Caroline Carver (1)

Carver deftly weaves Australian history and the plight of the Aborigines through a modern tale of murder, conspiracy and racism in this, her first novel.
India Kane is taking a vacation from her journalism job in London to return to her childhood home of Australia. She is meeting a friend who has uncovered some of India’s long-lost relatives. Just as she arrives in the remote outback town in which she is to meet her friend, she is suddenly arrested for murder. What she uncovers while investigating her friend’s death might get her killed as well.
It was difficult to connect with these characters in the beginning of the book. India can sometimes seem abrasive and caustic, snapping at people who are trying to help and not letting anyone get close to her, but we soon learn there are some good reasons for her to behave this way. Unfortunately, her investigative companion and possible love interest comes off as irritating and rude at first, which doesn’t help to hold the reader’s interest. Fortunately the plot is strong and fast-paced, keeping the reader interested despite the unsympathetic main characters.
By the end, the reader is deeply invested, particularly as India comes to explore her roots. In fact, I would have liked for more time to have been spent on that following the climax of the suspenseful storyline.
Still and all, this is a solid first effort from Carver, evidently well-researched and very well-written.… (mere)

Georgia Parish is in Nulgarra, Australia for her grandfather's funeral. When she leaves, the plane on which she is traveling is sabotaged and crashes, killing two. Georgia is so invloved with the crash and deaths that she needs to know why it happened and who was responsible.

One man on the plane was Lee Denham, supposidly a person who smuggled Chinese people into Australia. Lee is a former police officer who is said to have caused his partner's death. Now, he is searching for Jon Ming, a scientist who left China with a valuable formula and entered Australia illegally. The Chens are also looking for Ming. The want to take Ming and his formula back to China. They think Georgia knows something about him and torture her, cutting off a finger, in attempt to gain information that she didn't have.

Georgia is a fun character. The action never stops in the novel and Georgia is in the middle of everything. Her bravery is impressive but when she fights with someone after her finger is cut off, the scene became hard to believe.

The setting is well done. The reader feels the stark Australian bleakness and gets to know the feelings of some of the natives. We also learn of the many Chinese who have been smuggled into the country and the author tells us of the dangers these people face if they are ever returned to China.

The plot develops nicely and we share with Georgia, the search for Jon Ming and the attempted evasion of the Chens. However, one plot twist toward the end of the story didn't fit with the character's personality and made me feel skeptical about the story.

Some good parts and interesting characters but disappointment in the conclusion.… (mere)