Just an Ordinary Family

By Fiona Lowe

Liane Moriarty meets Jodi Picoult in this tensely negotiated story of family ties, betrayal and sacrifice.

Every family has its secrets...

Alice Hunter is smarting from the raw deal life has thrown her way: suddenly single, jobless and forced to move home to her parents' tiny seaside town. And now she faces an uncomfortable truth. She wants her twin sister Libby's enviable life.

Libby's closest friend Jess Dekic has been around the Hunter family for so long she might as well be blood. She's always considered herself a sister closer to Libby than Alice ever could be...

Libby Hunter has all of life's boxes ticked: prominent small-town doctor, gorgeous husband and two young daughters. But when she is betrayed by those she loves most, it reveals how tenuous her world is...

For Karen Hunter, her children are a double-edged sword of pain and pride. She's always tried to guide her girls through life's pitfalls, but how do you protect your children when they're adults?

As the family implodes, the fallout for these four women will be inescapable...

Bestselling Australian author Fiona Lowe wields a deft hand, creating utterly addictive storytelling that will have you questioning your own perceptions of what family is.

PRAISE:

'Fiona's insight into the fickle nature of life, the way relationships evolve, what a tough gig parenting can be and how best intentions can so easily come undone makes it simple to identify with her characters and lends an authentic resonance to this roller-coaster story.' - Australian Country

'Fiona Lowe weaves an extraordinary story of loss, love, and forgiveness.' - GLAM Adelaide

'If you loved Big Little Lies, you'll want to devour Fiona Lowe's Just an Ordinary Family next.' - Mamamia

'Drama, upheaval and family secrets feature in the latest novel by Fiona Lowe, the undisputed queen of Australian small-town fiction...a moving character-driven tale that steadily draws you into itsthrall.' -Canberra Weekly

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: Mar 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781489257369

Fiona Lowe

FIONA LOWE has been a midwife, a sexual health counsellor and a family support worker; an ideal career for an author who writes novels about family and relationships. She spent her early years in Papua New Guinea where, without television, reading was the entertainment and it set up a lifelong love of books. Although she often re-wrote the endings of books in her head, it was the birth of her first child that prompted her to write her first novel. A recipient of the prestigious USA RITA® award and two Australian RuBY awards, Fiona writes books that are set in small country towns. They feature real people facing difficult choices and explore how family ties and relationships impact on their decisions. When she's not writing stories, she's a distracted wife, mother of two ‘ginger' sons, a volunteer in her community, guardian of eighty rose bushes, a slave to a cat, and is often found collapsed on the couch with wine. You can find her at her website, fionalowe.com, and on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Reviews for Just an Ordinary Family

[shelleyraec · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Just An Ordinary Family is a fantastic contemporary drama from Fiona Lowe.Life in Kurnai Bay may not be perfect for sisters, Alice - who is nursing a broken heart, and Libby = mourning a recent loss, but neither are prepared for the shocking secrets that are about to tear their worlds apart. Exploring several sensitive issues including, stillbirth, infertility, adultery and child abuse, as well as broader themes including friendship, loss, love, betrayal, and forgiveness, this a compelling family drama. I found myself totally caught up in this character driven story that focuses on the relationships of four women, twins Alice and Libby, their mother Karen, and Libby’s best friend, Jess. Portrayed with complexity and authenticity, even after I turned the last page, I found myself thinking about the characters, the decisions they were faced with, and the choices they made.For me, Just An Ordinary Family was an excellent read, stirring and thought-provoking.

[oldblack-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Too many unbelievable plot devices, certain characters too good to be real, others too horrible. And yet, I somehow wanted to believe the representation of good people and I felt the sadness of every contrived misery, so Lowe's writing must have something going for it. Just romance in the end though.