BIOGRAPHY

The voice inside by John Farnham

“Sitting in that garage … for the first time in my career, I got to sing and be me in the way I wanted to sing and be me,” John Farnham writes in his newly released memoir, The Voice Inside. It’s 1985 and the singer is flat broke, ready to take one last crack at the big time. Eighteen years earlier, he’d been a pop superstar and teen heart-throb. His song Sadie, The Cleaning Lady, sold more copies than any other Australian song in the 1960s, but it also painted him into a corner. For years, he was tarred as the kid who sang Sadie. After being pushed around by managers like Darrell Sambell, old foes like the Little River Band (who he fronted, despite animosity with its creative core), and industry naysayers who saw him as a washed-up novelty more suited to playing half-full leagues clubs than modern rock concerts, it was in that garage that he finally began to back himself. Anyone who saw Poppy Stockell’s 2023 documentary, Finding The Voice, knows what came out of that garage. Farnham and manager Glenn Wheatley’s last roll of the dice in making the singer a superstar resulted in 1986 album Whispering Jack, the biggest-selling Australian album of all time. But there’s a lot in The Voice Inside that didn’t make that film. Farnham’s guarded nature means a lot of this book might not have been heard outside chats with family or his close circle of friends. For Farnham fans, it’s all completely compelling. It’s the look inside his life we always dreamt of but never thought we’d get. The Voice Inside is probably the closest look into John Farnham’s life we’ll ever get. It’s been worth the wait. ABC, November 2024.

Memories of distant mountains by Orhan Pamuk

Pictures of a writer’s days. From the many notebooks in which Nobel Prize–winner Pamuk wrote and drew from 2009 to 2022, he has assembled an intimate volume revealing glimpses of his life and work. Because he puts pages into “emotional” rather than chronological order—emotions that range from melancholy to exhilaration—readers may find it helpful to consult the appended chronology, which contains details of Pamuk’s worldwide travels, teaching, lecturing, and publications. Between the ages of 7 and 22, he recalls, he thought he was going to be a painter, influenced by pointillists like Seurat. Although he gave up artwork in favor of writing, he still finds pleasure in combining both, as did William Blake. In waiting rooms, on trains, in cafes and restaurants, Pamuk makes sketches, sometimes painting them with watercolors when he returns home. “The loveliness of this landscape,” he notes of one, “is a call to respect the world and the whole universe.” Some illustrations, glowing with pinks, greens, and yellows, evoke Matisse. In slashes of black and grey, Pamuk captures the dark mysteries of seascapes; in other drawings, he tries to convey the quality of his dreams. “The only way to transpose the mood of a dream onto paper,” he writes, “is to paint it in watercolor.” Throughout, Pamuk reflects on the challenge of constructing his Museum of Innocence, an exhibition space that he conceived as a companion to his novel of the same name. “Sometimes,” he writes in 2009, “I think of this notebook as a museum,” a repository of memories. “When I draw in my journals,” he writes, “the poetry of the world seeps into my day-to-day life.” In 2019 he adds, “To live is to see. Kirkus Reviews, July 2024.

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CLASSICS

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GENERAL FICTION

The note by Alafair Burke

A holiday in the Hamptons for three friends turns into an engrossing tale of murder. Typically, the worst aftereffects of a girls’ weekend are nasty hangovers and swollen credit cards. But in this gripping thriller, much darker things happen. When May Hanover—a Chinese American assistant district attorney turned law professor in New York—agrees to spend a long weekend with two old friends in East Hampton, it’s a welcome reunion, and for May, a break from prepping for the next semester while planning her wedding to fiance Josh. The trio first met about 15 years ago at an arts camp, and May has stayed in touch with Lauren Berry, an accomplished Black classical musician. But until recently, she hadn’t heard from Kelsey Ellis, the golden-blond daughter of a rich man, since Kelsey married a rising star chef who was subsequently murdered—a death that many online true-crime aficionados attribute to her. That’s not the only scandal in the trio’s baggage: Lauren’s longtime relationship with a married oilman got her fired from a plum job when it was exposed. And the usually rational May was the subject of a humiliating viral video of her threatening to call the police after a confrontation with a Black man on the subway. But this weekend is about leaving those troubles, and their long tail on the internet, behind. When the women drive to Sag Harbor to barhop, another car steals the parking space they were waiting for, and, among themselves, they make fun of the attractive couple in it. But Kelsey goes a little further, tucking a note on a cocktail napkin under the windshield wiper: “He’s cheating. He always does.” It seems like a prank, but then a tourist is reported missing who looks like the handsome driver. Questions are raised and tempers flare among the friends; in the midst of it, Kelsey’s stepbrother Nate arrives. He’s cool and charming—and May’s ex-boyfriend. As the police start asking questions, May’s compulsion to investigate kicks in, although she’s digging into her own past, along with those of the friends she thought she knew. Burke builds an intricate structure of secrets layered within secrets, revealed for maximum suspense. The complex friendship among three flawed but engaging characters anchors this satisfying psychological thriller. Kirkus Reviews, November 2024.

