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A Woody Creek Novel #2
Thorn on the Rose
The second sensational instalment in Joy Dettman's epic new Woody Creek series Pearl in a Cage ended in May 1939 when, just fifteen years old, Jenny Morrison fled Woody Creek for a new life in Melbourne. She left behind a dysfunctional family, a town of small-minded gossips and, most tragically, a newborn baby - the product of a vicious rape. Mustering all her strength, she resolved to put her past behind her, reclaim her identity and pursue her dream of becoming a famous singer...Yet just months later she is back - wiser and with an expensive new wardrobe - but with a second child growing in her belly.Cruelly labelled the "town slut", she finds refuge in Gertrude, her kind-hearted, dependable granny and Woody Creek's indomitable midwife, and settles into a routine in the ever-expanding household. Exactly how Vern Cooper - the one man Gertrude truly loves - fits into this family of misfits is something that Gertrude will have to grapple with.Jenny thrives and, daring once again to dream, leaves Woody Creek for a second time and moves to Sydney, where at last it seems that the beautiful young songstress may find happiness...But can the past ever truly be buried? And will Jenny Morrison ever fulfil her destiny?Spanning a momentous wartime decade and dramatising rural Australia's complex and mysterious heart, Thorn on the Rose confirms Joy Dettman's place as one of our most gifted - and underrated - storytellers.
502 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2010
28 people are currently reading
225 people want to read
About the author
Joy Dettman
22 books163 followersJoy Dettman was born in country Victoria and spent her early years in towns on either side of the Murray River. She is an award-winning writer of short stories, the complete collection of which, Diamonds in the Mud, was published in 2007, as well as the highly acclaimed novels Mallawindy, Jacaranda Blue, Goose Girl, Yesterday's Dust, The Seventh Day, Henry's Daughter, One Sunday, Pearl in a Cage, Thorn on the Rose, Moth to the Flame and Wind in the Wires. Ripples on a Pond is Joy's fifth novel in her Woody Creek series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
March 30, 2024
EXCERPT: 'You just wrote the perfect story,' she said. 'Born beside a railway line, raised in a railway house by the stationmaster and his mad wife, and so the heroine grew to adulthood with her unwed mother's morals and her father's lack of conscience - and I've already written the ending.'
'You've got strength enough to write any ending that you want to write, darlin'.'
'All done,' Jenny said. 'It's out of my hands - gone to the publishers.'
ABOUT 'THORN ON THE ROSE': It is 1939 and Jenny Morrison, distraught and just fifteen years of age, has fled the tiny logging community of Woody Creek for a new life in the big smoke.
But four months later she is back - wiser, with an expensive new wardrobe, and bearing another dark secret...
She takes refuge with Gertrude, her dependable granny and Woody Creek's indomitable midwife, and settles into a routine in the ever-expanding and chaotic household.
But can she ever put the trauma of her past behind her and realise her dream of becoming a famous singer? Or is she doomed to follow in the footsteps of her tragic and mysterious mother?
MY THOUGHTS: I loved the first in this Woody Creek series, Pearl in a Cage, but Thorn on the Rose leaves that in the dust. I was swept away by Jenny's story. My heart broke at the misfortunes that befell her, and those she brought on herself. It seems that Jenny just can't win a trick.
There is a richly drawn cast of characters: Gertrude, who Jenny calls 'Granny', the area midwife now in her seventies but still providing refuge to Jenny, Elsie and their families, still being chased after by Vern Hooper (definitely not being wooed!); Jenny, whom the father that 'raised' her, and I use that term loosely, once described as . . . a golden songbird, hatched into a nest of grey sparrows . . . a classical portrait, framed in gold and hung in a gallery of fools.'; Jim, Vern Hooper's only son and heir, who falls in love with Jenny, and unwittingly starts a feud and a seemingly endless legal battle; Amber, Gertrude's daughter and 'mother' to Jenny, who incessantly teeter on the edge of insanity; and Sissy, Jenny's 'sister', an ugly natured woman who hates Jenny with a vengeance.
