BIOGRAPHY

Destination Moon by Kate Reid

When you are eating a Lune croissant, it feels like everything you’ve ever wanted is somehow contained in a single mouthful. Destination Moon has this same effect: it is one package of kindness, hopefulness, creativity, and open-hearted revelations. I love Lune croissants and have lined up for close to an hour to purchase those flaky, buttery pastries. The question I must ask myself is: has my love of Reid’s cooking marred my judgement of her memoir, Destination Moon? I do not think so, but yes, you should read it while eating one of the delicious concoctions from Lune. This memoir holds all of Kate Reid’s disappointments and joys. It is the story of growing up in Melbourne and wanting to fly to the moon. It is about studying hard and then working in an all-male environment and achieving enormous success working with Formula One engines. Reid shares stories of being in love, being ill with depression and anorexia, being heartbroken and lost, and then finding her way to baking. I particularly enjoyed the moments she shared with her father: watching car racing, travelling to far-flung places, and returning home to the tremendous support of her parents.  This is a skilfully crafted Melbourne story about a courageous, intelligent, and ambitious woman finding her feet. There is humour and pathos in her stories, and there is also a generosity to her storytelling and, most liberating of all, there is acceptance. It turns out Kate Reid can do anything she wants beautifully! We could all do with a Kate Reid in our lives. Fortunately, reading Destination Moon alongside a Lune croissant makes you feel you do have Reid in your life. This is an inspirational and delightful read. Readings, September 2025.

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CRAFT

Handmade Books at Home by Chanel Ly

You don’t need to be an experienced bookbinder to create one-of-a-kind books. Chanel Ly, founder of Bitter Melon Bindery, is here to guide you through 12 practical projects that you can personalize to show off your creative side. All you need are a few basic tools and materials to get started.Learn to craft a Minimal Journal that is not only sleek and stunning but sturdy enough to withstand everyday use. Looking for a Lay-Flat Sketchbook that feels as unique as your art? Make your own with a gorgeous exposed spine that is unlike anything you’ll buy off the shelves. Create an unforgettable gift for someone you love such as a wraparound Travel Diary bound in sentimental fabric or a custom-made Photo Album to hold treasured memories. And once you’ve mastered these projects, you’ll have the necessary skills to design your very own book or give new life to an old favourite. Full of helpful tips, solutions to troubleshoot common mistakes and plenty of visual examples, this resource will fulfill all your bookish dreams for years to come! Pan MacMillan Australia, June 2024.

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GENERAL FICTION

Gravity Let Me Go by Trent Dalton

Trent Dalton’s latest glorious novel could come with a warning: life does not stop just because you are reading. There is work to do and family to tend to, and exercises that must be done – and have you called your parents? Noah, the narrator of this story, is a true-crime journalist, and he has been handed the story of a lifetime. The first clue was left in his letterbox, and he followed more until he uncovered the body, but not the killer. It did not stop him from writing it all up, but that is not all this novel is about. Describing it is almost impossible, but here is my attempt. Take Noah’s world and wrap it tightly in a marriage set in Jubilee, Brisbane. Add in show tunes and mosh pits, nods to Dorothy on the yellow brick road, and skeletons both real and imagined – and then drive in the knife with a scary yet equal amount of ambition and dread. You will fall in love with Noah’s daughters and the love of his life, Rita, and you will wish that Noah would just slow down and enjoy all the good that Brisbane has to offer: that sky, those neighbours … Truly, in this novel, we need Noah to unravel. I could pick Dalton’s writing from a mile away. It’s revealed in the kindness of the detail, the musical references (this novel comes with a playlist), and the ode to the Australian climate. It is about the pace of the writing, and the desire for each word to mean more in company than on its own. Trent Dalton’s storytelling is vivid, rapid, and soaring. It reminds me of the track by Green Day called ‘Jesus of Suburbia’. Note: there are more clues in that song about this crime novel than there are in this review. (And there are many clues in this review!) Readings, September 2025.

Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Escape by Brian Freeman

In Freeman’s thrilling latest Bourne adventure (after The Bourne Vendetta), the amnesiac spy is dealt a devastating blow that returns the series to its roots. The novel opens in flashback, with a 20-something Bourne—using his birth name, David Webb—undergoing a deadly test from his brilliant and calculating mentor David “the Monk” Abbott. Bourne passes the test and is cleared to take assignments for Webb’s secret new espionage organization, Treadstone. In the present, Bourne is sailing in the Mediterranean with his girlfriend, fellow agent Johanna. The two are on the run from Russian assassins sent by Vladimir Putin and the head of Treadstone. One morning, Bourne wakes up floating alone on a piece of sailboat wreckage, suddenly wiped of all the memories he’d meticulously recovered over the series’ four-decade run. Again a blank slate, Bourne must relearn who he is while dodging those determined to kill him. Freeman keeps the plot’s hard reset from feeling too familiar by seizing the opportunity to fill in key questions about Bourne’s past. It’s a nostalgic treat for longtime series fans, and it sets up future entries for success. Publisher’s Weekly, June 2025.

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

I can already imagine this book sparking heated discussions in book clubs, with readers debating its twists, moral ambiguities, and emotional punch over glasses of wine or cups of tea. At its heart is 81-year-old Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick, who has spent decades living under the radar on Kenny Lane. She’s prickly, private, and set in her ways, but the sudden death of a neighbour bursts the carefully constructed life she’s tried so hard to maintain. Old suspicions resurface, and with them, the cruel nickname she can never quite shake; ‘Mad Mabel’. The novel moves between two timelines: the ‘Then’ of Mabel’s childhood in the 1950s and the ‘Now’ of her life as an elderly woman. As the story unfolds, we witness the childhood traumas that shaped her and the gossip that clung to her. A true crime podcast cleverly punctuates the contemporary storyline, giving Elsie a chance to finally reclaim her own narrative. Hepworth excels at probing the murky corners of human behaviour, and here she delivers a story that is both unsettling and unexpectedly tender. I found myself disturbed by the cruelty Mabel endured from those who should have protected her, yet uplifted by those who offered her kindness when she needed it most. What stayed with me long after I turned the final page was the reminder that every child deserves to be safe, loved, and believed in, and the devastating consequences when that isn’t the case. Mad Mabel is a book that lingers, not only for its clever storytelling but also for the emotional truth at its core. Good Reading, October 2025. 

Seed by Bri Lee

Antarctica is having something of a moment under the midnight sun this year, with writers of all stripes turning their pens south for inspiration. Two local examples include Charlotte McConaghy’s Wild Dark Shore, which in March drew audiences the world over into its Macquarie Island-inspired swell, and, this month, Bri Lee’s latest offering, Seed, is part locked-door mystery, part ecological dirge, and wholly unique from her previous work. Miles from any other outpost, scientists Mitchell and Frances are entering their final summer as custodians of a highly secretive seed vault, a vanguard against rapidly accelerating climate change. But unlike their idle dog days of years past, this summer’s sojourn is cloaked in secrets – from Mitchell, Frances, and the ice itself. A series of bizarre events strain their fragile relationship and drive Mitchell to the edge of reason as the past casts a long shadow over their increasingly perilous present. Is someone – or something – watching them, as Frances begins to suspect? Or is it the consequences of their own actions stalking them across the valley, waiting for the right moment to swallow them whole? From McMurdo Station to the Dry Valleys, Lee’s descriptions of Antarctic landscapes are simultaneously intimate and isolating, propelling the novel’s twisting plot even when its protagonist’s personality may repel. In a shade over 300 pages, Seed tackles an ambitious number of climate fiction’s most polarising questions, offering a polemical meditation on collective greed, reproductive futures, and what we owe to each other and the planet. Written with her signature candour, fans of Bri Lee are certain to find themselves hooked on this tale till the final jaw-dropping page. Readings, September 2025.

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HISTORICAL FICTION

A Great Act of Love by Heather Rose

Australian author Rose follows up Bunny with the sumptuous story of an 18th-century Englishwoman who leaves behind her criminal past in search of a new life and winds up in Van Diemen’s Land (present-day Tasmania). Caroline Colbert was trained by her father to be an apothecary and by her glamorous aunt to be a thief. With her father in jail for murder and her aunt in police custody, Caroline assumes a new identity and travels first to New York City and then around the tip of South America, fending off the advances of a “reptilian” bird collector and adopting Quill, a cabin boy who was given to the captain to settle a debt. It’s 1836 when she and Quill arrive in Van Diemen’s Land, where she buys a cottage and finds work as a governess, all the while scheming to revive a former vineyard to produce champagne. The novel’s colorful supporting cast includes a father damaged by a head injury, the commandant of a prison colony, and a formerly enslaved man who helps Caroline with the vineyard. Though the narrative takes a few melodramatic turns and relies on some unlikely coincidences to reach its conclusion, for the most part it sustains a pleasing spirit of adventure. This is a treat for historical fiction fans. Publisher’s Weekly, October 2025.

