An insightful account of a woman’s perseverance through adoption secrecy and red tape, Shadows in Paradise traces Carolann Dowding’s search for her biological family. Illuminated by compassion, tragedy and gratitude which span the generations, Shadows in Paradise reveals the breadth of our need for truth and connection.
This engaging novel spans two continents and a lifetime of hopes, fears, laughter, regrets, joys and agonies.
Penelope Knight can’t escape her past. Each time she runs to a new place and settles into a new life, it eventually happens again. Her world crashes around her and she doesn’t know why. It’s as if she is haunted by a darkness that will never leave her be.
Now, motivated by a photograph she sees in a newspaper, Penelope goes in search of a long broken friendship. Her journey takes her from childhood years on a farm in Africa to the inner sect of a cult in modern day Melbourne. Ultimately, the trail leads her to confront betrayal, heartbreak and her most deeply buried secrets. She knows she must face these if she is ever to come out of the shadows and into the light.
Take a journey deep into humanity and lose yourself amongst the simple, life-affirming truths of the characters who will become your fellow travellers.
IP (Interactive Publications Pty Ltd) –
“I read it until the early hours and the whole of the next day until I finished it. There is much of the human condition in this novel – betrayal, love, a search for meaning, and love of country. I found the book intriguing, honest, exciting, an enthralling insight into things I did not know.”
– Elizabeth Warner-Holmes, author and former President of the Queensland Society of Women Writers
IP (Interactive Publications Pty Ltd) –
“To pick up Shadow Patterns and settle down for a good read is like gripping a live electric wire and I felt deprived when I read the last word.”
– Ann Jones, award-winning Australian author