Unfinished business by Shankari Chandran

The first in Miles Franklin–winning author Shankari Chandran’s Ellie Harper political thriller series, Unfinished Business mirrors the themes of the author’s past books (Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens, Safe Haven): intergenerational trauma, the violent dispossession of land and culture, and the complicity of global superpowers in state-sanctioned genocides. Respected political journalist Ameena Fernando is gunned down in broad daylight—echoing the real-life assassination of Lasantha Wickrematunge in 2009—and disaffected CIA operative Ellie Harper is dispatched to Sri Lanka to find out ‘something, but not too much’ about Fernando’s murder. Going against the wishes of her superiors, Harper becomes ensnared in a complex web of lies, deceit and state secrets as she untangles the mystery. Unfinished Business expertly evokes the hyper-surveilled metropolis of Colombo as Harper moves through morally impenetrable circles of diplomats, warlords, bureaucrats and spies. Harper herself is a fraught protagonist whose loyalties and motivations are murky—she’s not mindlessly patriotic, yet parrots US talking points whenever that nation’s hegemony is questioned. Through her, Chandran exposes the hypocrisy of the United States’ foreign policy and its intrusive interventions in the affairs of other sovereign states. Oscillating between 2005, 2007 and 2009, and taking place almost wholly in Sri Lanka, Unfinished Business is infused with dread and horror as Chandran explores the darkest depths of human cruelty and the impacts on the victims of this violence. This book will appeal to readers of Michelle de Kretser, Anuk Arudpragasam and Rajith Savanadasa. Books+Publishing, November 2024.

Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Shadow by Brian Freeman

The rousing fifth entry in Freeman’s reboot of the Jason Bourne series (after The Bourne Defiance) revisits the amnesiac hero’s first assignment for black ops agency Treadstone. Ten years ago, David Webb was working as a teacher in Zurich when he was recruited into Treadstone and sent to infiltrate Le Renouveau, “the most poisonous neo-Nazi cell in Europe.” When, as a final test of his loyalty, his handlers instructed him to kill his fiancée, Monika Roth, the mission went awry, and his memory of it was wiped by a traumatic brain injury. Now, he’s living as Jason Bourne in Paris, and a contentious presidential campaign pitting a right-wing extremist against an establishment candidate is in full flame. Le Renouveau has reemerged to foment protest in the extremist’s favor, and some of its members target Bourne for reasons he can’t decipher. While dining at a café, he’s approached by Monika’s sister, Johanna, who recognizes him as David Webb. Together, the pair crisscross Europe in search of Monika, digging up answers about what exactly went wrong for Bourne a decade ago along the way. Freeman keeps things brisk and punchy, generating a surprising amount of heat by finding a fresh way to revisit Bourne’s amnesia. Fans of Ludlum’s original trilogy or the film adaptations will be riveted. Publishers Weekly, April 2024.

Playground by Richard Powers

Powers has moved into fresh, wide-ranging territory with this latest novel, which made the Booker Prize longlist. He goes beneath the waves of the world’s oceans, targets an island in the Pacific, and takes a sobering look at the power of artificial intelligence (AI). This novel is all about ‘playing’, starting with two students of vastly different backgrounds, seemingly friends for life, who play countless games of chess and Go; to the glorious spectacle on the final pages of manta rays joyfully flinging themselves out of the water. There’s Evie, a young French-Canadian girl whose father helped develop underwater breathing gear, setting her on a lifetime of exploring and studying the beauty of the world’s oceans. Additionally, there’s Rafi and Todd, two US students whose lives diverge into literature and computing, but Todd has never forgotten a book about oceans written by that Canadian marine biologist. Then there is Ina Aroita, who grew up on Pacific naval bases, and finds her only home in art. They all come together … some more alive than others in a touch of magical realism … on the island of Makatea, in French Polynesia. This is a real island that Powers has researched, once the site of phosphate mining with a population of thousands, now reduced to fewer than 100 residents. Powers’ descriptions of the underwater world, as seen and written about by Evie, are breathtaking in their luscious detail. In deep contrast are the conversations Todd has about his life, and his business success in developing a computer program ‘played’ by millions of people. Just to whom he is talking, and his thoughts about AI, are finally spelt out in detail. The final irony is that Todd’s AI creation has learned the game of being human, while Todd is rapidly fading from life. Good Reading Magazine, November 2024.

Forever, interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid

A debut love story from Los Angeles–based Reid. Elsie’s new husband, Ben, is hit by a truck while riding his bicycle. He dies on impact. Ben’s mother, Susan, never knew her son had a wife (the courtship was brief). When she and Susan meet after Ben’s death, there’s friction. The book flashes back to Elsie and Ben’s brief, fun-filled romance and Vegas elopement, and it tracks the post-funeral friendship that develops between Elsie and Susan. Ben was reluctant to tell his recently widowed mother about his upcoming marriage since he was afraid Susan would feel that he was pushing her out of his life. And Elsie was afraid Susan wouldn’t like her since her own parents had always made her feel like an unloved failure. Over time, the two women work through their suspicion and anxieties and confide in one another, support one another, talk about Ben together and eventually talk to Ben together. There is a subplot involving an old man, a frequent visitor to the library where Elsie works, who’s preparing for the death of his wife. A moving novel about life and death. Kirkus Reviews, May 2013.

