Helen Fitzgerald – Ash Mountain

Ash Mountain by Helen Fitzgerald is a story that is heartbreaking, but has its moments of humour throughout the book.

Set in a small town in Australia, Ash Mountain, the story revolves around Fran, a single mum. She is sick to the back teeth of her city job and her most recent relationship is over as well. She finds she has to return to Ash Mountain, a place she has no real longing for, but her dad is sick and she needs to look after him. She arrives and all the childhood memories and injustices she suffered begin bubbling to the surface. At the same time, a raging bush fire is heading their way.

The story then flips back thirty years and we learn all about exactly what shaped Fran’s childhood and all the secrets that are closely kept within Ash Mountain. The tension definitely builds throughout, while the timeline races towards the day of the fire and everything that has been held together is becoming more fragile by the minute and soon enough everything will fall apart and the people of the town will never be the same again.

A fantastic thriller that takes you through every emotion while reading the book. Especially now with all the fires in Australia that have not long since happened, I really felt the horror of the fire growing closer and the fear that the townspeople had. The first book by Helen Fitzgerald for me and boy, I am glad I was invited by Orendo Books to take part in the blog tour., thank you!