Books Set in Australia

In a Sunburned Country, by Bill Bryson (2000)

Although a bit dated, (it was published in 2000), In a Sunburned Country is a humorous travelogue about Australia.   In addition to hearing about Bryson's travels throughout the country, he also provides a general history of the country,

Read: June 5, 2026

5 Stars

Books Set in Australia: Outback

The Dry, by Jane Harper (2026)

 

Australian Federal Agent Aaron Falk returned to his tiny hometown in rural outback Australia to attend the funeral of Luke Hadler, his closest childhood friend.  Aaron wasn’t eager to return to his hometown.  Aaron and his father had been run out of town twenty years earlier after Aaron had been accused of killing his girlfriend, Ellie Deacon.  Luke’s father implored him to return with a terse message stating that he knew Aaron had lied 20 years earlier about his alibi.

 

Luke had ostensibly committed suicide after murdering his wife and young son.  His farm was failing and he was facing financial ruin, thus suicide seemed a logical solution.  Luke’s parents, however, didn’t believed it was a murder-suicide.  Since Aaron is in law enforcement, albeit white-collar financial crimes, they implore him to investigate Luke’s death.

 

Small town, long memories.  Luke’s father isn’t the only person who thinks Aaron lied about his alibi.  While joining up the young ambitious Police Sergeant Greg Raco, Aaron unofficially assists in looking into Luke’s death.

 

A lot of people in the tiny town of Kiewarra have secrets.  The story is told in flashbacks, which give the reader two mysteries – the present-day death of Luke and his family, and the death of Ellie Deacon, which occurred 20 years earlier, when Aaron and his friends were just teenagers.

 

The Australian outback is suffering a drought, which provides an added layer of intrigue.  The draught was causing farms to fail, which in turn caused shops in town to suffer.  The local bar is up and operating, alcoholism is endemic, and nerves are frayed.  Physical fights were common occurrences.

 

The local school was short on funds and local townfolk applied for grants to help support educational programs.  Luke’s wife was the financial officer for the school.  Had she uncovered a source of funding?  Why did she have Aaron’s name and phone number in her possession?

 

Aaron must carefully negotiate the present, while letting go of grudges from the past as he delves into his friend’s death.

 

The Dry is the first book in the series featuring (Australian) Federal Agent Aaron Falk.  

 

 

Read:  May 29, 2023

 

4 Stars

Books Set in Australia; Melbourne

The Family Next Door, by Sally Hepworth (2018)

How well do you know the family next door?  That is the premise of this novel.  The novel focuses on a few neighbors in a quiet suburban neighborhood of Melbourne, Australia.  Essie and Ben seem to have the ideal life.  Angie and Lucas seem happy, as do Fran and Nigel.  All have young children.  When Isabelle moves into a house in the neighborhood, suddenly secrets come out.

Why is Isabelle, who is unmarried and has no children of her own, so interested in the children of her neighbors.  Does she really have a job?  Why is she so interested in Essie?

After the birth of her first child, Essie, suffering from post-partum depression left her newborn in a park for several hours.  After a stint in a psychiatric hospital, she returned to Ben, and they had a second child.  Essie’s mother moved nearby to help with the children.  Angie and Lucas appear to the outside world as a happy couple, despite Lucas’ past affairs.  Can Angie really put his past behind her?  Nigel is a loving father, but will his depression cause a rift in his marriage to Fran.  Do we really care?

As the novel moves forward, we learn the secrets of the neighbors, but ultimately, their lives are not really all that revealing or satisfying.  After having read Sally Hepworth’s novel, The Mother-in-Law, my expectations were high, and this book didn’t meet my expectations.

Read:  March 10, 2022

3 Stars

Books Set in Australia

The Mother-in-Law, by Sally Hepworth (2019)

 

The novel begins with the death of Diane Goodwin, the title’s mother-in-law.  She was mother to Ollie and Nettie and mother-in-law to Lucy.  Diana’s death appeared to be a suicide, but certain evidence caused the police to investigate.  Why was a suicide note left in a drawer, and not out where it would immediately be discovered?  Where did those mysterious gold threads come from, and why is there only one pillow in the sofa?  Diana was very rich, so there is motive and opportunity for foul play.

 

Lucy lost her mother when she was 13-years old, so she had hoped to be able to establish a warm and loving relationship with her mother-in-law.  Diana, however, does not have the warmest personality and keeps her thoughts and feelings to herself.  Even her friends do not really know Diana.  Thus, Lucy’s relationship with Diana is strained.

