My good friend Natasha Lester has invited me onto her blog to talk about that tricky business of the commercial/literary fiction divide. It’s a frustrating but necessary topic that both of us have become familiar with over the last year or so. To read our thoughts, click here, or visit Natasha’s blog at http://whilethekidsaresleeping.wordpress.com/
Thanks for having me, Natasha!col-md-2
How far would you go to save someone you love?
Two years ago, Desi Priest made a horrific mistake and destroyed her family.
Now, she is coming home to make amends: to her daughter Maya, who’s nurturing her own dangerous plan; to her brother Jackson, who blames himself; and to her close friend Pete, who has spent years shielding her from a devastating truth.
But as Desi returns to her beloved house by the ocean, there is a stranger waiting for her. Someone who needs her help. Someone whose arrival will reveal a chain of secrets hidden for over twenty years.
And one by one the family will be forced to confront the possibility that they have somehow got things terribly, tragically wrong …
Set across five continents, Shallow Breath is a compelling novel of dashed dreams and second chances. But most of all it is a story about love, and what it really means to be free.
‘The narrative burden shifts between characters, all of whom have winning strengths and credible frailties, and the action emanates from these qualities with effortless suspense and dramatic power…’
Sydney Morning Herald PICK OF THE WEEK
‘well-crafted psychological suspense’
Saturday Age PICK OF THE WEEK
‘set quite uniquely against a fascinating and intelligent backdrop of Australian wildlife and it’s struggle for survival in the modern world’
Australian Women’s Weekly
‘a love letter to the ocean’
Bookseller and Publisher
‘Gripping, touching, and close to my heart. I was hooked from start to finish.’
FAVEL PARRETT, author of Past the Shallows
‘Shallow Breath invites breathless anticipation, building towards a shocking climax. It is a really satisfying read.’
‘…the steady unveiling of all that lies below the surface is suspenseful, complicated and deeply mired in oceanic metaphors … Foster is a gifted writer who has much to teach us in amongst this intriguing family saga.
‘a thrilling novel about love and freedom’
Green Lifestyle magazine
‘compelling, emotional and graphic’ 5/5 stars
‘Shallow Breath is a beautifully written novel that quite easily draws you in to this somewhat broken family and the fragile relationships that are struggling to knit themselves back together … It further cements Sara Foster as a writer with a real talent for suspense and pacing and the ability to flesh out her novels with characters that are so real you can imagine yourself living next door to them.’
‘… with Western Australian author Sara Foster’s skilled pen, there is a vitality and urgency to the pace of Shallow Breath than catapults the reader right into the heart of the action.’
Australian Women’s Weekly
‘…beautifully researched and written with enormous passion … the perfect holiday companion for those wanting to lose themselves in a good story.’
Writing WA review in the West Australian
‘Shallow Breath is a fast-paced read which interweaves drama, intrigue, loss and the fate animals can face at the hands of humans. The author’s clever use of psychological suspense played out in this book reeled me in and delivered the animal conservation message with a powerful punch.’
Port Macquarie News
‘Shallow Breath is a modern Australian saga, written by an author who knows how to breathe life into characters. The story reaches through the pages pulling you into its watery depths and when it is over the characters will stay with you as if you’ve connected deeply with new friends.’
‘An engaging novel that is sure to haunt you, this is an absorbing read. Dive into Shallow Breath – you won’t regret it.‘
‘…an absorbing novel about the loneliness of secrets and how love yearns to be free of them.’
Canberra Times
‘a double whammy of suspense coupled with some nicely nuanced characters…‘
Geelong Advertiser
‘Foster has such a knack for intrigue and is so engaging with her storytelling…,and this, her third novel – set in her adopted WA – is sharper and more mysterious than ever.’
The West Australian
‘another taut, suspenseful read bursting with family secrets and hope… Shallow Breath is one of those books you want to dive into and not come back out of until it’s finished.’
MONIQUE MULLIGAN, Write Note Reviews
Book Club Questions (downloadable PDF)
If you’d like to read Shallow Breath for your book club, this downloadable PDF reading guide includes discussion questions for your group. Do you have a burning question that you want to ask Sara about the book, or would you like a personalised video for your book club? Use the contact form to get in touch. You can find downloadable PDFs for all Sara’s books on the Book Club page. Add this book to your GoodReads library:
How do you begin to move on, if the past won’t let you go?
When Grace’s husband, Adam, inherits a cottage on the isolated North Yorkshire moors, they leave London behind to try a new life. However, a week later, Adam vanishes, leaving their baby daughter on the doorstep.
