Gather the Bones

By Alison Stuart

War leaves no heart untouched

In the shadow of the Great War, grieving widow, Helen Morrow and her husband’s cousin, the wounded and reclusive Paul, are haunted not only by the horrors of the trenches but ghosts from another time and another conflict.

The desperate voice of a young woman reaches out to them from the pages of a coded diary and Paul and Helen are bound together in their search for answers, not only to the old mystery but also the circumstances surrounding the death of Helen’s husband at Passchandaele in 1917.

As the two stories become entwined, Paul and Helen will not find peace until the mysteries are solved.

Awarded an Honourable Mention in the 2012 RONE Award and a finalist in the 2012 Australian Romance Readers, the 2013 CRW Award of Excellence,2012 GDRWA Booksellers Best Award and the 2014 EPIC Awards.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alison Stuart
• Release date: Oct 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301243280

Alison Stuart

Australian author Alison Stuart began her writing journey halfway up a tree in the school playground with a notebook and a dream. Her father's passion for history and her husband's love of adventure and the Australian bush led to a desire to tell stories of Australia's past.  She has travelled extensively and lived in Africa and Singapore. Before turning to writing full time, she enjoyed a long and varied career as a lawyer, both in private practice and in a range of different organisations, including the military and the emergency services.  Alison lives in a historic town in Victoria. You can connect with Alison on: Website  Facebook Instagram Twitter

Reviews for Gather the Bones

[sarah_gruwell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked the time the author chose to pay attention to the heavier subjects along with the romantic ones. The effects of war and loss are huge themes in this work; I’d say almost as much as the romance. And I actually liked that balance. It makes the romance all the much sweeter. I also really enjoyed how the author chose to explore the world of Edwardian upper crust society and exploring how they might view this “interloper” from Australia. It was heartbreaking and intriguing all at the same time. I liked the connection between Helen and Paul. They’re two scarred individuals, both inside and out. They seem to be trying to find their way in this new, post-WWI world where their surroundings and society are changing so quickly. I think the author did a fantastic job in creating a relationship that while a bit stormy, where the two parties balance each other out and create one cohesive whole at the end. There were times where the typical romance cliché of misunderstandings and miscommunication reared its ugly head, but I think the author balance that out with the books other virtues.The supernatural elements of the book played a nice role in the novel without overpowering it. The author never makes the ghosts center stage but only utilizes them to further the story and romance between Helen and Paul. They add a hint of historical mystery that I enjoyed, yet I can safely say I guessed who the “third” guilty party was far before it was revealed. But that’s not why the ghosts were in the story, I feel. They add a nice spine-tingling mystery and back drop for the main attraction for me, this man and woman who complete each other and their coming together to overcome their obstacles and scars.Overall, I found this a lovely historical romance with a hint of the supernatural. The author plays with some heavy subjects and creates a heartwarming story of healing and romance against its backdrop. While a few clichés and correct mystery solution guessing occurred, that in no way detracts from this book. I’d definitely recommend it as a historical or paranormal romance to any lover of the genres.

[sherrylcaulfield · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had a Great Uncle who died at Ypres in 1917 so was keen to read this story of WWI survivors from same time and place. And indeed, what I most enjoyed about this post WWI story was the character of Paul Morrow, a WWI survivor who had blocked out the details of his cousin's death at Ypres because it was so shocking. Throughout the story - eight years after the fact - the details become more and more lucid to him as other story lines developed (that of his growing friendship with his cousin's widow and the mystery of the ghosts that haunt the family home.) The book's title - Gather the Bones - is so apt and I found the section when they returned to Flanders after Charlie's bones had been found to be so palpable - a wonderful insight in to what closure (or lack thereof) must have been like for many families after the war and how hard it must have been for veterans to return to the battlefields that took their loved ones. A great read about this scarred war generation and what bound them together.