One Dark Night by Hannah Richell

One Dark Night is Hannah Richell’s sixth novel. Like its predecessor, The Search Party, the story is a gripping, tangled web of mystery and intrigue from the opening paragraph to its thrilling conclusion. The morning after Halloween, a student from an elite private school in the small town of Thorncombe is found dead under circumstances that eerily mirror the town’s local legend, ‘Sally in the Wood’. Local detective Ben Chase is drawn into the investigation as superstition and fear grip the small community, threatening to boil over the longer the case remains unsolved. As suspicion spreads, it becomes a race to uncover the truth of what happened that night, before those closest to Ben fall foul of vigilante justice or the real killer strikes again. Richell is an expert at drawing in the reader by building complex and genuine connections between her characters, enhanced by her ability to imbue her writing with stunning descriptions of both place and art. Much like in The Peacock Summer, Richell’s use of art in One Dark Night adds a deeper layer to the narrative, making it—and the characters—feel richer. Fans of Richell’s previous novels and readers of Liane Moriarty, Sally Hepworth and Lucy Foley will find One Dark Night a perfectly balanced domestic-noir-cum-whodunit that delivers suspense until the very end. Books+Publishing, October 2024.

The Thinning by Inga Simpson

When she’s not gazing up into the night sky, the teen narrator of Inga Simpson’s terrific new dystopian novel, The Thinning, spends a great deal of time looking anxiously at the bright orange watch her mother has strapped to her wrist. Fin Kelvin is her name, and like the reader, she doesn’t know whether she’s living at the end of the world or on the cusp of something new. Fin and her family have had to adapt to the demands of a rapidly changing world, one shaped by relentless resource extraction. They are reeling with grief as they try to survive on a planet on the brink of systems collapse. The Barrier Reef is dead, the last koala is gone, the Great Artesian Basin is contaminated, human fertility rates are plummeting and “the moon’s cycles are all out of whack” thanks to a space mining incident. The skies, meanwhile, are losing their darkness, thanks to the thousands of satellites that were launched to meet demand for communications technology – and to allow authoritarian governments and the sinister corporation MuX to surveil the citizenry. Fin is not so much an unreliable narrator as one frantic to make sense of the world she lives in before time runs out. We witness her efforts to metabolise the profound shocks of her era – extinctions, mass suicide and death, coerced reproduction, the fragmenting of families and communities. All the while the watch on her wrist counts down to the eclipse, like a ticking bomb. The snappy tension of the present tense is frequently broken by Fin’s flashes back to her childhood and her acute observations of the natural world. It is a pleasure to see the Warrumbungles and the native forests of the Pilliga through her anxious eyes – on watching little birds at play, she notes: “I worry that if I stop paying attention, they’ll go” – and to try to think with her about another timeframe beyond the urgent and terrifying present. The Thinning is often melancholy, registering the profound losses of the climate crisis through the experience of a traumatised, exhausted teenager in the wild, searing darkness of the eclipse. But there is hope here too; Fin asks, “What if we could see a way to make a new world, where all beings, no matter how fragile, could thrive?” The Guardian, November 2024.

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HISTORICAL FICTION

The Book of Thorns by Hester Fox

Two sisters, unaware of each other, live very different lives though united by the magic of flowers and a locket that each wears. Cornelia, in England, lives with an uncle who wants to marry her off to the highest bidder; Lijsbeth, in Belgium, is a servant for a family with a predatory son. The two are brought together by the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the Battle of Waterloo. Traveling with the French Army, Cornelia acts as a healer and becomes part of an unconventional romantic threesome. In Brussels, Lijsbeth, still a servant, arranges flowers in a way that exudes power and meaning and finds love for herself. Battles are won and lost, lovers die, and accusations of treason and witchcraft bring the story to a head back in England. Lijsbeth ferrets out the truth of the sisters’ parentage and the fate of their mother. Magic remains a uniting force. This unusual story is told in alternating sections by the two sisters and will find an audience with readers of historical fiction with a hint of magic. Booklist, March 2024.

The Map of Bones by Kate Mosse

Mosse juggles two tales, two centuries apart in the fascinating if uneven conclusion to her Joubert Family series (after The Ghost Ship). In 1688, Suzanne Joubert, a Huguenot refugee, lands in Cape Colony, Southern Africa, after fleeing rampaging Catholic soldiers in Provence. Suzanne desperately wants to discover what became of her ancestor, Louise, who captained her own vessel to Africa, disrupting slaver ships before she vanished somewhere near the middle of the continent. After some lucky finds and numerous near-death experiences, Suzanne is shipwrecked off the coast of England, where she records her discoveries. Then, in 1862, Isabelle Lepard sets out to uncover the remainder of the story—including the fate of Louise’s lover, who was born a woman but passed as a man—so she can write a historical account and open a Joubert Family Reading Room in London. The motivations for Mosse’s heroines feel rather contrived, as do shoehorned-in recaps of the Jouberts’ family history (“Forgive me for repeating what you know, gran’mère, but it helps me to order my thoughts”). Still, series fans will appreciate the vivid historical detail, headlong pace, and gratifyingly feminist finale. Flaws aside, this sends out Mosse’s saga on a high note. Publisher’s Weekly, October 2024.

