Orenda Blog Tour - Ash Mountain Paperback Release

TITLE: Ash Mountain
AUTHOR: Helen Fitzgerald
PUBLISHER: Orenda Books
PUBLISHING DATE: May 14, 2020

FROM GOODREADS: 

Fran hates Ash Mountain, and she thought she’d escaped. But her father is ill, and needs care. Her relationship is over, and she hates her dead-end job in the city, anyway. 

She returns to her hometown to nurse her dying father, her distant teenage daughter in tow for the weekends. There, in the sleepy town of Ash Mountain, childhood memories prick at her fragile self-esteem, she falls in love for the first time, and her demanding dad tests her patience, all in the unbearable heat of an Australian summer. 

As old friendships and rivalries are renewed, and new ones forged, Fran’s tumultuous home life is the least of her worries, when old crimes rear their heads and a devastating bushfire ravages the town and all of its inhabitants… 

Simultaneously a warm, darkly funny portrait of small-town life – and a woman and a land in crisis – and a shocking and truly distressing account of a catastrophic event that changes things forever, Ash Mountain is a heart-breaking slice of domestic noir, and a disturbing disaster thriller that you will never forget…  

MY THOUGHTS: I have to be honest and admit that it took me awhile to get into Ash Mountain.  And overall, it was a rather short book coming in at slightly over 200 pages.  But in the long run, the novel turned out to be a solid read and I felt as if I broadened my horizons some by reading a book that dealt with an Australian bushfire, a natural disaster I've not encountered before in my vast reading.

Fran has returned to her small hometown to take care of her father, despite not liking the area very much.  Her daughter is there on weekends and being in town has brought up some childhoods memories which help showcase the dysfunctional family.  Drama ensues during a devastating bushfire and soon the story becomes one of survival. 

At first Fran comes across a little harsh but after getting to "know" her, one can see her snarky and sarcastic personality shining through.  And those just happen to be characteristics I love.  The story was very engrossing and I could tell the author was writing about things she knows and has experienced in the past.  As the book progresses, it picks up pace and toward the end, I was both scared and optimistic about the conclusion.  If you are looking for a family centered thriller/suspense novel, look no further.


RATING: 3 PAWS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Helen FitzGerald is the bestselling author of ten adult and young adult thrillers, including The Donor (2011) and The Cry (2013), which was longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and is now a major drama for BBC1. Her 2019 dark comedy thriller Worst Case Scenario was a Book of the Year in both The Guardian and Daily Telegraph. Helen worked as a criminal justice social worker for over fifteen years. She grew up in Victoria, Australia, and now lives in Glasgow with her husband.