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MYSTERY

The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves

When a detective’s best friend is murdered, the investigation turns up some painful secrets. Jimmy Perez and his life partner, Willow Reeves, met in Shetland but currently live in Orkney—both Scottish archipelagoes—with their son, James, as they await the arrival of a baby soon to be born. Both are passionate about their police work, so Willow’s not surprised to come home to a note saying that Jimmy’s best friend, Archie Stout, is missing and Jimmy’s gone to Westray to help in the search. Next morning, he calls to tell her that Archie’s dead, found in the remnants of an archeological dig, hit in the head with one of a pair of ancient stones usually kept in a museum. Archie was a fearless risk taker, a hot-tempered Viking with a passion for the isles of his birth. Jimmy goes to Archie’s family farm to question his widow, Vaila, in hope of finding a clue from a long list of enemies he’s made in the past and his actions the day he died. Despite the two sons he shared with Vaila, Archie was always a flirt, and Jimmy learns that he had several extramarital affairs, most recently with Englishwoman Rosalie Greeman, an artist who denies any sexual relationship. The detective duo turns up another suspect in a supercilious college professor whose famous published paper was apparently based on the unacknowledged research of Archie’s father. More motives turn up as the islanders prepare for Christmas celebrations, and the wild weather leaves Jimmy and Willow shorthanded as they pursue leads. Did love or money lead to Archie’s death? A first-rate mystery full of historical detail and descriptions of a beautiful place. Kirkus Reviews, July 2025.

Sharp force by Patricia Cornwell

A Christmas bout between Kay Scarpetta and the Phantom Slasher. But first, Scarpetta, Virginia’s chief medical examiner, has to figure out how software designer Rowdy O’Leary died. Fished from the Potomac River on Christmas Eve six years after a hit-and-run driver left him permanently disabled and a week after he plunked down the cash for a pricey emerald ring, he fell off his fishing perch and drowned—or did he? Scarpetta’s examination of his body is cut short by two disturbing developments: the discovery of an unidentified woman’s remains buried on the grounds of Mercy Psychiatric Hospital, and celebrity TV reporter Dana Diletti’s report that the red-eyed ghost associated with the Slasher’s three murders has floated through the window of her home. She’s got video, too, and the apparition looks real and scary. The final blow to Scarpetta’s plans for a Christmas getaway with her husband, Secret Service forensic psychologist Benton Wesley, is an attack on an Alexandria home that kills Mercy psychiatrist Georgine Duvall, who used to treat Scarpetta’s niece, Lucy Farinelli, and nearly kills graduate student Zain Willard, White House intern and nephew of presidential candidate Sen. Calvin Willard. This time the Slasher’s ghost has been spotted on the scene by none other than Pete Marino, head of investigations for the medical examiner’s office and Scarpetta’s longtime sidekick. Cornwell’s use of Robbie, Zain’s robotic dog, and Janet, Lucy’s AI companion, integrates the futuristic elements she favors more successfully than in her recent outings. But the solutions to all these mysteries will leave fans of the venerable franchise pursing their lips rather than gasping in awe. Come for the forensics, stay for the nonhumans. Kirkus Reviews, July 2025.

Look Closer by David Ellis

An unlikely ensemble recounts the devious events that led to a grisly Halloween murder. Simon Dobias is a Chicago law professor vying for tenure. He’s been contentedly, if not happily, married to his wife, Vicky, a social worker at Safe Haven, for nearly a decade. He’s also reignited an affair with a beautiful woman from his distant past after a chance meeting outside of Bloomingdale’s on Michigan Avenue. What begins with matching burner phones and clandestine meetings ends with a Grim Reaper costume and the brutal slaying of Simon’s lover. But whatever else you think you know in this twisty, intricately plotted story is likely wrong. As narrated by Simon, the obvious murder suspect; the equally unscrupulous Vicky; and Sgt. Jane Burke, the Grace Village officer charged with solving the upscale suburb’s first homicide—and at least one surprise narrator—we learn about Simon’s relationship with ill-fated bombshell Lauren Betancourt, the circumstances surrounding her death, and the subsequent criminal investigation. Murder is far from the only crime committed among this shady lot, though, or even the most recent; the full extent of these devious characters’ various schemes and revenge plots is revealed in carefully scattered clues leading to a shocking, if somewhat improbable, conclusion. Even seasoned mystery readers won’t be able to predict all the knots in Simon and Vicky’s tangled web of deception. A roller-coaster ride full of unexpected twists and turns. Kirkus Reviews,

