Author: Sarah Barrie
ISBN: 9781489255273
RRP: $29.99
Publisher: HQ Fiction
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
Sarah Barrie is an acclaimed Australian author who writes rural romantic suspense. The current book is a stand-alone thriller that shares a couple of characters with her trilogy. I hadn’t read Sarah Barrie before but after Bloodtree River I will be sure to keep an eye out for her.
Indy O’Meara is a Sydney detective with a violence filled past, she became a police officer to try and get bad guys off the street. She is dedicated and good at her job, she is also perfect for undercover work because she has no-one at home wondering where she is. Indy is a fantastic lead, I loved her. She is kind and sensitive but she has a kick ass attitude and the moves to back it up. She was interesting to get to know and watching her undercover gave me more than a couple of giggles.
A remote Tasmanian cattle station has had some trouble with missing girls over a number of years and they haven’t been able to close the case. A Senator’s daughter is the latest girl to disappear and he wants answers, and he isn’t afraid to use his position to make sure another investigation is started down there. The main suspect looks like a shoo-in but there isn’t enough evidence, part of Indy’s role is to find the necessary evidence; without arousing suspicion that she is anything but who she says she is.
Bloodtree River is a romantic suspense story and that makes it super important to be careful what I say, there’s nothing worse than suspense spoilers. Actually, that might be a slight exaggeration but it’s still pretty bad.
Logan Atherton is part of the management team at Calico Mountain Lodge and the prime suspect in the disappearances. He and all the senior staff at the family owned and run Lodge are adamant it has nothing to do with them and they, and their business, are suffering at the hands of the police and the media. They want it sorted but they are also becoming wary and worn down. It’s increasingly difficult to stay well staffed and they are all putting in a lot of extra work to keep the business afloat. He is charismatic and charming but his eyes also hold an icy depth, because there is a lot of contradiction to him it makes him enigmatic and hard to read.
The start of the story had Logan looking guilty as not quite charged, and no other suspects worth considering but before long we are questioning whether he is really capable of that even though some of his actions leaving us thinking he is the answer, and starting to consider a much longer suspect list. Barrie has woven some fantastic red herrings into the narrative which leave you forever wondering where you want to cast suspicion.
The romance element is, I guess, a little predictable but it was well written and I was enchanted. I wanted things to work out.
Bloodtree River incorporates a lot of information which I found quite interesting about the Lodge, the produce farms and the police procedural point of view. I was out last night and when I got home I decided to read a couple of chapters before bed because the house was so quiet and peaceful…. at 2.30am I forced myself to put the book down and go to bed because I had to be up early for a fun run. I was captivated, I couldn’t walk away from the story because I had to know. In the end, I went to bed with about 4 chapters to go because I knew I wouldn’t sleep if I finished it.
Barrie writes with consistent pacing, gripping tension and more than a couple of twists that came out of the blue for me. I am glad I read this one and will definitely add the Hunters Ridge trilogy to my wishlist and Sarah Barrie to my watch list. A solid suspense that kept me guessing and captivated.
Bloodtree River is book #21 for the Australian Women Writer’s Challenge 2018.
Sarah Barrie can be found on Facebook and her Website.
Bloodtree River is published by HQ Fiction, and available now from Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to HQ Fiction 20 of our lucky Beauty and Lace Club members will be reading Bloodtree River so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
This is the first time I have read a book by Sarah Barrie and I will be for sure checking out her other books and I LOVED this book.
The book is based around a detective Indy who goes to work undercover at Calico Mountain Lodge in Tasmania, She is sent there to investigate the disappearance of numerous girls and find out who is responsible.
The book at the beginning did start a bit slow but once into it there is twists and turns at every corner. It is the type of book that is hard to put down! It is written extremely well and it is a fairly easy read.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes reading thrillers!
Thanks to Beauty and Lace and Harlequin Books for letting me read and review this AMAZING book!
Bloodtree River is one of my favourite reads so far this year. It’s a great mixture of crime, suspense, flirtation & scenic wonder.
Sarah Barrie has really captured the essence of country Australia and it’s warm, colourful characters.
Indy O’Meara is a toughened city cop who has seen her fair share of death and violent crime. After a politician’s daughter goes missing, suspected of being kidnapped by a seral killer, Indy is sent undercover to a remote holiday ranch in Tassie to investigte.
Prime suspect is the charming and charismatic rancher Logan Atherton.
Infiltrating the ranch as a new worker keen to learn the horse handling ropes, Indy gets close to Logan and against her better judgement, finds herself falling for his charms.
But Logan’s family, including hot headed cousin Connor also form up as possible suspects.
