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Voices in the Dark

Brief Description
'A family drama at heart, the book is an authentic exploration of grief, family estrangement, and life on the land.' The AU Review Sassi Stapleton is called home after news her grandmother is unwell. Less than an hour away from her hometown, Barker, she swerves to... Read More
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A powerful and poignant rural family story told by the acclaimed Fleur McDonald, bestselling author of Out in Nowhere and Shock Waves.

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'A family drama at heart, the book is an authentic exploration of grief, family estrangement, and life on the land.' The AU Review
Sassi Stapleton is called home after news her grandmother is unwell. Less than an hour away from her hometown, Barker, she swerves to miss a roo and her car rolls down an embankment and she's left hanging. By the time she is found, her grandmother has already passed away.Sassi's mother, Amber returns from South Africa, and as soon as she arrives family tensions between her and her brother, Abe, are back in the forefront of everyone's minds.

When it quickly becomes clear that Sassi's grandfather Mr Stapleton is unable to live alone, the hunt is on to find a carer.Rasha enters the family home firmly entrenching herself as someone they can't do without and before long Mr Stapleton is happier than he has been in years.

Then bruises start appearing on Mr Stapleton and he becomes withdrawn, refusing to talk even to Sassi.

None of the family are convinced that Rasha could hurt anyone. Amber is his daughter, Sassi, his granddaughter. None of these three could hurt Mr Stapleton.

Or could they?

Praise for Fleur McDonald:

'With a quintessentially outback South Australian setting, Aussie slang aplenty and a great mix of characters, Broad River Station will delight new and long-time readers of McDonald, who shows once again why she is known as the Voice of the Outback.' - Better Reading

'Fleur McDonald is a master of the rural suspense novel, her characters and storyline crackle with authenticity.' - Family Circle on Broad River Station

'Intense, gritty and filled with humour.' - Brenda's Book Reviews on Into the Night

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781761471100

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 27 January 2026

Country: Australia

Imprint: Allen & Unwin

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 268g

Pages: 368

About the Author

Fleur McDonald has lived and worked on farms for much of her life. After growing up in the small town of Orroroo in South Australia, she became a jillaroo before spending twenty years farming 8000 acres, east of Esperance, WA.

Fleur likes to write about strong women overcoming adversity, drawing inspiration from her own experiences in rural Australia. She is the best-selling author of Red Dust, Blue Skies, Purple Roads, Silver Clouds, Crimson Dawn, Emerald Springs, Indigo Storm, Sapphire Falls, The Missing Pieces of Us, Suddenly One Summer, Fool's Gold, Where the Rivers Run, Without a Doubt, Starting From Now, Red Dirt Country, The Shearer's Wife, Something to Hide, Deception Creek, Rising Dust, Into the NIght, Shock Waves and Out in Nowhere as well as the ebook exclusives If You Were Here and A Farmer's Choice.

Fleur currently lives in Esperance.

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  • The Prospect
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    When Ashleigh decides to flee her controlling husband, Dominic, she knows he'll hunt her down. The only way to escape is to disappear and reinvent herself. Changing her name to Eliza and driving by night, she is drawn to the tiny rural town of Blinman. There she begins the long road to healing and regaining her self-confidence. Then one day,...
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  • Purple Roads
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  • The Missing
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