Showing results by author "Fiona McFarlane" in All Categories

In September 1883, a small town in the South Australian outback huddles under strange, vivid sunsets. Six-year-old Denny Wallace has gone missing during a dust storm, and the entire community is caught up in the search for him. As they scour the desert and mountains for the lost child, the residents of Fairly—newlyweds, farmers, mothers, indigenous trackers, cameleers, children, artists, schoolteachers, widows, maids, policemen—confront their relationships, both with one another and with the land­scape they inhabit.

Ruth is widowed, her sons are grown, and she lives in an isolated beach house outside of town. Her routines are few and small. One day, a stranger arrives at her door, looking as if she has been blown in from the sea. This woman - Frida - claims to be a care worker sent by the government. Ruth lets her in. Now that Frida is in her house, is Ruth right to fear the tiger she hears on the prowl at night, far from its jungle habitat? How far can she trust this mysterious woman, Frida, who seems to carry with her own troubled past?

In 1998, an apparently ordinary Australian man is arrested and charged for a series of brutal murders. The news shocks the nation, bringing both horror and resolution to the victims’ families, but its impact travels even further: into the past, as the murders rewrite personal histories, and into the future, as true crime podcasts and biopics tell the story of the crimes. Highway Thirteen, Fiona McFarlane’s newest collection, takes murder as its starting point, but it unfolds to encompass much more.

Wenn verborgene Ängste Wirklichkeit werden. Die betagte Ruth wohnt in einem entlegenen Haus am Meer. Seit dem Tod ihres Mannes ziehen ihre Tage gleichförmig dahin, allein vom Rhythmus der Wellen und dem Klang des Windes geprägt. Eines Tages steht eine vom Staat geschickte Pflegekraft vor der Tür. Die tüchtige Frida übernimmt schnell das Regime, sie kümmert sich um Geldangelegenheiten und die Medikamente, sodass die alte Dame das Haus gar nicht mehr verlassen muss. Langsam entgleitet Ruth das Gefühl für die Realität.