Matchmaking for psychopaths by Tasha Coryell

In this jaunty mashup of rom-com and serial killer thriller from Coryell (Love Letters to a Serial Killer), professional matchmaker Lexie learns that her fiancé, Noah, is leaving her for her best friend. To make matters worse, Noah announces his intentions during a dinner that Lexie expected to turn into a surprise birthday party. Raised by her mother, a convicted felon, on a steady diet of romantic comedies, Lexie embarks on a ruthless crusade to win Noah back in time for their scheduled wedding. Eventually, she ropes in her matchmaking clients—each of whom have been classified as psychopaths by Lexie’s matchmaking company, unbeknownst to them—including one who’s madly in love with her. When Noah goes missing amid Lexie’s scheming, she starts to worry that her lovesick quest is becoming dangerous. Though the book’s title gives ample notice of Coryell’s intentions, casual mystery readers might find the combination of screwball comedy and slasher novel jarring, and Lexie, while memorable, isn’t an easy character to like. Still, adventurous readers and fans of Elle Cosimano’s Finlay Donovan series will enjoy this twisted romp. Publisher’s Weekly, June 2025.

Coyote Hills by Jonathan Kellerman & Jesse Kellerman

A floater in San Francisco Bay keys up a tough case in this fifth Clay Edison thriller. Adam Valois, 33, floated ashore a year ago at Coyote Hills, a park on the edge of the Bay. Not a homicide, say the coroner and police, but Adam’s parents are suspicious and hire PI partners Clay Edison and Regina Klein to investigate further. You’re wasting your time, the cops tell Clay, himself an ex-coroner. Officially, Adam wasn’t a homicide victim at all, but a drug user deemed responsible for his own death. But other bodies wash up, and the PIs look for common drug profiles. They even enlist a scientist to write a computer program to analyze the Bay’s complex tidal currents and try to find a common dumping ground for the bodies, if one exists. And it turns out they are homicides after all. There’d been bad blood between the troubled Adam and his successful attorney sister, Kirsten, and she becomes one of several suspects. On a par with the solid plot are some of the character relationships. Regina has a sharp tongue and loves to tease Clay, calling him Poirot. She both admires and challenges him. There’s no obvious sexual chemistry between them; she has another man in her life, and Clay is happily married with two kids who love “Auntie Regina.” Even his brother, Luke, who’d once done time for vehicular homicide, seems to be getting his act together. So Clay lives his life on two levels—other people’s troubles and his own happy family. He and Regina uncover computer messages that cause Regina to exclaim “Sweet baby Moses on a motorbike,” but then Luke visits Clay and teaches his kids how to become pancake ninjas. Like their PI partners, Jonathan Kellerman and his son Jesse make a great team. Dead bodies and pancakes—who could ask for anything more? Kirkus Reviews, September 2025.

Murder on North Terrace (A Petticoat Police Mystery, Book 2) by Lainie Anderson

Historian Lainie Anderson’s debut crime novel, The Death of Dora Black, not only spun readers back in time to Adelaide during the First World War, but also introduced the pioneering female police officer Kate Cocks. In her real life, as a Jujitsu practitioner, and a teetotaller, Cocks was also astute, and had plenty of empathy to boot. In novel form, Anderson is able to expand on her own knowledge of Cocks and bring this formidable woman to life in these whodunnits. Whodunnits, plural – because the second instalment is here. As they were in the first book, Anderson’s descriptions of central Adelaide in 1916 are vivid. You can almost hear the hustle and bustle of people going about their day, and the clatter of the trams as they trundled throughout the city and into the suburbs. (Yes, Adelaide was full of them back then!) Set some six months after the solving of the Dora Black case, this new book sees Kate and her equally capable offsider, Ethel, delving into a murder at the Art Gallery. The body is found at the base of a particularly controversial painting – controversial for the artist’s depiction of a naked woman and the derision it casts towards the UK establishment. This time, Ethel’s family connections thrust her into the ‘point’ position of the investigation, while Kate is pulled into a dark plot involving the poster bloke for the war movement. It’s so refreshing having these women cast as the lead characters. Anderson does a terrific job keeping the plots propulsive and engaging, leaving you to absorb by osmosis the historical facts peppered throughout. These books are such fun, and perfect for anyone who loved Sulari Gentill’s Rowland Sinclair series, or Robert Gott’s William Power and Titus Lambert books. Readings, September 2025.