Mademoiselle Eiffel by Aimie K. Runyan

Claire Eiffel sets aside her dream of studying art after her mother dies, accepting the role of running the household and raising her younger siblings, despite still being a child herself. She also takes on the role of assisting her father, Gustave, in his business by taking notes at meetings, organizing events, and managing public relations. While she spends much of her life putting her family’s needs before her own, including a marriage to her father’s protege, she also demands that her contributions be recognized and respected. From the Maria Pia Bridge in Portugal to the Eiffel Tower to the Panama Canal project, Claire invests heavily in upholding her father’s–and her family’s–legacy. In Runyan’s well-developed depiction of Claire, readers see a girl under enormous pressure with little support, a savvy businesswoman who knows she will never be able to inherit her father’s company on her own, and a woman wrestling with lingering regrets about what could have been. This is an engaging story about the inner strength of the “woman behind the man,” who might have made a name for herself if only given the opportunity. Booklist, September 2024.

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LARGE PRINT

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

The Thursday Murder Club takes a break while British TV personality—and bestselling author—Osman introduces another lovable group of unwitting investigators. Amy Wheeler and her father-in-law, Steve, have a special relationship. They talk on the phone every day but in a particularly British way, communicating important things while chatting about the weather. Steve is a former London cop who’s retired to the small town of Axley, and since his wife died he’s retreated into a routine of playing with his cat, Trouble, and attending Quiz Night at the local pub. Amy works as a bodyguard for Maximum Impact Solutions, a private security company, traveling the world and having adventures. Her husband, Adam—Steve’s son—works in finance and also spends most of his time traveling; they view their relationship as a long-term bet and don’t mind not seeing much of each other for now. Things begin to go sideways, though, while Amy is on a private island off the coast of South Carolina guarding Rosie D’Antonio, a Jackie Collins–esque novelist who’s being threatened by a Russian oligarch who took offense at one of her books. The problem is that three other clients of Amy’s firm have been killed in three separate incidents, each murder occurring when Amy was nearby. Is someone sending her a message? Then the only other person on Rosie’s island, an ex–Navy SEAL hired by Amy’s boss to back her up, tries to kill Amy, and the race for answers is on. Amy begins by reaching out to the only person she can trust—Steve. Rosie isn’t going to be left out of the excitement, so, aided by her private jet, the three set off on a journey around the globe as they try to figure out what’s going on while keeping Amy (and Rosie) alive. As in Osman’s other series, they cross paths with a variety of people—including drug-dealing politicians, customs agents, and social media influencers—who may or may not be inclined to help them, and watching the unlikely threesome charm each other and (almost) everyone they meet is a delight. The mystery isn’t all that mysterious, but Osman fans will be glad to hop on that private jet and go along for the ride. Kirkus Reviews, August 2024.

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MYSTERY

A traitor in Whitehall by Julia Kelly

A mystery-loving Englishwoman is thrilled to give up working in a munitions factory to take a job in Churchill’s war cabinet operation in a bunker under Whitehall. Evelyne Redfern prefers not to mention her past, when she was known in the British newspapers as the Parisian Orphan. A nasty custody battle between her father, Sir Reginald Redfern, and her French mother resulted in her attending school in England. After her mother died, her father ignored her and she was given into the care of her aunt. Now she’s approached by Lionel Fletcher, a family friend from the Redferns’ years in Paris, who offers her a job that will change her life. The work itself is merely secretarial, but she lives part-time in an underground dormitory along with her fellow workers, some pleasant, others not. When she’s sent to get the required sunlamp treatment—“It helps keep us healthy, what with the amount of time we’re underground”—she discovers Jean Plinkton, who’s much disliked by most of her fellow workers, dead in the treatment area. Her thoughts on the crime are rudely dismissed by the investigators; only David Poole, who found her with the body, gives any indication that she could possibly help. A sharp observer and great reader of mystery novels, Evelyne’s seen a number of things that might identify the person who’s leaked information to the Germans they could have gleaned only by working in the cabinet war rooms. Both Fletcher and Poole are investigating the leaks, and her knowledge of office gossip turns up many promising leads and sets her on the trail of a spy. Romance, feminism, and historical detail combine in an exciting new series. Kirkus Reviews, September 2023.

