ‘real-life crime’ stories as inspiration for novels. I have folders and folders of press clippings of cases over the years which I have often dipped into. Although I blend and work off different true-life cases, I did wonder about the ethics of using real-life murders in a story when so many people in Tasmania know somebody connected to the cases. With such graphic descriptions of the young tourist’s dead body, it can’t help but bring back memories of the real cases. And I know how publishers need to use anything they can to attract media interest in a book. Around the same time another murder mystery came out which also used elements of the Victoria Cafasso murder.

However, I came to the conclusion that it is vital for these stories to be told. The landscape reveals its tales to those who chose to listen, and when blood has been spilt on the earth, the cries are louder. If Bay of Fires gets people talking again about Victoria Cafasso and Nancy Grunwaldt, then their stories – and the girls themselves – will never be forgotten. And of course – their individual mysteries may be solved. Somebody out there obviously knows the killer’s/abductor’s identity. It would be a great solace to both families to have some closure. I gave Bay of Fires five out of five on my Good Reads profile.

Thank you for reading this review. I hope it encourages you to buy Bay of Fires or seek out other Australian writers. We have such talent in this country and I’m always thrilled to discover a new Australian author who set their books in this stunningly amazing country we’re fortunate to live in.

And do be wary when wandering into ‘peaceful’ isolated places alone.

Keep Creative. Lock your doors.

Josephine xx

The crisp sand, littered with marine debris, gleamed in the day’s freshness. Beneath a shapeless mountain of green eucalypts, the lagoon shimmered in purple darkness. It was full. Soon the Chain of Lagoons would overflow, pouring through the grassy dune and getting the beach to meet the ocean. A sharp undertow sucked on a steep wall of wet quicksand, making it dangerous for swimming. This part of the seashore was visited only by fishermen, surfers, and the occasional shell collector.

The fisherman’s were the only footprints on the beach.

from Bay of Fires.

[The Unwanted Book Club · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had my attention from the very beginning. It paid an extraordinary attention to detail, wit, and personality of the characters really shone through. Several chapters in, however, I began to suspect that was ALL there was. I can tell there was much work put into the story, the descriptions were beautiful, and Poppy Gee can certainly paint a picture. She did much research in fishing techniques and the bay area, for sure, but the story was lacking in plot and story.

Things didn't seem to unravel as they might for a mystery, and they didn't linger and slowly develop like they might a drama. I have no idea how to categorize this story, but I had hoped the suspense would hold enough to have a decent twist at the end. There a couple, but there were more concerning issues the author seemed to gloss over, one being the sexual relationship and worrisome flirtation with an UNDERAGE TEENAGE BOY. It's made clear he makes moves on all the girls, but even though the MC is suspicious they slept together after she bought alcohol for him and they got drunk, there are no repercussions. Her conviction is immediately disposed once it's made clear they didn't actually do anything but flirt and hit first base. This is a glaring problem when it comes to character development, and the fact that the boy in question is the actual killer, albeit accidentally there are again no repercussions for him as it's hinted that the secret is 'safe' and he doesn't have to worry about it? 

The mother is more focused on being the villain for being an enabler, killer, etc. but the main focus of this book is that Roger, the town creep, is hated on for no reason and killed on suspicion. This could've worked, but things don't really unravel so much as just...happen for no reason. The plot doesn't move, but jumps in place, holding your attention for 5 seconds in belief you'll be given new information, but leaves you wondering what to do with it.

In summarization, I would be keen on reading more of her works, but I think story development and plot pacing could use some work. Don't give up.

​

[Belinda Chisholm]

Dnf at 66 pages. Really wanted a nice atmospheric read on my Tassie holiday as I’m currently visiting Bay of Fires so it felt like the perfect selection. While the writing in this book definitely gave me that feel, it didn’t deliver on any of the other aspects of a good novel such as the mystery elements or characterization. You can tell by the writing that this author can write about nature really eloquently, but she somehow fails to write a gripping story with substance and plot. Not to mention the characters were really icky and not in a good way. For example this book weirdly addresses gender stereotypes but it doesn’t add anything to the story and it’s really prevalent. The main character Sarah is constantly conveying how she doesn’t conform to gender stereotypes but at the same time I get a really anti-feminist impression from the FMC’s point of view. It’s like the author is pushing her to be a strong and independent character, but she also somehow hates other women that aren’t that way inclined? Also If women want to wear makeup or short-shorts, that’s okay too!! Doesn’t make anyone less of a woman just because they choose to be a ‘girly girl’ that’s just personal fucking preference. Why does Sarah think she’s better than everyone else and why are we still pushing the narrative that women have to be ‘natural’ to be desirable? Ahh so disappointing I really had high hopes for this but now seeing the Good Reads rating for this it makes more sense 😭

[Sunnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two young women have died under mysterious circumstances in the Bay of Fires community in the space of a year. It has become a big story and journalist Hall Flynn is sent to cover it. His editor is pressuring him for sensational headlines but Flynn doesn’t work that way. He needs to try and get to know the people and gain their confidence.

Bay of Fires is as much as character study of a somewhat closed community of quirky and diverse characters and their relationships as it is a murder mystery.

I had mixed feelings about Bay of Fires. On one hand it’s a fascinating look at the people, but on the other there are frustrations that come with that. There are things Flynn doesn’t know about them and doesn’t always find out and by extension the reader as well. Some characters are so ambiguous that it’s difficult to work out if they are likeable or not.

If you like your crime novels resolved with everything tied neatly in a bow then Bay of Fires may not be your thing. At the end of the day though the positives outweigh the negatives by a long way. It’s an impressive first novel and I look forward to seeing what the author will do next.

[Paige Stephens · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Maybe because I just finished a five-star book with amazing characters, I was very underwhelmed and bored by this story. It started off strong with the murder mystery, but most of the middle of the book was a slog to get through. None of the characters were very likable, and all the townspeople seemed to blend together; I could never remember who was who. Sarah had few if no redeeming qualities and her romance with Hall fell flat. I also had problems with the way Poppy Gee wrote her female characters. Sarah saw herself as superior to the others because she was more masculine and less emotional, especially compared to her sister ("I'm not like other girls"). The women of the town seemed to only care about gossip, spreading rumors, and judging the other characters. The ending seemed to pick up as we unraveled the mystery but ultimately was so anticlimactic -- we found out this massive reveal and then none of the characters do anything about it. One of the only things I liked was the atmosphere and characterization of Tasmania's harsh nature. A lot of the elements reminded me of Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey, which is a much better novel.

[Susan Austin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars because the writing was great and the main characters were well drawn. But I hated the ending! It was so infuriating that the murderer and accomplice were revealed (based on a confession which was far-fetched - the mother had no reason to spill her beans to the journalist) and even though the two main characters - the journalist and Sarah - who spent the whole book trying to solve the mysteries - both found out and then did nothing - didn’t write the news story he deserved to - didn’t tell the cops - thereby letting a serial perv, a murderer and potential rapist free to skive off to America! Who can be happy with an ending like that! And as if the blackmail mattered? Who would prosecute on behalf of a murderer? Very frustrating. Especially as the book was so slow for much of the time.

[Mary Polzella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in the beautiful Bay of Fires in Tasmania, this book tells the story of the families who live or have holidayed in the area for many years. When a tourist's body is found washed up on the shore, it stirs up memories of a young local girl who went missing the previous year and was never found. While this story is written as a mystery, its a moody read and strongly character driven, focusing on the relationships between the locals and the secrets within the small community.

A solid read that I enjoyed, especially given it's beautiful setting, I would have appreciated this a bit more had there been a stronger focus on building more atmosphere into the story.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

A novel set in a loosely-fictionalised North East Tasmanian Bay of Fires. The local setting and the evocation of the “shack” culture is the highlight of this murder mystery/relationship novel. A tourist is found dead on a beach a year after a local girl disappeared and journalist Hall Flynn checks it out with an interesting cast of locals, chiefly late-30s Sarah Avery who is leading a non-stereotypical life. It's engaging, but the police are too inconspicuous, Flynn has never heard of David Boon and both react totally implausibly when the perpetrator is revealed.

[Tatum Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really really liked this. I have nothing in common with Sarah but somehow she is so relatable. The way her femininity is captured is interesting and not something I’ve seen in other books. Her vulnerability is piercing. Her simultaneous empathy and disgust towards Roger and others— the way she can’t stand the thought of the murders but is more invested than anybody— is very compelling. I find the way the book progresses immensely satisfying. I want to soak up the prose bc it’s just that good. Highly recommend