Gold And Fishes [Kindle Edition]

Donna Carrick (Author)

Book Description

On December 26, 2004 the earth erupted under the waters of the Indian Ocean.

For Canadian aid worker Ayla Harris, her first overseas mission to post-tsunami Indonesia presents the perfect opportunity for escape. A failed romance with a married man and a strained relationship with her twin sister have left her suffering a general sense of ‘detachment’.

But a late night call on the eve of her departure reminds Ayla the bonds of love can be tenacious. It turns out her wheeler-dealer brother-in-law, Robert Trasque, has gone missing in Thailand.

However, it is the injured orphan Mahdi who restores Ayla’s soul with a single word: mother. In his child’s eyes she discovers the extent of her connection to the world.

From the devastated tourist beaches of Southeast Asia to the graveyard that was Banda Aceh, Ayla sets out on a personal mission – to find her sister’s gold-hungry husband and return him to his family.

In the midst of universal tragedy, what is the value of a single life? Can Ayla expose a killer and avoid becoming the next victim as she and her team struggle to bring hope to a region that is drowning in despair?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Donna Carrick was raised in the Canadian Military. She studied English literature and psychology at the University of Toronto. An accounting manager, wife and mother of three, she lives in Toronto, Ontario in Canada.

Product Details

• File Size: 551 KB
• Print Length: 322 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1419641859
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Carrick Publishing (August 6, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003YOSXLW
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #346,065 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gold and Fishes October 3, 2011

By Catherine

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This was a wonderful book about the aftermath of the terrible tsunami that washed away countless people in 2004. Wonderfully researched, the story was primarily about and aid worker, Ayla Harris, who went on a relief mission to Banda Aceh. She is there to help people recover from the devastation of the tsunami, but also to try to locate her brother in law who was vacationing there.

I especially appreciated the descriptions of the challenges relief workers face. Facing cultural sensitivities, theft, lonliness, lack of supplies, food, water. and more, the aid workers carried on the good work for all the right reasons.

I have always appreciated the work that aid workers do, and fantasized doing some work myself. This book made me consider the work in a very different way.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Absolute Gem March 8, 2010

By J. Knox

Format:Paperback

Donna Carrick's "Gold and Fishes" is a well-written story, filled with just enough plot twists and research to make it a literary gem. The book begins with a woman seeking purpose after a failed relationship. As an aid worker, Ayla turns to her work to find purpose, and instead she finds so much more. As a series of unpredictable events unfold, Ayla finds what she's looking for, but her journey is filled with dangerous turns, eye-opening glimpses into the human capacity for greed; and ultimately, the human capacity for compassion. It turns out to be the very person Ayla wants most to help that gives her the drive to realize who she truly is, and the strength to persevere. This is a beautiful story, unique and delicately pieced together. Read it!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended June 23, 2012

By Marian Allen

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

GOLD AND FISHES is a wonderful, haunting novel, part mystery, part thriller, all human. The characters are all complex and compelling, the setting -- Sumatra after the 2004 tsunami -- is gripping.

I dropped a star because I felt the climactic scenes were too rushed, although a writer of Ms. Carrick's power would have made them unbearable, if they had been as fully realized as the rest of the book!

More About the Author

An Air Force Brat, Donna Carrick grew up in locations all over Canada. Her primary influences came from small town Saskatchewan, Northern Ontario, the mining towns of Cape Breton, Northern Quebec and her birth province of New Brunswick.

An executive member of Crime Writers Of Canada, Donna volunteers her time as a mentor to aspiring CWC authors. She remains active in the Canadian writing scene, supporting Sisters In Crime, Word On The Street, Bloody Words and a variety of other venues for the literary arts.

Donna is the author of 3 mystery novels: The First Excellence ~ Fa-ling's Map, Gold And Fishes and The Noon God. All titles are available in paperback as well as Kindle and e-reader versions. Her 3rd full-length crime novel, The First Excellence, won the 2011 Indie Book Event Award for excellence in fiction!

In addition, her Toboggan Mystery Series, which includes "Sept-Iles and other places" and "Knowing Penelope", offers short-story lovers a broad collection of her work for Kindle.

Donna's interest in creative writing was established early and developed into a passion for fiction that continues to this day. She studied both Literature and Psychology at the University of Toronto and currently writes novels, short stories and poetry.

She enjoys sharing her knowledge of and enthusiasm for the independent and self-publishing industry. Contact Carrick Publishing to arrange a workshop or group engagement.

An office manager, wife and mother of three, Donna divides her time between the hectic pace of Toronto and the relative peace of Ontario's spectacular Georgian Bay. Life is never dull with husband/author Alex Carrick, their children, their beloved golden retriever Daisy and Dora The Cat.