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SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 INDIE BOOK AWARD FOR DEBUT FICTION

MEET THE EDWARDS FAMILY

Tom Edwards is dying, and cranky. He’s made his peace with the dying part. But he’d bet his property – the whole ten thousand acres of it – that there’d be no wailing at his funeral. His kids wouldn’t be able to chop down a tree, let alone build a coffin to bury him in.

Then Tom has an idea …

Christine is furious, David ashen-faced, and Sophie distracted. Only Jenny listens carefully as Vince Barton, of Barton & Sons, reads their father’s will. Either they build his coffin – in four days – or they lose their inheritance. All of it.

A perceptive and unforgettable debut novel, The Deed explores the messy, sometimes volatile, complications that only the best and worst of family can bring. Sometimes greed can be good.

‘Splendidly told through a rich layering of characterisation . . . Funny, heartfelt and unforgettable’ SYDNEY ARTS GUIDE

‘From its richly evoked rural landscape to its complex, loveable characters, The Deed is a dazzling debut full of humour and heart about one man’s legacy, four fractious siblings and all that can divide or unite a family. This is a wonderful, hugely entertaining, thoroughly Australian novel from an exciting new talent.’ HANNAH RICHELL, bestselling author and Richell Prize judge

‘A debut novel, yet it’s as if Begbie’s been honing her skills for the last 20 years and this is the culmination of all she’s learned’ COUNTRY STYLE