On an evening in late August 1894, a mob of union sheepshearers boarded the paddle-steamer Rodney at its mooring along the Darling River in New South Wales, intent on overtaking the non-union workers heading upriver in defiance of a long-running strike. Darry Fraser deftly incorporates the burning and sinking of the Rodney, a pivotal event in Australian labor history, into a storyline about a host of worn-down characters desperate to improve their lives.

Tess Hawthorn, Alby Slattery, Bram Kempster, and Harry Goodwin grew up as farmers’ children in the river town of Echuca in Victoria, more thrown together by circumstance than friends. Now adults in their early thirties, the four have a convoluted history behind them, and more yet to come.

Tess ends up on the Rodney by accident. Fifteen years married to the abusive Alby, she courageously dons a disguise and flees their home but gets caught up in violence at the wharf and is forced onto the wrong boat. Also aboard are Bram, a reserved man who’s always loved Tess unrequitedly, as well as Alby – each for different reasons. Once Alby discovers Tess there, his anger is swift and irrevocable.

Their interactions move the story forward as their circumstances and environments change, including the rising floodwaters around Echuca. Fraser clearly adores rural Australia and powerfully re-creates it on the page, and her multifaceted characters feel like they belong there. Can Tess overcome her pride and self-protectiveness to accept the help she needs, and will she ever appreciate Bram for himself? After years of rejection and his own losses, does he even still want her? There’s also Harry, Tess’s dashing former crush, always caught up in a new scheme or three.

Into this tangled mix of personalities, Fraser drops in a zippy new character, Miss Eugenia Osborne. Her viewpoint is fabulous. Unlike Tess, “Jeanie” is a confident, wealthy, spoiled woman with a lusty appetite for burly men. Can she really be as superficial as she appears?

While Tess’s journey shows the author’s skill and sensitivity in depicting recovery from domestic abuse, Jeanie’s viewpoint adds unexpected humor. The odds are stacked against women in these depressed times, as evoked so convincingly by Fraser, and she and Tess, equally determined, have different ways of pushing through and surviving.

This book starts off with a strong suspense feel to it. The main character, Tess, is on the run from her abusive husband and trying to locate the right ship on the river to free herself. But things don't work out exactly as she planned and she finds herself in a dangerous situation all over again. A fast paced historical novel set in Australia that is highlighting the strife of union workers during the late 1800s. It's a dangerous world of union versus non-union people trying to survive hard times.

We have several main characters including Tess; her childhood friends Bram and Harry, as well as appearances from the Alby her dangerous husband. Everyone's experiences are intertwined as the men are trying to find work and do what they need to survive, while Tess is dealing with her own personal issues of finding herself and establishing who she wants to be outside of what she has experienced.

This book was a little bit more explicit in tone and actions than I had expected, but the times where this appears was contextually important to the moment or the characters. Bram was one of my favorite characters in this story as his honorable nature really outshines every other man you come across in this book. He focuses heavily on being there for Tess, as he was fond of her as a child and then they both went their separate ways. The support system that Tess needs is found in Bram and carries the entire story all the way through.

Have you ever visited Australia? I have never been there, but it is on my bucket list of places to visit.

Tess Hawthorne has finally decided to leave her abusive husband. Unfortunately, she has boarded the wrong boat as it was moored in the wrong place, the Rodney, and her husband is on this boat. As tensions arise between union laborers and scabs shearers of sheep, the boat is attacked and set ablaze. Tess is attacked and her life is change forever. Will she be able to survive?

My thoughts on this novel:
• The storyline was very intriguing, and I had a hard time putting it down. Fraser did a great job of crafting the story with believable well-rounded characters and having their stories come together to make a great overall novel. It was well written, descriptive, moving, and heartfelt.

• I liked how the story revolved around four childhood friends, Tess and three men – her husband Alby Slattery, Brian Kempster her neighbor who always pined away for her, and Harry Goodwin the man Tess always had a crush.

• I enjoyed learning about the shearers strike and the flooding that occurred in the 1890s Australia along the Darling and Murphy Rivers. From the burning Rodney boat, to the labor camps, Fraser took the reader inside the labor revolts.

• The novel took an honest look at spousal abuse during the nineteenth century and how it was hard for women at the time to escape from their abusive husbands.

• There was a very interesting historical note at the end from the author. A lot of the happenings in the novel are true history from 1890s Australia.

• I recommend this for those that enjoyed The Thornbirds and The Man from Snow River.

Overall, The Night on the Darling River by Darry Fraser is historical fiction at its best with a well written, fascinating storyline and great characters set in 1890s Australia.

