This is a short, bittersweet, read, which perfectly fitted a lunch break. Told, unusually, from a male point of view, it's the story of Mark - adrift and discontented, after the death of his mother, he goes to visit an old friend, Beth, at the beautiful, boutique, hotel she owns in the country. Never having been to Australia, I found the author's vivid descriptions of the countryside around the hotel, and it's gorgeous, mature, gardens very atmospheric, in that, I could almost feel I was there, standing in the old-fashioned, walled garden, smelling the scent of the blooms, and enjoying their lush beauty.