The Paradise Heights Craft Store Stitch-Up by Kate Solly

Remember the easy warmth, dry humour and cosy storytelling of Kate Solly’s Tuesday Evenings with the Copeton Craft Resistance? Well, she’s done it again with The Paradise Heights Craft Store Stitch-Up. The book opens with Fleck Parker in tears as she’s erased her winning streak in a word game—the one thing she does for herself each day as a busy mother of three children under five. Cue the entrance of fellow school mum/subversive crafter Trixie (who crochets messages such as ‘Bite Me’ into her creations). Trixie has been accused of stealing money from the women’s charity Many Hands, where she volunteers. Fleck leads an undercover investigation—complete with playground stake-outs and hostage scenes—to clear Trixie’s name, while wrangling complicated clues and needy children. Although the book begins at a gentle pace with a few loose threads, the story truly shines in the final third, where Solly’s humour, lively pace and chatty prose come together for an enjoyable yarn. Another stand-out element is Trixie’s layered characterisation, as well as the authenticity and relatability of the friendship she builds with Fleck. The author’s side discussions on motherhood, neurodiversity and friendship, as well as on women’s charities and money laundering, are also engaging. For fans of Joanna Nell’s writing, with a twist of Richard Osman-style action, The Paradise Heights Craft Store Stitch-Up will not disappoint. Books + Publishing, November 2024.

When it Rains by Dave Warner

Broome Senior Detective, Dan Clement, is a 50 something divorcee who’s not afraid to recognise his personal flaws and take steps to grasp life’s offerings. He knows that while most of those steps will be good, a few of them might not be, but he is willing to take that chance. Based out of Derby, Clement is responsible for a massive area in the Kimberley, from Broome to Kununurra and south past Halls Creek. A difficult area to police, not just for its size, but the main highways provide a convenient exit for any suspect needing to disappear fast. In the first dozen pages Clement finds a police detective beaten up so badly he is hospitalised, the partial remains of a crocodile-attack victim purposefully tied to a stake in the river, and a young woman found in a motel having suffered a violent assault. All of this spread over a wide area. With the few officers he has, and one forensics professional, the workload stretches them all. Are the cases connected? What possible motives are there? Clement is always one step behind because, as the evidence is collected, possible suspects have already disappeared into the vast surrounds. But eventually a couple of extra detectives arrive, and with the help of a helicopter to cover the huge distances, Clement starts to get answers. Shocking and surprising ones. This is crime fiction with the additional battle against the natural elements. Well worth reading. Good Reading Magazine, Dec-Jan 2025.

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NON FICTION

Always was, always will be by Thomas Mayo

In Always Was, Always Will Be, bestselling author Thomas Mayo investigates ‘what’s next?’for reconciliation and justice in Australia after the failed October 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum. Since the referendum, supporters and volunteers have been asking for guidance as to how to continue to support Indigenous recognition. Mayo, a leader of the Yes 23 campaign and co-author of the bestselling The Voice to Parliament Handbook, has penned a new book to answer that question. Always Was, Always Will Be is essential reading for those people who want to keep the positive momentum going and the number of allies growing. It’s for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people who are ready to do everything they can to close the gap. On writing the book Mayo said: ‘The book starts with the ingredients for hope, it will cover the lessons from the past, and ultimately, Always Was, Always Will Beis about the future we want to see – one where there is justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.’ For the thousands of people who have been feeling sad, empty and powerless since last October, Always Was, Always Will Be aims to be a positive rallying cry. This book will map the path toward next steps on how to create a fairer Australia. Always Was, Always Will Be: The Campaign for Justice and Recognition Continues is for those who want to know ‘what’s next?’ after the October 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum, from one of the most respected Indigenous voices in the country. Good Reading Magazine, September 2024.

The lasting harm by Lucia Osborne-Crowley

It’s not often a book reverberates around my head for days. But there is something brilliantly unsettling about this account of the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite jailed for procuring young girls for the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Having watched from the press box as the case descended into a media circus, Lucia Osborne-Crowley begins by promising to put the victims back at the heart of the story, tracing the impact of the abuse they suffered as children through to their middle-aged lives. But it soon emerges that this book isn’t just about the vulnerable teenagers Maxwell and Epstein groomed for sexual entertainment, exploiting their desperation for affection or for money. It’s also about the author and, less comfortably, the reader too. A paralegal turned freelance journalist, Osborne-Crowley was abused herself from the age of nine by a non-family member, then violently raped at 15 by a stranger (something she has written about extensively in two previous books). She makes no pretence at journalistic distance from her subject, but instead a virtue out of being almost too close to it: less objective narrator than increasingly traumatised participant. At first, I find her habit of constantly inserting herself into a story supposedly centring other victims faintly irritating. By the end, I’m converted. By interweaving her own insights with those of the Maxwell victims she interviews, she forms the bigger picture. Where the book excels however is in its empathy, insight and ability to gently expose the reader to themselves, with all their unthinking assumptions. Osborne-Crowley wasn’t, it turns out, just watching the trial. She has been watching us, watching it, through a lens that most don’t even realise is there. The Guardian, July 2024.