The following year, Grace returns to the tiny village of Roseby. She is desperate for answers, but it seems the slumbering village is unwilling to give up its secrets. As Grace learns more about the locals and the area’s superstitions and folklore, strange dreams begin to trouble her. Are the villagers hiding something, or is she becoming increasingly paranoid? Only as snowfall threatens to cut them off from the rest of the world does Grace begin to understand how close the threat lies, and that she and her daughter may be in terrible danger if she cannot get them away in time.
Foster’s second page-turning tale of suspense set on the snow-covered moors has something for everyone: mystery, romance, paranormal activity and mortal danger.
Kirkus Reviews
Sara Foster overtly appropriates the tone, atmosphere and themes of classics from Wuthering Heights to Rebecca, delivering a modern gothic that has the charm and suspense of Susan Hill’s ghost stories.
The Saturday Age
…a stunning thriller.
Western Advocate
‘The absorbing plot of “Beneath the Shadows” shows that a quiet, non-violent mystery can pack a lot of punch.’
OLINE COGDILL
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Foster’s captivating story is steeped in secrets locked in attics and hidden in cellars, good sisters, bad sisters, a ghost, a couple of brooding handsome men and almost as many characters with mother issues as a Sophocles play.
CAROLE BARROWMAN
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
This is an intricately woven tale inspired by classic stories such as Wuthering Heights and Rebecca. The suspense and unexpected twists will leave you guessing all the way through.
The West Australian
Beneath the Shadows draws together an intriguing mystery, an atmospheric and gloomy setting that steals over you as you read it and an interesting and varied cast of supporting characters to create a psychological thriller that will definitely leave you wanting more from this author!
1girl2manybooks
This is the second Sara Foster book that I have read (it is also her second release – so I now have a bit of a wait to get my Sara Foster fix again), and once again I was mesmerised by Sara’s writing, and completely pulled in by the story.
The Hungry Bookshelf
…a mystery-suspense novel so thrilling it forces you to burn the midnight oil
Flourish magazine
Beneath the Shadows is full of intrigue and wonderfully dark descriptions of ghosts that haunt the moors.
Good Reading magazine
…merges classicism and contemporary to winning effect.
a book a day till i can stay, #190
This is an intricately woven tale inspired by classic stories such as Wuthering Heights and Rebecca. The suspense and unexpected twists will leave you guessing all the way through.
Chicklit Club
Beneath the Shadows is a tense, suspenseful story of loss, secrets and ghostly presences.
The West Australian
When Adam inherits a lonely cottage, he and Grace and their baby move in. Then Adam vanishes. No trace, no clues… A year later, Grace still seeks answers but knows she must move on. The locals are reluctant to offer help, but it comes from an unexpected quarter. As winter snows start to cut them off from the world, Grace finds the answers lie in unsuspected places. Heart stopping moments are ahead for her… and us.
Woman’s Day
A year after her husband’s disappearance, Grace returns to their home looking for closure. Set in England’s desolate moors, this page-turner has just the right amount of mystery.
In Style Magazine
With spooky clocks, snowstorms, cursed chairs, family secrets, ominous portents, greasy letters written on glass, taciturn locals and a few ghosts, there’s something here for everyone who enjoys a good shiver up the spine. The moors, bleak, beautiful and unforgiving, provide the perfect backdrop.
M/C reviews
If you love a novel with a twist, then Perth writer Sara Foster’s latest novel Beneath the Shadows is the perfect port in a winter storm.
ishoperth
Beneath the Shadows is a great read by a talented Australian author. (5/5 stars)
The Australian Bookshelf
Book Club Questions (downloadable PDF)
If you’d like to read Beneath the Shadows for your book club, this downloadable PDF reading guide includes discussion questions for your group. Do you have a burning question that you want to ask Sara about the book, or would you like a personalised video for your book club? Use the contact form to get in touch. You can find downloadable PDFs for all Sara’s books on the Book Club page. Add the book to your GoodReads library:
Do you have to honour a promise you made in the past
if it means losing all that you have now?
When Mark introduces his date, Julia, to Chloe and her husband at a London restaurant, it’s obvious something is very, very wrong. Alex and Julia pretend not to know each other, but the shocked expressions on their faces tell another story.
As the mystery of Julia’s identity unravels, a terrible tragedy from ten years ago gradually comes to light. While Chloe struggles with a secret of her own, Alex has to decide whether he should take Julia back to Australia to try to lay the past to rest, when doing so will risk all he has with the wife he loves.
And Julia must decide whether to finally confront Alex with the whole truth about what happened back then.
Set in London and Perth, Come Back to Me is a taut psychological drama that will keep you enthralled until the very last page.
