The Patterson Girls. Rachael Johns

The Patterson Girls
Rachael Johns
Published: MIRA (Aus)
Date: September 17th 2015
Format: e-ARC
Pages: 368
Genre: Contemporary romance.
Source: Publisher via NetGalley


In The Patterson Girls we meet four sisters who have just returned home to their home on the Eyre Peninsula in Southern Australia. It will be their first Christmas together at their home – the Meadow Brook motel without their mother who died earlier in the year.

Madeleine is the oldest and works in Baltimore in the USA as an obstetrician. She has always been the one with a matter of fact approach to life.

Lucinda comes next. She  is married to Joe, lives in Perth and teaches young children. Her main desire in life is to become pregnant and add to the large Italian family that Joe belongs to.

Charlotte or Charlie works at a cafe in Melbourne, she feels a little inferior to the others, has never been to university and thinks the others look down at her somewhat.

Abigail is the youngest, a talented violinist, lives in London and doesn’t want the others to know she has been sacked from her job in the orchestra.

As they gather together it is tough finding their father just not himself and the motel going into the ground.  Going through their mother’s clothes they find an old card that indicates a curse on Patterson women. But what?  Aunt Mags, their Dad’s sister, is the one who gives them the answer. This starts off a different set of events for each sister that leads to a whole chapter of events in their lives. The only one who seems to be exempt from it all is Charlie who has remained at the motel after Christmas to help her dad out, and in doing so renews her friendship with Mitch, one of the local lads.

There is many an ‘adventure’ for each sister as the novel unfolds, each struggles with the challenges and opportunities offered. But ultimately it seems the curse overhangs them like a dark cloud.

This is a story of how when the chips are down family comes together, and how honesty and sharing can bond sisters together.  It examines the stress of how trying to become pregnant can put a lot of pressure on a relationship and asks what ultimately really matters. I enjoyed the exploration of a modern group of people being put under pressure and entertaining the idea of a curse.

A warm, thought provoking story of family, loving and living life meaningfully and fully.