Paris in Ruins by Sebastian Smee

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Sebastian Smee is renowned for his vibrant portrayal of art history. Unlike some authors, who deliver the past with the enthusiasm of a bored Year 8 teacher, Smee brings events to life vividly, with remarkable energy and insight. His latest book, Paris in Ruins, tells the story of the Impressionist movement as it wriggled into existence during the incredible political volatility, and then urban gentrification, of 19th-century Paris. Smee skilfully uncovers the era’s complexities through the intricacies of its human relationships. Focusing on figures such as Édouard Manet and, refreshingly, the often-overlooked Berthe Morisot, as their lives unfold in the lead-up to the devastating Siege of Paris in 1870 and the subsequent Republican rebellion. I found this book both devastating and entertaining to read. Occasionally, it is reminiscent of an Alexandre Dumas novel, with a cast of people who find themselves in awkward and ridiculous situations – crashing double-decker hot-air balloons into villages or getting into duels, for example. Matters of the heart are also navigated, in situations fraught with social rules. The book illuminates the interactions and rivalries between Morisot, Édouard Manet, his brother Eugène, and the moody Edgar Degas, using sections of commentary from diaries and letters that left me expelling air they were so barbed. Morisot was the origin of many of these moments, relaying events from Paris in letters to her sister. I felt a deep empathy for the women of this period, particularly those in the lower classes, who were largely trapped in Paris before the ‘Terrible Year’ set in. Reflecting on how I would have fared if I were in their place was unsettling and thought-provoking. There are also moments within this work that seem to mirror some of the events we have seen more recently in our own time, and this raucous, layered and engrossing read left me reminded of the inseparable bond between politics and art. Readings Magazine, August 2024.

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POETRY

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SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

Januaries by Olivie Blake

The 14 tales in this dreamy collection from bestseller Blake (The Atlas Six) showcase the distinctive style, big ideas, and slippery worldbuilding that have earned the author her large fan base. “The Wish Bridge” follows star-crossed lovers, one of whom is always confined to a bridge that only appears on the full moon, granting wishes and telling truths to those that seek to cross. “Chaos Theory,” the volume’s longest entry, spans multiple universes and involves assassinations, coups, secret love affairs, and a cat’s intrinsic hatred for birds. Though some individual stories are less straightforwardly exciting, such as “Monsterlove,” a surreal meditation on the complexity of motherhood through the lens of a shape-shifting monster-mother, the collection as a whole is a propulsive delight. By turns hopeful, sarcastic, silly, heartbreaking, deadpan, and ornate, these tales have something for everyone, whether they’re already familiar with Blake’s singular style or not. It’s a treasure trove for adults who never stopped loving fairy tales and campfire stories. Publishers Weekly, October 2024.

Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner

In a world where old gods can pass away, new divinities may be born. Hseth, the fire god whose cult murdered Kissen’s family in Godkiller (2023), is no more. However, problems continue to mount for the intrepid young warriors who managed to kill her. The orphaned Inara and her minor-god companion, Skedi, persevere on a seemingly unending search for answers—she to the questions surrounding her paternity, he to an illustrious past he cannot recall. In the aftermath of the climactic battle, King Arren has chosen a path that his best friend, Elo the baker-knight, cannot bring himself to follow, and Elo must reckon with the ramifications of turning his back on his liege. Just as Arren stokes the fires of his own illicit cult—with himself as figurehead—a resistance movement to save what remains of the world’s outlawed gods begins to heat up. Unable to come to terms with Elo’s desire to keep her away from the dangers of war, Inara makes a rash decision that ultimately sets the stage for mass unrest shortly before Arren’s victory tour arrives at their doorstep. Meanwhile, a presumed-dead Kissen fights her way back from the shores of the god who saved her life, only to find herself at odds with her friends’ and family’s goals. You see, Elo, Inara, and the rest have forgotten one very simple rule: Dead gods can always come back. Tested alliances fuel this tightly plotted found-family thrill ride. The worldbuilding is complex, but the reader never feels bogged down beneath its weight. As with the previous installment, queerness and disability are woven into the fabric of the narrative; Kissen and her sisters are queer and disabled, a prominent secondary character is transgender, and several tertiary couples are gay and lesbian. Although the pacing does become a little too frenetic in the novel’s final chapters, as the point of view switches rapidly among protagonists, Kaner has penned another page-turner in this projected trilogy. A bold series continuation from a fantasy author to watch. Kirkus Reviews, February 2024.

