Woody Creek

Latest release: March 1, 2014
Series
6
Books
Pearl in a Cage: A Woody Creek Novel 1
Book 1·Oct 2009
4.8
·
$10.90
The first book in the dark and addictive Woody Creek series from bestselling Australian author Joy Dettman

"Dettman writes compulsively readable stories" The Age

Spanning two momentous decades and capturing rural Australia's complex and mysterious heart, Pearl in a Cage is unputdownable.

On a balmy midsummer's evening in 1923, a young woman - foreign, dishevelled and heavily pregnant - is found unconscious just off the railway tracks in the tiny logging community of Woody Creek.

The town midwife, Gertrude Foote, is roused from her bed when the woman is brought to her door. Try as she might, Gertrude is unable to save her - but the baby lives.

When no relatives come forth to claim the infant, Gertrude's daughter Amber - who has recently lost a son in childbirth - and her husband Norman take the child in. In the ensuing weeks, Norman becomes convinced that God has sent the baby to their door, and in an act of reckless compassion, he names the baby Jennifer and registers her in place of his son.

Loved by some but scorned by more - including her stepmother and stepsister who resent the interloper - Jenny survives her childhood and grows into an exquisite and talented young woman. But who were her parents? Why does she so strongly resemble an old photograph of Gertrude's philandering husband? And will she one day fulfil her potential?

"Joy Dettman is a natural-born storyteller whose dark tales of rural life are addictive ..." The Age

Fans of Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker will love Joy Dettman.
Thorn on the Rose: A Woody Creek Novel 2
Book 2·May 2010
4.8
·
$10.90
The second book in the dark and addictive Woody Creek series from bestselling Australian author Joy Dettman

"Dettman writes compulsively readable stories" The Age

Spanning a momentous wartime decade, Thorn on the Rose is the spellbinding sequel to Pearl in a Cage
It is 1939 and Jenny Morrison, distraught and just fifteen years of age, has fled the tiny logging community of Woody Creek for a new life in the big smoke.

But four months later she is back - wiser, with an expensive new wardrobe, and bearing another dark secret...
She takes refuge with Gertrude, her dependable granny and Woody Creek's indomitable midwife, and settles into a routine in the ever-expanding and chaotic household.

But can she ever put the trauma of her past behind her and realise her dream of becoming a famous singer? Or is she doomed to follow in the footsteps of her tragic and mysterious mother?

"You can't fail to enjoy this portrait of rural Australian life in the wartime years with its many sorrows, joys and challenges." Woman's Day

Fans of Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker will love Joy Dettman.
Moth to the Flame: A Woody Creek Novel 3
Book 3·Mar 2011
4.6
·
$10.90
The third book in the dark and addictive Woody Creek series from bestselling Australian author Joy Dettman

"She trips the fine line of pleasure and pain that makes her a compulsive read ... Brilliant." Sun Herald

In Moth to the Flame, Joy Dettman returns with another dazzling tale of the unforgettable characters of Woody Creek.

The year is 1946. The war ended five months ago. Jim Hooper, Jenny Morrison's only love, was lost to that war. And if not for Jenny, he would never have gone.

"An eye for an eye," Vern Hooper says. An unforgiving man, Vern wants custody of Jenny's son, his only grandson, and is quietly planning his day in court.

Then Jenny's father Archie Foote swoops back into town. Archie offers Jenny a tantalising chance at fame and fortune; one way or another he is determined to play a part in her life.

Is Jenny's luck about to change, or is she drawn to trouble like a moth is drawn to the flame?

"A story of love and loss, Moth to the Flame captures the reader's attention on the first page and sustains it to a satisfying conclusion." Daily Examiner

"Dettman is an effortless, assured and accessible storyteller ... [this] is her most ambitious saga yet" The Saturday Age

Fans of Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker will love Joy Dettman.
Wind in the Wires: A Woody Creek Novel 4
Book 4·Apr 2012
4.9
·
$10.90
The fourth book in the dark and addictive Woody Creek series from bestselling Australian author Joy Dettman

"Dettman writes compulsively readable stories" The Age

"The bombshell conclusion was worthy of a Thomas Hardy novel" Good Reading

The wind is whispering in Woody Creek... Change is in the air

It's 1958 and Woody Creek is being dragged - kicking and screaming - into the swinging sixties.

Cara and Georgie are now young women but, raised separately, they have never met. They've both inherited their mother's hands, but that's where their similarity ends.

Despite a teenage mistake looming over Cara's future, she still believes in the white wedding and happily ever after myth. Georgie, however, has seen enough of marriage and motherhood, and plans to live her life independent of a man.

But once the sisters are drawn into each other's lives, long-buried secrets are bound to be unearthed, the dramatic consequences of which no-one could have predicted...

"The texture of the writing as well as the mind-boggling plots give her books a fatally addictive attraction" Saturday Age

Fans of Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker will love Joy Dettman.
Ripples on a Pond: A Woody Creek Novel 5
Book 5·Mar 2013
4.8
·
$10.90
The penultimate book in the dark and addictive Woody Creek series from bestselling Australian author Joy Dettman

"Dettman writes compulsively readable stories" The Age

As Woody Creek draws Joy Dettman's much-loved cast of characters back into its grip, confessions, discoveries and truths seem certain to explode in the most shocking of showdowns...

Woody Creek is preparing for its centenary celebrations - but for many of its townspeople it's just another reminder of the old days, before so-called progress roared through the town, altering everything in its wake.

Not for Georgie though. As the clock ticks over to 1970, she's determined that the new decade will be the one that sees her finally break free.

For Cara, Woody Creek will forever be tied to a devastating mistake that cannot be undone. She's vowed never to set foot in the place again.

Meanwhile, Jenny's estranged son, Jim, has inherited an estate in the United Kingdom and is trying to make a new life for himself. If only he could shake off his one terrible attachment to Australia.

The old timber town of Woody Creek has a way of getting under people's skin...

"She has a command of plot and pace, a feel for character and melodrama that merge to produce rural Australian soaps with the darkest kind of edge" Canberra Times

"There are far more shocking secrets, and sufficient twists and turns to keep everyone gasping as Dettman continues the saga of her previous four novels" Sydney Morning Herald

Fans of Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker will love Joy Dettman.
The Tying of Threads: A Woody Creek Novel 6
Book 6·Mar 2014
4.3
·
$10.90
The sixth book in the addictive Woody Creek series from bestselling Australian author Joy Dettman

"an adept storyteller" Sydney Morning Herald

"a compulsive read" Sun-Herald

In The Tying of Threads, the sixth instalment of the beloved Woody Creek series, we return to the small timber town where it all began...

As the new millennium draws ever closer and Woody Creek struggles to survive, one thing becomes clear - in order to face their futures, Jenny and her daughters must first make peace with their pasts. If it's not too late.

Georgie: Independent and spirited, Georgie is her mother's daughter through and through. But after a house fire takes the life of her sister, Margot, and burns her home to the ground, Georgie is lost. She flees town with nothing but a cardboard box and the determination to be somebody, anybody, else.

Cara: After almost losing her adopted daughter, Cara's view of the world has radically shifted. She's decided that life is to be lived and love is to be cherished, even when that means crossing boundaries she'd never dreamed of. But is any love great enough to overcome and unimaginable burden of guilt and shame?

Jenny: With her nest empty, Jenny is more lonely than ever. Rattling around her big old house with too much time to think, she's left to wonder: should her secrets stay buried forever or will revealing the truth set her free?

Fans of Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker will love Joy Dettman.