Stillwater Creek

A dazzling debut novel about redemption, war, and the ties that hold families together

It's 1957 and, after the death of her husband, pianist Ilona Talivaldis and her nine-year-old daughter Zidra, travel to the remote coastal town of Jingera in New South Wales. Ilona, a concentration camp survivor from Latvia, is searching for peace and the opportunity to start anew. In her beautiful vine-covered cottage on the edge of the lagoon, she has plans to set herself up as a piano teacher.

The weeks pass, and slowly mother and daughter get to know the townsfolk - including kind-hearted butcher George Cadwallader, who is forever gazing at the stars; his son, Jim, a boy wise beyond his years; Peter Vincent, former wartime pilot and prisoner-of-war; and Cherry Bates, the publican's wife who is about to make a horrifying discovery…

For Jingera is not quite the utopia Ilona imagines it to be - and at risk is the one thing Ilona holds dear…

Reviews

'Fans of Di Morrissey will enjoy discovering a new talent' Herald Sun

'I loved the characters, the scenery, the dramas, the gentle humour, and the sense of Australia as it once was. Enjoy a feel-good beach read this summer!' Good Reading

'A mythical town and its people are brought beautifully to life … a really lovely book' The Sunday Telegraph

'A finely observed historical drama set in small-town Australia in the 1950s … evocative and eminently readable' Age

About the Author

Alison Booth is currently hard at work on her third novel, which will be set in Jingera in 1970.