The Shearer's Wife cover art

The Shearer's Wife

 Preview
This Season's Biggest Deal

$0.99/mo for 3 months + $20 Audible bonus voucher

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 28 December, 2026.
More purchase options

The Shearer's Wife

By: Fleur McDonald
Narrated by: Lani John Tupu
Get this deal

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 28 December, 2026. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $24.00

Buy Now for $24.00

This Season's Biggest Deal | $0.99/mo for 3 months + $20 Audible bonus

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo. after 3 months - terms apply.
Summary
 A riveting new novel of rural suspense from the bestselling Voice of the Outback.

1980: Rose and Ian Kelly arrive in the small South Australian town of Barker for supplies, before driving a further couple of hundred kilometres to begin shearing at Jacksonville Station. Rose, heavily pregnant with their first babies, worries that despite Ian's impending fatherhood he remains a drifter who dreams of the open road.

2020: When the Australian Federal Police swoop unheralded into Barker and make a shocking arrest for possession of narcotics, Detective Dave Burrows is certain there is more to the story than meets the eye.

After many months of grief over her brother's illness and death, journalist Zara Ellison is finally ready to begin a new chapter of her life and make a commitment to her boyfriend, Senior Constable Jack Higgins. But when she's assigned to investigate the Barker arrest, Jack begins to believe that Zara is working against him.

It takes a series of unconnected incidents in Zara's digging to reveal an almost forgotten thread of mystery as to how these two events, forty years apart, could be connected.

Praise for Red Dirt Country

'A gripping, powerful story.' Blue Wolf Reviews

'McDonald's understanding of farming life is effortlessly drawn . . . another great book . . . McDonald leaves us on the edge of our seat.' Debbish.com

'Engaging mystery and authentic rural setting.' Book'd Out Contemporary Genre Fiction Small Town & Rural Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Exciting
All stars
Most relevant
Having listened to Lani as a narrator of many books now. I like him for the most part but his emphasis on words is often so incorrect. It’s like he gets to the end of a line, then realises that the sentence continues on the next line. It is irritating. Apart from that and his female accents, he does a great job!

Gosh, I related to Essie! That was my first marriage in a nut shell!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
story keeps you Wondering how the 2 families connect. keeps you guessing all the way about the mystery of it all. good ending

intriguing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Another interesting plot from Fleur with two timelines that keep you wondering how they will merge.
enjoyed the narration by Lani John Tupu again. The climax had me finish the last couple hours in one sitting. ☺

A Good Yarn

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I didn't want to stop listening!! can't wait to start the next book!!

if this is your first one recommend reading/listening to some of the previous books to properly understand this one as it has some repeat characters.

only negative is they changed narrators and I didn't like them as much as the previous one but still well told.

captivating story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
loved it to the very end.
excellent story ..congratulations Fleur, looking forward to your next book

shearer's wife

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.