Gemma Hayden has returned to her hometown of Alice Springs for a new job as a primary school teacher. It’s been six years since her family broke apart following the disappearance of her twin brother. And the scars still run deep.
Hard on the heels of her homecoming, Saul Pearce, the man she once loved, is reposted from Parks and Wildlife in Darwin back to Alice. When an old car wreck is uncovered, washed down the river to Ruby Gap, Saul investigates only to find that the wreck belonged to Ethan, Gemma’s twin – and there’s a coded note for her in the glovebox.
Joining forces, they trek through the rugged outback, piecing together clues that not only bring them to the attention of a criminal organisation, but lead them to uncover an even older puzzle… One now lost to the history books. With targets on their backs, will they unearth the truth in time?
Australian author Annie Seaton is best known for her marvellous novels set in stunning locations across Australia, from the Great Barrier Reef to the red heart of the Northern Territory, as seen in Osprey Reef, Undara and Whitsunday Dawn. She brings to life some of Australia’s most remote and beautiful locations, using these settings as backdrops for gripping mysteries. East of Alice does all of this in spades, following two overlapping mysteries in the present and in the late 1800s.
Seaton has taken inspiration from the real location of Ruby Gap, located about 150km east of Alice Springs in the East MacDonnell Ranges. This was the site of a historic “ruby rush” that led to the establishment of a mining community there in the late 1800s. Rose’s journey from England to this Northern Territory community is fascinating, and the hardships she faced there add to the tragedy of this read. Rose’s descendant Gemma has come back to town with a lot of unanswered questions about her brother’s disappearance six years ago, and she might just uncover a lot more than she bargained for. Her discovery of clues about the disappearance, as well as the rekindling of romance with a former love, propel this book to a dramatic conclusion.
With multiple mysteries, a touch of historical fiction, romance and an incredible setting, East of Alice is a riveting story with wide appeal. It’s another superb rural mystery from Seaton.
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