“The recipes she saw in these books made her hungry. But it wasn’t just a hunger for food. It was a hunger for connection, love, family. Putting food on the table was a great act of love… Food and family went hand in hand. Bonding together over meals. She ran her palm over the matte texture of the pages in front of her. Food connected people all over the world, in every city and village and home. Samuel had lost his feasts and his family. She wanted to get them back for him, somehow.”

Three Gold Coins is the fourth novel by Australian author, Josephine Moon. Leaving both her employer and her family in the lurch, Lara Foxleigh has fled to Italy. A chance encounter at the famed Trevi Fountain in Rome on the day of her arrival sees her driving an elderly man to Tuscany, where she takes a temporary job as his carer. Cooking, helping with activities of daily living, shopping, cleaning and even gardening, yes, she can manage all that. Putting up with Samuel’s grumpy moods, fine. Milking goats? That, she had not ever in her life, expected to be doing!

Old Samuel Baker’s great-nephew, the rather gorgeous Matteo helps out where he can, although he works on a goat farm and has cheese-making to attend to. But Lara soon finds herself fairly capably tending Meg and Willow, milking them and even making cheese from their milk. She is intrigued by Samuel’s solitary existence, though. Why, except for Matteo’s visits, is he all alone?

Meanwhile, her mum, Eliza, her sister Sunny and the kids, Daisy and Hudson get by at home. They are pleased that Lara is safe and that she is coping, physically and mentally. But all is not well in Brisbane: a dangerous figure from Lara’s past seems determined to make trouble, once again.

Moon’s fourth novel gives the reader a believable plot and characters that are easy to like and care for. The story touches on several forms of mental Illness including bipolar disorder and depression, as well as the stigma attached to those and to suicide. Characters have to deal with psychological abuse and the resultant self-blame; family law surrounding custody rights, and how weak laws force people to act outside them; how pride and miscommunication can estrange family members; and survivor guilt.

But there is also a good dose of positivity: love and loyalty, friendship and forgiveness, sweet kids and cute goats. This is not a book to read on an empty stomach: Moon’s descriptions of cheeses and all that delicious Italian food will surely have readers salivating. And travel agents selling holidays to Tuscany will be grateful for the marvellous job Moon has done of selling the region’s attractions. Moon’s extensive research is apparent on every page. This is another marvellous read from a talented author. It may be Moon’s best yet.
Quote from an uncorrected proof copy won from Allen & Unwin.