 

The novel goes back and forth in time and between Lucy and Diana.  Lucy and Ollie have what seems to be a perfect marriage.  They have three young children, Lucy is a stay-at-home mother who supports her husband’s business ventures.  Lucy is not keen on Ollie’s business partner, but believes in her husband.

 

Lucy and her mother-in-law have a strained relationship.  Lucy seemingly can do anything to please her mother-in-law.  From Diana’s voice, we learn that she had a very traumatic experience in her early years that shaped her ability to interact with others.  Diana worked hard to achieve her goals and believes that her children should do the same.

 

As we delve into the novel, we discover that each family member has secrets.  Nettie is desperate to have a child and is willing to do anything to have a baby.  All she needs is money.  Patrick, Nellie’s husband has secrets he is keeping from his wife.  Ollie’s business is not doing as well as he leads Lucy to believe.  All he needs is money.  Lucy has her own secrets.

 

This book has some wonderful twists and turns, that kept me guessing right to the end.  The conclusion of the novel did not disappoint.  I read it in one sitting.

 

5 Stars

 

Read:  February 27, 2022

 

 

Books Set in Australia

Picnic at Hanging Rock, by Joan Lindsay (1967)

 

The year is 1900.  On Valentine’s Day a group of young women who attend the Appleyard College for Young Ladies, private boarding school set out for a picnic at the infamous Hanging Rock in central Victoria, Australia.  Mrs. Appleyard, the Headmistress of the school, is very strict and has very rigid rules that the girls must follow.  She also keeps financial tabs on the students, taking care to garner to the wealthiest.

 

After their picnic lunch, several of the young women and one of the chaperones set off on a hike towards the Hanging Rock.  Come time to return to the school, these women were nowhere to be found.  Their mysterious disappearance is the beginning of a series of strange and dark events for the school and those involved in searching for the young women.

 

A search party is sent out to find the young women, but to no avail.  The girls’ disappearance sets the locals tongues wagging:  Were the girls abducted, murdered, “or worse”?  Meanwhile, while the girls set off, they passed the wealthy and privileged Michael Fitzhubert and his course coachman Albert Crundall.  Albert cat-calls the girls, much to Michael’s chagrin.  When he learns the girls are missing, Michael decides to go look for them on his own.  He discovers Irma, one of the young women, unconscious and near death lying on a rock.  Before he can return home, he falls and is rendered unconscious when Albert finds him.

 

Ultimately, both Irma and Michael rescued, Irma to the Appleyard College, and Michael to his uncle’s summer home, where they recover from their injuries.  Irma has no recollection of what happened at Hanging Rock.  Michael, seemingly to be of weak disposition, takes weeks to recover from his wounds.

 

Irma was one of the wealthiest students, so when her father informed Mrs. Appleyard that she would not be returning after the Easter Holidays, Mrs. Appleyard becomes concerned.  Soon other parents are withdrawing their daughters from the school.  Teachers and staff also begin to leave their employment with the school.

 

Spoiler Alert:  One student, Sara, is an orphan and not a favorite of Mrs. Appleyard.  When Sara’s guardian fails to send in his payment for the term, Mrs. Appleyard punishes Sara by not allowing her to continue art lessons.  Then, Mrs. Appleyard suddenly announced that Sara’s guardian was coming to collect her from the school.  Mrs. Appleyard insists that she, herself, will welcome the guardian and see Sara off.  After Sara is ostensibly sent away, under circumstances that seem strange to the remaining staff, we learn that Mrs. Appleyard receives a letter from the guardian apologizing for not remitting Sara’s tuition.  What really happened to Sara?

 

The novel ends with Mrs. Appleyard ostensible leaving the school to visit friends.  Instead, she set an elaborate plan to leave the school, head for the Hanging Rock and meet her demise.

 

This novel delves into several characters.  It was a bit hard to understand as there was a considerable amount of Aussie slang, which I am not familiar with.

 

Read: August 22, 2021

 

3 Stars

Books Set in Australia and Asia; China

The Song of the Jade Lily, by Kirsty Manning (2019)

This historical novel jumps back and forth between the present (2016) and the late 1930s’ through the end of World War II.  In the present, Alexandra Laird has a high-powered job with a financial company in London and has sought a transfer to Shanghai.  The transfer request was for three reasons: to escape part escape from a bad break-up; to be closer to her grandparents who live in Australia; and to learn about her birth mother who had been born in Shanghai.  Alexandra’s parents were killed when she was very young had had been raised by her grandparents, Romy and Wilhem Cohen.  Alexandra’s mother was ostensibly adopted and was of Chinese ancestry.  She is curious about her mother’s origins, but her grandparents have been very secretive about her past.

