Author: Fleur McDonald
ISBN: 978-1-76063-315-8
RRP: $29.99
Publication Date: April 2019
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
Without A Doubt is another novel that takes us back in time to the early career of Dave Burrows, another story to help us get to know his backstory and understand his character a little better.
My reading life has been hampered of late, A LOT, and it is taking me WEEKS to finish a book; even when I love it. Without a Doubt was devoured quicker than my Easter chocolate in a short matter of days. I should attribute at least a little of the credit to school holidays, long weekends and a family outing where I wasn’t the driver but a lot of the credit goes to the fact that I could not put it down.
Detective Dave Burrows has settled well into the small WA town of Barrabine. It isn’t what he wants long term but it is a step towards his long term goals. He is enjoying the small community policing and has built a strong relationship with his partner but he’s still worried that his wife isn’t happy. She struggled to settle in when they first moved to town but things got better and she made a good go of it. Now that Melinda is home with Bec she seems to be struggling again, she is missing the family she had to leave behind in the city and resenting the amount of time Dave spends at work.
Things come to a head when Dave finally lets the situation with his father-in-law get him to the point of no return and everything changes.
Without A Doubt is engaging and well paced, a read that kept some interesting little twists nice and quiet until the very end but I feel like it wrapped up a little too quickly. I’m left with some questions that I just don’t know if I will ever have answers to.
Fleur McDonald has a wealth of farming experience in rural Australia and she employs that knowledge to pen a tale of small communities, mustering and stock losses.
This is a tale that travels far and wide, with storylines encompassing both ends of our wide brown land. Dave Burrows is stationed in the West Australian town of Barrabine and the story takes us from there to Nundrew, a very similar town in Queensland. The link begins quite tenuous and circumstantial but the deeper we delve, and the more danger Dave finds himself in, the stronger the links.
McDonald explores undercover policing and cattle theft with insight and intrigue. Her writing is plausible and the undercover policing aspect was quite obviously well researched.
The toll of police work on families is explored with the dangers of everyday policing, before going further into the stress and fear that goes along with undercover work. The complete disconnect with everything about your life to take on a role that is destined to be life changing, every single time.
Once again McDonald explores the effects that a major move has on Melinda. She learned to live with the small town, the distance from her family and the commitment of Dave to his work when it was just the two of them but things have changed now that there’s three of them. Part of Melinda’s settling in was finding a job that she loved, now that she’s home with Bec that outlet is not there for her.
Raising a baby, any child actually, is hard work and you need support. It is certainly a time that you feel the distance from your family and it doesn’t help when that family is forever rubbing that distance in, making sure you know that it could be easier if you were closer. That disconnect from family, from the community you live in with the break from work and the rigorous demands of a young child can definitely impact your happiness and it takes work to overcome that. I think McDonald has explored this aspect relatively well though we read from Dave’s perspective so never quite make it all the way into Melinda’s head.
Without a Doubt is another fantastic read, another trip back in time to learn more about a young Detective Dave Burrows. This is a Detective Dave Burrows story so it is linked to other novels but I’m not sure it’s really a linear type series that you have to read in order. The previous release is Where The River Runs which we featured as a book club read but I haven’t quite got to yet, much to my dismay, and that features Det. Burrows but I’m not sure of it’s time setting. Fool’s Gold is the earlier release which is set in 1997 when the Burrows couple first arrive in Barrabine so if there is any book to read before this one, that’s probably it. Having said that, I think Without A Doubt works beautifully as a stand alone.
Another engaging read that shines a light on rural Australia and captivated me start to finish. Thank you for another brilliant book Fleur McDonald.
Fleur McDonald loves to hear from her readers and you can find her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Without A Doubt is published by Allen & Unwin and is available now from Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to Allen & Unwin 30 of our Beauty and Lace Club Members are currently reading Without A Doubt and you can read their thoughts on the book in the comments below, please be aware there may be spoilers.
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!
Without a Doubt is the story of Detective Dave Burrows.
Dave has been written into a few of Fleur McDonald’s books and I have enjoyed reading his story along the way but I was always wanting more of Dave. At last we have it a whole book giving us Dave’s story.
I was so excited to read this as through the other books I have come to really like the character of Dave.
It’s 1999 and Detective Dave Burrows and his family have been stationed in the gold fields of Western Australia for two years.
His father-in-law doesn’t think it’s the right place for his daughter Melinda and granddaughter Bec to live in and is trying ways to get Melinda back home.
Dave and his policing mate Spencer spend many hours patrolling the area in their police car chatting and discussing things along the way.
When a dead body, an abandoned vehicle and stock go missing the police need to step up and find out what is going on.
Dave decides to take on the most challenging and dangerous mission of his life but can he do it. Can he pull it off and come back to Melinda and Bec or will it all be lost.
Fleur brings a realness to her characters and creates a story that will leave an impact on you long after you’ve finished the book.
She takes you out of the city and into the country where beautiful scenes await your mind and the realness of the rural life is there to meet you.
I can’t wait to meet Dave again in future books of Fleur’s.
Wow!! What a fantastic book. I absolutely loved it!! I couldn’t put it down, I just had to keep reading until I found out what happened.
Without a Doubt by Fleur McDonald is easy to read and hard to put down.
