The Baby Doctor in Aussie Readers

Jul 27, 2017 Brenda rated it it was amazing

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

Dr Sienna Wilson, Director of Obstetrics in one of the largest Sydney hospitals was once again proud of her role in the delivery of this latest set of triplets – three healthy babies to the ecstatic, though tired, parents. But when she received a telephone call from Sergeant Douglas McCabe telling her of a medical issue they were having in the little outback town of Spinifex in far north Queensland, Sienna was determined not to head to the bush once again. She’d had enough of the red dust and is ...more

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Jun 24, 2019 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

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

Readers familiar with Fiona McArthur’s Red Sand Sunrise will be delighted to reacquaint themselves with obstetrician/gynaecologist Dr. Sienna Wilson. While Sienna’s sister, Callie, and half sister, Eve, are settled in the Queensland outback, Sienna was always adamant the heat, dust and isolation was not for her, and at the beginning of The Baby Doctor, she is the Director of Obstetrics at a Sydney hospital, enjoying the benefits of her success.

Sienna is exasperated when outback matriarch, Blanch Readers familiar with Fiona McArthur’s Red Sand Sunrise will be delighted to reacquaint themselves with obstetrician/gynaecologist Dr. Sienna Wilson. While Sienna’s sister, Callie, and half sister, Eve, are settled in the Queensland outback, Sienna was always adamant the heat, dust and isolation was not for her, and at the beginning of The Baby Doctor, she is the Director of Obstetrics at a Sydney hospital, enjoying the benefits of her success.

Sienna is exasperated when outback matriarch, Blanche McKay, overrides her objections and insists that she personally investigate the cause of three newborns affected by microcephaly in a remote outback town, only marginally less so when she learns Sargeant Douglas McCabe, with whom she has enjoyed the occasional dalliance, is based there. Left with no choice, Sienna reluctantly heads to Spinifex, population 300, determined to solve the medical mystery, and return to her life in the city within the week.

Housed in the local pub, The Desert Rose owned by the indomitable Alma Toms, at Blanche’s expense, Sienna is eager to begin her investigation. While McCabe refuses to let Sienna stay in his police residence, concerned at least in part about propriety, he does allow her to set up an office in his spare room, and she hires Maddy, a young woman who works at the pub to assist her with administrative tasks for an hour or so a day.

Alma and Maddy become important characters in the story. Alma who is nearly 70, is a bit of a cliche, the tough publican with a heart of gold, but delightful all the same. Maddy is barely 21, and keeping a desperate secret from everyone she knows. Maddy proves to be an incredibly resourceful young woman despite the situation she is in, and her story, sensitively told by McArthur, sheds light on an important issue.

Sienna’s relationship with McCabe is complicated. Despite their strong attraction to one another (and McArthur nails the chemistry between them), they are such polar opposites and there seems no way for them to reconcile their differences. I do like the compromise they eventually reached though (and I hope McArthur might explore this new setting further).

Microcephaly is a rare birth disorder, but there are several possible causes which Sienna needs to eliminate. I found her sleuthing interesting, especially considering the challenges she faces due to factors such as distance. I also appreciate that McArthur brings to light issues in rural medicine. The actual cause, when Sienna solves the mystery, seemed a little melodramatic to me, though it’s clear McArthur did her research and the scenario is plausible, if not very likely.

A story of resilience, friendship, and love, The Baby Doctor is an appealing rural romance with an edge of drama and suspense. ...more

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Sep 29, 2017 Helen rated it it was amazing

This story took me to the outback for a journey that had me turning the pages meeting up with old friends making new friends and sharing heartache and happiness with them, MS McArthur writes stories that are filled with emotion and love, make yourself comfy because you won’t want to put this one down once you start and I highly recommend that you read this one.

Sienna Wilson is an Obstetrician doing exactly what she loves working in a big Sydney hospital there are no plans for marriage or childre This story took me to the outback for a journey that had me turning the pages meeting up with old friends making new friends and sharing heartache and happiness with them, MS McArthur writes stories that are filled with emotion and love, make yourself comfy because you won’t want to put this one down once you start and I highly recommend that you read this one.

Sienna Wilson is an Obstetrician doing exactly what she loves working in a big Sydney hospital there are no plans for marriage or children although she is very fond of police sergeant Douglas McCabe whom she met last year with her visit to Red Sands and they have had a few visits, but she has been asked again by outback matriarch Blanche McKay to investigate abnormal births in the town of Spinifex and ever the investigator off she goes and happily as that is where Douglas is stationed. But never does she realize that her life will change so much once she gets there.

Douglas is a quiet man he lives by the rules of life and is there to protect at all costs but his feelings are turned upside down by the gorgeous Sienna they live in such totally different worlds Sienna is all for the high flying city life and Douglas loves his outback life but there is a spark, a pull between them that really can’t be denied and with so much happening in the town they are pulled closer together.

When Sienna arrives in Spinifex she shocked by the changes that happen to her making friends with pub owner Alma and young Maddy who works in the bar, there is so much going on in this town that worry Sienna and you can see the beautifulness of Sienna coming to the surface and Douglas and her relationship moves ahead. Oh what can I say other than I loved this story there were tears there were smiles and yes there was tension, but above all there was strength and love as friendships opened up, new lives are created and families are together.

