BOOK REVIEW: Shepherd by Catherine Jinks

Synopsis

My father trained me to silence the way he trained his dogs, with food and a cane. Speech, he said, was poison. It scared the game, alerted the gamekeepers and betrayed your friends and family.

Tom Clay was a poacher back in Suffolk. He was twelve when he was caught, tried and transported to New South Wales.

Now, assigned to a shepherds’ hut out west, he is a boy among violent men. He keeps his counsel and watches over his sheep; he steers clear of blowhards
like the new man, Rowdy Cavanagh. He is alert to danger, knowing he is a foreigner here: that the land resists his understanding.

The question is: how fast can he learn?

Because a vicious killer named Dan Carver is coming for Tom and Rowdy. And if Tom can’t outwit Carver in the bush – and convince Rowdy to keep his stupid mouth shut – their deaths will be swift and cruel.

My Thoughts

Australia, 1840. Fourteen year old convict Tom Clay is assigned to an isolated shepherds' hut west of Sydney, with only rough men, bullies, sheep and dogs for company. He prefers the sheep and dogs, especially Gyp, with whom he shares a special bond, having trained her from a pup. To keep himself safe, he is watchful and silent. The newcomer, Rowdy Callaghan, appears to be different from the other men, but Tom is not sure if he can be trusted. What Tom knows about the Australian bush and the aborigines he has learnt by observation. This is a harsh land, so different from his native Suffolk.

When Dan Carver and his cohorts attack the shepherds' camp, Tom takes charge of the situation and formulates a plan. In the confusion, he and Gyp manage to escape. The fates of the others are unknown until he and Rowdy cross paths again. Tom sees Rowdy as a liability, an intrusion into his world where stealth and silence are the keys to survival. His conscience, however, won't allow him to abandon Rowdy to the sadistic Carver.

At first the plan is to evade Carver and reach the safety of the nearest homestead. When there is no help for them there, they decide to get Carver first. The hunted now become the hunters.

With an armed mad man stalking them; aborigines in the area, who may or may not be friendly; the hidden dangers of the land; and Rowdy, garrulous and oblivious to his surroundings, Tom relies on his skills as a poacher to keep one step ahead of Carver and keep himself and Rowdy alive.

I've only read one other book by this author (The Dark Mountain), so I thought I knew what to expect. I was wrong. Shepherd was so compelling that I couldn't put it down, literally. From the beginning the tension is palpable and remains so throughout. Time away from the story would have broken the momentum and ruined the impact of 226 suspenseful and action-packed pages.

Tom is a character easy to empathise with; his sad history draws you in. Not only that, he is clever, resourceful and in tune with the world around him. With no one to rely on but himself, he is also lonely. Rowdy, talkative and friendly, is the only person to have shown him a little kindness in a long time.

When Carver attacks the camp, Tom goes from being the lowest in the pecking order to the leader; the one with all the ideas and the brains to implement them. While Tom is unsure of Rowdy, he realises that for all his faults Rowdy is the only help available. A thoughtful act by Rowdy at a perilous time makes Tom think that perhaps he has misjudged him and, when all seems lost, Rowdy surprises him once again. Despite some of the horrific things they are forced to do, you want them to triumph.

This is a fast paced story with underlying themes of trust and companionship. It is bloodthirsty in parts, emotional at times and very intense. Sustaining tension to that degree is an incredible feat. Catherine Jinks does it superbly here.