The Intruder by Freida McFadden

A woman fears she made a fatal mistake by taking in a blood-soaked tween during a storm. High winds and torrential rain are forecast for “The Middle of Nowhere, New Hampshire,” making Casey question the structural integrity of her ramshackle rental cabin. Still, she’s loath to seek shelter with her lecherous landlord or her paternalistic neighbor, so instead she just crosses her fingers, gathers some candles, and hopes for the best. Casey is cooking dinner when she notices a light in her shed. She grabs her gun and investigates, only to find a rail-thin girl hiding in the corner under a blanket. She’s clutching a knife with “Eleanor” written on the handle in black marker, and though her clothes are bloody, she appears uninjured. The weather is rapidly worsening, so before she can second-guess herself, former Boston-area teacher Casey invites the girl—whom she judges to be 12 or 13—inside to eat and get warm. A wary but starving Eleanor accepts in exchange for Casey promising not to call the police—a deal Casey comes to regret after the phones go down, the power goes out, and her hostile, sullen guest drops something that’s a big surprise. Meanwhile, in interspersed chapters labeled “Before,” middle-schooler Ella befriends fellow outcast Anton, who helps her endure life in Medford, Massachusetts, with her abusive, neglectful hoarder of a mother. As per her usual, McFadden lulls readers using a seemingly straightforward thriller setup before launching headlong into a series of progressively seismic (and increasingly bonkers) plot twists. The visceral first-person, present-tense narrative alternates perspectives, fostering tension and immediacy while establishing character and engendering empathy. Ella and Anton’s relationship particularly shines, its heartrending authenticity counterbalancing some of the story’s soapier turns. A grim yet gleefully gratifying tale of lost innocence and found family. Kirkus Reviews, August 2025.

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NON FICTION

The golden road by William Dalrymple

A historian argues for the vital impact of India on the ancient world. In his latest book, the esteemed author of The Anarchy (2019) and other titles makes a case for the “centrality of the Indian subcontinent as one of the two ancient economic and cultural hubs of Asia.” Because the 19th-century concept of the “Silk Road”—the overland trade route from China to the Mediterranean—is so universally recognized, the influence of India, to the south, is often overlooked, says Dalrymple. The Scottish historian, who lives in India, posits that the “regularity and predictability of [Asian monsoon] winds…have allowed millennia of Indian sailors to raise their sails and propel themselves at speed across the oceans that surround them; then, when the winds reverse, safely back again.” With them, they brought pepper, spices, ivory, cotton, gems, teak, and sandalwood—all in great demand in the Roman Empire. The resulting trade vastly enriched Indian coffers, subsidizing artistic output. This “Golden Road” then ferried Indian religious beliefs and culture eastward to China and Southeast Asia, where the “spectacular” temple complexes of Borobudur in Java (Buddhist) and Angkor Wat in Cambodia (Hindu) are evidence of the “ever-widening Indosphere where ideas and forms and stories first dreamed up in South Asia were being discussed, appreciated, adopted and adapted very far from home.” Perhaps the most influential of all exports, according to the author, are mathematical concepts such as zero, fostered by thinkers like Aryabhata (476-550) and Brahmagupta (c. 598-c. 668), which made their way to the Arab world and then to Spain and the West. The ancient world, too, was a global village. Although the book is dense with far-flung names, dates, places, and ideas, Dalrymple’s writing is always animated, enlivened by color plates that allow readers to readily envision the sights evoked here. A passionate tribute to the glories—and influence—of ancient India. Kirkus Reviews February 2025

The Chosen Few by Andrew Rule

They are the greatest Australian and New Zealand racehorses of all time, the giants who transcend the sport, who broke records and captured hearts. But which are the best of the best? Is it Carbine or Malua from the nineteenth century or Tulloch or Phar Lap in the twentieth? Winx or Black Caviar in our own time? Perhaps it is impossible to compare incomparables outside their own eras. Andrew Rule was too big to be a jockey, too small to be a mounted policeman. But all his life he has watched horses and horse people and has written about both. About people who are not always admirable and about horses who so often are. The horses he names in The Chosen Few include the sprinters, the stayers, the freakish all-round competitors who could do everything. But he also teases out myths and mistakes, pulls focus on racing’s history and ponders the tantalising list of ‘coodabeen’ champions whose careers were cut short.The result is a collection of stories about beauty and bravery, speed and greed. Readings, September 2025

