Fiona McArthur

Reader’s familiar with The Baby Doctor, will be delighted to discover Fiona McArthur’s The Bush Telegraph features Maddy Locke, the young woman who gave birth in an abandoned storefront while hiding from her abusive boyfriend, in this lively, heartwarming and absorbing rural romance novel.

Set eleven years later, Maddy and her daughter, Bridget, have returned to the small outback town of Spinifex where Maddy, who has since earned a host of nursing qualifications, is to manage the local show more medical centre. Hoping to banish the ghosts of her past, and make a life for herself and Bridget among the wide open spaces, Maddy is determined to rise to the challenge of providing quality health care to the region and support the revitalisation of the struggling remote community in the memory of her late adopted mother, and former town publican, Alma.

Romance is the last thing on Maddy’s mind, her trust in men having been eroded by her disastrous relationship with Bridget’s father, but meeting attractive station owner Connor Fairhall challenges that. Though wary of the single father who seems to be the subject of disturbing rumours, and whose son, Jayden, appears set on causing trouble, Connor proves to be an unexpected temptation for Maddy. I really liked the way in which McArthur developed the relationship between the two protagonists, particularly with respect to their backgrounds, and I thought their friendship blossomed into romance, with convincing chemistry, nicely.

While the romance is integral to the plot of The Bush Telegraph, McArthur explores several important themes and issues within the story. There are characters facing various problems including alcohol addiction, financial pressures, abandonment, domestic abuse, betrayal and grief. The community itself is showing signs of neglect, with struggling businesses, vacant storefronts, and a dwindling population.

The challenges of providing medical care in a remote location like Spinifex are made clear by McArthur as she details Maddy’s varied nursing tasks in the clinic, which include providing emergency treatment to a walk-in heart attack patient and a child in diabetic crisis, setting broken bones and stitching cuts, and caring for a woman in pre-term labour. Drawing on her own experience working in remote regions as a midwife, McArthur highlights the need for remote health workers to be well resourced and capable of handling a range of situations, the importance of back-up being available in an emergency, and most dramatically, what it means when the life in your hands is your own child’s. I was so affected by one incident involving Maddy providing life-saving treatment, I found myself wiping away a tear or two.

With its engaging characters, captivating drama, and heartfelt emotion, The Bush Telegraph is a wonderful read, sure to appeal to fans of the contemporary rural genre. I think it’s her best yet. show less

Readers familiar with Fiona McArthur’s Red Sand Sunrise will be delighted to reacquaint themselves with obstetrician/gynaecologist Dr. Sienna Wilson. While Sienna’s sister, Callie, and half sister, Eve, are settled in the Queensland outback, Sienna was always adamant the heat, dust and isolation was not for her, and at the beginning of The Baby Doctor, she is the Director of Obstetrics at a Sydney hospital, enjoying the benefits of her success.

Sienna is exasperated when outback show more matriarch, Blanche McKay, overrides her objections and insists that she personally investigate the cause of three newborns affected by microcephaly in a remote outback town, only marginally less so when she learns Sargeant Douglas McCabe, with whom she has enjoyed the occasional dalliance, is based there. Left with no choice, Sienna reluctantly heads to Spinifex, population 300, determined to solve the medical mystery, and return to her life in the city within the week.

Housed in the local pub, The Desert Rose owned by the indomitable Alma Toms, at Blanche’s expense, Sienna is eager to begin her investigation. While McCabe refuses to let Sienna stay in his police residence, concerned at least in part about propriety, he does allow her to set up an office in his spare room, and she hires Maddy, a young woman who works at the pub to assist her with administrative tasks for an hour or so a day.

Alma and Maddy become important characters in the story. Alma who is nearly 70, is a bit of a cliche, the tough publican with a heart of gold, but delightful all the same. Maddy is barely 21, and keeping a desperate secret from everyone she knows. Maddy proves to be an incredibly resourceful young woman despite the situation she is in, and her story, sensitively told by McArthur, sheds light on an important issue.

Sienna’s relationship with McCabe is complicated. Despite their strong attraction to one another (and McArthur nails the chemistry between them), they are such polar opposites and there seems no way for them to reconcile their differences. I do like the compromise they eventually reached though (and I hope McArthur might explore this new setting further).

Microcephaly is a rare birth disorder, but there are several possible causes which Sienna needs to eliminate. I found her sleuthing interesting, especially considering the challenges she faces due to factors such as distance. I also appreciate that McArthur brings to light issues in rural medicine. The actual cause, when Sienna solves the mystery, seemed a little melodramatic to me, though it’s clear McArthur did her research and the scenario is plausible, if not very likely.

A story of resilience, friendship, and love, The Baby Doctor is an appealing rural romance with an edge of drama and suspense. show less

I’m pretty sure I say this for every Fiona McArthur books I read and review, but I love her books. I know I can rely on a great story with conflict and drama, yet expect a happy ending. Of course, Mothers’ Day has this in spades. It’s a heart-warming tale that introduces the reader to a number of strong characters and their stories in a lovely part of rural Australia.

