Publication Date: November 20, 2023
On a working holiday in Australia’s cosmopolitan Outback town of Broome in 1986, Jodie, a young book designer and artist is open to romance and adventure.
At the holiday village where she is staying, she meets Joe, a young man who works there. Despite the strong attraction between them, the many unknowns about his earlier life keep them apart. To try to uncover his mysterious past, they travel to Perth and back to Broome and are drawn into not only bizarre but also dangerous situations.
Is Joe the person she thinks he is, or is he some alter ego? Can Jodie and Joe stop their relationship from developing until they have answers and know if he is free to love her?
Broome Enigma by Meryl Brown Tobin is filled with action, adventure, romance, and some mystery. Taking place in Australia, we’re given vivid descriptions of the sights, the festivals, the town, and the caravan park.
Jodie and her sister are there for a vacation, and Jodie is working on a book project for her boss. We’re taken on one adventure after another and meet many interesting characters.
The story started slowly, but it set the stage for what was to come. Joe, a maintenance worker at the caravan park, is befriended by Jodie and Tiffany when they meet, but while hanging out together, things aren’t always as they seem.
Joe has secrets even he doesn’t know. The story has twists and turns, along with bad guys, drugs, crooked cops, and more. The story had depth to it, and the characters had details, clues, and observations that were all important.
Joe became Marc, and he and Jodie grew closer. She was there with him through various situations, was always helpful, and had his best interests at heart. He was always protective, especially when the bad guys were enraged. There was a good flow to the story and surprises, and the good guys won, giving closure, but the story ended abruptly. I would love to see the characters in a connected story if not a series. The romance also had a happily ever after, with a few other romances needing their own.
Broome Enigma takes us to various locations in Australia where mysteries are solved, and friendships and romance abound. With vivid descriptions and caring main characters, it didn’t take me long to be all in.
Meryl Brown Tobin is an Australian writer who has published 22 books, including a novel, travel book, educational puzzle books and poetry books, and hundreds of poems, puzzles, short stories, articles, cartoons and comic strips. A guest on Ch7’s children’s TV program The Book Place, she and a presenter read her children’s picture storybook LEFTY.
