Reading order · 16 books · 2009 to 2024 · Set in Western Australia
Rural Novels in Order
Fleur McDonald’s rural novels each stand alone, but Dave Burrows appears in many of them.
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Series facts
- Books
- 16
- Published
- 2009 to 2024
- First book
- Red Dust
- Latest
- Out in Nowhere (2024)
- Setting
- Set in Western Australia
The reading order
Every Rural novels book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
16 books · Set in Western Australia
- 1Red Dust2009With Gemma SinclairAfter her husband Adam is killed in a plane crash, Gemma Sinclair decides to keep running Billbinya, the station his family has worked for generations, as rumours spread that Adam was mixed up in stock theft.Buy on Amazon
- 2Blue Skies2010With Amanda GreenfieldAfter her mother’s death, agribusiness graduate Amanda Greenfield is determined to turn the struggling family farm, Kyleena, into a profitable business, even though her father wants to sell.Buy on Amazon
- 3Purple Roads2012With Anna ButlerChildhood sweethearts Anna and Matt Butler finally buy their own farm, but drought, failing crops and a serious accident threaten everything, and they are drawn into something far more dangerous.Buy on Amazon
- 4Silver Clouds2013Marketing executive Tessa Mathison comes home from London for her great-aunt’s funeral, and an unusual clause in the will keeps her at Danjar Plains, the isolated station of her childhood.Buy on Amazon
- 5Crimson Dawn2014Laura Murphy has built up Nambina, her family’s farming property, but a claim against it threatens everything, and her former best friend and former boyfriend live next door.Buy on Amazon
- 6Emerald Springs2015Amelia Bennett, treasurer of her home town’s rodeo committee, is robbed after the biggest rodeo yet, and she and her boyfriend Paul become suspects.Buy on Amazon
- 7Indigo Storm2016Ashleigh flees her difficult husband and reinvents herself as Eliza in a tiny rural town, where her interest in a nineteenth-century family begins to draw out secrets of her own.Buy on Amazon
- 8Sapphire Falls2017Fiona is grieving her husband Charlie, killed in a shooting accident, when Detective Dave Burrows arrives to close the case and finds that something on the farm is not right.Buy on Amazon
- 9Suddenly One Summer2017Brianna Donahue juggles her farm and two children while her husband works in Perth, and when her son disappears, Dave Burrows’ investigation into stolen sheep begins to touch her world.Buy on Amazon
- 10Where the River Runs2018Concert pianist Chelsea Taylor returns to her family’s farm near the town of Barker to mend things with her father, until a shocking discovery on the riverbed brings in Dave Burrows.Buy on Amazon
- 11Starting From Now2019Journalist Zara Ellison leaves the city to help her mother and ailing brother on the family farm near Barker, where she meets Dave Burrows and a series of mysteries.Buy on Amazon
- 12The Shearer’s Wife2020Rose returns with her husband Ian to her family’s remote shearing station, pregnant with twins, as Dave Burrows is called in to look at a cold case in the same area.Buy on Amazon
- 13Deception Creek2021Emma Cameron, a recently divorced farmer near Barker in the Flinders Ranges, is still haunted by a car accident ten years ago, when Joel Hammond is released from jail and comes home.Buy on Amazon
- 14Broad River Station2022Newly graduated constable Mia faces prejudice in the country town of Broad River while caring for her grandmother, until a child goes missing and Dave Burrows sees what she can do.Buy on Amazon
- 15Voices in the Dark2023Sassi Stapleton rushes to the outback to see her ailing grandmother Cora but arrives too late, and her estranged mother Amber returns to stir up old tensions.Buy on Amazon
- 16Out in Nowhere2024Hallie Donaldson is isolated with her baby on a vast Flinders Ranges cattle station, until she shares a secret with Dave Burrows and Constable Mia Worth.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Each novel stands alone.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Gemma Sinclair | Amanda Greenfield | Anna Butler | Dave Burrows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Red Dust | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 2 Blue Skies | LLead | |||
| 3 Purple Roads | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 4 Silver Clouds | ||||
| 5 Crimson Dawn | ·Minor | |||
| 6 Emerald Springs | ·Minor | |||
| 7 Indigo Storm | ·Minor | |||
| 8 Sapphire Falls | ·Minor | |||
| 9 Suddenly One Summer | ·Minor | |||
| 10 Where the River Runs | ·Minor | |||
| 11 Starting From Now | ·Minor | |||
| 12 The Shearer’s Wife | ·Minor | |||
| 13 Deception Creek | ·Minor | |||
| 14 Broad River Station | ·Minor | |||
| 15 Voices in the Dark | ·Minor | |||
| 16 Out in Nowhere | ·Minor |
Characters in the Rural novels books
4 characters from Fleur McDonald’s chart, with the number of Rural novels books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Gemma SinclairYoung farmer | 1 | Red Dust 2009 |
| Amanda GreenfieldFarmer | 1 | Blue Skies 2010 |
| Anna ButlerWoman on the land | 1 | Purple Roads 2012 |
| Dave BurrowsStock squad detective in Western Australia | 14 | Red Dust 2009 |