Field of poppies. Carmel Bird. 2019.

Keen to escape the pressures of city life, Marsali Swift and her husband William are drawn to Listowel, a glorious historic mansion in the seemingly tranquil small town of Muckleton. There is time to read, garden, decorate, play chess and befriend the locals.

Yet one night Listowel is robbed, and soon after a neighbour is murdered. The violent history of the couple’s adopted goldfields town is revealed, and plans for a new goldmine emerge.

Subtle and sinister details unnerve. The novels that are studied at book club echo disappearances and colonial transgressions. A treasured copy of Monet’s Field of Poppies recalls loves and dreams but also times of war.