Australian country towns are often harbourers of secrets. Some long-held. Some recent. And when they come out (if they do come out) the results are like dynamite blasting and ricocheting endlessly throughout the town.

 Such truths are forensically examined in wonderful Australian author, Kelli Hawkins’, latest excellent psychological thriller/crime novel, The Miller Women.

Matriarch, Joyce Miller, daughter, Nicola Miller, and grand-daughter, Abby Miller, appear to be ‘living the dream’ (or are they?). Their lives in the picture-perfect (or is it?), even somewhat sleepy (fictional) country town of Arundel (“about five hours north-west of Sydney. It’s in the middle of nowhere” with a population some 20, 000) in New South Wales, Australia, seem to be the stuff of verdant daydreams. Nicola reflects of her enviably thriving locale, “Outside the town, sheep farms dominate the landscape. Arundel is a wealthy place, for many, though there’s an underclass of labourers, cleaners and hospitality workers who help keep the economy afloat. Some of the wealthy landowners spend money in town, but the worst of them buy their LandCruisers, animal feed and farm machinery in Brisbane”.

Joyce, a stoic and no-nonsense woman, spends her days tending to her beloved and exquisite garden on her expansive property, Hillcrest, just outside of Arundel. Additionally, she is a fiercely loyal member and treasurer of the local CWA (Country Women’s Association), “lady who lunches, Meals-on-Wheels volunteer, Rotarian, ex-nurse at the local hospital – knows everything about everything in this town” (Nicola reflects of the latter, and also that “Sometimes I find it funny, sometimes useful. Mostly it’s annoying”). Joyce is one tough cookie and a lady who one would consider herself to be in everybody’s good books. We are told, of her gardening penchant, that “The garden at Hillcrest needs constant care, though that’s not why she does it. The garden is her happy place”.

Eager-to-please and highly capable (though inwardly fragile and burdened) Nicola (who is 37 years old) is a journalist with the light and breezy (in terms of it’s subject matter) local newspaper, Arundel Trails. It is most definitely not the hard-hitting journalism that Nicola once-upon-a-time so badly wanted to be doing, but it pays the bills.

Nicola’s life is shared with her morally-upright partner (they never married) and local respected and revered cop, Senior Sergeant Lee Cook. Lee and Nicola have been a couple from the time that Abby, Nicola’s idealistic and outspoken seventeen year old daughter, was twelve. 

Abby is frantically studying, being in her final year at the private and nurturing town’s high school, Arundel Christian College, whilst also having a casual job at the local hospital cafe. 

Life has certainly dealt Abby a favourable set of cards. Nicola reflects of her daughter, “I’ve always been in awe of Abby. The way she forges through life, the high achiever I’d always wished I’d been. Where I struggled – not quite smart enough, not quite brave enough, certainly never confident enough – Abby excelled. In sport, at schoolwork, at being popular”.

Abby is the living definition of a golden girl and riding a way of popularity at school and academic success into a future of infinite possibilities (she dreams of studying overseas after school, or opening her own cake shop in town as she is quite the amateur chef at home).

And just like ‘that’, life in the town becomes an echoing ghost of nightmarish proportions when a local girl, a seventeen year old girl from Arundel Christian College, Cara Ross, goes missing. Like Abby, Cara’s life has been kissed by the hand of God. Cara is massively popular, beautiful, academically gifted (she aims to do medicine) and used to getting her own way. Even when Cara is missing, Abby says to her mum, “Cara has a way of landing on her feet, doesn’t she? Sometimes it seems she’s one of those people who’ll skate blissfully through life, nothing bad ever happening to them”.

Cara lives (will she ever come back?), with her distraught and panicked (since Cara went missing) parents, Milke (a pastor at Orange Dawn Church) and Donna, in Calder Head (a seaside enclave not far from Arundel). 

Is there an abductor/murderer in the midst of the unassuming (or are they?) townsfolk of Arundel, or surrounds? 

Has Abby ‘taken off’, or is there a more sinister explanation for her disappearance?

What was the ‘incident’ that took place six years ago that involved Abby and Cara? An incident that was serious enough in nature to get the police involved.

What secrets are Joyce and Nicola keeping from everyone? Will Joyce and Nicola’s past ‘indiscretions’ ever be revealed?

How does Canada segue into the story? Do good things or bad things happen in this snow-laden country to one or more of our protagonists?

Who is Isabella Donovan? 

Will Lee crack the case? Will Nicola try some detective work of her own?

Kelli has written a superb psychological thriller/crime novel that positively overflows with intelligence, wisdom and sharply accurate observations of the human psyche and condition.

Themes of family, loyalty, health, mental and emotional brokenness, and long-held secrets are expertly examined.

Bravo Kelli! I found myself frantically turning the pages of this stellar novel, The Miller Women, faster and faster the deeper I got into the book.

We all love a good mystery don’t we? And The Miller Women delivers in spades. I loved every second of reading this classy novel. The writing is sublime and evocative. Please put me down to read whatever Kelli writes next!