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The Fireground  By  cover art

The Fireground

By: Dervla McTiernan
Narrated by: Ben Chapple, Harriet Gordon-Anderson
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Publisher's summary

Flynn was only a teenager when her parents were killed in a terrible accident. Too young to lose her parents, too young to take on responsibility for her younger sister Kaiya, too young to protect Kaiya from the harshness of their new lives in the following years. Desperate to help her sister, Flynn reaches out to Willa Tomlinson, a grief counsellor renowned for helping her patients cope with profound loss. Under Willa’s influence and care, Kaiya finally seems to turn a corner, joining the climate action collective that Willa leads. Kaiya’s passion is ignited and she immerses herself in the group, leaving on frequent camping trips in the West Australian bush. But when a raging bushfire sweeps through the bushland near Margaret River, Kaiya fails to return with the rest of the group.

Noah is no stranger to loss or to violence, but these days, he’s more interested in helping people develop the skills to defend themselves than seeking out fights of his own. When Flynn enters his life, desperate to find out what really happened to her sister, a friendship sparks, and Noah finds himself agreeing to help her. To do so, he’ll need to infiltrate Willa’s cultish collective at the fireground.

In this new Original from the number one internationally best-selling author of The Ruin and The Murder Rule, Dervla McTiernan, Flynn and Noah must reckon with their pasts and fight to find the answers they seek before Kaiya’s trail burns out.

Please note: this audio contains strong language, distressing situations and descriptions of violence that some listeners may find upsetting. Discretion is advised.

©2023 Dervla McTiernan (P)2023 Audible Australia Pty Ltd.
Dervla McTiernan

About the Creator

Dervla McTiernan’s debut novel, The Rúin, was a critically acclaimed international bestseller published around the world. The Rúin won the Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction, the Davitt Award for Best Adult Fiction and the Barry Award for Best Original Paperback; and was shortlisted for numerous other awards. It was on the Amazon US Best Book of the Year list in 2018 and screen rights were snapped up by Hopscotch Features. Dervla’s second book, The Scholar, debuted into the Nielsen Bookscan Top 5 on release in 2019, and her third, The Good Turn, went straight to number 1, confirming her place as one of Australia’s best crime writers.
Born in County Cork, Ireland, to a family of seven, Dervla practiced as a corporate lawyer for twelve years. Following the global financial crisis, she moved with her family to Western Australia, where she now lives with her husband and two children. An avid fan of crime and detective novels from childhood, Dervla now writes full time.
Photographed by Julia Dunin

About the Performer - Ben Chapple

About the Performer

eSydney-bred writer and actor, Ben Chapple began by performing his own plays and screenplays. His most recent play, Ode to Isaiah Walsh, was written for Parramatta Riverside. Ben studied Law and Creative Writing at UTS under the guidance of Leah Purcell and Gabrielle Carey. Simultaneously, Ben graduated the BA Acting course at WAAPA in 2019. Ben starred in Screentime/Network Ten’s second series of Playing For Keeps. He recently performed in the Seymour Centre’s sold-out season of The Pass. His voice can be heard in commercials for the likes of Norton LifeLock and Deakins University, as well as in audiobooks like Steve Toltz’s Here Goes Nothing and Nick Bryant’s When America Stopped Being Great.

About the Performer - Harriet-Gordon-Anderson

About the Performer

Harriet is best known for her role as the titular character in the Bell Shakespeare Australia production of Hamlet. Harriet was cast by director Matthew Lutton in the Malthouse/Black Swan Theatre Company tour of Picnic at Hanging Rock. Harriet received Green Room Award nominations for ‘Best Ensemble’ and ‘Best Production’ and was also nominated for the Performance WA award for Best Newcomer. She went on to perform its international tour at the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh and at the Barbican in London.
Harriet’s other stage work includes: Scenes From A Climate Era (Company B Belvoir), Boxing Day BBQ (Ensemble Theatre), The Museum of Modern Love (Seymour Centre/Sydney Fringe), The Miser (Bell Shakespeare Company) You Got Older and Leaves (Kings Cross Theatre), Lifestyle of the Richard and Family (Next Wave festival), Kindertransport (Darlinghurst Theatre Co) and the award-winning Moving on Inc. for the Perth Fringe Festival.
On television, Harriet appeared in the Nine Network Series of Amazing Grace and ABC Kids Series, Mikki Versus The World. Other credits include Mr Inbetween S2, Love Child, The Secret Daughter and WA Screen Academy’s short, Splendours of a Mind. Her film credits include The Greenhouse, directed by Tom Wilson and shorts, Swiss Avalanche, Love Birds and Your Mob.

What listeners say about The Fireground

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Slow starting

Another book with a slow start. I almost stopped reading it. But, the beginning establishes the background. Tension throughout the middle and a great ending.

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3 people found this helpful

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Dervla never disappoints

Original and creative! Ms McTiernan tackles some awful realities in this book. At first I found it depressing but as usual, her ability to carry a plot forward and create complex and powerful characters kept me listening. I only wish I knew what happened to the dog!

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The best yey!

I've listened to several of her books, this is the best yey, light but serious theme, happy ending, yes I'm a fan

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Unrelenting

From chapter one, this book rolls you over. And it just never stops. I think I felt a chance to breathe now and again, but I realize now that it was just Dervla setting me up to be rolled over again. In the best possible way!

My guess is that there are chapters worth of text that was cut from this book, because it feels very trim and free of fat. Normally when I feel that, it's a complaint. Not this time! It made me need to keep reading like it was a drug I was desperate to get back to. It's been a long time since I felt that way about an audio book!

Pure wonderfulness! Purely Unrelenting!

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Another great story by Dervla McTiernan

Masterful storytelling. I was completely immersed in the emotional twists and turns, suspence and uncertainty. Thanks for another great story!

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Great story

It was a Great story,
The Performance was wonderful. I found it
Very enjoyable and I recommend it.

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Ultimately, very sweet

Lots and lots of twists and turns. But I’ve been listening to Dervla Mctiernan for a long time now. And she never disappoints.

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Excellent

Have thoroughly enjoyed every novel by this author that I have read. Great set up and excellent story lines. Always love the humanity she gives to er characters.

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well done!

This is the third book I’ve read by this author, and I have enjoyed all of them. Very creative, original and well written.

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Great book

When I started reading this book it was so sad to me. The characters had dealt with so much. Then the story evolved and the full picture was visible. I truly enjoyed this book.

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