‘Clare stood on the gravel drive in front of Bellevue.’
Numbulla, New South Wales, 1972. Bellevue in the Blue Mountains holds fond memories for Clare Barclay. The house provided a haven for her and her daughter Sophie after her husband Jack died. So, when she inherits the house after her Aunt Hilda dies, Clare moves in and plans to restore it. Clare also hopes to find some answers in a missing box of documents which might explain the second mortgage on the home she and Jack occupied and which she lost after his death.
Clare makes friends with several the locals, including Joe, a young lad who had found his own haven at Bellevue. But then she discovers plans to redevelop around Numbulla. Some of those who protest the rezoning application find themselves being subtly (sometimes) threatened and harassed, prevented from attending meetings and subjected to vandalism. Clare is keen to prevent a development which would potentially ruin the protected wilderness area around Numbulla. But exactly who is behind it?
The story shifts between the perspectives of Clare and Joe. Each has suffered loss; both love the wilderness area. Clare’s skill as a speech writer is invaluable to the local branch of the Conservation Society. There are a few twists as the story unfolds and a couple of mysteries are explained but the overwhelming sense I am left with is a powerful reminder of the power that people have when they unite in support.
‘She had found a new vocation: it was to fight and conserve the unspoilt places of the mountains.’
This is Ms Booth’s seventh novel and the fifth I have read. Now that I have realised that I have missed two (how on earth did that happen?), I will track them down.
Highly recommended. Enjoyable, well-written fiction.
Note: My thanks to Ms Booth and Red Door Publishing for providing a copy of this novel for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Tasmanian Bibliophile @Large 