The Shearer's Wife
Detective Dave Burrows
Fleur McDonald
Reviewed by Helen
This was a fantastic story I loved it from start to finish MS McDonald kept me enthralled as Detective Dave Burrows never gives up on a case even if he has been told to stay away. I read MS McDonalds debut book many years ago and loved it and I have no idea how I have not read them all but it is a something that I hope to do. This story is set in two timelines 1980 and 2020 forty years apart and in 2020 the small town of Barker South Australia is being visited by the AFP and Dave Burrows is determined to uncover the truth.
In 1980 Rose and Ian Kelly arrive in Barker for a short stop before they are to head off to another shed, Ian is a shearer and Rose is happy travelling Australia from one shed to another, but Rose is now very pregnant with twins and the travelling is getting harder and harder, she wants a place of her own for them all but they move on to the shed but Rose goes into premature labour and is rushed to the hospital, she stays in Barker with her son and daughter while Ian still lives his nomadic life.
It is 2020 now and the AFP (Australian Federal Police) have arrived in Barker and are demanding that Detective Dave Burrows and Senior Constable Jack Higgins help with the arrest of a local regarding narcotics, Dave is not impressed saying that there has got to be a reason why she is doing what she is doing but the AFP stand firm and it is not long before Dave is told to stay out of it.
Zara Ellison is a journalist living in Barker, it is her home town and she has recently lost her brother but is now determined to get on with her life and uncover the truth to this narcotics bust and sort her life out with her boyfriend Jack Higgins. With some help Zara does a lot of digging and uncovers more than she was looking for and links this arrest to a mystery from 1980.
This is such an awesome story, so well written the characters are so very real and easy to make friends with, Dave never gives up he aims for the truth in a caring way and with the help of his beautiful wife Kim he stays firm on investigating. Zara and Jack play a big part in this story. I loved the small town and am really looking forward to more in this series and going back to the ones I have missed. This is a story that I would highly recommend and even though it is part of a series it can be read as a stand- alone.
Thank you Allen & Unwin for my copy to read and review.
5 stars
Published November 3rd 2020 by Allen & Unwin AU
