The disappearance of a young girl a few years ago simmers beneath a small town’s existence, while the main story centres initially on three women. Two women with obvious problems and different backgrounds meet Rosemary, an outsider in her own town, and they discover and uncover each other’s secrets and consequently those of the people in their lives.

Each chapter is told by one of the three women, ensuring the story moves along from three viewpoints, enabling the reader to discover the answers to the mysteries and the secrets at the same time as the individual characters.

Just when you think you are enjoying a lovely character-driven story … a massive storm hits.

The aftermath of the storm on the town is clear, and a full pivot to a strong, plot-driven story is quickly and masterfully done. The past lives and the resulting reactions of the three women take off at such a pace the book becomes addictive. The details of the women’s lives are meted out with such skill, that predicting an ending proves impossible.

By each one telling their own story, mistakes become lessons and advice given becomes weapons for all three. Throughout, the women give each other courage and permission to break out and free themselves from their individual chains.

The storm washed away rocks and soil to expose more than answers to a child’s disappearance. This book surprised me on many levels and stayed in my thoughts long after.

Reviewed by Alison Logie

BOOK CLUB NOTES – An afterlife of Rosemary Lamb

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Louise Wolhuter grew up in northern England, moved to Queensland, before settling in Perth to raise a family. She currently works an Education Assistant in a pre-primary classroom, which leaves her early mornings, weekends and school holidays to write.

The Afterlife of Rosemary Lamb is her debut novel. (published by Ultimo Press)