Thorn on A Rose is largely set against the background of WWII, and Dettman's descriptions of life at that time, in both the city and the country are well researched and realistic.
This series is addictive. It is beautifully written; full of mystery, misery, joy, humor and characters that remain with me long after I have closed the covers.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#ThornontheRose @JoyDettman
THE AUTHOR: Joy Dettman was born in country Victoria and spent her early years in towns on either side of the Murray River. She sees herself as a wife, mother and grandmother, who steals time from her family to satisfy her obsessive need to write.
Joy was not always a wife, mother and grandmother. She can recall her early obsession with newspaper cartoons. They were her picture books. A newspaper shoutline allowed her to break the code of reading prior to entering a school room, thus addicting her for life to the printed word.
Woody Creek originated as a novel, in the singular, but its characters too long buried, would not be contained. It has grown into a series of seven.
I own my copy of Thorn on a Rose by Joy Dettman.
'You've got strength enough to write any ending that you want to write, darlin'.'
'All done,' Jenny said. 'It's out of my hands - gone to the publishers.'
ABOUT 'THORN ON THE ROSE': It is 1939 and Jenny Morrison, distraught and just fifteen years of age, has fled the tiny logging community of Woody Creek for a new life in the big smoke.
But four months later she is back - wiser, with an expensive new wardrobe, and bearing another dark secret...
She takes refuge with Gertrude, her dependable granny and Woody Creek's indomitable midwife, and settles into a routine in the ever-expanding and chaotic household.
But can she ever put the trauma of her past behind her and realise her dream of becoming a famous singer? Or is she doomed to follow in the footsteps of her tragic and mysterious mother?
MY THOUGHTS: I loved the first in this Woody Creek series, Pearl in a Cage, but Thorn on the Rose leaves that in the dust. I was swept away by Jenny's story. My heart broke at the misfortunes that befell her, and those she brought on herself. It seems that Jenny just can't win a trick.
There is a richly drawn cast of characters: Gertrude, who Jenny calls 'Granny', the area midwife now in her seventies but still providing refuge to Jenny, Elsie and their families, still being chased after by Vern Hooper (definitely not being wooed!); Jenny, whom the father that 'raised' her, and I use that term loosely, once described as . . . a golden songbird, hatched into a nest of grey sparrows . . . a classical portrait, framed in gold and hung in a gallery of fools.'; Jim, Vern Hooper's only son and heir, who falls in love with Jenny, and unwittingly starts a feud and a seemingly endless legal battle; Amber, Gertrude's daughter and 'mother' to Jenny, who incessantly teeter on the edge of insanity; and Sissy, Jenny's 'sister', an ugly natured woman who hates Jenny with a vengeance.
Thorn on A Rose is largely set against the background of WWII, and Dettman's descriptions of life at that time, in both the city and the country are well researched and realistic.
This series is addictive. It is beautifully written; full of mystery, misery, joy, humor and characters that remain with me long after I have closed the covers.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#ThornontheRose @JoyDettman
THE AUTHOR: Joy Dettman was born in country Victoria and spent her early years in towns on either side of the Murray River. She sees herself as a wife, mother and grandmother, who steals time from her family to satisfy her obsessive need to write.
Joy was not always a wife, mother and grandmother. She can recall her early obsession with newspaper cartoons. They were her picture books. A newspaper shoutline allowed her to break the code of reading prior to entering a school room, thus addicting her for life to the printed word.
Woody Creek originated as a novel, in the singular, but its characters too long buried, would not be contained. It has grown into a series of seven.
I own my copy of Thorn on a Rose by Joy Dettman.