‘Suspenseful, heartrending and transcontinental, Come Back to Me’s dynamic scenes extend from debauchery at an office party to a shocking outback crime. A complex psychological tale, Sara Foster’s debut novel…throws us headfirst into marital distress. Set in a middle-class world of city lawyers and designers, Come Back to Me is essentially a story of consequences…With its easy prose and short chapters, this is a novel suited to air travel. Yet it is sophisticated in two ways: it carefully considers the ramifications of split-second decisions on human relationships, and it highlights the importance of a strong question to a narrative…Each character, trapped in this undercurrent of longing, makes the story somewhat earnest. But there is a balance in carefully placed moments of the everyday, like those in the relationship between Chloe and her wayward cousin. As a result, we, the avid readers, are continually reminded of the particular strength of the characters. It is a gentle strength, but a relatable one: the strength that comes from the simple, gallant act of moving forward.’
KIRSTEN LAW
Australian Book Review
‘Sara Foster’s debut novel is both a stunning thriller and complex love story.
She is a wonderful new arrival in Australian writing.’
JESSICA ADAMS
‘Alex is happily married when he unexpectedly comes face to face with the girl he once loved. He has to decide if he should revisit the past, and risk everything with the wife he adores. This clever novel is deftly pulled together with secrets revealed right through to the last page.’
New Idea
As a writer, an exceedingly good book to me, is when I don’t notice how it’s written, but find myself completely wrapped up in the story. Come Back to Me by Sara Foster was one of those books. I couldn’t put it down and lacked sleep for a few days.
MICHELLE DENNIS EVANS
Set in both London and Perth, this is a moving story about impossible choices, about love, and about keeping a promise you made years ago, even if it risks everything you have now. I read this in one day and was left thinking about it for days afterwards. Keep a tissue close.
July 2011 book of the month
www.ourbookclub.com.au
‘Come Back to Me is a complex story of relationships and how ones long ago finished can reappear at any moment and change the path you’re on. Despite the intricacies and twists in the storyline, it’s a quick and engrossing read – I powered through it in an afternoon. So very readable – will keep you wondering and guessing (and in my case, praying that two certain people end up together) until the very last page.’
1girl2manybooks
‘…this is a book that is big on secrets, everyone seems to be keeping secrets from everyone else, and it is a book that everybody’s stories seems to somehow intertwine with others, it is a story of love and loss, how being strong and taking charge can make us a better person, and how others perceive decisions that have been made even though they were too young, or not involved enough to know the reasons behind those decisions.’ 4.5/5
The Hungry Bookshelf
‘There’s no leisurely introduction to this story. Chloe and her husband Alex go to dine with her colleague Mark and his new date, Julia. But when Alex is introduced to Julia, it is soon apparent that something is very wrong. Julia vanishes, Alex is silent, Mark is furious, and Chloe struggles with her own secret as well as wondering about Alex’s past. Alex decides the only way for closure is to take Julia back to Perth where something dreadful happened. But in doing so, will he lose all he has? Can Julia face the past – and finally tell the truth? It’s a book to read in one sitting – you’ll be enthralled by the disquieting possibilities.’
Woman’s Day
‘Come Back to Me is a wonderful debut novel. The stories of the four main characters are interwoven, with the reader taken on a journey through their past lives and the present, with revelations continuing right till the end… There is nothing not to like about this story – intriguing characters, plot twists, action and beautiful writing combine to produce a satisfying package.’
SALLY MURPHY
‘A new voice on the Australian fiction scene, Foster has taken an incident that she read about years ago when travelling and uses it to tell a haunting tale about relationships and the history that binds them.’
The Examiner [Launceston]
‘What-ifs are the heart and soul of any good relationship story: what if we had stayed together, what if I had married someone different, what if I wasn’t having a baby? Here, Foster ties together all those life-crisis questions with the mysterious arrival of a missing ex-girlfriend. Although this will almost exclusively appeal to women, it is far from light and fluffy…’
The West Australian
…a dark psychological guessing game that will surprise you all the way till the end.
‘Read of the Week’, NW
‘This taut psychological drama will keep you enthralled as the mystery and tragedy of ten years ago gradually unravels.’
Northern Daily Leader
‘Come Back to Me is a book for anyone who likes to be surprised by multiple twists and turns. Brilliant.’
‘The novel is both a stunning thriller and complex love story. It is an entertaining read.’
Border Mail
‘A gripping read. Rewarding to the very end.’
NICOLE ALEXANDER
author of The Bark Cutters
Book Club Questions (downloadable PDF)
If you’d like to read Come Back to Me for your book club, this downloadable PDF reading guide includes discussion questions for your group. Do you have a burning question that you want to ask Sara about the book, or would you like a personalised video for your book club? Use the contact form to get in touch. You can find downloadable PDFs for all Sara’s books on the Book Club page. Add the book to your GoodReads library:
