Feature book: Outback Ghost

Outback Ghost by Rachael Johns

Adam Burton lives in the town of Bunyip Bay in Western Australia. This is farming land but very close to the coast, so beachside as well. He now runs the family farm. His mother and father still live there but he has his own home on the property. They have lived through a lot since Adams’s younger sister went missing twenty years before at the age of seven and has never been found. His mum, Esther, never leaves the farm anymore. Adam has renovated his uncle’s old house and made it into a farm-stay cottage, but every time it is rented out the visitors end up leaving early saying it is haunted. Adam is not sure what to think; maybe his uncle is haunting the place. Adam has been a Cleo bachelor and is drop-dead gorgeous but he has not had any long-term relationships. He never wants to have children after what happened to his sister.

Stella Reynolds is a single mum to a beautiful child with Downs Syndrome. Stella fell pregnant when she was 19 and planned her wedding to her boyfriend. But when he found out there was a problem with the baby, and Stella would not terminate, he walked out on her. When her parents made it clear they too were not happy with her decision, Stella left and she has been on her own with Heidi for the last seven years and worked hard. After writing a book, she has decided that this Christmas she will take time off and spend it with Heidi. Stella wants to take her to the country and show her what farm life is like, so she books this lovely cottage on a farm at Bunyip Bay and is very much looking forward to it. She has no plans of falling in love. Heidi is everything to her and because of her problems most people do not understand.

The day that Stella and Heidi arrive at the cottage is also the anniversary of Adam’s sister going missing, and Adam is very busy with the harvest, but when he does get there with the key to the cottage there is such a spark between them. It is a long time since Stella has felt this about a man, especially one she has just met, and Heidi with her loving nature also thinks Adam is the best. Adam is very taken with Heidi and Stella.

I have been eagerly awaiting Adam’s story after getting to know him in the previous two books in this series and this one is awesome. It is such a heart-warming and emotional story that it will have you grabbing for the tissues as Heidi with her imaginary friend helps to solve the mystery of Adam’s sister’s disappearance twenty years before. This helps everyone in the family. Adam and Stella cannot deny the attraction to each other anymore and are convinced that a very sensual holiday fling will be just what they need, until they realise that the love they have for each other and Adam’s love for Heidi is what they need.

This is such a moving story with everything in it that a romance reader wants. It is beautifully written, with the characters coming alive in a beautiful setting. It will have you turning the pages and not wanting to put this one down. I highly recommend this one. Actually the whole series, don’t miss it.

Reviewed by Helen S

A review copy of this book was provided by the author.