Deborah Challinor
...#1 bestselling author
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Amber
(HarperCollins Publishers NZ, 2007) # 2 Bestseller

Premier New Zealand Bestseller Award: BRONZE

 
   When Kitty Farrell is offered a trinket by a street urchin, her impulsive response will change both of their lives forever, and place an unexpected strain on Kitty’s marriage. For the past four years, she has sailed the high seas on the trading vessel Katipo with Rian, her wild Irish adventurer, but when they return to the Bay of Islands in 1845, they find themselves in the midst of a bloody affray.
   Their loyalties and their love are sorely tested, and Kitty’s past comes back to haunt her when she encounters the bewitching child she names Amber. As the action swirls around them, Kitty and Rian must battle to be reunited as they fight for their lives and watch friends and enemies alike succumb to the madness of war and the fatal seduction of hatred.  

 Behind this book…

   Five years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi seemed a good time to set the second book in the Kitty series. There were some loose ends to be tied up from the first book that couldn’t wait much longer – it was time for Wai to come home, the mystery of Uncle George’s disappearance needed to be cleared up, etc – and 1845 was the beginning of the Northern War. Also, I had an urge to look at what Auckland was like during that time. Very muddy, apparently.    

 

Reviews…

   ‘Challinor’s carefully researched novel, rich with historical facts, offers both a detailed glimpse into the social, geographic and political landscapes of the era, and an immensely enjoyable read.’
                                                                      Australian Women’s Weekly, September 2008

 

   ‘There’s nothing the slightest bit dull or dusty about either Kitty or Amber. Challinor characterises them wonderfully well, as she does all her cast. If she doesn’t start winning awards soon the New Zealand book world will be the poorer. This is a people’s author with the ability to meld fact with fiction, an ability other less able writers strive for but fail to achieve.’
                                                                                                 The Daily Post, March 2008

 

   ‘Meticulous research of the troubled post-Treaty of Waitangi events in both Auckland and the North has produced another great historical/chick-lit with an absolutely riveting ending.’
                                                                                       Northern Advocate, November 2007