All the female characters hold their own in this story, but the main character is Noni. She’s a midwife at the local show more hospital in Burra, which is under threat because the local obstetrician is retiring. Noni truly loves her job and this will be devastating for her. She’s worked hard as a single mum to bring up her son Harley and give him a good childhood while living with her Aunt Win. Win is a rock in Noni and Harley’s life, and runs a small guesthouse in Burra. This is how Iain and Jacinta McCloud come into their lives. Jacinta is the daughter Iain never knew he had. Jacinta’s pregnant and until Iain found her in Sydney, was doing things tough. So in the guesthouse is a new father-daughter relationship where both teams are exceptionally headstrong. Sparks are sure to fly – and they do – but Noni and Iain are the ones providing the brightest ones! The air crackles between them as they spar on topics such as the birthing process, but both know that there could be more in their relationship. Will they take a chance when this is likely to be a short relationship?

Threaded through the narrative are the stories of a number of mothers and mums-to-be. Jacinta’s worries are closely linked to that of her own mother. She also becomes friends with some other teenage mums in town. There is Noni’s own story of course, in contrast to Iain’s story as an insta-dad to a 17 year old girl. There are a lot of ways that motherhood is celebrated in this novel, both traditional and non-traditional. It’s a beautiful story, particularly Jacinta’s own birthing process. (There’s also a bit of humour too as Iain and Noni spark off against each other – in a bathroom). The dialogue is sensitive when it needs to be, or witty and warm. Despite the story being set in a country town, there is plenty of drama as the story unfolds from the eyes of Noni, Jacinta and Win. I liked the contrast between these women of different ages in terms of wisdom and outlook on life. You would think Win would be more world-weary, being older, but she’s not. She has a calm outlook on life but that doesn’t mean to say that she has it all sorted. I loved Jacinta’s attitude that she could conquer the world, and really felt for her when she was gripped by fear. Noni was somewhere in the middle of the two – she has guts, but she’s more cautious than Jacinta and doesn’t quite have the confidence of Win. Watching Noni grow more confident was wonderful to watch.

Mothers’ Day is simply put, a beautiful story. It celebrates women of all ages, whether they are biological mothers or not, wrapped up in a story that is truly memorable.

Thank you to Penguin for the copy of this book. My review is honest.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com show less

The Baby Doctor was a perfect read at the perfect time for me. I wanted a book that was smart, sexy and dramatic but never expected to find all that and more in the one story! I honestly didn’t want this book to end, I enjoyed it so much. The characters are strong, the plot is a delight and the romance is hot yet sweet. Plus it adds a medical mystery! That all adds up to a book that is just right for me.

The central character is Dr Sienna Wilson, who some may remember from Red Sand Sunrise show more as Eve’s sister. Sienna’s a bit of a prickly sort; she loves her heels, fast cars and city living. The one thing she is definitely not up for is a trip to the outback, but her sister’s mother-in-law has enough money to demand that Sienna is released from her job as Director of Obstetrics in a Sydney hospital. So somewhat reluctantly, Sienna puts her coffee machine in her Mustang (yes, you read that correctly) and drives to central Queensland. Only two things are motivating her: to find out the cause of microcephaly (small head from abnormal brain development) in a number of local babies and that her casual fling, Sergeant Douglas McCabe, also lives in the tiny town of Spinifex. What Sienna gets in town is completely different. Douglas is very conscious of his standing in the tiny town and isn’t open to her living in his house, nor flaunting their relationship. She also didn’t expect a pregnant woman with a secret and a gruff publican with a heart of gold, both who become good friends. There is drama aplenty in Spinifex, as Sienna researches the potential causes of the birth defects and Maddy’s secret becomes harder to hide.

I really liked Sienna in Red Sand Sunrise as a no-nonsense, blunt doctor with no maternal tendencies whatsoever. It was great to read that she was finally getting her own story! She’s stubborn and unwilling to bend (think heels in the desert) but she’s tenacious and loyal to those she loves. It was also great to see Eve again and catch up with her life post her happy ever after. While I adore Sienna, I also had a very soft spot for Douglas. He’s a man with two very different sides to him – the conservative, tough policeman and the soft, caring man underneath. His actions definitely make him a hero in my eyes!

The Baby Doctor is full of drama, but Fiona McArthur writes in such a way that it didn’t seemed forced or too much. It felt like a logical progression of the plot with nothing out of place. (Plus, you just know that nothing will be simple with Sienna around!) Adding in the characters of Maddy and Alma added in extra layers of friendship, making Sienna seem more real (and less tough). I enjoyed Maddy’s story nearly as much as Sienna’s! She was coming from a completely different place with different problems yet the two characters complemented each other.

The Baby Doctor is one of my favourite reads for 2017 – brilliant story, great characters and unputdownable!

Thank you to Penguin for the copy of this great book. My review is honest.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com show less