July 23, 2012
Oh Lord, does anyone have worse luck than poor Jenny Morrison? Or, for that matter, better fecundity? In the next book I fear she'll sit on a dunny seat vacated by a man five minutes earlier and come out knocked up with triplets. Goodness, what a womb on her. I couldn't put this book down, of course. The Woody Creek miseries are so addictive, but they're leavened beautifully by good humour and a sort of stoic endurance shared by all the characters. For her utter haplessness, Jenny is still a lovely lass and a pleasure to read about. You certainly root for her. (It's just such a shame that half the blokes do, too.) Gertrude remains a triumph. Ditto Sissy - although I sort of missed her dumb malignancy once she embarked on her serial house-guesting. Hope she'll be back in force next book, and with a bastard of her own as just deserts. Loved the whole Sydney section and especially Myrtle, who deserved a good throttling at one point, but luckily came good. Shocking end for Amber and Norman - yet very fitting. I suspect Amber will be back like a rash though. Can't keep a good lunatic down. Joy Dettman loves a startling return, does she? This book was littered with 'em! Can't complain though, I've always been of the camp that celebrates coincidences as plotting devices when used with boldness and aplomb. Clearly Joy is, too. She's one of the best writers in Australia. I just wish more people would start saying it. Looking forward to 'Moth to the Flame'.
July 24, 2020
If I had thought that I could not possible be as invested in the older Jenny Morrison's life as I was in the story of her childhood in Book 1 in the series, then I was wrong, because I loved this book just as much. Brimming with the same rich cast of colourful characters, and as much drama as the first in the series, I shuddered at all the misfortune that could possibly befall that young woman - but no spoilers! I loved the descriptions of life in Australia during WWII, especially in the small country town of Woody Creek, where there is always some crisis happening. Dettman has swiftly climbed the ladder to become one of my favourite Australian writers and I can't wait to delve into the next book and find out what awaits poor Jenny now - surely her luck will have to change sooner or later!
I love this series and highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good drama with a richly drawn ensemble cast and a great Australian setting.
*blog* *facebook* *instagram*
I love this series and highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good drama with a richly drawn ensemble cast and a great Australian setting.
*blog* *facebook* *instagram*
June 11, 2012
Can't wait to read the next one!!! I love Joy Dettman's style.
February 2, 2020
When Jennifer tells her little boy "Woody Creek stinks" she does not know half of it!
It is not necessary to have read the previous book, "Pearl in a Cage" as the main characters are listed in the front of this book.
Wo0dy Creek is a dark place full of secrets - some kept tight for generations, other known only to a few and others not really secrets at all!
When Jennifer, aged 14, is raped by the MacDonald twins, one has to marry her when it is discovered that she is pregnant. She escapes town on the morning of her wedding. She returns, pregnant again when she discovers that the father of of her second child is a thief and she sees him arrested.
Her next departure from Woody Creek is when WWII has begun and this time she has found love and an opportunity to use her marvelous singing voice in Sydney.
Sadly, it seems that Jennifer has no luck at all in her life and eventually is forced to return to Woody Creek where eventually she learns of her true beginnings.
It is hard to imagine a place and its inhabitants as nasty as Woody Creek, but they do exist, and were probably more common in the early half of last century than they are in today's more tolerant society. Nevertheless, the number of rapes and potential rapists; the vast number of abortions, infanticides and sundry murders seems unending.
While the story is very dark in places, it is a pleasure to read Joy Dettman's sentences. She has a way with words that is clever and uniquely Australian.
Not sure when I will read the two remaining books in the series. Woody creek and its characters will take you on a roller-coaster ride of emotions.
It is not necessary to have read the previous book, "Pearl in a Cage" as the main characters are listed in the front of this book.
Wo0dy Creek is a dark place full of secrets - some kept tight for generations, other known only to a few and others not really secrets at all!
When Jennifer, aged 14, is raped by the MacDonald twins, one has to marry her when it is discovered that she is pregnant. She escapes town on the morning of her wedding. She returns, pregnant again when she discovers that the father of of her second child is a thief and she sees him arrested.
