Shaking Trees - Vicki Stevens

Secrets hide within the branches of every family tree.

Abby Eaton thought she had life under control until she lost her job, her husband went AWOL, and her children proved a huge disappointment. After the arrival of a mysterious package she is compelled to rise above her misery and unravel the puzzling last months of a relative's life. Abby's quest turns perilous when a menacing stranger stalks her around the Australian countryside of Shadow Creek.

60 years earlier. A chance meeting in a Stanthorpe apple orchard gives Marion Douglas the incentive to break free of her father's manipulation, and forces Ben (Banjo) Patterson to drop his guard and fall in love. Overcoming obstacles, their relationship looks promising until tragedy strikes. Grieving, Banjo discovers startling evidence that leads him to question what he believes about Marion.

Can revelations from the past help Abby restore control of the present? Can new discoveries enable Banjo to survive the future?

Shaking Trees is an evocative, suspenseful mystery--with a touch of humour--about the fear that keeps the truth hidden from even those we love.

Vicki Stevens lives on the rural fringe of Brisbane, Australia, with her husband and an abundance of inquisitive wildlife. An avid short story writer in several genres, her keen interest in genealogy inspires her to write evocative and suspenseful family history mysteries. Shaking Trees is her debut novel and the first book in her Abby Eaton Mystery series.