Ravensong by TJ Klune

Ravensong is the second book in T J Klune’s ‘Green Creek’ series. It picks up immediately after the events of the first book, Wolfsong, and considerable sections of the plot are spent exploring events that happened off-page within that book. This instalment follows Gordo Livingstone, a witch sworn to protect the werewolf pack secretly living in Green Creek. The story is long with lots of time jumps; we learn about Gordo’s childhood and his teenage romance with Mark Bennet, the brother of the Alpha. In the present storyline, the Bennet pack is threatened by a werewolf-hunting clan, and a virus-like magical curse that infects wolves and turns them savage. Compared to the first book, where we followed the loveable Ox, Gordo’s perspective is darker. His narration is filled with bitterness as we explore his complicated relationship with the Bennets, and the trauma of being painfully bound to the pack through magical tattoos. Also similarly to Wolfsong, the queer love and romance is excellently written. Be prepared, the sex scenes are very full-on (this is definitely not a YA novel), but Gordo and Mark’s tense relationship was one of my favourite parts. Other highlights were the magical elements, especially Klune’s approach to writing the hive mind. His style of prose is constantly broken up by fragmented, anthropomorphised thoughts. Elements of Ravensong feel Twilight-esque, so fans of Stephanie Meyer and Team Jacob will love this book. Otherwise, if you’re into LGBTIQA+ romance and T J Klune as a writer, this is a great series to explore. Good Reading Magazine, February 2024.

Babel by R.F. Kuang

Can the British Empire, built on the power of foreign languages and magic, maintain its grip on the globe? In 1829, professor Richard Lovell brings a young Chinese boy now known as Robin Swift from his home in Canton to England. Saved from the cholera outbreak that claimed the rest of his family, Robin has the chance to begin a new, comfortable life at professor Lovell’s estate. In exchange for food and lodging, he will spend years studying Latin, Greek, and Mandarin to prepare himself to enter Oxford’s Royal Institute of Translation, known as Babel. In Oxford, Robin meets other students who are not so different from him: young people brought to England from other countries to maintain the empire. Britain has built its power upon silver bars and the magical powers imparted to them by translation, but in order to maintain that power, Britain needs foreigners and their languages. Though Robin and his friends are met with racism, they also find true joy in their studies and the heady business of translation. Soon, Robin learns of the secretive Hermes Society, a group working against the hegemony of the Royal Institute of Translation. As Robin’s studies continue, he begins to question the colonial machine from which he can’t seem to break free. Kuang draws a keen parallel between extracting knowledge and extracting resources, examining the terrible power of systems built on inequality and the uncomfortable experiences of the marginalized within those systems, whether due to race or gender. While occasionally hampered by rather self-aware critiques of colonialism, in general this is an expansive, sympathetic, and nevertheless scathing critique of Western imperialism and how individuals are forced to make their peace with the system and survive or to fight back and face the consequences. It’s ambitious and powerful while displaying a deep love of language and literature. Dark academia as it should be. Kirkus Reviews, August 2022.

The left-handed booksellers of London by Garth Nix

A girl searching for her father finds a whole secret world in 1980s London. Eighteen-year-old Susan Arkshaw goes up to London ahead of her studies so she’ll have time to hunt down the identity of the father she’s never met. Her first night in London, dangerous encounters pull her into the wild world of the booksellers—in between selling books, they’re tasked with policing interactions between what we know as reality and the more mythic levels of existence. Her guide is Merlin, an attractive gender-questioning boy (for now). As the Old World of magic seems to be targeting Susan, Merlin and the booksellers take interest in her as well, especially in helping to solve her mysterious parentage. The worldbuilding is exquisite, hopping from an ’80s punk aesthetic and Margaret Thatcher references to wide-ranging supernatural threats and the customs they uphold; the bookstores themselves are sure to please readers. While certain plot elements may be somewhat expected—Susan’s special by way of birth; Merlin has a personal mystery that eventually ties in to the main plot; and there’s a conspiracy storyline that becomes quickly apparent—the broad, immersive world and the specific rules for types of booksellers maintain a sense of discovery, and Susan and Merlin, the heroic protagonists, have vibrant, entertaining personalities (and a realistic romantic storyline). Susan and Merlin are White; the booksellers are ethnically diverse. Readers will beg for more adventures in this London. Kirkus Reviews, August 2020.

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New additions to eBooks at SMSA

eBooks & Audiobooks help

EBOOKS

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

A woman upends strangers’ lives by predicting their deaths in the powerful latest from bestseller Moriarty (Apples Never Fall). Travelers aboard a delayed flight from Hobart, Australia, to Sydney are already on edge when a woman stands, points at a fellow passenger, and pronounces, “I expect catastrophic stroke. Age seventy-two.” She moves down the aisle, foretelling the causes and ages of death of several more passengers before the cabin crew intervenes. She then sleeps until landing and disembarks as though nothing had happened. Most assume the “soothsayer” has mental health problems—until one of her prognostications comes true three months later. Everyone is rattled, but none more than the other passengers she hit with premonitions: a nurse apparently slated to get terminal cancer, a young mother and swim instructor whose child will supposedly drown, and starry-eyed newlyweds whose marriage (which their families look down upon) will purportedly end in “intimate partner homicide.” Moriarty’s meticulously plotted tale—which follows each of the doomed passengers as they reckon with their alleged fate—rivets even as it thoughtfully contemplates free will, determinism, and the value of living passionately. The exquisitely rendered characters earn readers’ full investment as they contemplate how much credence to give the Damoclean sword hanging over their heads, and the pinwheeling narrative maintains near-constant tension. Moriarty has outdone herself. Publisher’s Weekly, July 2024.