Will Indy uncover the truth & find the missing girl in time to save her, without endangering her own life?
Read ‘Bloodree River’ to find out!
Such a great read for anyone that likes thrillers, romances and Australian rural settings. It built fairly slowly IMO but once the romantic intrigue started building and the will they -won’t they aspect of Indy (undercover cop and all round bad a$$) and Logan (heart throb and main serial killer suspect/ animal lover) started heightening I wasn’t able to put it down.
The novel has depth, mystery, intrigue and I didn’t find the romance too mushy or overwritten at all and wanted so much to be part of their story and (no spoilers) possible happy ever after. Do farm stays like this exist? Sign me up and I better get my own darn eyelash batting calf to look after once I get there (and maybe my own Logan). The thriller/suspense aspect of the story was also wonderfully done and ensures the reader will have late nights up reading those final gripping chapters in the book.
Thanks to beauty and lace and HQ for the read, it’s definitely one to recommend and an author to keep an eye out for in future.
This book had everything I love! A strong female lead, suspense, mystery, a dash of romance, twists and turns and a plot that kept you guessing at every turn.
Very well written and Sarah is now on my list of favourite authors.
Would recommend this book without hesitation.
This book was amazing to read. Captivating from the first chapter I didn’t want to put it down! It takes you on a journey with Indy who is working undercover in a case. It keeps you constantly guessing who it could be. Loved reading this book seriously recommend this to anyone who will listen
I absolutely loved this book and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! The style of reading captivated drew me in from the first page, and kept me hooked until I finished it. I also loved that the book was set in Tasmania because I am Tasmanian, and it was very cool to read about all the real places in this fictional story!
The story is based around Indy who goes undercover to try find out who is behind a series of murders. She is sent to work on Calico Mountain to investigate the prime suspect Logan but ends up more personally entwined than she planned. I really like the character Indy and find her very relatable, and it does help to get into the book when you have a main character that you love.
The story line is very well thought out and develops in unexpected ways as the book goes on. I can’t give too much detail without giving anything away but I found the balance of suspense, mystery and romance was perfect. The book is mostly told from Indy’s perspective but we get small sections from Logan as well. Each time I thought I had part of the story worked out, it took another twist so it was a mystery almost right until the end where the ending tied up all the questions nicely.
I would definitely recommend this book!
If you, like me, don’t want to have the story worked out in your head in the first chapter, Bloodtree River is the novel for you. To be honest, it took me a couple of chapters to really embrace it, so the first few days were slow going as I put it down and picked it back up again, knowing I had to read it to review it. I am glad I did.
Indy is working as an undercover police officer, trying to uncover what is happening to women around Calico Mountain Lodge. The prime suspect is Logan Atherton who has connections to all the women who have gone missing, with some being found dead.
Indy is sure Logan is not to blame, but is she letting her personal feelings cloud her judgement? And what is it that unhappy, opium smoking Mel has over Logan?
With plenty of members of the family and other local connections also suspects, Indy must unravel an intriguing web of lies.
This novel delves into family ties, drug use, and even slavery before the truth is revealed.
If you love to dig through a story to uncover the ending, then Sarah Barrie’s novel is the one for you. I couldn’t put it down after the first couple of chapters.
You’ll have to read the book to find out who is to blame.
Thank you Beauty and lace and Harlequin Enterprises for the opportunity to read BloodTree River.
Sarah Barrie did a fantastic job with this book. I struggled to put it down after the first chapter.it was intense from beginning to end. It was a great blend of romance and suspense.
After finishing this book I quickly purchased other Sarah Barrie books which were just as entertaining.
A five star read from me!
I was excited to read this book after it featured in the Beauty and Lace Book club. At the time I picked a different book to review but I was drawn to the story line and I ended up purchasing the book myself.
I am so glad I picked up Bloodtree River as it is a fantastic read and intend to now read the prior Hunter Ridge books by Sarah Barrie. Once again Sarah was an author I had not read before and one I am glad I have now found. The biggest positive of Beauty and Lace Book Club is every month you are introduced to more and more fantastic Australian Authors.
Bloodtree River is part of a trilogy but it can be read without reading the prior two books.
In this book the story line is based around Indiana O’Meara a police woman with her own dark past who agrees to go undercover on a cattle station in the wilds of Tasmania. Women are going missing and the prime suspect Logan Atherton works at the cattle station.
As she gets to know the family and Logan she is torn, on one hand he is so caring with his animals but on the other hand he can be rude and abrupt. Could he be behind the missing women? It is her intention to find out.
The story moves at a great pace and it kept me guessing until the very end full of suspense and intrigue, I highly recommend it.