AustLit

'Then she saw that the old windmill straddled a hole. It was square and lined with wood, and fixed to one side was a wooden ladder whose first steps had almost rotted away. And from its depths came a chill breath of endless darkness.

'IN a small country town during one long, hot summer, the Bloom family begins to unravel. Secrets, old and new, are revealed—with devastating effect.

'Martha is straining against the confines of her life, lost in regret for what might have been. Her husband, Mike, is frustrated with his increasingly distant wife. And while teenagers Tilly and Ben are about to step out into the world, nine-year-old Ada is holding on to a childhood that will soon be lost to her.

'When Ada discovers an abandoned mineshaft beneath a rusting windmill, she is drawn to its darkness and danger. And when she witnesses a shocking and confusing event, the mine looms large in her mind—as events lead inexorably towards tragedy.

'The Last Summer of Ada Bloom is a beguiling story about the fragility of family relationships, about the secrets we keep and the power they hold to shape our lives.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.