Crimson Dawn in Aussie Readers

Jan 26, 2014 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, aussie-authors, sent-by-publisher, rural, own-read, 2014-release

4.5★s

Laura Murphy loved her home, Nambina which had been in the family for generations; since she’d been a baby she’d lived on the property with her dad, Sean and grandfather Howie. And now with her Dad and step-mum Georgie living in Adelaide with her half-sisters, Poppy and Nicky she was on her own with her Papa. Her love for Howie, for the land and the purebred merino sheep, her activities in many of the committees in the local area, and her special boyfriend made her life a happy one. One nig 4.5★s

Laura Murphy loved her home, Nambina which had been in the family for generations; since she’d been a baby she’d lived on the property with her dad, Sean and grandfather Howie. And now with her Dad and step-mum Georgie living in Adelaide with her half-sisters, Poppy and Nicky she was on her own with her Papa. Her love for Howie, for the land and the purebred merino sheep, her activities in many of the committees in the local area, and her special boyfriend made her life a happy one. One night at a family dinner, she was shocked speechless – Howie, Sean and Georgie handed the reins of Nambina to Laura – it was hers forever.

But tragedy struck just as life couldn’t get any better, and eight years down the track, Laura was lonely – her beloved Papa had passed away two years previously, she had lost her best friend and her boyfriend all those years ago and Laura was also determined not to have anything to do with men – ever! Instead she had turned her farm into a teaching school where young women could learn about managing a property. They in turn helped her around the farm – it was a two way street, and she and her school had become very successful.

But things began to go wrong – one of her students was ill continually; there was a mishap with a prize ram at the Adelaide show; veiled threats were made – suddenly a letter from a solicitor threw Laura’s life further into chaos. In her search for the truth, deep secrets from the past were unearthed, lies and betrayal came to the surface. With the help of Tim, the local vet, would Laura find the truth? Or would she lose everything she had worked so hard for all her life?

I really enjoyed this newest novel from Aussie author Fleur McDonald. The family history from 1937 onwards and the way the author wove it through current day events worked extremely well in my opinion. I loved learning about Howie and Thomas’s young lives, “seeing” the Australian bush and the setting around Nambina, and reading about Thomas and his travelling from one sheep station to the next. The story pulled together beautifully with an unexpected but very satisfactory ending. Highly recommended.

With thanks to The Reading Room and the publisher for my copy to read and review.
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Mar 11, 2014 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it liked it

Shelves: aussie-author, provided-by-publisher, arc-are

Fleur McDonald's fifth novel to combine her love of rural Australia and her farming experience with drama and romance, Crimson Dawn is an engaging story of betrayal, resilience, and family secrets.

Reeling from betrayal and tragedy, Laura Murphy throws herself into the management of Nambina, the family sheep station which now belongs to her. Eight years later, Laura is proud of what she has achieved including developing prize winning Merino rams and setting up a successful farm school that teach
Fleur McDonald's fifth novel to combine her love of rural Australia and her farming experience with drama and romance, Crimson Dawn is an engaging story of betrayal, resilience, and family secrets.

Reeling from betrayal and tragedy, Laura Murphy throws herself into the management of Nambina, the family sheep station which now belongs to her. Eight years later, Laura is proud of what she has achieved including developing prize winning Merino rams and setting up a successful farm school that teaches young women the basics of managing a property but then things slowly begin to wrong, one of her rams is poisoned, she suspects one of her students is doing drugs and then her neighbour, and former best friend, announces she has a claim on Nambina, and threatens to take away everything she loves.

There are several tangled plot lines in this story which ultimately reveal unexpected connections, including Meghan's claim on Nambina, the identity of Laura's mother, a drug and sex party ring and most significantly, the parallel narrative within the novel which tells the story of a young boy, who left his abusive home in the 1930's, as he grows into a man. McDonald does well to draw these and other minor threads together in a manner that is plausible, though not entirely probable.

The story did feel a little disjointed to me, especially to begin with, as the contemporary chapters move quite quickly from 2000 to 2001 to 2003 before finally settling in 2008, while the parallel historical timeline makes similar leaps. I personally would have preferred for the contemporary story to have been grounded in a single time period.

Laura is a likeable heroine, her own hard work and determination has seen her build a successful property and business and she is satisfied with the life she has created for herself. But she has been unable to move on from the shocking betrayal of Meghan and Josh, once her best friend and fiance respectively, and has become emotionally closed off from all but family. When Nambina is threatened, McDonald gently guides Laura into the realisation that she doesn't have to face this latest betrayal alone and introduces Tim, the local vet with whom Laura forms a tentative, and ultimately lovely relationship.

While I do think the storyline was just a bit too ambitious and the flow of the narrative suffered as a result, I did enjoy Crimson Dawn. Laura is a protagonist I can admire and I always appreciate the authentic details McDonald provides about everyday life on rural properties.
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