by Anna Romer
A special thank you to my crew at Simon and Schuster Australia: Dan Ruffino for believing in my stories. Roberta Ivers for all her hard work, her patience, and for seeing the bigger picture; dearest Bert, your blood’s worth bottling! Kylie Mason for her structural and copy edit, from which I learnt a heap of great things about story flow. The amazing Vanessa Lanaway and Shannon Kelly, whose proofreading and suggestions added so much more depth to the story. Anna O’Grady and Lisa Harrison for working tirelessly to get my stories out there into the world. Christa Moffitt for another glorious cover; wow, could this be my favourite? My deepest gratitude to the kind folks at Midland Typesetters, who always go above and beyond the call of duty for me. Many thanks as well to the sales and marketing team; without you my books would be gathering dust in a warehouse somewhere, so I’m very grateful for your efforts!
Bernadette Foley for editing an earlier draft post haste! Bolinda Audiobooks for bringing my stories to life so deliciously, thank you. My hardworking team at Goldmann in Germany for their continuing faith in my stories, which are always so beautifully translated by dynamic duo Pociao and Roberto de Hollanda.
Ethnee Worland for her knowledge of our family history (and for letting me steal her name!). Vera Nijveld for her enthusiasm and love, and for travelling halfway across the world to go on bookish adventures with me. Sarah Clarke for still loving me from afar; let’s meet again soon, my dearest Clarklington! Shannon Garner, whose friendship always uplifts my spirit. My sister Sarah for all her behind-the-scenes work to keep me afloat. My sister Katie for always cheering me on. Hailey and Luke for making me laugh. My mum, Jeanette, for her wisdom and strength, which helped me forge through some very rocky patches this year. And also for her assistance with some tricky research questions, among them: ‘Mum, what did you use for toilet paper in the 1940s?’ (And you’ll have to read Frankie’s diary to find the answer to that one!)
And finally, a heartfelt thank-you to my readers. Without you I would still be languishing in a shed in the bush, but instead here I am living my dream of writing stories. Your encouragement and kind words touch me more than you know, and keep me striving to become a better writer with each book.
My love and thanks to you all.
Anna Romer
About the Author
Anna Romer was born in Australia to a family of booklovers. She led a nomadic life for many years, travelling around Europe and Britain in an ancient Kombi van where she discovered a passion for history.
These days she lives in a little old cottage surrounded by bushland, writing stories about dark family secrets, rambling houses, characters haunted by the past, and settings that feature the uniquely beautiful Australian landscape. Anna’s debut bestselling novel was Thornwood House, followed by Lyrebird Hill and Beyond the Orchard.
See AnnaRomer.com.au
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Anna-Romer
SIMON & SCHUSTER
simonandschuster.com.au
Also by Anna Romer
Beyond the Orchard
Lyrebird Hill
Thornwood House
Also by Anna Romer
When you’re all that stands between the murderous past and the fate of those you love, how far would you go to save them?
In a dusty back room of an abandoned homestead, Audrey Kepler discovers the crumbling photo of a handsome World War Two medic – Samuel Riordan, the homestead’s former occupant – and soon finds herself becoming obsessed with him. But as Audrey digs deeper into Samuel’s story, she discovers he was accused of bashing to death a young woman on his return from the war in 1946. When she learns about other unexplained deaths in recent years – one of them a young woman with injuries echoing those of the first victim – she begins to suspect that the killer is still very much alive.
‘A swiftly paced mystery that keeps tension high and the plot twisting until the end’ Who Weekly
When all that you know comes crashing down, do you run? Or face the truth?
Ruby Cardel has the semblance of a normal life but in one terrible moment, her life unravels. The discovery that the death of her sister, Jamie, was not an accident makes her question all she’s known about herself and her past.
Travelling back home to Lyrebird Hill, Ruby begins to remember the year that has been forever blocked in her memory. As she slowly pieces together the shards of truth, what she finally discovers will shock her to the core – about what happened to Jamie that fateful day.
‘An absorbing and atmospheric tale, beautifully told’
Book’d Out
‘A real page-turner by one of our favourite authors’
New Idea
A haunting story of yearning, love and betrayal.
Lucy Briar has arrived home in turmoil after years overseas. She’s met her fiancé in London and has her life mapped out. But old tortured feelings flood Lucy’s existence when her beloved father, Ron, is hospitalised and Morgan – the man who drove her away all those years ago – seeks her out.
Ron implores Lucy to visit Bitterwood Estate, the crumbling historic family guesthouse, where he needs her to find an old photograph album. Lucy has her own painful memories of Bitterwood, but as she searches for the album, the house begins to give up its ghosts and she uncovers a long-hidden secret that shattered her family’s bond and kept a frightened young girl in its thrall.
‘A tantalising, compelling page-turner with a shadowy fairytale-like atmosphere’ Kate Forsyth
UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SKY
First published in Australia in 2019 by
Simon & Schuster (Australia) Pty Limited
Suite 19A, Level 1, Building C, 450 Miller Street, Cammeray, NSW 2062
A CBS Company
Sydney New York London Toronto New Delhi
Visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com.au
© Anna Romer 2019
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.
Cover design: Christabella Designs
Cover image: Mark Owen/Trevillion Images; Nazar Yosifiv/Shutterstock; Joana Kruse/AlamyStock Photo
Cover photographs: Joana Kruse/Alamy Stock Photo; Nazar Yosyfiv/Shutterstock; Mark Owen/Trevillion Images
Typeset by Midland Typesetters, Australia
ISBN 978-1-9251-8447-1 (ebook)