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Returning home might save the town—but could cost her everything.
Orphaned as a teenager, veterinarian Charlie Anderson built a life on her own terms—far from the fractured family she left behind in the rural town of Naringup.
But when a suspected Hendra virus outbreak draws her back to Naringup, Charlie is forced to face the very past she thought she'd escaped.
Returning means confronting the people she walked away from: a cousin she left behind, an aunt whose choices shattered her world, and a tangle of grief and resentment she’s kept buried for years.
As panic over the outbreak grows, Charlie teams up with local ranger Joel Drummond—whose easy warmth and unruly family offer a glimpse of the connection she’s longed for.
When tensions reach breaking point, Charlie must decide: will she find the courage to heal old wounds, or walk away for good—and risk losing the only family she has left?
Close to Home is a standalone novel in The Homecoming Collection – an emotionally layered, page-turning story of family, resilience, and the ties that pull us back home.
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Praise for Close to Home:
★★★★★ Couldn’t put it down.
★★★★★ Brilliant.
★★★★★ A wonderful story.
★★★★★ A heartfelt story about family, forgiveness, healing the past and hoping for the future.
★★★★★ Well written and researched.
★★★★★ Pamela Cook has raised the bar …. A must read!
Pamela Cook is an author, podcaster, writing teacher and mentor. Her debut novel Blackwattle Lake (2012) was published by Hachette Australia in 2012 followed by three rural fiction titles. She subsequently published two independent titles (Cross My Heart and All We Dream) and is now publishing with Bolinda Audio and Vinci Books. Pamela writes stories of longing and belonging, delving deep into the psychology of her characters and the complexity of relationships in all their forms. She explores the impact of trauma, grief and generational conflict, drawing on the resilience and courage she finds in inspirational women. Her writing is imbued with a deep love of the natural world and its power to heal. Producing and hosting Writes4Women, a weekly podcast that supports women writers and celebrates women’s writing, is one of Pamela’s not-so-guilty pleasures. She is also a Writer Ambassador for Room To Read, a not-for-profit organisation promoting literacy and gender equality in developing countries. An experienced teacher, Pamela loves to mentor emerging authors. When she’s not writing or reading, she wastes as much time as possible riding her handsome quarter horse Baloo, hanging out with her family and menagerie of animals on her dream-come-true rural property in the beautiful Illawarra region of NSW, and dreaming of a road trip in Virginia, her vintage caravan.