In this intense and emotional new historical fiction novel, readers travel to 1894 Echuca in Victoria, Australia, where Tess Hawthorn is attempting to escape her abusive husband by taking the riverboat out. However, with labor tension between the unionist shearers and scabs, Tess is mistaken for a scab and ends up on the wrong riverboat, which is going the same direction as her husband. When her old friend Bram Kempster discovers her on the boat on his way to Renmark, he must confront his feelings for her even if she does not reciprocate. Forced into an uneasy partnership, readers will discover the labor tensions of rural Australia with Tess and Bram in this complex new novel. With domestic violence recurring throughout the novel, readers should be advised in advance of reading it, but the characters and their alternating perspectives give readers two different perspectives through which to understand these labor tensions that are so central to the novel. Having brought the atmosphere and rugged nature of rural nineteenth century Australia to life, readers will love the different conflicts layered on top of each other throughout the novel and how Fraser balances these different conflicts and perspectives in this intense new historical fiction title.

Thank you to @darryfraserauthor @harpercollinsaustralia @harlequinaus and @austenprose for the #gifted e-book.

Immerse yourself in the gripping tale set in late 1800s Australia, during the devastating Echuca flood of 1894. This story follows the tumultuous journey of the PS Rodney, intertwined with the shearers' strike and the violence that erupted around it.

Tess is a fierce and resilient character. After escaping her abusive husband, fate cruelly places her back on the PS Rodney with him. The upheaval leads to heartbreaking consequences for Tess. As she strives to return to Echuca, the diverse individuals she encounters along her path empower her to navigate life as a widow.

The author masterfully weaves together the narratives of various characters, creating a rich story of life during this tumultuous time. Women, often seen as the property of men, faced significant hardships, yet Tess evolves into a savvy and independent individual. Told from multiple characters' perspectives, the story provides a wider lens on the struggles they endure and a deeper understanding of Tess's journey.

If you appreciate historical fiction infused with mystery, resilience, and a compelling female lead, this book is a must-read. Don’t let this enthralling story pass you by!

A sweeping saga of survival and courage as an abusive husband, political uprisings, and nature try to take everything from Tess in 1894 Australia. Tess must find a way to escape to survive but who can she trust? Most of the town is afraid of her bullying husband and looks the other way when she has injuries.When her plan to escape puts her into more danger she has to put her life into other’s hands to survive. Two men from her past, Harry Goodwin and Bram Kempster, come back into her life and she has to decide if their agendas put her in more danger or will offer love and support. Add in rising river levels and the unrest and violence of the shearers strike and danger is everywhere. The situations Tess finds herself in kept me reading as I had to know if she survived. It is a story of strength, courage, and survival against all odds that I still am thinking about.

"The Night on the Darling River" is an emotional, insightful, and thought-provoking book from author Darry Fraser! The historical setting is described with details that make the setting, characters, and events of the book easy for the reader to understand and picture. The characters feel three-dimensional and like real people of that time period. This is a book that is compelling and very insightful. I now feel I have learned so much about Australia during that time period and about the historical events that this author has written about with such skill. This is a book that will make you think and feel so much all the while providing you with an insightful look into what life was like at that time. The speed of the plot is perfect, the writing style is smooth, the story itself is insightful and enthralling, and the historical elements of the book are carried out so well! 5 stars! I very highly recommend this book especially if you enjoy historical fiction.

Thank you very much to the author Darry Fraser, Austenprose PR, Harper Collins Australia, and NetGalley for the great opportunity of being a part of this book tour and for providing me with a digital copy to read and review honestly.

The Night on the Darling River by Darry Fraser has everything I love in a story: a strong, resilient FMC, an engaging, fast moving story, great characters (both the good and evil characters were well developed), and a riveting plot that got me from the first chapter.

In a tumultuous time in Australian history, Tess Hawthorn takes the risk of her life to escape an abusive marriage by boarding a river boat one night. However, her safety won’t come easily and the story that unfurls is hell bent on breaking her spirit and her very will to survive.

I love a historical fiction novel that teaches me about events I never knew about, and Australian history is one I have never read about. Fraser’s writing puts you straight in the setting and her characters are well developed and captivating. I gave this one ❤️🍆⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @darryfraserauthor @harpercollinsaustralia @harlequinaus @austenprose for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

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The Night on the Darling River is a historical fiction and romance. Set in Australia in 1894, during the tensions of a shearers strike, a depression, and a flooding river.

At 424 pages, I read through this book very quickly. It was riveting. I love historical fiction. You can learn so much in such an accessible and enjoyable format. I don't know much about Australian history, so I was really intrigued by this story.

The story mainly follows Tess Hawthorn, a woman trying to escape her abusive husband. Throughout the story, we are introduced to secondary characters, and the story alternates between Tess' and our secondary characters POV. What I love is how these secondary characters end up being so pivotal to the story and how the authour pulls them into Tess' world to bring this story to a tension filled but satisfying ending.

If you are a fan of historical fiction and romance, you definitely need to add this story to your reading list.

I have not read too many historical novels set in Australia and this one taught me so much! Tess has been trapped in an abusive relationship during a time when women are still very much seen as the husband's property. Her abuse is well known and others in the community often pity her and worry for her life. So when she gets the chance to run, she takes it but things go very awry when she finds herself face to face with her husband on the same steamer that is currently being taken over and is on fire. He is the last thing she sees before she finds herself in the water. She finds herself in a camp being cared for. She face has become quite disfigured but she is alive and word is that abusive husband of hers is dead. She will never have to deal with him again. But is he really? After healing and gaining her strength back, Tess finds her way back towards home, but the great flooding of the Murray River is happening and she has been warned she may not have a home to go back to. Seeking refuge at the Kempster's she is still uncertain of her life, her supposedly dead husband and her next steps. Bram and her dance around each other as they attempt a routine for chores. Tess worries he is taking pity on her and what happened and Bram is fighting the feelings he has always had for her. As they make plans for her house once the flooding recedes, she feels a future for herself. But when a friend from the camp she healed at shows up with a dire warning, she once again fears everything she has worked for will be taken along with her own life. Can Bram keep her safe or will the law of being a wife prevail? There was just so much more to this story and it was such a fascinating read. I had no idea about the great floods that happened as well as the tension and danger between the unionist shearers and Scabs. Thank you to the author and Austenprose for the complementary ebook. This review is of my own opinion and accord.

The Night on the Darling River is a harrowing and unputdownable book covering the sinking of the PS Rodney, Australia's earliest and most violent industrial disputes, and a major flood that occurred in Echuca in 1894.

1894, Echuca, Victoria: As Tess Hawthorn flees an abusive marriage, she boards a boat to escape her husband when a brawl erupts between the union and non-union men. As Tess is mistakenly pulled on to the wrong boat, she soon finds that she is heading up the Darling River, on the same boat as her husband. Bram Kempster, her neighbor who has loved her since childhood, is the last person she expects to see on the boat. As their paths cross, can they set aside their past to work together to survive?

This enthralling adventure was filled with danger, a bit of romance, and an interesting piece of Australian history that I was unfamiliar with. I enjoyed the lyrical prose and could not stop reading through Tess' journey to independence. The book covered heavy topics regarding domestic abuse and violence, but was met with whispers of romance. It's a wonderful novel that all lovers of Australian historical fiction will enjoy.

Many thanks to the publisher and Darry Fraser for the complimentary ARC. This review is voluntary, and all thoughts are my own.

Trigger warnings: violence, domestic abuse, sexual content, language.

I loved this book so much. It was well written, and the author has an amazing writing style. It was also planned well and flowed so well. It was set in the late 1890's in Australia. The character of Tess was so heartbreaking and yet inspiring at the same time. I can't wait to read more from this author. I highly recommend this book for those historical fiction lovers out there. It was well written and inspiring.

Thank you Net Galley ARC and Harlequin Australia

In a time when Aussie authors are making their mark in historical dramas, Darry has done a fabulous job with wonderful storytelling, putting herself right up there with the best in these Australian colonial sagas. Her latest offering is no different - drama and adventures in the outback, with colourful characters and an engagingly dynamic storyline.

I always gain so much from reading one of Darry’s books. On this occasion, she returns to her true love the Murray-Darling basin and I could not be happier. The factual focus on this occasion is a major flood that occurred in 1894 around the same time that the PS Rodney departed Echuca for its fated last journey. Add into this a dangerous shearers strike and some truly frightening domestic violence and this is a much darker and violent story that Darry has to share. The cast of characters are strong and believable and I appreciated the various POVs.

If you like to escape to a time long gone, a time when women attempted to exert some form of independence, all with a dash of mystery and romance, then this will be the book for you. Life wasn’t easy for women who were often regarded as male property and I admired the many strengths of the lead character, Tess Hawthorn. I highly recommend you sample one of Darry’s true to life historical dramas.

Set against the historical background of the shearers’ strike of the late nineteenth century and the burning of The PS Rodney, this story is at times harrowing, at times appalling and at other times carries a burning light of hope. Tess Hawthorn harboured a teenage crush on Harry Goodwin, but when Harry suddenly disappears and his sisters spread an ugly rumour about Tess, she finds herself in a forced marriage to Albert Slattery. The story opens fifteen years later and we see Tess trying to flee Alby, who is a drunk and a brute. With a mix-up at the wharves, Tess finds herself on a boat full of scabs heading off to shear the sheep that the shearers’ union has refused to touch unless they are paid a fair wage. Unfortunately for Tess, her husband Alby is on the same boat and what he does to her during the burning of the PS Rodney is utterly despicable. That Tess survives is a miracle. I admired her continued spunk and her determination to carry on in the face of a very uncertain future. I loved Tess and was thrilled when Bram Kempster came back into her life. He, too, has suffered hardship but like Tess he’s got spunk and is a thoroughly decent human being. I cheered him on as he wooed Tess and I cheered them both on as they worked to rebuild their lives. This book is fast paced and gripping, tells the story of a largely forgotten historical event in a fascinating and realistic way, and kept me reading way into the night. It’s definitely one for my keeper shelf.

This story is set in the late 1890's, although it references the Darling River in the title, most of the book is centred on Echuca located on the Murray River. The main character is Tess Slattery, who is trying to escape and abusive marriage before her husband actually kills her.
Abby Slattery is working as a 'scab' - a non-union shearer during an extensive shearer's strike that decimated the wool industry. I learned quite a lot of Australian history on this topic through the book which was quite interesting.
Tess, ends up finding out who her true friends are and the strength it takes to escape violence in a time where women have very few rights.
A heart-breaking and inspiring story. Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Australia for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

It was 1894 in Echuca, Victoria, and Tess Slattery was trying to escape her brutal and violent husband. He'd gone away, and she hoped to make her escape in the dead of night, dressed as a male, in the opposite direction to the one he had gone. Boarding the Victor was imperative. But with the shearers' strike in full swing, and both unionists and scabs trying to board, Tess became turned around and in the crush, boarded another paddle steamer, PS Rodney, the one her husband had been going to board. Hiding in a cabin with the one other woman on board, Tess did her best to stay out of sight as they travelled the Darling River.

Trouble began when the Rodney stopped in a lay-by, and suddenly Tess was rushing to get off, along with many others. She'd seen both Bram Kempster - and old childhood friend - and her husband, just as he spotted her. What would happen to Tess? Would she escape the clutches of her husband? The Murray River was rising as the rain continued to fall; those people from Echuca knew their homes and farms would be inundated...

The Night on the Darling River is another entertaining historical novel by Aussie author Darry Fraser. I found Tess to be an outstanding character, strong and determined; Ava, Bram, Merv - great characters. There were some "not so nice" people, perfectly written into their roles. A very satisfying read, and one I recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley & Harlequin Enterprises AU for my digital ARC to read and review.

Growing up in Echuca, Victoria and as children, Tess Hawthorn, Alby Slattery, Bram Kempster and Harry Goodwin were best friends, this changed and as adults the quartet will all be involved in one of the most turbulent times in Australian history.

Tess Hawthorn has had enough of her abusive husband and she decides to leave him, the riverboat Victor is departing Echuca and he’s a passenger on the Rodney and by the time he returns Tess plans on being long gone and she hasn’t told a soul. However, Tess doesn’t know the tension between unionist shearers and the non-union men they bring in to fill their place and are aptly named "scabs" is about to boil over and a fight breaks out between them and Tess finds herself on a boat going down the Darling River and in the same direction as her husband.

Have you heard of the term "riding on a sheep’s back" and the Australian economy in 1894 certainly did, when wool prices dropped, shearers pay rates were cut and rich graziers hired non-union workers and a nationwide strike took place. Other incidents occurred at the same time, the sinking of a riverboat, setting fire to a wool-shed and the flooding of the Murray-Darling river system.

I received a copy of The Night on the Darling River from NetGalley and Harlequin Australia in exchange for an honest review. The narrative focuses on the main character Tess’s plight and her trying to flee domestic violence, she’s become a shadow of her former self and feels isolated, at the time women had few rights and were classed as their husband’s property. Tess is looking for a fresh start, along her journey she comes across volatile situations and some sinister characters and others who are kind and these include Bram, Ava, Tad and Merv.

Darry Fraser has firmly cemented her place as one of Australia’s bestselling historical fiction authors and I can honestly say her 10th book is her best and based on real facts and her love and interest in the history of the Murray River, and the towns nestled on it’s banks. Five stars from me and I highly recommend The Night on the Darling River and for lovers of eloquently written and entertaining Australian historical adventure stories and with an emphasis on strong female characters and fighting and overcoming adversity.

The book relates to looking back at your last and realising what May have become of yourself.

Emily comes home to attend her mothers funeral, it a child who knew her mother, is someone of her past and she needs to determine how she feels about this, especially when she couldn’t have that of her own.

The emotional feelings of lost, finding one self and needing to get to a new place in yourself is a focus of this story.

4.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

I read my first Darry Fraser novel, Where the Murray River Runs, back in 2017. I loved the descriptive way Darry writes and could truly imagine myself in the places and times set out in the story. That has since gone for every novel of hers I have read.

Darry Fraser continues to highlight the issues that women dealt with back in the 1890s, unfortunately, many of these issues are ones women still have to deal with today.

I was transported to 1894, Echuca, Victoria in The Night on the Darling River. I was with Tess when she crept through the night to find the riverboat to take her to safety, I felt her dismay and fear when she realised she was on the wrong boat and when the consequences of that turned to horror changed the trajectory of her future.

I instantly connected with Tess Hawthorn (Slatterly), the main character who is ready to escape her abusive husband, I felt her struggle to take that step, her fear of what would happen when she did and also what would happen if she didn't. Tess' plans don't go to plan and her journey ahead becomes a nightmare.

I was so angry at the way people turned a blind eye to the abuse Tess endured, even after the terrible event that happened there were still people who were saying 'You can't interfere with what a man does to his wife'. This wasn't right back then, and it sure isn't right today and is something everyone still needs to work on.

Also among the main cast of characters I met Bram Kempster, Harry Goodwin, and unfortunately Alby Slatterly, Tess' husband. While Bram is one of the nicest men going, Harry is a manipulative, conniving thief and Alby, well he is a man with no redeeming features who I wished had met his end in the violence and bloodshed aboard the riverboat 'Rodney' that they all end up on; alas he doesn't. These three men, along with Tess have known each other since childhood and while their lives have diverged, the events of the night on the Darling River have them all reconnecting with unexpected outcomes.

At this time Victoria is embroiled in a shearers strike, an uprising that will have far-reaching consequences for thousands. I had little idea about this event in our history that became a violent struggle between thousands of men, the union shearers and nonunionists, the landholders and the law.

This story is told from several characters' POV which I really liked, it gave me a much broader view of the struggles of the time as well as allowed me to get to know the characters who were part of Tess' story.

Bram was one of the nicest men, he'd been in love with Tess since they were kids but she'd never paid him any attention. The flood that inundates Echuca and the surrounding land brings these two together again after the events on the 'Rodney'.

My journey with Tess, Bram, Merv, Ava, Tad & Harry was fraught with danger & violence but also with new connections, friendships and romance, and hope for the future. All the characters endured so much, some rising above the challenges thrown at them while others got what they deserved but not in the way they had hoped.

This was another great historical fiction novel that transported me to a time I'm glad I didn't live in while allowing me to experience what the people of that time went through to get by as well as giving me a small history lesson in a way I enjoyed.

Darry Fraser writes so often about life on the mighty rivers of Australia. "The Night on the Darling River" centres around life in 1894, primarily around the town of Echuca.
This is really Tess's story but we also follow the lives of others that grew up with her; Harry, Bram and Alby. Set against a background of shearer strikes and scab labour, tensions are high and a person's life is cheap. Riverboats are the main means of travel up and down the river networks. And as floods ravage the farmlands, landowners come to rely on each other and the old bonds forged in childhood.
But as always; there are villain's in life, who care only for themselves.
Tess is a victim of circumstance that means she married a violent man. Tess no longer knows herself, hanging onto the last shred of courage. Enough is enough and it's time to leave her lifelong home community. The physical act of making her escape could well cost her, her life. Changed forever in a physical way, but also emotionally.....squashed confidence and frayed nerves. 
Historically true events support the story of Tess's journeys up and down the river and camp life of the time. Culminating in a coming together of all parties in Echuca for what can only be described as a grand showdown....will those who deserve it get their comeuppance? Tensions are as high as the river!
"The Night on the Darling River" was truly eye-opening, gripping and emotional. Sometimes the inner thoughts of characters slowed things down a bit for my liking and I was keen to skip on the inter person dialogue and get to 'what on earth will happen next'.
Tess is a heroine who deserves a love story.
Thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for my introduction to the magic of Darry Fraser