Shepherd

Description

My father trained me to silence the way he trained his dogs, with food and a cane. Speech, he said, was poison. It scared the game, alerted the gamekeepers and betrayed your friends and family. Tom Clay was a poacher back in Suffolk. He was twelve when he was caught, tried and transported to New South Wales. Now, assigned to a shepherds' hut out west, he is a boy among violent men. He keeps his counsel and watches over his sheep; he steers clear of blowhards like the new man, Rowdy Cavanagh. He is alert to danger, knowing he is a foreigner here: that the land resists his understanding. The question is: how fast can he learn? Because a vicious killer named Dan Carver is coming for Tom and Rowdy. And if Tom can't outwit Carver in the bush - and convince Rowdy to keep his stupid mouth shut - their deaths will be swift and cruel. This riveting, fast-paced new novel from the multi-award-winning Catherine Jinks brings the brutality and courage of Australia's colonial frontier vividly to life - and sees one of our master storytellers at the peak of her powers.

Catherine Jinks' books for adults, young adults and children have been published in a dozen countries and have won numerous awards, including a Victorian Premier's Literary Award and the CBCA Book of the Year Award (four times). She lives in the Blue Mountains.

'Fast-paced, emotional, frightening and full of detail, it's history made as entertaining and as gripping as a night at the movies.' * Australian Women's Weekly on The Dark Mountain * 'I've always thought there should be more outback horror and Catherine Jinks has come up with the goods.' * Age on The Road * 'Shepherd is the latest addition to the Australian outback horror genre and will appeal to readers of Jock Serong and Garry Disher.' * Readings * 'Highly readable, richly characterised, beautifully written...The tension ratchets up and never dissipates.' * Australian Book Review * 'Jinks paints a riveting picture.' * NZ Listener * 'A gripping historical yarn' * Sunday Mirror * 'A breathtaking pursuit novel full of brutality and tenderness.' * Shelf Awareness *