Secrets Of The Springs in Aussie Readers

Jul 09, 2017 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-authors, sent-by-publisher, contemporary-fiction, reviewing-by-request, 2017-release, historical-fiction, arc, own-read

When Orla Macrae saw the letter from Emu Springs she almost didn’t open it. It couldn’t be anything important – the only person she knew there was the uncle she detested, and Orla had vowed never to return. But open it she did – the letter was from her uncle’s solicitor Ben Casselot and included another envelope from her uncle. He was dying and desperately wanted to see her one last time. Begrudgingly she left her home on King Island and returned to the Springs; the place she had loved and grown When Orla Macrae saw the letter from Emu Springs she almost didn’t open it. It couldn’t be anything important – the only person she knew there was the uncle she detested, and Orla had vowed never to return. But open it she did – the letter was from her uncle’s solicitor Ben Casselot and included another envelope from her uncle. He was dying and desperately wanted to see her one last time. Begrudgingly she left her home on King Island and returned to the Springs; the place she had loved and grown up in and around – at least until her parents had died. Orla hated remembering her young life after her beloved mum and dad had passed…

The confused jumble of words her uncle uttered included mention of a secret, an apology and a key. But Orla had no idea what he meant or where she would begin her search.

Orla had been determined to leave after the funeral, but the draw of her old family property changed her decision. And when she decided to turn the homestead into Station Stays to encourage tourists to the area, the town’s enthusiasm was great. Emu Springs was located just north of Broken Hill and the stark countryside was apparently something city people were keen to experience. But then Orla found the item her uncle had alluded to – and everything changed in an instant. The truth was shocking; was her whole life a lie?

Secrets of the Springs by Aussie author Kerry McGinnes is a wonderful tale of mystery, heartache and secrets, set in the harsh landscape of the NSW bush. Set in the mid-1900s, well after the second world war, the history of the Malvern Park homestead which had been in Orla’s family for generations was authentic and realistic. The stark beauty of the Australian bush was easy to visualise, bringing back memories of my own childhood. McGinnis’ stories flow with a natural ease and I thoroughly enjoyed this one (as I have her previous books) I have no hesitation in recommending Secrets of the Springs highly.

With thanks to Penguin Random House for my ARC to read and review. ...more

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Jun 12, 2017 Bree T rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, australian, historical-fiction, family-saga, aww2017

This is the third Kerry McGinnis book that I’ve read and I’ve really enjoyed them all. They all have quite remote, very unusual settings. This one takes place near Broken Hill in very outback New South Wales and revolves around an old farming family. When she was still just a teenager, Orla left the home she was raised in after the death of her parents but a letter has summoned her back. Her former guardian, her uncle Palmer is dying and he has expressed a wish to see her before he dies. Althoug This is the third Kerry McGinnis book that I’ve read and I’ve really enjoyed them all. They all have quite remote, very unusual settings. This one takes place near Broken Hill in very outback New South Wales and revolves around an old farming family. When she was still just a teenager, Orla left the home she was raised in after the death of her parents but a letter has summoned her back. Her former guardian, her uncle Palmer is dying and he has expressed a wish to see her before he dies. Although reluctant, Orla travels back from where she’s been living, mostly to put affairs in order. But a few muttered words from her uncle about an old secret have Orla rethinking her plans to leave as quickly as possible. Instead she finds more reasons than she could’ve imagined to stay.

Interestingly this book is set some time ago – around the late 1970s, so it takes some time for Orla to be found as she’s living on an island off the coast of South Australia. No one has cell/mobile phones and travel and communication is slower and more laborious. Technically it’s not that long ago but technology has come so far that it feels a very different time, in terms of communicating with people and also advertising and marketing a business.

After the death of her parents in a car accident, Orla went to live with her uncle Palmer, her father’s brother. He was not a demonstrative person and although he fed and clothed her, he didn’t show her affection or love and she got the feeling she was an inconvenience he couldn’t escape due to familial duty. Instead Orla found comfort and affection from her uncle’s cook/housekeeper who is still in residence when she arrives back when her uncle is dying. Also still working on the family farm is a man Orla once loved, a man she also left but it’s a love that’s so tied up in pain that she’s not even sure how to act around him.

This book was really way more than I expected in terms of mystery and intrigue. Orla had always thought the death of her parents was a tragic accident, until her dying uncle muttered a few words and then all of a sudden she found herself investigating what turned out to be a murder. I really enjoyed Orla returning to the town she grew up in, reconnecting with some of the locals, shunning some others and struggling with the desire to tidy things up and go versus the idea that maybe she could actually make her home here again. For financial reasons it makes no sense to sell the family farm and so she must come up with a way to make it profitable and her ideas are very good.

The romance in this is unusual but I found that it really worked for me. The beginning of it, before Orla fled, was certainly different and in the time that Orla has been gone, both her and Mark have known terrible grief and loss. They have something of a second chance, once Orla stops allowing her pain to hold him at arms length, almost like she’s punishing him. Orla, whether she likes it or not at the beginning, fits into this community. I felt that it really showed that she still belonged there, even after the time she’d spent away. Circumstances forced her back, forced her to address the aspects of her past that were so difficult for her and it just felt like she should always stay. Her ideas for how she can support herself are innovative and clever, making the most of herself and people she knows. She begins building relationships and friendships, links with people. I loved the setting as well. I’ve never been to Broken Hill or the surrounding area, it’s an interesting in town in that it is located in one state but actually shares more with another, including taking on the timezone of its neighbouring state. I haven’t read too many books set there or near there either so I really enjoyed being able to ‘visit’ somewhere new and learn a bit about what living there would be like.

I really enjoyed this and found it a refreshing take on the rural genre. The choice to set it in the past but not back in the early 1900s set it apart for me and I found the story riveting. I was invested in Orla’s attempts to unravel the mystery her uncle left as well as find her place. It reminded me that I have still a half dozen or so of Kerry McGinnis’ back catalogue to read and I really need to get around to fitting them in because I like her books so much. ...more

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