Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
New York: Soho Press, 2008
Description
Fiction. Literature. Mystery. HTML: "An epic and ambitious mystery set against the vast backdrop of Central Australia, where indigenous and white people live side by side in an uneasy truce" (Vogue). Emily Tempest, part aboriginal and part white, is back in Moonlight Downs after a long absence. She left to get an education and travel abroad, and wonders whether she still truly belongs in this remote, rough-edged world. But within hours of her arrival, an old friend is murdered, and the police have set their sights on a rogue aborigine as the chief suspect. It will be up to Emily to ask questions, and make sure justice is served..
User reviews
LibraryThing member dclode
A great read, lovely dialogue and a fabulous description of people and place. Funny, moving and gently abrasive. Highly recommended.
LibraryThing member mkboylan
[Moonlight Downs] by [[Adrian Hyland]] is a mystery that takes place in Australia. The main character is "half Aborigine and half white". She has lived in both cultures and traveled a large part of the world, and chosen to return to live in the Bush. This story takes place during her re-entry to
I think of nature as alive and am especially attached to trees, which I think is pretty common. Hyland has written about the landscape from an Aboriginal perspective that makes even the rocks and boulders come alive. When he describes the landscape, it is like reading the history of a place by looking deeply at your surroundings. It has increased my understanding of the value of land to native populations and the importance of spiritual and holy sites. I have moved around too much to develop that type of attachment and appreciate that fully. I learned about both of these cultures about which I know nothing, and want to learn more. I'll read another of Hyland's mysteries, as well as delving into Australian history.
ALSO - congrats to Australia for winning The Masters this year for the first time!
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that world and her people and the adjustments that come with that choice. The perspectives of both worlds enter the mystery and it is great fun - well, fun for me because I get to visit a new place. Not so much for the people who are murdered.I think of nature as alive and am especially attached to trees, which I think is pretty common. Hyland has written about the landscape from an Aboriginal perspective that makes even the rocks and boulders come alive. When he describes the landscape, it is like reading the history of a place by looking deeply at your surroundings. It has increased my understanding of the value of land to native populations and the importance of spiritual and holy sites. I have moved around too much to develop that type of attachment and appreciate that fully. I learned about both of these cultures about which I know nothing, and want to learn more. I'll read another of Hyland's mysteries, as well as delving into Australian history.
ALSO - congrats to Australia for winning The Masters this year for the first time!
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LibraryThing member Johnny1978
Those of us looking for another great crime author to fill the void in between Peter Temple releases, may call off the dogs. Adrian Hyland writes a beautiful, hillarious and compelling story. Emily Temple is the perfect heroine - smart as a whip, witty, caring and impatient with small town
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stupidity and predjudices. In the past Australian authors have done central Australia a diservice. While facusing (understandbly) on the injustice and racism prevalent in outback communities, they have produced bleak narratives devoid of the humour, kinship and beauty also endemic to the area. Hyland has avoided this trap. Diamond Dove is a readable, surprising and thrilling mystery. Refreshing and worth every penny. Show Less
LibraryThing member ltfl_nelson
A New Zealand Listener review of another title by this writer prompted the reader to try this one. Set in the Northern Territory of Australia near Alice Springs, the main character is Emily Tempest, an Aborigine woman raised in the fictional town of Moonlight Downs. When an elder in a tribe nearby
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is murdered, Emily tries to solve the mystery death. Set in the present the novel explores race issues and the tension between the cattle ranchers and Aborigine people in the area. The writer himself has lived in settlements in the Northern Territories and gives great descriptions of life there along with a great deal of humour. The author has written a sequel named Gunshot Road in which Emily has become a community police officer for the same area Show Less
LibraryThing member Condorena
This is one of the few books I have ever given 5 stars to. The combination of the writing, the history, the sense of place, and the ability of the author to draw me totally into her world despite the very liberal use of 4 letter words was unparalleled.
LibraryThing member bsquaredinoz
In her mid-20’s and after travelling around the world Emily Tempest goes back to the place she left as a teenager: Moonlight Downs. A run down property in Australia’s Northern Territory, nine hours drive from Alice Springs. It’s where Emily spent her childhood after her mother died and where
I’m not convinced this is crime fiction, at least not in its purest sense. There is a crime, and an investigation of sorts, but, for me anyway, that element of the plot wasn’t particularly important, although in the end it had its share of suspense. At the risk of making this sound like some kind of schmalzy personal-journey tale (schmaltzy this definitely isn’t) solving the mystery played second fiddle to the book’s other themes. Half-Aboriginal, half-white Emily Tempest’s search for somewhere to belong and someone to belong to is engrossing because it isn’t schmaltzy. Indeed all the characters’ search for ‘home’ and ‘family’ ,whatever those terms might mean to them, makes compelling reading. And the exploration of outback Australia after land rights claims started being awarded to Aboriginal groups feels very realistic. I used to be an archivist for a state government here and I did a swag of research for claimant groups and members of the stolen generations so have some small sense of those issues and Hyland’s portrayal of them felt very realistic to me.
