Margot Stedman’s first novel caused an international bidding war when it was offered to publishers, and rightly so. It’s not often a debut author is so assured and accomplished in her writing. This story is one that lingers with the reader long after the last page is read, and that, dear reader, is the mark of a successful novel.

The story itself is deceptively simple – a childless couple on a remote island off the coast of West Australia, discover a baby in a boat with a dead man. Instant dilemma – to keep the baby and fill a gap in their lives, or alert the authorities and return the child to her family. And if they kept it, who would know, with the Lighthouse keeper’s wife having just delivered a stillborn child on their isolated island.

What makes this tale so powerful is the dilemma of right and wrong, and the choice between making the one you love happy, or making someone else miserable with a decision that will have lifelong implications.

I don’t want to give too much more away – suffice to say I loved this story, and it will be one my top recommendations this year. I defy anyone to read this book and not be touched by the skill of the storyteller and the story itself.

Can I tell you how happy I was to read this book? Here at last is an English style mystery series by an Australian author, which is as good as the Phryne Fisher books by Kerry Greenwood. And although totally different in writing, characters and plots, there is that same feeling of recognition – the knowledge that you as a reader are going to be entertained by a likeable group of fictional detectives.

This is the third and latest in the Rowland Sinclair series, which began with A Few Right Thinking Men, and this time around our intrepid gang of four are enjoying life as usual in Sydney, much to the disapproval of Sinclair’s older brother Wilfred. When the head stockman goes missing in the High Country after being sent by Wilfred to investigate a family cattle lease, Rowly and his companions Clyde, Milton and Edna are ready for an adventure in the wild. Not so ready mind you, that they forget to pack all the comforts, and travel in style in Rowly’s Mercedes Benz.

The interaction between the four friends, and their dialogue with outsiders is a treat, as Rowly and Co have fun challenging the rigid outlook of the small towns they visit on their adventure. I can’t help thinking that the mystery element, although interesting, is not what holds the reader – it’s the characters.

The author has a nice way of weaving real events from newspapers of the time, and real people from the period, in and out of the plot. The reader can meet anyone from Norman Lindsay to Henry Handel Richardson popping up in this series, which only adds to the experience.

Highly recommended.