The story follows the life of Detective Dave Burrows and his wife Mel in the goldfields of WA. Life isn’t easy, but made more difficult for Dave by complicated in-law relationships. After a tiff between Dave and his father-in-law, his wife decides to spend sometime in her childhood town with her daughter, Dave’s child. Devastated, how will he cope? Until he is presented with a new challenging policing role …
Strength, determination, suspense, drama, renewed love – this story has it all. Added to that, we get an in-depth look at life in rural Australia, which I thoroughly enjoy.
Thank you Beauty and Lace and Allen and Unwin for the opportunity to read this great book.
McDonald writes a riveting rural crime story that had me grabbing for the book every spare minute I had.
Even though this is my first Det Dave Burrows novel the characterization was ample for Dave to come across as sincere and likeable. You find yourself barracking for him.
The story is spread wide across the Australian outback with settings in both the remote goldfields town of Barrabine WA and Nundrew in Central Queensland.
McDonald has clearly done her research and knows the way of these harsh isolated towns and the people living there.
With a main story of cattle stealing Dave goes undercover in the most dangerous op of his life. Believable side stories portray the strain the isolation can have on a marriage and a person’s mental health and the need for adequate counselling services and activities for the youth of the area. This is where the police come in; not only fighting crime in the area but preventing future crime by being involved in youth programs.
This is hard, rough country and cattle mustering is tough work, it involves tough men, so there is bad language and not everyone plays nice.
I loved McDonald’s use of Aussie slang making me feel like she had pulled her characters straight out of an outback pub instead of from her imagination. I loved them all….well maybe not Scottie.
The heat was palpable and well portrayed. The flies, the dust, the smell! I felt them all.
Without a Doubt was my first Dave Burrows and won’t be my last. This is a great stand-alone however you will want to go back and read Fool’s Gold the first Dave Burrows exclusive. He does feature in Fleur’s other books.
Having read and loved man Fleur McDonald books, Without a Doubt does not disappoint!
This story is one that you will keep you enthralled and will struggle to put down.
Detective Dave Burrows is trying to build up his police career and to try and make it onto the stock squad (hats off to all involved in it!!) and unfortunately comes at a cost – the happiness of his marriage.
With his marriage on rocky grounds, he is sent off on his most dangerous assignment.
A fantastic book once again!
I first discovered Fleur McDonald through Beauty & Lace Book Club last year and have since read many of her books. Without a Doubt lives up to it’s pedigree and keeps you entertained and captivated from the first page. Dave Burrows is a character from many other books of Fleur McDonald. He originally popped up as a minor character and has slowly become the main character and drawcard. I really enjoyed reading this book and getting more background on the character and where he started from. This book can be read as a stand alone but fair warning – after reading it you’ll be hooked and want to read more of this author’s work!
Thanks Allen & Unwin and Beauty & Lace Book Club for another great read by a superb author.
Having read all of Fleur McDonald’s other books and already met Detective Dave Burrows it was great to meet him again and discover how his early experiences helped shaped him.
Without a Doubt is another great story that entices the reader to picture the landscape and makes them want to see more.
I think that if you hadn’t yet read any of Fleur’s work then this book will having you racing to the library or book shop to get your hands on the rest of them!!
Without a Doubt by Fleur McDonald is the second in the Dave Burrows series, but unfortunately, I have not read the first. I don’t think this made any difference as it is a story that could stand on its own.
Dave the main character has been in Barrabine for approx. two years, he loves it here and his wife Melinda would leave tomorrow as she really hates it. Melinda cares for their 18-month-old daughter Bec at home while Dave works long hours in the police force. After a visit from Melinda’s parents and things come to a head with Dave, Melinda’s interfering father convinces Melinda to take some time out and she goes back to the city for a break.
Dave’s partner Spencer is looking into a missing person, and is contacted by an old friend Justin who has an unidentified body and suspicions of illegal cattle mustering. So, the opportunity to go and find himself and solve the most dangerous case of his life is set in place. All he needs to do now is not be found out and make sure he comes back in one piece for the Melinda and Bec so he can fight for his family and for what the future may hold for them.
I originally thought it was to be a romance book, but I was completely blown away by the added suspense and drama included by the author. I would hope that there is a third in the series as it finished quite abruptly leaving my mind open to my own imagination as to how I would add to the ending, it would be great to have the story of Dave Burrows completed by Fleur McDonald.
Without a Doubt by Fleur McDonald is an edge of your seat read!
I loved this book, learning more about earlier Detective Dave Burrows.
There is so much I want to say but having to be careful of Spoilers,
I found it a bit difficult to do this review.
McDonald has written with a depth of knowledge about crime and stock,
the dynamics of being a spouse of a law officer
and the isolation of a small country town and being so far away from family.
I devoured this book in a few short days as it was so easy to read.
There is suspense that will keep you engrossed and not wanting it to end.
Another great read from a highly talented Australian Author.
I was so happy to be chosen
To read Without A Doubt by Fleur McDonald.I love her books and this one is fantastic like her others!!
Detective Dave Burrows has a huge workload and it’s affecting his home life. His wife is not happy with the long hours he keeps, she’s looking after their baby with no family and friends near by. It doesn’t help that her father thinks that Dave’s not good enough for her and tells him every chance he gets.
Melinda says she needs a break, is this just a break or the end for Dave and Melinda?
A dangerous under cover position comes up which would really suit Dave. If he takes it he may not see his daughter Bec or Melinda again. Can he risk his life and come out on the other side to be joined again with his family?
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