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SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

In 2380, Aurora Academy’s Tyler Jones has it all. He’s the most decorated cadet in his year, in line for the best missions with peacekeeping group Aurora Legion, and ready to recruit his dream squad—he just has to get through the Draft. But when a late-night flight reveals a ship that disappeared more than 200 years ago, he follows protocol and rescues a cryogenically frozen human girl, missing the Draft entirely. Stuck with his twin sister and a squad of misfits no one else wants, Tyler resigns himself to making supply runs for the foreseeable future. Then Auri, the girl he rescued, turns up as a stowaway. Now on the run from the Global Intelligence Agency, which will stop at nothing to capture Auri, Tyler and his squad must bring her to safety and probe deeper into her visions of Octavia, a lost human colony in a different solar system. The story is told from seven perspectives, which can make for uneven character development, but coauthors Kaufman and Kristoff (the Illuminae Files series) maintain an exciting, fast pace; a steadily coalescing band of crewmates; and plentiful romantic tension in this entertaining space opera. Publishers Weekly May 2025

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New additions to eBooks at SMSA

eBooks & Audiobooks help

EBOOKS

Last One Out by Jane Harper

When 21-year-old Sam Crowley disappears in Carralon Ridge, his footprints are found scattered around three abandoned houses. Five years later, his mother, Ro, returns to town for the annual memorial service, where she reunites with her estranged husband, Griff, and their daughter, Della, all still searching for answers. In Last One Out, Jane Harper (The Dry, Force of Nature) transforms this haunting set-up into a slow-burning mystery. Though the novel begins with the intrigue of Sam’s disappearance, Harper quickly broadens the lens. Last One Out is less a conventional crime story than a layered exploration of a fractured community, where the tension lies as much in old secrets and strained relationships as in the search for the truth. The suspense builds gradually, immersing readers in the town’s history and residents before quickening in the final quarter, when revelations come to the fore. Ro is the novel’s heart and strength – a determined mother navigating grief and fractured family ties while refusing to let go of the truth about what happened to her son. Harper’s gift for evoking the Australian landscape is on display once more, with the fictional Carralon Ridge brought to life in all its dusty, deserted reality. The novel’s power lies in its portrayal of community and the quiet devastation of a town on the edge of extinction. Last One Out affirms Harper’s talent once again for telling rural Australian stories that resonate far beyond their setting. Books+Publishing, September 2025.

The Worst Thing I’ve Ever Done by Paula McLean

The Worst Thing I’ve Ever Done is a sharp and unsettling novel that makes you reconsider every online interaction, bad review, snarky comment or quick judgment. Journalist Ruby Williams wants to shine a light on women’s stories, but when she publishes an interview with a woman who says her partner pressured her into having an abortion, the response is swift and brutal. High-profile journalist and commentator Felicity Cartwright leads the charge, igniting the social media fury. As Ruby struggles to explain her intentions, the backlash takes on a life of its own, exposing just how easily a narrative can spiral and reawakening a deeper wound that has long haunted Ruby and her family. Clare Stephens, former editor-in-chief of Mamamia, brings her deep knowledge of women’s digital media to her debut novel, charting Ruby’s shift from shaping stories to becoming the subject of one. Stephens’ writing is confident, capturing the exhausting pace and volatility of online discourse with precision. The Worst Thing I’ve Ever Done is highly readable and explores the personal costs of public shaming with empathy and nuance. While Stephens offers valuable insight into the mechanics of media backlash, some moments feel more instructive than organic, briefly detracting from the novel’s emotional core. Still, this is a timely and compelling read about the loss of narrative control and the scars it can leave behind. Recommended for readers of Diana Reid, Genevieve Novak and Chloe Elisabeth Wilson. Books+Publishing, August 2025.