Her next departure from Woody Creek is when WWII has begun and this time she has found love and an opportunity to use her marvelous singing voice in Sydney.
Sadly, it seems that Jennifer has no luck at all in her life and eventually is forced to return to Woody Creek where eventually she learns of her true beginnings.
It is hard to imagine a place and its inhabitants as nasty as Woody Creek, but they do exist, and were probably more common in the early half of last century than they are in today's more tolerant society. Nevertheless, the number of rapes and potential rapists; the vast number of abortions, infanticides and sundry murders seems unending.
While the story is very dark in places, it is a pleasure to read Joy Dettman's sentences. She has a way with words that is clever and uniquely Australian.
Not sure when I will read the two remaining books in the series. Woody creek and its characters will take you on a roller-coaster ride of emotions.
March 20, 2023
Woody Creek Novels
The Joy Dettman novels are wonderful and I highly recommend them. The stories are wonderfully connected and after reading the first Pear In A Cage, I hurriedly downloaded books 2 and 3 of this series.unfortunately the books are not on kindle unlimited and I am not impressed with the books that are. Joy Dettmans books are classics. Maybe kindle unlimited us not for me.
The Joy Dettman novels are wonderful and I highly recommend them. The stories are wonderfully connected and after reading the first Pear In A Cage, I hurriedly downloaded books 2 and 3 of this series.unfortunately the books are not on kindle unlimited and I am not impressed with the books that are. Joy Dettmans books are classics. Maybe kindle unlimited us not for me.
November 5, 2012
Brilliant follow up to "Pearl in a Cage". This is a book you cannot put down and then regret reading it so fast. I did not want it to end. So quickly started in nr.3 of the Woody Creek series: 'Moth to the Flame'.
March 5, 2013
WOW - did I say the first book in the Woody Creek series was a bit boring - maybe just needed all that to set the scene - just fantastic reading - can't wait to get my hands on the third and fourth books in this series
November 29, 2010
Follow up to "Pearl in a cage'and is another great read! Can't wait for the third book.
August 21, 2021
This is the second novel in the Woody Creek series. After just finishing Pearl in a Cage I was eager to start this second installment immediately. However it didn't have the same pull as the first novel, and a large portion is set in Sydney as opposed to Woody Creek, It didn't feel as considered, and there was no slow burn/build up that I felt reading the first. Also it seems far fetched that our heroine Jenny gets raped twice in a space of a couple of years and not only that, she conceives both times. She also falls pregnant to Jim, a childhood friend, after just one transgression also. Hmm, a real stretch for me I'm afraid.
At the conclusion of the novel Jenny finally finds out the secret of her parentage. I thought it was wrapped up very quickly at the end and left you wanting to know more. I guess I now have to find the third novel in the series to see the fallout.
At the conclusion of the novel Jenny finally finds out the secret of her parentage. I thought it was wrapped up very quickly at the end and left you wanting to know more. I guess I now have to find the third novel in the series to see the fallout.
October 31, 2017
Finally I could finish it! This is a book written by an Australian author occurring in Victoria & NSW. I believe the literature was not tempting & didn’t encourage you to keep reading. It took me quite a while to come to an end.
July 2, 2025
Another gem by Joy Dettman. More gritty unlovable characters all congregated in the small town of Woody Creek. The small town culture is described very convincingly by the author as she follows the lives of Gertrude and Jenny through another grueling few years of hardship. There are no secrets in a place like Woody Creek where people have known each other since childhood. What they don’t know for certain they are more than willing to make up.
This is the second of her Woody Creek trilogy.
Very entertaining but sometimes difficult to contemplate as characters make decisions that will alter their lives forever.
This is the second of her Woody Creek trilogy.
Very entertaining but sometimes difficult to contemplate as characters make decisions that will alter their lives forever.
September 4, 2012
I enjoyed this story as much as I did the first in this series. It continues the story of Jenny Morrison's life. At 14 after having a child after being raped by the town clowns Jenny ran away to Melbourne, hoping to find her friend who she had been writing to for some time.
