Lucy Briar had a plan… and somehow, for someone with a plan, nothing seems to be going to plan, nor does she seem to want it to, strangely enough. A letter from her estranged grandfather upsets her beautifully ordered, planned life in London with her fiancée, Adam, and causes her to return to Australia to confront what, and who, she ran away from.
It would be easy then to say that Beyond the Orchard could be described simply as a romance, however there is more to the story. Interwoven with Lucy’s story is that of her family seventy years earlier and how the events in our history, even when unknown, cast a shadow over the present. Her grandfather and her father are estranged – but why? And did Lucy really find a body when she was a young child or was it all a bad dream? If it was a body, whose body was it? Was Lucy’s mother’s death really an accident?
Anna Romer flits between the past and present, tantalising the reader with Lucy’s memories and the tale of Lucy’s grandparents and their lives. Interwoven with the story of Lucy‘s grandparents are the lives of Aboriginal people living nearby and working on the property, Bitterwood. Romer carefully skirts the issues with treatment of Aboriginal people and attitudes of the time by focussing on the family at Bitterwood and noting that the Aboriginal characters work for the family and are treated well as employees and people.
The depiction of the landscape and places are evocative, which is not unexpected as Romer has travelled the world and Australia extensively, working as a graphic artist firstly before turning her hand to writing. She also now lives out bush on a property and this is the third of her novels, which are all set in Australia and focus on knowing our past.
Beyond the Orchard is an easy read: just enough mystery to keep the pages turning without being too dark or complex, with just enough romance to also keep it fun – perfect for those lazy days when you want to curl up on the couch with a book and chocolate.
Reviewed by Michelle Baylis
Rating out of 10: 6
Published by: Simon & Schuster
Released: November 2016
RRP: $29.99 paperback, $12.99 ebook
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