Overview

When Margaret Macdonald, terminally ill and fearing for her family's future, begs Emma to investigate the death of her husband's brother in their stable, how can she possibly refuse the dying woman? After all, she's known the Macdonalds on the neighbouring sheep station on the Murray for most of her twenty-five years, and daughter Bea is her best friend. But what if she has to reveal a Macdonald as the killer? Despite the family's desire to blame horse thieves, they're the ones with the motives. Then Matty brings up that old promise and suddenly murder isn't the only thing she has to worry about. How could she have gotten herself into this situation? Now time is running out for everyone. As Emma strives to give Margaret the answer she needs, she finds herself thwarted at every turn. No one wants her poking her nose in. Emma fears she's about to lose her lifelong friends as well as fail in her mission. Not that any of it will matter in the end, murder or promise, if her questions put her squarely in the killer's sights.

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9781763576650

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Reviews

A Gem of a Problem by Aussie author Irene Sauman is a wonderful historical mystery which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was also delighted to find it's the first in the Emma Berry series; I'm keen to read the second when it is published. I loved the quiet and sometimes dangerous travel on the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers, surrounded by the birds and bush. The non-stop vigilance of the steamer crew as they searched for the many submerged sandbanks and tree stumps along the way. Emma is a strong young woman trying to find her way in a man's world - her ongoing story will be a good one. I have no hesitation in recommending A Gem of a Problem highly. Goodreads January 26, 2017 It is the 1870's in Australia. The story centers around the paddle steamers carrying goods on the Murray River... A young, rather independent woman struggles with the restrictions toward women of the era... This is a good story. Well developed with strong characters, the reader is drawn in. I recommend it. Amazon review July 8, 2016

Author Information

Irene is a retired historian living in Perth, Western Australia where she writes historical cozy mysteries. Under her pen name Rennae Todd she also writes modern cozies.Irene grew up on a vineyard and orange orchard in New South Wales by the Murray River, where she was an avid reader, and started writing stories when she was nine years old (including some really dreadful poetry). Now living in Western Australia, she has three children and four grandchildren, and a sister who beta reads her books for plot holes and to see how quickly she can solve the mystery (so far she's not winning). When not writing, Irene reads, watches tennis, plays croquet (old age and treachery will defeat youth and enthusiasm every time) and has a reasonably green thumb, which means very little dies in her garden, unlike in her cozy mysteries. Irene and Rennae share a website at https: //irenesaumanauthor.com.

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