Reviewing of 'Death at Booroomba' by A L Booth
Reviewing of 'Death at Booroomba' by A L Booth
Release date: July 29th, 2025
Publisher: Ventura Press
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About the book:
In 1915, two days before being sent to fight in WWI, Jack O'Rourke dived into Sydney Harbour to save a drowning stranger, Samuel Lomond. Four years later, battle-scarred and weary, Jack returns home only to discover that Samuel has been brutally murdered – and that he's been left his rural property, Booroomba.
When Jack arrives in Warrawolong, a small town near Eden, to claim his inheritance, he finds only hostile stares. Suspected of the crime by the townsfolk and local constable, Jack launches his own investigation into Samuel’s death – and soon discovers the townsfolk aren’t as innocent as they seem.
Now Jack must expose a killer hiding in plain sight – before he becomes the next victim of a decades-old conspiracy.
A neighbour coveting water rights, a struggling newspaper proprietor, a vengeful labourer, a secret affair and two Russian émigrés lead Jack right to the heart of the crime. A small town hides big secrets, in A L Booth’s deeply evocative historical whodunnit.
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REVIEW
Death at Booromba by A L Booth is a remarkable atmospheric historical murder mystery set in 1919 in a fictional country town near Eden on the south coast of NSW. We meet our hero Jack O’Rourke in the Prologue, four years earlier, and learn a fair bit about him. He is leaving home to serve in the First World War. But two hours after an unfriendly parting with his father, he sees an old man who reminds him of his beloved grandfather. What happens next shocks him. He witnesses an assault on the older gentleman who then loses his balance and falls into the harbour. It quickly becomes apparent the man cannot swim so Jack promptly sheds his jacket and shoes and dives in to save him. This says a lot about Jack’s character. He is a caring individual and a true hero evidenced by his good deed.
When the victim, whose name is Sam Lomond, has recovered enough to speak, he thanks Jack and tells him he is a brave young man for putting himself at risk. Jack’s heart warms to the old man who appreciates what he has done. This positive response is in sharp contrast to his father’s frequent negative comments to him. And although Jack is a hero in the truest sense of the word, it isn’t this fact that moves him. It is Sam’s acknowledgement of who he is, that makes Jack feel uplifted. This boost comes at an appropriate time, when he truly needs a bit of affirmation.
Jack and his father are often at loggerheads. Jack makes decisions that causes his father bitter disappointment. Being the oldest male offspring, he is expected to take over the family orchard. But Jack wants something different for his life. He gets a scholarship to study animal husbandry. This infuriates his father. And then Jack secretly enlists for war, causing the father-son relationship to break down even further. It’s not that Jack is difficult but he just wants his independence and freedom of choice.
So just when the old man appears and Jack saves his life, this act of heroism helps him, too, as this total stranger suddenly gives him the recognition and approval he craves from his own father. Something he has never gotten or maybe never will. When Sam and Jack have lunch together and share stories, a new bond of friendship develops. And this unexpected meeting leaves a lasting mark on their hearts. Sam appears to be similar enough to Jack’s grandfather that when he first sees the old man, Jack thinks he is seeing his grandfather’s ghost. Whether this made Jack try harder to save the man’s life, we don’t know but it might have unconsciously spurred him on.
After Jack serves King and country in the war, he returns home with PTSD. Still having a strained relationship with his father, he is not sure of his next step. But when he discovers he has inherited the home of the old man he saved, he is stunned. The will is clear, Sam truly felt Jack worthy of such an inheritance. Jack is moved by this man’s kindness towards him and when he discovers that it appears the old man was murdered, he is determined to find his killer. This quest leads him through a series of events that will pit him against the locals and the police, who do not seem to be doing much to solve the crime. Except blame him for the man’s death. They question him, his whereabouts and although Jack has a valid alibi, the less than bright local policeman, tries to forge a case against him. There are issues with the local policeman who seems determined to make Jack the guilty one of this crime.
So why are the policeman and other persons determined to pin the murder on Jack--even though he wasn’t around then? It is an eight letter word: Outsider! Being an outsider in this small town, leads to suspicion. They don’t know his background and some wonder if he murdered his benefactor to get the property. Yet with all the resistance in the community, Jack is determined to stay and solve the crime. It is obvious to us he is an honourable young man and we are sympathetic to his plight. But most of the town residents distrust him; even resent him for inheriting the property, Except the good doctor and his wife who were given a letter of introduction when he first came to town and have been a generous and accommodating support.
The story also has a female perspective, a reporter who is an amateur sleuth. She is interested in writing important stories about crime and other meaty topics and does not want to waste her time on hats, fashion or home duty articles, which was expected of women in those days. Initially she enjoys poking fun at Jack but later ends up on the same page with him.
There’s plenty of suspicion drifting about in this story as you’d expect with this genre. And there are a number of people who could be suspects. First Jack encounters it when he comes into a town from outside this community and there are the Russians who also are outsiders as they have come from abroad. Neighbour Arthur Smythe is also on the list for his interest in the property. But one question raised is about Sam Lomond, why has someone tried to murder him? Is it his connection to the Russian community through his mother’s heritage? The novel also touches on the placement of Russians in Australia at that time and the struggles they faced against prejudice.
This is a cleverly constructed historical murder mystery that gives us one point of view and that being Jack’s. But it is an honest analysis of what it is like to be an outsider. And how the unknown frightens people, creates prejudices and suspicions in small community life. The novel also touches on a woman’s position in the news industry in 1919, the effects of PTSD, father-son relationships, unexpected friendships and family industry expectations. Lack of freedom of choice infiltrates a number of these topics. There is plenty here to keep you interested. So I recommend this intriguing novel. 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to Alison and Ventura Press for a review copy of the novel.
