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An Afterlife for Rosemary Lamb

Louise Wolhuter author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Ultimo Press

Published:4th Jul '24

Should be back in stock very soon

An Afterlife for Rosemary Lamb cover

‘This gripping tale of three women who are suspected in the disappearance of a 9-year-old is a powerful read you won’t want to put down.’ – Pedestrian.tv

‘An incredible debut full of rich characters and a plot that will keep you guessing. Louise Wolhuter is a writer to watch.’ – J.P. Pomare, author of In The Clearing and The Wrong Woman

Jessie Else disappeared the summer the Lambs came to Magpie Beach. Not that the two events were connected at all, in reality; only in my own head, in my own world. They marked for me the end of a certain quiet time and the start of a more complicated living.

Winifred is a small town full of prejudices and assumptions. Meg and Lily are outsiders who live on its margins at Magpie Beach, where they’ve managed to keep out of each other’s – and everyone else’s – way for years. That is, until Rosemary comes along and draws them into an unlikely friendship.

When nine-year-old Jessie Else goes missing, the residents of Winifred begin locking their doors, and fingers soon start pointing towards Magpie Beach. Questions threaten to undo Meg, Rosemary and Lily’s quiet existence, and the women band together to protect themselves, and to protect each other, but all three are holding secrets that are too big for them to keep on their own.

It’s only a matter of time before they start to unravel–and nothing will ever be the same again.

‘Louise Wolhuter has created three unforgettable women in An Afterlife for Rosemary Lamb. Escaping complex pasts and navigating uncertain futures, Meg, Rosemary and Lily forge a friendship that crackles off the page and dives deep into your heart. The mystery at the heart of the novel had me urgently racing towards the end, but Wolhuter’s distinctive voice and her beautiful prose had me immersed and lingering on every page.’ * Shankari Chandran, author of Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens *
‘Darkly addictive. Once An Afterlife for Rosemary Lamb gets its teeth into you, there's no escape.’  * Adrian Hyland, author of Canticle Creek *
‘An incredible debut full of rich characters and a plot that will keep you guessing. Louise Wolhuter is a writer to watch.’ * J.P. Pomare, author of In The Clearing and The Wrong Woman *
‘Charming, quirky and original. This beautifully written portrait of a small community of outliers keeps unfolding until the very end, revealing how little we ever really know about another person. Wolhuter is a real talent.’  * Inga Simpson, author of The Last Woman in the World and Willowman *
‘A deeply evocative, hauntingly nostalgic and profoundly unsettling mystery.’ * Sulari Gentill, author of The Woman in the Library *
‘The author’s care with her craft—this book is 25 years in the making—results in a magic alchemy of words that provides fresh and enchanting imagery. This novel is engrossing, mostly for the depth with which the characters are drawn and linger in our sentiments. It will be compared with books by writers such as Liane Moriarty—female friendships, small-town drama-mysteries, secret-filled pasts—and should not disappoint.’ * Books + Publishing *
‘This gripping tale of three women who are suspected in the disappearance of a 9-year-old is a powerful read you won’t want to put down.’ * Pedestrian.tv *
‘a slow burn, but a compelling and complex one, steadily entangling the reader in the women's lives. As the fires are stoked to a final conflagration, you won't want to put it down.’ * The Canberra Times *
‘It's a finely wrought mystery notable for unusual depth of character - a slow burn with unexpected twists.’ * Sydney Morning Herald *

ISBN: 9781761151712

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 280g

304 pages