That was a dead end so she takes refuge with Laurie, who had come to her rescue and seemed like a nice man though he wasn't. He was good to Jenny except that he takes advantage of her and she lets him not knowing what else to do. She finds herself pregnant again and after Laurie is arrested for a robbery Jenny heads home to Woody Creek with the help of a Salvation Army couple.
When her grandma Gertrude Foote finds out that Jenny is pregnant again she is not happy and Jenny has decided she does not want to keep this child but when Georgie is born she changes her mind. Jenny stays on at Gertrude's because she has no-where else to go. She is known around town as the town slut, for this and other reasons Jenny does not go into town very much.
Her sister Cissy gets engaged to Jim Hooper, who had been Jenny's childhood friend before he had started escorting Cissy and his sister Margaret around. Cissy had had her eyes on Jim for a long tiem, not because she was in love with him but because she wants the money that his family has, which is not such a different idea than her mother Amber had when she married Norman.
One night, after going to see "Gone with the Wind" in town Jenny finds herself being bailed up by a local lad and she is frightened when Jim Hooper comes to her rescue. They talk and Jenny tels him he is mad if her married Cissy as she will make his life miserable. Jim thinks about this and finds himself coming down to play cards with Jenny and Jimmy (who lives near Jenny) but of course he is there for another reason. He has fallen in love with Jenny but she does not beieve him but as he is showing Jenny the house that Jim's father is renovating for his marriage they get together and she finds herslf pregnant again. This time she stays at home and they don't find out in town that she has a boy until Margaret Hooper sees him in town one day and finds he is the splitting image of her broher Jim. Margaret is excited that she has a nephew and she wants him so she tells her father and it does not take long until the Hooper family tries to make a move to take little Jimmy away from Jenny.
From this Jim (who has joined the army) finds out so he makes plans to meet Jenny in Sydney when he is on leave before being shipped overseas. It takes a lot of talking Jenny into this, because she does not trust Jim anymore than any other male but she goes and they have a great week together. They are styaing in a posh boarding house and when Jim goes off Jenny decides to stay as she has found work as a singer by night and in a factory by day and she loves her life until one night she is pack raped by a group of yanks. For various reasons she does not report the rape to the police. This baby she tries to get rid of but when she goes to the doctor who will perform the abortion she sees that it is old Noah (who used to hand around Woody Creek and he also went to jail for molesting a child), one look at him she can't go through with it. When her land lady eventually finds that she is pregnant she kicks her out which is hard as little Jimmy had become very fond of Mertyl as she looks after him when Jenny is working.
Jenny has trouble finding somewhere to live so she come begging back to Mertyl and tells her that she can have this baby when it is born. Over the next 2 months they have a pretend game where Jenny makes Mertyl look like she is pregnant, Jenny has the baby at home and when the birth is registered it's parents will be Mertyl and her husband Robert. After the birth Jenny relucktantly goes back to Woody Creek. A message had been sent a few months back the Jim Hooper (who Jenny had agreed to maarry when she turned 21) is missing is action.
Life back in Woody Creek is not easy but she makes the best of it. She settles back at Gerttude's with her 3 children Margo, Georgie and Jimmy. She has lots of trouble from Jim's father who wants Jimmy to be brought up in his home, but as long as Gertrude is there to be her back up Jenny is fine.
In the last few paragraphs, there is a rumour that Jimmy Hooper is alive and in hospital, but no-one seems to believe this as no-one goes to see him. A gentle gian Ray King comes back to town for his sister's wedding and Jenny remembers him as the boy who helped her when Cissy was being a bully. They go on a few dates and Ray asks Jenny to marry him - she is very reluctant due to her family circumstances but he says he has not children so her 3 will be fine. She also finds out that Amber and Norman are not her pareants but that her mother died the night she was born. She finds out instead that Amber is her sister.
In the mean time Ambere has been sent to a mental home for the murder of her husband Norman and she is also being investigated for the murnders of 2 little girls in Woody Creek. This is when Gertrude has regrets that she did not report what she knew about Amber earlier. Lots of regrets does Gertrue have and I think she should have too.
A great story, even though it is sad the characters are all real. Roll on next book
That was a dead end so she takes refuge with Laurie, who had come to her rescue and seemed like a nice man though he wasn't. He was good to Jenny except that he takes advantage of her and she lets him not knowing what else to do. She finds herself pregnant again and after Laurie is arrested for a robbery Jenny heads home to Woody Creek with the help of a Salvation Army couple.
When her grandma Gertrude Foote finds out that Jenny is pregnant again she is not happy and Jenny has decided she does not want to keep this child but when Georgie is born she changes her mind. Jenny stays on at Gertrude's because she has no-where else to go. She is known around town as the town slut, for this and other reasons Jenny does not go into town very much.
Her sister Cissy gets engaged to Jim Hooper, who had been Jenny's childhood friend before he had started escorting Cissy and his sister Margaret around. Cissy had had her eyes on Jim for a long tiem, not because she was in love with him but because she wants the money that his family has, which is not such a different idea than her mother Amber had when she married Norman.
One night, after going to see "Gone with the Wind" in town Jenny finds herself being bailed up by a local lad and she is frightened when Jim Hooper comes to her rescue. They talk and Jenny tels him he is mad if her married Cissy as she will make his life miserable. Jim thinks about this and finds himself coming down to play cards with Jenny and Jimmy (who lives near Jenny) but of course he is there for another reason. He has fallen in love with Jenny but she does not beieve him but as he is showing Jenny the house that Jim's father is renovating for his marriage they get together and she finds herslf pregnant again. This time she stays at home and they don't find out in town that she has a boy until Margaret Hooper sees him in town one day and finds he is the splitting image of her broher Jim. Margaret is excited that she has a nephew and she wants him so she tells her father and it does not take long until the Hooper family tries to make a move to take little Jimmy away from Jenny.
From this Jim (who has joined the army) finds out so he makes plans to meet Jenny in Sydney when he is on leave before being shipped overseas. It takes a lot of talking Jenny into this, because she does not trust Jim anymore than any other male but she goes and they have a great week together. They are styaing in a posh boarding house and when Jim goes off Jenny decides to stay as she has found work as a singer by night and in a factory by day and she loves her life until one night she is pack raped by a group of yanks. For various reasons she does not report the rape to the police. This baby she tries to get rid of but when she goes to the doctor who will perform the abortion she sees that it is old Noah (who used to hand around Woody Creek and he also went to jail for molesting a child), one look at him she can't go through with it. When her land lady eventually finds that she is pregnant she kicks her out which is hard as little Jimmy had become very fond of Mertyl as she looks after him when Jenny is working.
Jenny has trouble finding somewhere to live so she come begging back to Mertyl and tells her that she can have this baby when it is born. Over the next 2 months they have a pretend game where Jenny makes Mertyl look like she is pregnant, Jenny has the baby at home and when the birth is registered it's parents will be Mertyl and her husband Robert. After the birth Jenny relucktantly goes back to Woody Creek. A message had been sent a few months back the Jim Hooper (who Jenny had agreed to maarry when she turned 21) is missing is action.
Life back in Woody Creek is not easy but she makes the best of it. She settles back at Gerttude's with her 3 children Margo, Georgie and Jimmy. She has lots of trouble from Jim's father who wants Jimmy to be brought up in his home, but as long as Gertrude is there to be her back up Jenny is fine.
