Title: Daughter of Mine
Author: Fiona Lowe
Published: February 20th 2017
Publisher: Harlequin Books Australia
Pages: 512
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Australian, Women’s Fiction
RRP: $29.99
Rating: 4 stars
My review:When your world falls apart the only person you can depend on is your sister.
The three Chirnwell sisters are descended from the privileged squattocracy in Victoria’s Western District — but could a long-held secret threaten their family?
Harriett Chirnwell has a perfect life — a husband who loves her, a successful career and a daughter who is destined to become a doctor just like her.
Xara has always lived in Harriet’s shadow; her chaotic life with her family on their sheep farm falls far short of her older sister’s standards of perfection and prestige.
Georgie, the youngest sister and a passionate teacher, is the only one of the three to have left Billawarre. But is her life in Melbourne happy?
Despite all three sisters having a different and sometimes strained bond with their mother, Edwina, they come together to organise a party for her milestone birthday — the first since their father’s death. But when Edwina arrives at her party on the arm of another man, the tumult is like a dam finally breaking. Suddenly the lives of the Chirnwell sisters are flooded by scandal. Criminal accusations, a daughter in crisis, and a secret over fifty years in the making start to crack the perfect façade of the prominent pastoral family.
A thought provoking novel about family expectations, secrets and lies.
Fiona Lowe is a well known and respected author in Australia. She has published over twenty contemporary romance books and has won some prestigious awards, such as the RUBY here in Australia and the RITA award in the US. For reasons unknown to me, her writing seems to have slipped under my radar but I am rectifying that through my reading of her latest novel, Daughter of Mine.
The Chirnwells are a wealthy clan and hail from Victoria’s Western district. They have lived and worked off the land for many years successfully. At the head of the Chirnwell family is Edwina, a widow of two years, after her husband and the father of her three daughters passed away. Her daughters are as different as chalk and cheese. There is the eldest Harriet, who has a successful career, a loving husband and a talented daughter. Middle daughter Xara juggles a disabled daughter with twins on her family’s sheep farm property. Youngest daughter Georgie has flown from her childhood home to forge a career as a teacher in the city. But is still clear that Georgie is trying to find her feet, as well as a place that makes her feel happy. Gathering for their first big family celebration since the passing of their father, the three Chirnwell sisters are putting their differences with one another aside, for the sake of their mother. The milestone birthday party for Edwina signals the start of a series of revelations that rock the Chirnwell family to their core. With deep seated secrets, a love scandal, criminal activities and an unexpected pregnancy to contend with, life for the Chirnwell clan is about to change.
If you are searching for a good quality family saga, complete with some juicy secrets, strained relations and a distinctly Australian setting, then Daughter of Mine may be just what you have been looking for. I really did enjoy my first turn with Fiona Lowe and I still quite fathom why I haven’t read any of her books until now! Never mind, I will be sure to make a conscious effort to seek out Lowe’s back list based on my appreciation for Daughter of Mine.
Sisterhood is a big theme of this novel. I tend to find the complex relationship that exists between sisters a little hard to understand, as I come from a family background of only one sibling, a younger brother. Thankfully, Lowe’s approach to the sisterly relationships in Daughter of Mine has an easy style to connect with. It isn’t essential to have your own sister relationship to understand the ups and downs the sisters go through in this novel. What I will say is each of these sisters is very different, very well drawn and contrasting. Each has their own traits, misgivings and aspirations that I am certain readers will some sense of common understanding. The situations Lowe puts these sisters and the other characters in the novel is realistic and relatable, it definitely added to the appeal of the novel as a whole.
Readers will be quick to notice that Daughter of Mine is hefty, it is on the 500 page mark. However, the almost conversational mode of storytelling that Lowe adopts to unravel her tale of the Chirnwells assists greatly in the enjoyment of the novel. The use of long buried secrets and a few lies, even an element of criminal fraud thrown in for good measure, contributes to your loyalty to stay with the book from the start to the end.
Lowe has chosen to base her latest novel in a beautiful part of Australia, most of the action in the novel is focussed around the same small country Victorian based town. I enjoyed being transported to the Victorian district of Billawarre. Lowe’s descriptions are a visual feast. Linking to these stunning depictions of the land is Lowe’s reference to squattocracy in Daughter of Mine. A term that is new to me, I appreciated learning about the legacy behind prominent pastoral families such as the Chirnwells.
I urge you not to feel overwhelmed by the size of this novel, it is a spiralling and relaxing novel kind of novel. It embraces you in its arms from the opening and doesn’t try to let go until you reach the end of this compelling saga. Daughter of Mine simultaneously explores motherhood, sisterhood and daughterhood, by taking you right into the heart of the Chirnwell family and their unfolding dramas. It is a story that all will find a commonality with and be reminded that no family is perfect but it is the strength that we gain from these familial bonds that are important. Thank you for a meaningful read Fiona Lowe.
Daughter of Mine by Fiona Lowe was published on February 20th 2017 by Harlequin Books Australia. Details on how to purchase the book can be found here.
To learn more about the author of Daughter of Mine, Fiona Lowe visit here.
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