In the Valley of Blue Gums

Journalist Thea Anderson’s position with the Clarion newspaper in Sydney had been hard-earned – working her way up from a junior, her position had escalated when she’d covered the assassination of President Kennedy, purely by accident. The pictures she’d taken shot her to fame – her next big assignment was as one of the only women to cover the war in Vietnam. Danger and death, fear and horror; they were her constant companions. But it was something she needed to do.

Prior to her assignment in Vietnam, Thea had fallen in love with the enigmatic Peter Torrance, wine maker in her home state of Tasmania. But Peter’s vineyard Keebunna had been in the family for generations – he respected her career and would be there in the valley of blue gums when her assignments were over.

Vietnam kept calling her back and Thea, though fully aware of the dangers, needed to do more for the people who were suffering – the innocent women and children. But could she? And would it be the worst decision she had ever made?

In the Valley of Blue Gums by Aussie author J.H. Fletcher is a fast-paced, action-packed historical novel which I thoroughly enjoyed. Moving back and forth through Thea’s life, from her youngest days with her mother and father in Malaya, through to life in Sydney and Tasmania, and her assignments throughout the world, the woman who courted danger through her love of adventure lived a life of no regrets. An excellent novel, In the Valley of Blue Gums is one I don’t hesitate to recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read and review.