In the last few paragraphs, there is a rumour that Jimmy Hooper is alive and in hospital, but no-one seems to believe this as no-one goes to see him. A gentle gian Ray King comes back to town for his sister's wedding and Jenny remembers him as the boy who helped her when Cissy was being a bully. They go on a few dates and Ray asks Jenny to marry him - she is very reluctant due to her family circumstances but he says he has not children so her 3 will be fine. She also finds out that Amber and Norman are not her pareants but that her mother died the night she was born. She finds out instead that Amber is her sister.
In the mean time Ambere has been sent to a mental home for the murder of her husband Norman and she is also being investigated for the murnders of 2 little girls in Woody Creek. This is when Gertrude has regrets that she did not report what she knew about Amber earlier. Lots of regrets does Gertrue have and I think she should have too.
A great story, even though it is sad the characters are all real. Roll on next book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 16, 2018
This was a slightly trashy, scandal ridden yet enthralling Australian drama set in the pre and post World War Two era. It's nothing earth shattering but pure entertainment and perfect for VERY early morning commutes. I should also note it's the second on a series and one definitely to read in order.
November 19, 2017
A sequel to 'Pearl in a Cage', Joy doesn't disappoint. The story flows through beautifully from it's predecessor. Fabulous writing, realistic characters set in the depression through to the second world war. Bring on the next installment - 'Moth to the Flame'.
July 10, 2019
This book continues on where the first one left off. Book 1 & 2 combined provide a bit more closure, I felt book 1 left me dangling too much. Now on to book 3, can’t wait to see how Jenni’s life pans out....
September 7, 2024
Such a complicated story with so many characters. So hard to keep track of. But I managed…felt I had to because I have been giving up on so many recently. Nothing seems original these days. This one was and worth it.
July 19, 2017
Audio version - took awhile to get used to some of the voices, Vern's was annoying all the way through but that was also his character!
April 27, 2018
Brilliant
October 4, 2018
poor jenny morrison, will anything ever go right for her? i have my doubts, can't believe how week her so called father is, and as for gertrude, everything is fine as long as its not the truth
October 9, 2018
This was just as good as the first book. A great saga with twists and turns you don’t see coming. Highly recommended.
October 17, 2018
I am loving this series! Best series I have read in a long time.
November 24, 2019
What a dysfunction in family!!! The whole town is. Now started Book 3. Dettman unbelievable story teller.
June 29, 2021
Brilliant story teller
July 23, 2021
I'm absolutely loving this series.
Couldn't put this one down.
I'm really enjoying (and am sometimes horrified by) how multi-faceted these characters are.
Couldn't put this one down.
I'm really enjoying (and am sometimes horrified by) how multi-faceted these characters are.
December 4, 2025
A very enjoyable read, I’m really liking this series
September 29, 2023
Woody Creek series. Book #2
June 26, 2014
There were a lot of characters I did not like in this book. Vern just becomes more of a bastard as the series goes along. And seriously, could anything worse happen to Jenny?! I think the story lines of her getting raped is becoming a little old now. One minute I love her character and then I hate her again. I think the nicest character in this book was Jim. For Vern to make Jenny think Jim is dead so that he can get his hands on little Jimmy is just cruel. And what's the go with Ray King raising from the dead all of a sudden? Surely a kid his age couldn't wander off to the city to make a life for himself. It just doesn't sound realistic. And something should have been done with Amber sooner. Don't know why they let her out of the mental hospital in the first place as she's a total nut case!! And Itchy Foot (Archie) is just really creepy! I hope that Jenny finds out that Jim is still alive.
April 18, 2016
Great characters in the book but a real tragi drama. My favourite character is the grandmother who was so strong, resourceful and made do with little luxuries to hand. Sold eggs, the local midwife, cared for her grandchildren, a shoulder to cry on and her kitchen welcomed visitors at any time with a cup of tea and freshly baked treats.
We could do with a wonderful woman like that in our lives. Great read but I agree with one of the other writers I will have a break from Joy Dettman and go back and read the first book.
We could do with a wonderful woman like that in our lives. Great read but I agree with one of the other writers I will have a break from Joy Dettman and go back and read the first book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews