Girl of Shadows

Book excerpt: The adventures of the transported convict women continue in this stunning sequel to Behind the Sun. Philippa Gregory meets Bryce Courtenay as Sydney's history comes vividly to life. What had they done? What had she and Sarah and Friday done? 1830: Convict girls Friday Woolfe, Harriet Clarke and Sarah Morgan have been transported to Sydney from London. Sarah has been assigned to jeweller Adam Green, Harriet is a maid for the Barrett family, and Friday is working as a prostitute in a brothel. Each of them is struggling to forget the brutal crime they committed. But their fate is no longer theirs to control. Vicious underworld queen Bella Jackson holds the girls' futures in the palm of her hand, biding her time until she exacts payment for what she knows about their misdeeds. Harriet, racked with guilt, becomes convinced that their lost friend is haunting them, and while Friday succumbs to the bottle, Sarah has to fight for everything she holds dear. Once again, the girls must join forces to save one of their own. But which one? And in the background Bella Jackson waits and watches ... Praise for Deborah Challinor: 'Challinor is a good storyteller; her characters have depth and her historical backdrops are well researched, seamlessly joining fact and fiction and creating a convincing, atmospheric yarn' Bookseller + Publisher 'Seamlessly fuses historical fact and engrossing fiction' Queensland times