Thank you MS McArthur for another fabulous story that is going to stay with me for a long time to come, beautifully written fabulous engaging characters that have become friends, the setting is awesome I really must visit the outback one day, this is a book I highly recommend. ...more

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Aug 19, 2018 Janine rated it it was amazing

This was a fantastic story, in fact I read it in one day (it was bitterly cold here and a good excuse to read). I had only ever read Aussie Midwives by Fiona so was keen to read one of her fiction titles. This tells the story of Sienna - a high powered Obstetrician who is asked by a friend of hers to come to an outback town to investigate the mysterious arrival of 3 babies with a devastating medical condition over a short period of time. Maddie who works at the local pub also is faced with devas ...more

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Sep 30, 2017 Bree T rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, arc, australian, rural-lit, aww2017

A couple of years ago I read Red Sand Sunrise from Fiona McArthur and absolutely loved it so when I received this one in the mail I was very excited to see that it featured some familiar faces, namely obstetrician Sienna, who gets her own story here. Now working in Sydney, Sienna is summoned to the remote Queensland outback town of Spinifex by formidable local matriarch Blanche McKenna who wants Sienna to investigate an unusual occurrence in the area where three babies were born with the same bi A couple of years ago I read Red Sand Sunrise from Fiona McArthur and absolutely loved it so when I received this one in the mail I was very excited to see that it featured some familiar faces, namely obstetrician Sienna, who gets her own story here. Now working in Sydney, Sienna is summoned to the remote Queensland outback town of Spinifex by formidable local matriarch Blanche McKenna who wants Sienna to investigate an unusual occurrence in the area where three babies were born with the same birth defect. Location and timing are their only common factors and Blanche wants this investigated and fixed so that it doesn’t keep happening. She has the money to ensure that Sienna’s hospital employer are happy to see her go and it will of course bring Sienna closer to her sometime lover, Sergeant Douglas McCabe, who is the Spinifex local officer.

Sienna is the quintessential city girl with her designer clothes, high heels, harbourside apartment and reliance on technology and excellent coffee. She’s also a career girl who has worked hard to get where she is and has visions for her future and her department. The fact that she is granted a bit of bargaining power with her boss thanks to Blanche’s donation is one reason why Sienna is okay with heading north – and Sergeant McCabe might be another. Also I think the idea of a medical mystery (and the chance to perhaps solve one) intrigues Sienna and taps into her professional ambitions.

When Sienna arrives in Spinifex she has ideas of staying with Douglas that he quickly vetoes, saying it’s not a good look for his reputation and standing in the town. Instead accommodation has been arranged for Sienna at the local pub where she meets tough publican Alma, who enjoys a flutter on the ponies and hides a painful secret loss from her past, as well as worker Maddy. Sienna’s keen eye notices something about Maddy almost straight away and she hopes that when she employs the young woman to help her with data that Maddy might open up to her about her troubled situation.

Despite her lack of desire to be in a small town, Sienna does seem to settle in there quite well and scores herself an office with internet and an assistant in record time so that she can begin her research and her investigation. It’s a very unusual birth defect to occur three times so close together in such an area and Sienna has only some vague ideas she needs to see if she can hammer into possible genuine hypothesis. I found the mystery and Sienna’s research into it really interesting. It definitely went in directions that I did not expect, which was great.

I also really liked the character of Maddy, a shy young woman who is experiencing some shame at her situation and isolation. There are people there for her, Maddy just needs to be brave enough to ask for and accept the help that they would offer. She retreats into herself but her planning and preparation has to be commended. Maddy is very smart and I would seriously love to see her pop up again in a book in the future so that we can see how she is doing. Her journey was very important and tackles a situation that’s really a very unfortunately common scenario in Australia at the moment and Maddy could’ve easily become a more gruesome statistic. Maddy contributed a real balance to Sienna’s quite brash personality and Alma, the tough publican was another older woman who shines, which seems a common theme in Fiona McArthur’s books.

I did find it a bit funny that Douglas was so adamant about Sienna not staying there and about them not really showcasing that they were, if not in a relationship, then ‘intimately acquainted’. It felt a little bit outdated but this was a very small town – honestly I’m not sure if it was tiny town morals or Douglas himself. He and Sienna were very different but they did work together. I liked their interactions in the previous novel and it had developed nicely in the time between that book and this one. It was also great to catch up with Eve, Sienna’s sister again, as well as her mother-in-law, Blanche McKay. Made me want to read Red Sand Sunrise all over again.

Another really enjoyable rural romance from a very strong author who always creates a great story. I love the intricacy to this one, there’s so much more than what meets the eye and Fiona McArthur’s own background in midwifery really does give such a solid believability to the ins and outs of the plot as well as a focusing on issues in rural medicine, which I find really interesting and I don’t come across a lot. As soon as I finish one book, I’m always looking forward to the next one.

**Copy received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review ...more

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Jun 02, 2018 Bronwyn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, australian

Thoroughly enjoyed the city doc and the outback policeman :)

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Nov 30, 2017 Lauredhel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: australian-women-writers-challenge, rural-setting, australian, aww2017

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