The best thing of all is that all of these issues are treated with a total absence of the brand of political correctness so prevalent these days that involves some group being offended on behalf of some other group. The book shows the good and the bad of everyone involved without once unduly condemning anyone or praising anyone. Things are what they are and the reader gets to draw their own conclusions. For that alone I would love the book.
However there’s more to love. There’s wonderfully dry, very Australian Emily. Although I have little in common with Emily I feel a far greater feminine kinship with her than with any of the fictional women I am supposed to ‘relate to’ (e.g. any character in Sex and the City or the insufferable Bridget Jones). Not bad for a woman created by a bloke. And the other characters are equally memorable: her childhood friend and soul mate Hazel, the neighbouring station owner Earl Marsh, the cops, the hunters are all vividly depicted.
Then there’s a depiction of a country which, for this city girl, is as foreign as northern Europe or southern Africa. But it’s spectacularly drawn and could tempt even me from my creature comforts. At least for another visit (I have ventured to the Territory a couple of times).
There’s also the funny, very irreverent, very evocative writing that made me smile a lot, cry a little and read whole chunks out to anyone who would listen. With a few words Hyland can create lasting imagines in your head.
I should have read this book ages ago but the copy I bought was filched by a friend before I got to read it and it’s done the rounds since then. Being a cheapskate I couldn’t bring myself to buy another copy so I waited patiently for my copy to return. The good thing about having done it this way is that everyone I know has read it so I won’t have to loan it out again. Which is just as well ‘cos this one’s a keeper.
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her dad sent her to the city from when she got into too much trouble. With the Moonlight mob having only recently returned to the property after securing ownership in a Land Rights claim the place is not what it was when Emily left but she still feels drawn to it. Sadly, not long after she arrives one of the mob’s leaders is killed and Emily seems to be the only one interested in finding out who killed him.I’m not convinced this is crime fiction, at least not in its purest sense. There is a crime, and an investigation of sorts, but, for me anyway, that element of the plot wasn’t particularly important, although in the end it had its share of suspense. At the risk of making this sound like some kind of schmalzy personal-journey tale (schmaltzy this definitely isn’t) solving the mystery played second fiddle to the book’s other themes. Half-Aboriginal, half-white Emily Tempest’s search for somewhere to belong and someone to belong to is engrossing because it isn’t schmaltzy. Indeed all the characters’ search for ‘home’ and ‘family’ ,whatever those terms might mean to them, makes compelling reading. And the exploration of outback Australia after land rights claims started being awarded to Aboriginal groups feels very realistic. I used to be an archivist for a state government here and I did a swag of research for claimant groups and members of the stolen generations so have some small sense of those issues and Hyland’s portrayal of them felt very realistic to me.
The best thing of all is that all of these issues are treated with a total absence of the brand of political correctness so prevalent these days that involves some group being offended on behalf of some other group. The book shows the good and the bad of everyone involved without once unduly condemning anyone or praising anyone. Things are what they are and the reader gets to draw their own conclusions. For that alone I would love the book.
However there’s more to love. There’s wonderfully dry, very Australian Emily. Although I have little in common with Emily I feel a far greater feminine kinship with her than with any of the fictional women I am supposed to ‘relate to’ (e.g. any character in Sex and the City or the insufferable Bridget Jones). Not bad for a woman created by a bloke. And the other characters are equally memorable: her childhood friend and soul mate Hazel, the neighbouring station owner Earl Marsh, the cops, the hunters are all vividly depicted.
Then there’s a depiction of a country which, for this city girl, is as foreign as northern Europe or southern Africa. But it’s spectacularly drawn and could tempt even me from my creature comforts. At least for another visit (I have ventured to the Territory a couple of times).
There’s also the funny, very irreverent, very evocative writing that made me smile a lot, cry a little and read whole chunks out to anyone who would listen. With a few words Hyland can create lasting imagines in your head.
I should have read this book ages ago but the copy I bought was filched by a friend before I got to read it and it’s done the rounds since then. Being a cheapskate I couldn’t bring myself to buy another copy so I waited patiently for my copy to return. The good thing about having done it this way is that everyone I know has read it so I won’t have to loan it out again. Which is just as well ‘cos this one’s a keeper.
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LibraryThing member SeriousGrace
Emily Tempest is finally home after a long twelve-year absence. Half white and half Aboriginal, she must relearn her place in the landscape; to re-establish old relationships with the community and people she used to love. But, at the same time she is a pesky armchair detective, always poking her
Confessional: all throughout the book, when Emily was fearing for her life I thought it was an exaggeration until a few more people die. The amount of violence towards the end of the book was surprising.
Another confessional: you will appreciate Hyland's glossary of Aboriginal words in the beginning of the book.
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nose where it shouldn't be. When a beloved member of the Moonlight Downs mob is murdered, Emily goes on the hunt to find his killer. It's personal because Emily has an extra special relationship with the victim's daughter.Confessional: all throughout the book, when Emily was fearing for her life I thought it was an exaggeration until a few more people die. The amount of violence towards the end of the book was surprising.
Another confessional: you will appreciate Hyland's glossary of Aboriginal words in the beginning of the book.
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Awards
Ned Kelly Award (Winner — First Novel — 2007)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2006
Physical description
322 p.; 20 cm
ISBN
9781569474839