The Midnight Timetable by Bora Chung

This is the perfect bite-sized horror book: a collection of haunting ghost stories easily consumed in one sitting. Through vivid imagery and biting rhythm, Bora Chung creates a vicious atmosphere, critiquing society and the selfish and stupid actions people take for fame, money, and their own comfort. Framed as the tales exchanged between a night guard at The Institute and their sunbae (senior), we get a glimpse of humanity and its violence through the things they guard from the outside world. Interconnected in a way that creates a steady flow, we’re given tiny stories that can be applied to the real world: sheep that can give correct fortunes, a ‘beloved’ handkerchief, and an unfortunate cat; these objects and animals all have a story of how they came to be at The Institute. Tragedies often cause people to ‘leave things behind’, whether that’s anger, guilt, or pain, both humans and animals feel a need to right a wrong. Exploring themes of animal cruelty, conversion therapy, family dysfunction, and much more, Chung deftly and sharply unsettles the reader, making them turn the page before they know it. We begin to wonder if the hauntings are the ones that need protection from humans. As with all collections of short stories, some stood out more than others. My personal favourites are ‘Why Does The Cat’ and ‘Blue Bird’, but none of these stories fell short of engaging. They all had their own delightfully unique twists and ends. It is a gift and a curse that we only know so much of the world these stories take place in. The unknowable, as Chung describes it, is what makes a ghost story frightening, and she has done a superb job of writing something both chilling, and beautiful in its entirety. Both horror fanatics and newcomers to the genre will devour this powerful and witty collection. Readings, September 2025.

Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite

In this scintillating saga from Braithwaite (My Sister, the Serial Killer), generations of women in a Lagos family contend with a curse that prevents them from securing husbands. The nonlinear narrative begins in 2000 when 25-year-old Monife Falodun drowns herself after losing the love of her life, Kalu. Braithwaite then rewinds to unspool Monife and Kalu’s passionate and ill-fated love story, eventually revealing how they were separated. Along the way, she interweaves Monife’s story with that of Monife’s niece Eniiyi, born on the day of Monife’s funeral. Eniiyi looks so much like Monife that their family believes Eniiyi is Monife reincarnated. Indeed, the girl shares certain characteristics with her aunt, such as a desire for love and the hope to break their family’s curse, which was placed on their ancestor Feranmi by the first wife of Feranmi’s husband, who said, “No man will call your house, home.” Eniiyi has recurring dreams of Monife by the sea where she drowned, but Monife never speaks in the dreams until after Eniiyi, now a recent college graduate, rescues a handsome boy named Zubby from drowning. Afterward, Monife turns to Eniiyi in a dream and mysteriously says, “Not again.” As Eniiyi falls for Zubby, she discovers a connection between him and Monife’s past. Braithwaite’s use of magical realism is effortless and vivid, as when the dream version of Monife speaks to Eniiyi in Eniiyi’s own voice. She also sustains the strange mystery of whether Eniiyi is in fact Monife, all while exploring the family’s painful cycle of abandonment. This is riveting. Publishers Weekly, September 2025.

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AUDIOBOOKS

The Carpool Detectives by Chuck Hogan

Gabra Zackman’s performance effectively demonstrates a kind of narration multitasking. In one way, she’s conveying a diabolical true-crime mystery, complete with myriad details and dead ends. In Los Angeles, the mysterious death of a wealthy couple in an apparent car accident appears to be suspicious. Zackman also captures the human need for connection. A group of women, isolated during the pandemic lockdown, reach out to each other while managing their complicated professional and domestic lives. Despite not having a background in criminal investigation, they band together, obtain the assistance of a retired detective who isn’t exactly forthcoming, and set out to learn what happened. Zackman’s delivery connects at all levels, making this a riveting listening experience. AudioFile Magazine, 2025.

The Perfect Divorce by Jeneva Rose 

Rose revisits Sarah Morgan, the lawyer heroine in her indie hit, The Perfect Marriage (2020), eleven years after she defended her husband, Adam, for the murder of his mistress, Kelly. Now remarried to fellow lawyer Bob Miller, Sarah pours her energy into her charity, The Morgan Foundation, and raising her nine-year-old daughter. When Bob cheats on her just like Adam did, Sarah wastes no time in filing for divorce. Her world is further rocked when Sheriff Ryan Stevens, who spearheaded the investigation into Kelly’s murder, is involved in a drunk-driving fatality, and DNA analysis reveals that Ryan also slept with Kelly, prompting Kelly’s case to be reopened. The pressure mounts when the woman who Bob slept with disappears, and Sarah and Bob’s divorce grows more contentious, threatening to dredge up secrets both would prefer to keep in the past. With several recent thriller hits, including Home Is Where the Bodies Are (2024), Rose’s star is in ascent, and readers who enjoyed Sarah’s first outing will love the twists, machinations, and surprises of this scintillating sequel. Booklist, March 2025.

