Linda Dowling
Linda Dowling
Linda Dowling is an award-winning and #1 bestselling debut author. She grew up in the Western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. During her childhood, she spent most of her time in rural areas and has continued to enjoy life in the bush or in areas with natural surrounds. Her aunt, a wonderful horsewoman, lived in Carinda, New South Wales and taught her a great deal about horses, riding and the outback.
It was during her vacations with her aunt that Linda herself fell in love with the vast outback plains and the Aboriginal culture, their stories and their unique but simple way of living. Linda has a natural affinity with Indigenous peoples and was the only white girl selected to play for the Papua New Guinea softball teams at the Pan Pacific Masters.
In her professional life, Linda has established and managed four medico-legal firms, including her own. During the course of her career, she has been involved in reporting on coronial matters and inquests. She has also worked with the NSW Police State Crime Command Centre and in various Royal Commissions where she was exposed to the worst of human nature. Linda has drawn upon her professional and personal experiences while writing her Red Dust novel series, but the stories are a work of fiction and do not depict any person, living or dead. www.facebook.com/reddustnovels
BETRAYED. ABANDONED. SPLINTERED
In the 1960s, teenage Lisa O’Connor is growing up in a sordid family in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Abused and forsaken by those she should have been able to trust the most, Lisa is sent away to the notorious Parramatta Girls Home for ‘reform’. While captive there, she encounters the depths of human depravity and sinks even further into despair.
Lisa is eventually rescued from this abhorrent life by her childless aunt, who takes her to live at a remote sheep station in outback New South Wales. Lisa falls in love with the homestead, Woori, the harsh outback landscape and the Aboriginal culture. With the help of her aunt and uncle, two female Aboriginal elders and Billy, a very special young Aboriginal man, Lisa’s splintered heart and broken spirit begin to mend.
Splintered Heart, book one in the Red Dust series, takes readers on an emotional journey. Lisa’s determination and desire to overcome her horrific beginnings tell a saga unlike any other. Both horrifying and inspiring, this is a story that can’t be put down.
HUNTED. THREATENED. RUINED.
Will Lisa O’Connor’s strength of spirit, reinforced by her love of the Australian outback and the Aboriginal culture, see her prevail against the escalating sinister intentions close to her?
It is the early 1970s. Lisa O’Connor is still haunted by her horrific past. The abuse she suffered at the hands of her brother-in-law and while incarcerated at the Parramatta Girls Home is about to come full circle. A police investigation into these crimes is now being carried out by Sydney detectives, throwing Lisa back into turmoil. Will the detectives believe her? Will justice ever catch up with her monstrous abusers? Or will they elude capture and punishment?
While under the care of a prominent psychologist, Lisa continues to heal from her ordeal. But a new, more sinister threat emerges. An unbalanced and menacing individual has set his sights on Lisa and will stop at nothing to have her. With her close friend Billy still on walkabout, and with her new life at Woori endangered, will she survive this time?
Sinister Intent, book two in the Red Dust series, picks up where the bestseller Splintered Heart left off. Set against the backdrop of the majestic Australian outback, and with its rich cast of characters, both old and new, this sequel is a masterful page-turner. Packed full of suspense, romance, tragedy and loss, author Linda Dowling brings a young girl’s saga alive again, against the worst types of predators.
FRACTURED. VENGEFUL. DEADLY.
It has been almost four years since the homestead, Woori, burned to the ground in Sinister Intent, book 2 in the #1 bestselling Red Dust Novel series.
Lisa O’Connor is now Lisa Garrett after marrying her enigmatic Aboriginal jackaroo, Billy Garrett. It is now 1975, and Lisa is about to enter a new phase in her life as mother to twins, Jesse and Jedda, finally putting her horrific past behind her.
Polly Walker is the first-born daughter of Mitch and Tess Walker, who live on the neighbouring farm of Woodside. Her parents’ destructive marriage seems to be taking a toll on the young girl, but there is far more to Polly than meets the eye.
As the lives of the Garrett and Walker family collide, heartbreak and tragedy threaten to destroy Lisa and Billy’s newfound happiness with their young family. And as they navigate the darkness of mental illness, an even more disturbed individual lies in wait to take his revenge on Alan Smith, Lisa’s uncle, and Billy.
Fatal Envy, the final saga in the Red Dust series, will thrill fans of the first two novels. Linda Dowling weaves a story that spans two decades, set against the background of the magnificent Australian outback and inner-city Sydney. Full of hope, new horizons, greed, envy, love and loss, book three is an unputdownable finale in this bestselling series.
‘Having read both books in the Red Dust Series, I eagerly waited for the third and final book to be released. Fatal Envy interweaves the lives of two families as they struggle with the issues of mental illness, which proves to be both devastating and heart-breaking. Linda Dowling is an amazing storyteller as she once again covers the human emotions that we all feel: envy, hatred, love, joy, loss and grief. I laughed and cried as I did in the other two books. Some of the relationships and characters are disturbing and confronting, but this makes the book so very hard to put down. But the final relationships are uplifting, which also makes this book a pleasure to read. ’
Lynne Collette
‘As I had read and loved Splintered Heart and Sinister Intent, I was so pleased to see that the third book was finished in the Red Dust Trilogy. I was given an ARC copy to read and review, and I loved the new generations and the families colliding in this saga. I also loved the topics covered, so very real in today’s world, particularly mental health. It was very hard to put down and once again, I laughed, I cried and shut my eyes as the ending loomed. The imagery of the outback and the characters was so real and at times, I could see them so clearly. Well done, Linda.’
Anne Donaldson
‘I eagerly awaited the third and final book in this marvellous Red Dust series. Linda Dowling is a marvellous storyteller, weaving together past generations with issues such as mental illness, sexual awakening and life on the land. Book three contains both beautiful and confronting themes like the first two books, from our majestic outback and the Dreamtime stories to murder, missing persons and broken families. Fatal Envy has a cast of wonderful characters, both Indigenous and Caucasian, with all the human emotions of greed, love, grief, envy and rage, which ultimately lead to catastrophic events. Well done, Linda. Another must-read.
Will Sutton
Mary Daly
Lynley Calnan
“Loved this book. All the twists and turns made it an amazing read. Sadness, happiness this book had it all. After reading Splintered Heart it was some months before Sinister Intent was published and the second book was so well written that it all immediately came back to me - enjoyed the story line so much and it flowed so well. Linda has done amazing research into what was a very dark time in our Australian history and bought to light some very sensitive and confronting subjects. She does not back away from anything. Someone should take this up for a Mini Series or a Movie - it would be outstanding.”
Anne Donaldson
