Harbouring

The story is from the lens of new 'settlers', those fleeing a brutal class system, those desperate for a new beginning and those in the 'tween ranks of life. I found this refreshing as many historical novels pitch the tale from the top power players and those that truly carve out the land become 'faceless' . . . A thoroughly encompassing novel to reach for as the colder winter nights start to close in. Highly Recommended.

Sue's Reviews, Wairarapa Times-Age

This I predict . . . will be another bestseller . . . Of course, if you know anything about Jenny's books, you'll know that her best qualities are . . . writing characters, absorbing them into her bloodstream in a sense and . . . you want to know what will happen next, not only that, of course, is the plots are usually very, very gripping and this one is no exception . . . we are always reminded of the people who have not been written about and that's what Jenny is so good at and she's done it again here. I've been very excited about this; I read it some weeks ago before it was officially published and I went straight back when my copy arrived to read it last week again and it holds up beautifully. It's got that extra, wonderful thrill of you're being right there . . . she's very good with the nasty people . . . she actually put New Zealand's historical novels on the map and then continued to do so.

Ralph McAllister, Radio NZ

. . . it was Pattrick's fiction which convinced me that19th century New Zealand could be made alive and absorbing. Since her best-seller The Denniston Rose, I've approached our fictional past with anticipation rather than apprehension. Pattrick shifted my view of the whole genre. . . So credible, too: the voices are authentic and subversive. . . . Pattrick has written thousands of pages in her years on the job; she's got a professional's awareness of which notes chime and which clang. . . Much happens, and it's competently placed and spaced. Many of the good end optimistically; a number of the bad don't. That's always satisfying.Pattrick knows how to include her research so that it's a background wash rather than a foreground blob. Those who wants good hard facts in their fiction (how peculiar) will find them. A multi-layered cast is adroitly controlled; you become rewardingly invested in the principals' arcs and ends. You also wish to smack the newcomers who intend to teach Maori “the Christian ways”. Harbouring is a big, bold read.

David Hill, newsroom