The Night Ship by Jess Kidd
The Night Ship tells two stories, both from the perspective of a motherless child, both bound to the inhospitable seas and islands off the western…
Book Reviews
SMSA Book Reviews are written by and for members. We invite all SMSA members to submit book reviews for inclusion on our website. Book reviews are a great way to let fellow members know about the range of great books they can borrow from the SMSA Library. The reviews are consistently a popular feature of our website and appear on the Library page and in our e-News. Download our Book Review Writing Guide below and submit one today!
Digging Up Dirt (Poppy McGowan #1) by Pamela Hart
This is a fun murder-mystery, set in the leafy Sydney suburb of Annandale. Poppy McGowan is a researcher for an ABC TV kids’ programme. In…
Long Shadows (Amos Decker #7) By David Baldacci
The sole protagonist, Amos Decker, must be growing on the author, as this novel is the seventh in the Decker series. Most of the author’s…
All The Broken Places by John Boyne
When does guilt by association end? In this heart-wrenching sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, 91 year old Gretel Fernsby has been running…
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
This was a historical novel I could not put down. The first chapter presents the reader with a totally unexpected situation. Lucrezia de’ Medici, daughter…
Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
Britt-Marie Was Here, in classic Fredrik Backman fashion, is a novel ultimately about community and coming into oneself. Backman has always written incredibly tender and…
The Madness of Crowds (Chief Inspector Gamache Series #17) By Louise Penny
Having just read the six most recently published Chief Inspector Gamache crime novels in a row, this reader is grateful that the events in each…
The Voices Beyond (Oland #4) By Johan Theorin
Originally written in Swedish, this 462 page book is set in the period around 1935 to 2000, when much of Northern Europe was being alternately…
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
I read this novel some years ago, after the film was released in 2008, and found, generally, the film true to the book. There was…
The Windsor Knot (Her Majesty The Queen Investigates #1) by S. J. Bennett
I have to admit, I really quite enjoyed this! I don’t think this is for you if you’re not a fan of the monarchy, because…
The Marmalade Diaries by Ben Aitken
Really, this should be sub-titled Old Folks’ Home for 35 Year Olds. Written in the present tense, it’s the author’s daily diary of life as…
The Ghosts of Paris (Billie Walker #2) By Tara Moss
Billie Walker, Private Investigator, is hired by a wealthy client to find her husband, who has been missing for over two years. Her husband’s last…