In flashbacks, we meet Alexandra’s grandmother, Romy.  Twelve-year-old Romy and her parents, who were Jews, fled Vienna shortly after Kristallnacht and made their way to Shanghai.  China was one of the few countries in the 1930 that was accepting Jewish immigrants.  They were not, apparently, practicing Jews in China, but their religious affiliation was not a problem in China.

In Shanghai, Romy met Li Ho, a beautiful young girl who is Romy’s age and the two become fast friends.  Li Ho’s father was a doctor in Eastern medicine, which intrigued Romy.  She picked up some herbal treatment methods, which she employed throughout her life.

Initially, Shanghai was safe.  In the 1930s it was a major international city.  Late in World War II, however, Shanghai fell under Japanese control and the city became very dangerous.  There are parallels between the brutish treatment of the Nazi’s towards the Jews and the Japanese soldiers’ treatment of the Chinese.  Li’s parents were active in the resistance, which lead to a tragic result.  Li and her brother then had to take whatever steps necessary to survive.

The description so Shanghai bring the city to life with its sight and smells.  Unfortunately, the characters are lacking and are not fully developed.  Alexandra too quickly falls into a new relationship that doesn’t quite fit as described in the novel.

The novel was a very quick read, although it could have used a better editor.  There were several places where the author repeated herself.  The twist at the end, however, made the book a worthwhile read.

Read:  May 25, 2020

3 Stars

Books Set in Asia and Australia

A Town Like Alice, by Nevil Shute (1950)

A Town Like Alice, by Nevil Shute was published nearly 70 years ago, and although it clearly reflects the prejudices prevalent at the time (treatment of women and Australian aborigines), it is also a very fascinating novel about the resilience of humans in the face of adversary.

The novel follows Jean Paget, a young English woman, during and after World War II, and is narrated by her solicitor, a man old enough to be her father.  At the outbreak of World War II, Jean was working for a British company in Malaya.  When the Japanese invaded, women and children were taken prisoner.  The Japanese commander was reluctant to be responsible for the women and children, and as a result, they were forced to walk all around the country for duration of the War, always being told they were headed for a camp.  Finally, they were able to settle in a Malaya village, where they worked with the towns people until the end of the war.  By the end of the War, about half the women and children had died.  [Note:  this was based a historical event that actually took place in Sumatra.]

Before joining the Malaya village, however, during their travels, they encountered some Australian prisoners of war.  One of the prisoners was Joe Harman.  He and Jean struck up a friendship.  When he steals 5 chickens from the commander to give to the women, he his caught and crucified.  The women march on, believing that Joe is dead.

After the War, Jean returns to England, where she gets a job as a secretary at a leather goods factory.  She soon learns that she has come into a considerable (for the time) inheritance from an uncle she barely remembered.  She has enough money that she no longer needs to work.  She decides that she wants to use some of her money to build a well for the women in the Malaya village where she had been during the War.  She returns to the Malaya village, where she learns that Joe Harman survived.

Before returning to England, she decides to go to Australia to try to find Joe to thank him for his help during their trek around Malaya.  Six years have passed since they last saw each other.  She thought he was dead, and he thought she was married.  When he learns that she was single, he decided to go to England to find her ~ while she in in Australia looking for him.  Ultimately, they get together and truly fall in love.

While she is in Australia, she visits Alice Springs, which at the time was a bustling town in the Australian outback.  Joe runs a ranch in the middle of the outback, and the nearest town, Willstown, can hardly be considered town.  There is little there to attract families.  Jean doesn’t want Joe to change his life’s work, but at the same time doesn’t want to live in Willstown.  As she had proven during her trek around Malaya, Jean is a very resourceful and ambitious woman.  She decides to use her money to build up the town.  She opens a leather shoe factory and an ice-cream parlor.  She hires young women to work in these establishments.  These endeavors thrive, and Jean uses her inheritance to continue to invest in Willstown to make it a “town like Alice.”

As noted, this book was written 70 years ago.  As a result, the references and attitudes towards the Aborigines in the book were reflective of the time.  I found this to be very uncomfortable.  Still, this book is a wonderful story of facing and surviving hardships

I first read this book about 30 years ago.  I re-read for one of my book group discussions.  I’m glad I read again.

Read: October 12, 2019 (first read in October 1984)

4 Stars

Books Set in Europe and Australia

The Mascot: Unraveling the Mystery of My Jewish Father's Nazi Boyhood, by Mark Kurzem (2007)

4 Stars

Read: June 11, 2015

Books Set in Australia and England

The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton (2008)


4 Stars

Read:  July 5, 2014

Books Set in Australia

The Light Between Oceans, by M.L. Stedman (2012)

Read:  November 14, 2013