Escape to Murray River (Adventures Down Under) Paperback – January 2, 2017

The year is 1867. Brothers, Patrick and Michael, have gone to meet their father, a newspaper reporter in Dublin, Ireland, for lunch. Hiding under his desk as a joke, they are startled to hear two men come in: Conrad Burke, editor in chief along with Police Inspector Mahoney. What do these two men hide in John McWaid's desk whilst saying that this will stop him finding out the truth? John McWaid is arrested as he comes back into the building.What follows is an amazing adventure as the family is prevented from visiting John in prison by Conrad Burke. John is transported to Australia for a crime he didn't commit. The family would like to follow him but where will the money come from? What happens to Patrick on the sea voyage to Australia? Why does Conrad Burke continue to follow them?This is an excellent start to a series. Strong, well-written, Christian based, exciting, full of adventure for kids 8 & up. Please note though that this book does not really have a conclusion. You will need to continue reading to find out what happens. Well worth it though:)

This is the first book in Robert Elmer's eight book "Adventures Down Under" series. The books get better and better as the series progresses and the reader becomes more familiar with the McWaid family. This book bears the burden of setting up the series and it can be a bit of a slow go at the outset. Mr. McWaid is framed for a crime he didn't commit because he is a crusading news reporter who has to be "disappeared". Where better to send him than on the last prison ship to Australia? The McWaid family, though, isn't going to be separated and so the the rest of the family manages to secure passage to Australia so that they can all be together again. Anyway, grandfather McWaid was sent to Australia thirty years earlier, and he might be somewhere down under as well. As you can imagine, the first part of this book covers the frame up, the family's distress, the McWaid's plucky resolve, and the reunion. Once we get back together in Australia, (about a quarter of the way through the book), the serious "Boy's Own" adventuring begins.And once that starts, and then through the remaining books, this is solid, exciting stuff, carried by a clean, clear narrative drive, loads of local color, and strong family personalities, (main character Patrick, younger brother Michael, sister Becky, no-nonsense Mom, and others). Why, just in this book we have adventures on the sea, caves, and exciting action. We also develop the individual McWaids and add a few additional characters.These are well written books, both in terms of grammar, syntax, vocabulary and the like and in terms of sustained action, interesting descriptions, plausible adventure plotting, and the resilience and resourcefulness of the characters. Very solid middle grade adventuring and presented in an appealing, accomplished and colorful package. A nice choice for a young adventure fan.Please note that I found this book while browsing Amazon Kindle freebies. I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.

This is a book our family used as a read - aloud as part of our geography curriculum. Literature makes geography come alive! We didn't have to rely strictly on boring textbook data but actually got to go to the place we are studying (via the mind's eye). Then, when we did the map work, it was a little more interesting because we could picture parts of the story happening there. This book leaves a heap of lose ends which will cause us to look into the rest of the 8 book series and continue learning on or own about Austrailia even though the other books aren't a part of our curriculum. These other books will become extra reading that we enjoy on our on time (outside of school hours).

This is a book for young adults, probably aimed most at males. It is full of difficult situations which try the courage of its main character. Some of the action in the ocean and a dark cave can be scary, but the young hero does come through in fine shape, although the book is set up for further adventures. This is a good read for the right audience.

I first read this book in 2006, and I since lost the books. But reading them as an adult, I learned so much more and greatly enjoyed it. Even realized Michael had subconsciously influenced a character in my own writing without realizing it. Highly recommended to all ages, though there is a touch of romance and the scriptures were incorrect. Otherwise, I loved it!

An interesting historical adventure for youngsters, with a Christian sub theme. I found it very informative and fast-moving but was disappointed to find it had a cliff-hanger ending as i expected it to be wrapped up though I now see there are more in the series. And I guess it is good for young readers to have more adventures of Patrick in store for them!

I enjoyed the book greatly and look forward to reading the rest of the series! But where are the page numbers?! I'm one who often notes the page I'm on and closes the book instead of finding a bookmark, but these pages were not numbered. I hope that's not the case for the rest of the books in this series!

Such an awesome read it had my 10yo daughter raving about it and unable to put it down at bedtime! We quickly put the next 4 books on the wishlist so we can find them easily for her! Great book, highly recommended. My daughter reads a lot and for her to rave about a book I know its good :)

This book kept my 12 year old enthralled from the beginning, whenever he had any spare time he could be found with his nose in his e-reader and was able to tell others about the book and what had happened

Although written for kids it had this Grandma hooked and I had to buy the whole series! A very good read.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit, good characters and you care what happens to them. I liked it. I'm glad I got it.