XOXO by Axie Oh

Jenny has been moving toward the same goal for as long as she can remember–a spot at the Manhattan School of Music as a cellist. So when a competition note calls her out for a “lack of spark,” she isn’t sure how to move forward. Before she can think through it, she meets a guy with whom she has an instant connection, who just as instantly disappears. But when she and her mother move to South Korea, she finds herself reunited with her meet-cute, with one serious complication–he’s a K-pop star. This is a sweet love story about the pitfalls of fame and the importance of standing up for what you care about. Jenny’s journey is never defined by her love story but instead pushed forward by stolen moments that will make romance fans swoon. At its core, this is a beautifully written coming-of-age story that will remind readers that love for a friend, family, your art, and a partner can all find space in your heart. Booklist, July 2021.

Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen Cambridge

Narrator Jennifer M. Dixon sets the perfect pace for this clever series debut set at the fictional estate of mystery writer Agatha Christie. Phyllida Bright, Christie’s capable housekeeper, channels her boss’s famous character, private detective Hercule Poirot, when she investigates the murder of an unexpected guest at a weekend house party. Dixon animates the dialogue, highlighting the relationships among the below-stairs staff: the power struggle between Phyllida and the butler, the problems chambermaids have with unruly guests, and the bustle of the diligent kitchen workers. From the moment Phyllida discovers the body, she is fully aware of the irony of a murder at the great author’s home, and after talking with the bumbling local police, she’s determined to use her “little grey cells” to solve the crime. AudioFile, 2022.

The Man Next Door by Sheila Roberts

In this spunky nod to Rear Window, Roberts (The Best Life Book Club) infuses a charming domestic comedy with a soupçon of suspicion. Love has not been lucky for twice divorced, 44-year-old Zona Hartman, whose last husband was a secret gambler who pilfered her daughter’s college fund. Broke and working two jobs, Zona is forced to move in with her spirited mother, Louise. When Louise becomes housebound after breaking her leg during a dance floor mishap, Zona hires Gilda, a part-time nurse, to keep her mother company while she works. Gilda and Louise immediately bond over their shared love of true crime, and their interest spills into real life when handsome Alec James buys the house next door. At first, Alec seems like a potential new love interest for Zona. Then Louise and Gilda start watching his house at all hours and taking note of suspicious occurrences, like the appearance and then sudden disappearance of a woman with whom he starts arguing. The danger never rises above a gentle simmer, but Roberts poignantly renders the romantic disappointments of both Zona and Louise while making their dynamic with each other and Gilda feel thoroughly lived-in. It’s a heartwarming diversion. Publishers Weekly, July 2025.

Murder in Matrimony by Mary Winters

Which is harder for an agony aunt: planning a wedding or solving a murder? Though she’s helping to raise her late husband’s niece, Lady Winifred, and placating his difficult aunt, Lady Tabitha, Lady Amelia Amesbury still has time to solve crimes and write a newspaper column under the nom de plume Lady Agony. When Amelia’s troublesome sister, Madge, announces her engagement to Capt. Fitz, it falls to Amelia to plan a wedding that will take place in less than a month. Her first visit to the Rev. Mr. Cross, a champion of the poor, quickly involves her and Lord Simon Bainbridge, her romantic interest and partner in crime-solving, in a complicated series of mishaps. On top of all this, she receives threatening letters from a reader demanding that she reveal the identity of the so-called Mayfair Marauder, who stole and then returned jewels for a reason Amelia’s determined to keep hidden. When Cross is murdered, the police write it off as the work of a thief after the collection box, but before his death, Cross had left Amelia a mysterious clipping about a girl who fell to her death in a biscuit factory. Cross’ church is in a wealthy area, but he also tried to do good in the East End, where his efforts weren’t always appreciated. The wedding plans continue apace as the family arrives, but they’re seriously upended by Madge’s sudden indecision about whether she wants to marry after all. Investigating the deaths of Cross and the girl who died in the biscuit factory draws the sleuths into dangerous territory. Plenty of period details enrich a story of love, hate, and ambition. Kirkus Reviews, August 2025.

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