Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
A Darker Music: A Novel
by
Maris Morton
When Mary Lanyon takes the job of temporary housekeeper to the wealthy Hazlitt family at Downe, a famous Merino sheep stud, she realizes something is amiss: Mrs. Clio Hazlitt is ill and rarely ventures from her room, and the house itself is shabby and redolent of dust and secrets. As the housekeeper prepares the house for the wedding of the Hazlitt's only son and heir, Mar...more
Paperback, 314 pages
Published
February 1st 2011
by Scribe Publications Pty Ltd.
(first published September 27th 2010)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
58)
This is a sad but beautiful novel, set in the interesting and almost otherworldly location of rural Western Australia. The main protagonist is Mary, temporary housekeeper on a Merino stud, but, as the book progresses, it is not her story that unfolds so much as that of Clio, the owner's wife.
The blurb of A Darker Music describes the book as a mystery, but the clues here are glimpses into the past, rather than fingerprints and surveillance tapes. At the centre of the mystery is Clio herself, a f...more
The blurb of A Darker Music describes the book as a mystery, but the clues here are glimpses into the past, rather than fingerprints and surveillance tapes. At the centre of the mystery is Clio herself, a f...more
This was a GoodReads First Reads win, with thanks to the publisher, Scribe Publications.
When Mary accepts a temporary position as housekeeper at a Downe, a famous Merino stud, she expects to find a grand and gracious homestead. What she finds instead is a shabby and neglected house occupied by a handsome but taciturn and silent father and son, and the mysterious Clio - the wife and mother of whom they never speak and who never leaves her room.
While Mary endeavors to turn the house back into a ho...more
When Mary accepts a temporary position as housekeeper at a Downe, a famous Merino stud, she expects to find a grand and gracious homestead. What she finds instead is a shabby and neglected house occupied by a handsome but taciturn and silent father and son, and the mysterious Clio - the wife and mother of whom they never speak and who never leaves her room.
While Mary endeavors to turn the house back into a ho...more
1 like · like · see review
Mary accepts a position as the temporary housekeeper at Downe, a merino stud, set in the Western Australia bush. Instead of the gracious homestead she is expecting, Downe is a home of secrets and shadows.
A Darker Music is a haunting and lyrical novel of quiet tragedy. The writing is elegant and evocative, the pace simmers with quiet anxiety and dread. Morton incorporates the lifestyle and minutae of the farm operations and creates a sense of place with lush descriptions of the station and its s...more
A Darker Music is a haunting and lyrical novel of quiet tragedy. The writing is elegant and evocative, the pace simmers with quiet anxiety and dread. Morton incorporates the lifestyle and minutae of the farm operations and creates a sense of place with lush descriptions of the station and its s...more
Some thoughts …
Some things in our lives can eat away at us like a cancer, it’s so important to deal with our issues and move forward in life. If a writer was never allowed to write or a musician never allowed to play music. Our souls begin to die if we never feed the inner self, the very thing that gives us the most pleasure which creates joy in our lives. When this is fulfilled, abundant joy in our lives overflows and we can reach out to others.
For the full review... http://tinyurl.com/4b8svzk...more
Some things in our lives can eat away at us like a cancer, it’s so important to deal with our issues and move forward in life. If a writer was never allowed to write or a musician never allowed to play music. Our souls begin to die if we never feed the inner self, the very thing that gives us the most pleasure which creates joy in our lives. When this is fulfilled, abundant joy in our lives overflows and we can reach out to others.
For the full review... http://tinyurl.com/4b8svzk...more
A slower paced book that I sometimes wondered in what direction it was taking. There were some wonderful pictures of rural Australia and the harsh but rewarding life on a sheep property, woven with tragic events and questionable pasts.
A little twist at the end was quite good, the knowledge that life sometimes takes a different, unexpected turn.
An interesting first novel by this author.
A little twist at the end was quite good, the knowledge that life sometimes takes a different, unexpected turn.
An interesting first novel by this author.
I came across this book by accident, but I am glad I found it! Well written, with interesting characters, and an ending that I did not see coming.
Won this as part of GR's First Reads feature. Sounds pretty interesting. Hope I enjoy it! I seem to win a lot of books from SCRIBE, not that I'm complaining. Lots of fun!
This was a GoodReads First Reads win.
Was a very slow moving novel for me to get into and as much as would have loved to, I couldn't enjoy it enough to continue and finish it.
Was a very slow moving novel for me to get into and as much as would have loved to, I couldn't enjoy it enough to continue and finish it.
May 16, 2013
Kathy
marked it as to-read
May 03, 2013
Jill
marked it as to-read
Apr 22, 2013
Ashley
marked it as have-not-read
Mar 20, 2013
Katrina Brogden
marked it as to-read
Mar 04, 2013
Susan Berry
marked it as to-read
Feb 21, 2013
Elise
marked it as to-read
Feb 20, 2013
Madison Campbell
marked it as to-read
Feb 19, 2013
Holls {The Bookaholic Owl}
marked it as calibre
Feb 01, 2013
Soo
marked it as to-read
Aug 11, 2012
Alvin
marked it as to-read
Apr 01, 2012
Gaynor
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Nov 05, 2010 10:01am