1874, The Victorian Goldfields
In the town of Ironbark, Aurora Scott faces ruin as the railways supplant the Cobb & Co coach line, the lifeline of her hotel. Aurora is no stranger to adversity; the formidable publican has pulled herself from a murky past to build a respectable life in Ironbark. But when bushrangers storm the hotel, taking hostages as leverage for the Starburst Mine's payroll, Aurora has more trouble on her hands than she can handle.
This is no random act, but a complex scheme of revenge. The gang turn on each other. Shots ring out. And when the dust settles, the money has vanished, and so has Aurora Scott...
After 150 years, the mystery of the missing payroll has passed into folklore. And when journalist Melody Lawson helps her brother prepare for the town's annual Gold Hunt Weekend, she is just as drawn into the past as the tourists. But with a surprise inheritance her own family history becomes a puzzle, bound up with the fabled payroll - and as Melody follows the clues, danger mounts...
My Thoughts
The disappearance in 1874 of the Starburst Mine's payroll and Aurora Scott, the proprietor of the Ironbark Hotel, is a mystery that has never been solved and draws the crowds to Ironbark's annual Gold Hunt Weekend 150 years later. The hotel still carries a reminder of that fateful day: a bullet hole in the mural painted by Aurora.
Aurora Scott is all too aware that the coming of the railroad spells doom for her business. No longer will the hotel be a stop off point for the Cobb & Co. coach travelling between Melbourne and Bendigo, and Silas Maddox, the unpopular local mine owner, has already switched to the railroad to deliver his payroll. Why then does the coach arrive with the payroll and armed guards, driven by 'Yankee Jack' Fletcher who is not the designated driver for the day? And why would a pregnant woman, close to term, undertake a long and arduous journey in a stagecoach?
When Melody Lawson returns to Ironbark following a family tragedy, she receives news of an unexpected inheritance. This brings with it a secret, many questions and an element of danger. As she helps her family prepare for the Gold Hunt Weekend, she becomes more intrigued by the reclusive Anthony Maddox's relationship with her mother, his estrangement from his family and the reasons, even when pressured, he hung on to the Starburst Mine. Another distraction is the presence in town of Shawn Maddox. His interest in Melody and the mine causes friction between her and Hugh Nicholson, the local police constable and an old flame.
Both story lines complemented each other very well, but I found the 19th century timeline more appealing due to the restrictive setting and the diverse group of characters. Apart from Aurora, her four employees and the stagecoach driver, the others included an Italian singer and her companion, the pregnant woman and her five year old daughter, and the four bushrangers, who become more desperate as their plans begin to fall apart. Some of the characters' backstories are shared and although some of theses are unpleasant, they take the reader back to events that occurred in 1855 and the subsequent years, to provide the reasons for the hold up at the hotel, and a very emotional reunion.
The Road to Iron Bark has all the hallmarks that make Kaye Dobbie's novels so exciting and a pleasure to read: lots of interesting characters, strong heroines, an intriguing mystery, romance, a touch of the paranormal and, above all, those ties between the past and the present that form the heart of the story. How Melody and Aurora Scott are connected takes a few moments to work out when presented with all the facts, but wraps up the story very well.
This is another captivating tale from Kaye Dobbie that will delight her fans and new readers alike.
Thank you to Harlequin Australia/Mira via Netgalley for a complimentary copy of this book.
More information and where to purchase the book can be found here
This sounds really good!
ReplyDeleteI think you would enjoy it!
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