The Banksia Bay Beach Shack by Sandie Docker is the latest novel by the bestselling author of The Kookaburra Creek Cafe and The Cottage at Rosella Cove.
When Laura’s Grandmother, Lillian, dies, her estranged daughter, Donna, (Laura’s Mother), turns up at the funeral. She gives Laura an envelope, which was passed on to her by Laura’s Father before he died. It is a photo of two young girls on a beach and inscribed “Lily and Gigi. Sister’s of Summer, Banksia Bay, 1961”.
Laura asks Lillian’s elderly housekeeper about the photo, but she becomes distraught and will tell Laura nothing. Intrigued, Laura leaves Sydney and heads to Banksia Bay. As a journalist, she poses as a travel writer to cover her investigations. Amongst the furnishings in the house she is renting she sees a photo. To her great surprise, it shows two girls – a slightly older Gigi and Lily!
Laura’s delving into the past greatly disturbs several of the small town’s inhabitants. Virginia, owner of the Beach Shack Cafe, is particularly afraid that the past will be revealed and destroy the lives of those that were forever changed by the catastrophic events that occurred in the 1960’s.
As Laura becomes more determined to discover the truth, will she hurt those people that she now calls her friends as they deal with a present unexpected tragedy?
This wonderful new novel by Sandie Docker is both heartwarming and heart-wrenching. It extols the virtues of a small town where its residents pull together, whether organising an event or facing disaster. It tells of a camaraderie and loyalty that shields family and friends equally no matter what the cost. As Laura unravels past mysteries, secrets and lies, the reader is kept on the edge of their seat until the very end.
Forget the chores, find a comfy chair and read it in one sitting! It’s her best yet.
ISBN:9781760890353
The Banksia Bay Beach Shack is available in paperback and e-book
About Sandie Docker
Sandie Docker grew up in Coffs Harbour, and first fell in love with reading when her father introduced her to fantasy books as a teenager. Her love of fiction began when she first read Jane Austen for the HSC, but it wasn’t until she was taking a translation course at university that her Mandarin lecturer suggested she might have a knack for writing – a seed of an idea that sat quietly in the back of her mind while she lived overseas and traveled the world. Sandie first decided to put pen to paper (yes, she writes everything the old-fashioned way before hitting a keyboard) when living in London. Now back in Sydney with her husband and daughter, she writes every day.
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