REVIEW: OUT OF ALICE BY KERRY MCGINNIS

Due to time constraints, reviews will simply comprise a book blurb and a short response.

How have I only just discovered the wonderful writing of Kerry McGinnis? Out of Alice had me enthralled from start to finish, and now I’m going t o have to add Wildhorse Creek and Tracking North to my TBR list. Here’s the blurb:

When Sara Blake takes up a position as governess on Redhill Station in Central Australia, she isn’t expecting to encounter a family in crisis, or to uncover a tragedy of her own.

With the owners’ son critically ill, Sara is called upon to take care of their young daughter. As the family struggles to make a living from the drought-stricken land, everyone pitches in – and Sara finds herself letting people in to the empty spaces in her heart.

But the longer she spends out bush, the more she becomes plagued by elusive visions of her dark and troubled childhood. The fragments of memory lead her deep into the red centre of Australia, where at picturesque Kings Canyon she must confront the horrifying secrets of her past.

From the bestselling author of  comes an evocative and heartfelt story about how in the remotest of places lives can be lost . . . and found.

A remote location, evocatively described. Secrets triggered by long-blocked memories, creating tension, mystery and a gripping story. Characters who go beyond the stereotypes and paint a portrait of quiet strength, resilience and perseverance. And a fledgling romance that simmers in the background, creating a romantic spark that readers hope will fire up.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s so much more than city-girl-proves-them-wrong. McGinnis is a poet of landscape and took me all the way out to Alice, and further out, into desert lands made beautiful by the characters’ love, hope and dreams.

Available from good bookstores (RRP $32.99AUD). My copy was courtesy of Penguin Books Australia.