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

Bestseller Rooney returns with a boldly experimental and emotionally devastating story of estrangement (after Beautiful World, Where Are You). After their father dies, brothers Peter and Ivan Koubek drift further apart. Peter, 32, is a depressed Dublin lawyer torn between his college girlfriend, Sylvia, who broke up with him with after she suffered a disabling accident six years earlier, and 23-year-old Naomi, a sometime sex worker. Ivan, 22, is a socially inept pro chess player whose wunderkind status is in doubt when he meets and falls for 36-year-old near-divorcée Margaret at a tournament. Peter’s reflexive disapproval of the age gap in Ivan and Margaret’s relationship causes a permanent rift, and Rooney crosscuts between their perspectives as they ruminate on their father’s death and their complicated romances. The novel’s deliberate pacing veers from the propulsiveness of Normal People and the deep character work contrasts with the topicality of Beautiful World, but in many ways this feels like Rooney’s most fully realized work, especially as she channels the modernist styles of James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. Underlining Peter’s rudderlessness, she writes, “Lamplight. Walking her to the library under the trees. Live again one day of that life and die. Cold wind in his eyes stinging like tears. Woman much missed.” Moreover, her focus on Peter and Ivan’s complicated fraternal bond pays enormous dividends. Even the author’s skeptics are liable to be swept away by this novel’s forceful currents of feeling. Publisher’s Weekly, July 2024.

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

In this edgy thriller from bestseller Jewell (The Family Remains), meek housewife Josie Fair and true crime podcaster Alix Summers meet by chance in a pub where both are celebrating their 45th birthdays. Immediately obsessed with her more successful counterpart, Josie engineers several “chance” meetings with Alix—including one outside her children’s school—in order to forge a friendship. Instead of feeling threatened, Alix decides to feature Josie on a podcast about the lives of ordinary women. Before long, though, Josie divulges that beneath her modest middle-class home life lie instances of pedophilia, child abuse, and even murder. But are any of Josie’s stories true? As Alix digs deeper, she begins to question her new friend’s motives for meeting her in the first place, and through a series of reversals, comes to fear she’s been set up in a twisted game of cat and mouse. Jewell devotees who love the author’s signature twisted characters and acidic cultural commentary—here focused on the travails of internet celebrity—will be satisfied by this pitch-black outing and its shocking climax, but readers with a lower tolerance for nastiness should turn elsewhere. Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins fans, this one’s for you. Publisher’s Weekly, July 2024.

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

A Hollywood socialite is forced to spend the summer in a fishing village in Washington state. Everyone thinks 28-year-old Piper Bellinger is a vapid, airheaded socialite–including herself. To distract her social media followers from seeing that her boyfriend of three weeks has humiliatingly dumped her at a party, Piper breaks into the Mondrian Hotel’s rooftop pool and holds a wild party. Her shenanigans put one of her stepfather’s business deals in jeopardy, and to teach her a lesson, he ships her off to the small, coastal town in Washington where she was born. Piper’s father died in a fishing accident when she was 4, and her heartbroken mother left Washington and never returned. Piper is joined in exile by her sister, and the two quickly immerse themselves in the life of the small, close-knit town. Brendan Taggart is a widower and captain of a fishing boat, and he thinks Piper–with her beauty, bravado, and big-city ways–doesn’t belong. Their attraction is sudden and intense, and they quickly fall into a relationship, but he fears she’ll never be satisfied with life out of the limelight. However, Piper surprises herself by forming close relationships with the new friends and family she finds in town. Piper realizes she’s capable of more than anyone gave her credit for. Bailey delivers on her usual trifecta of sharp banter, instant chemistry, and high-heat sex scenes, but they are coupled with intense soul-searching for both Piper and Brendan. How can they be together when they seem so different? What does it mean to truly accept a partner for who they are? The third-act crisis feels completely organic to their personalities and beliefs even if the plotting seems a little rushed. Another winning romance from an author at the top of her game. Kirkus Reviews, May 2021.

The Humans in the Wall and Other Stories by Eric James Stone

Nebula Award–winner Stone (That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made) serves up a delectable stew of fantasy, horror, hard science fiction, and alternate history in 27 sumptuous, if often too-short, stories and one powerful novella. Humor enlivens many of the tales, as in the fantastical “P.R. Problems,” about a ghoul who resents the popularity enjoyed by vampires and werewolves. The uplifting “Lobstersaurus” sees a child adopt a baby alien that proves a loyal pet. Written entirely in recipes, “To Serve Aliens (Yes, It’s a Cookbook)” delivers an impressive final twist. And in the crafty “Cui Bono?” a paranormal detective investigates the kidnapping of the folkloric Green Man by a fossil fuel industry consultant. Other tales—including the wistful origin myth “Girl Who Asks Too Much” and the wrenching standout “Write What You Want”—are more somber. The charismatic characters and big ideas driving each of these tales are worthy of longer adventures than they are afforded here. Readers will be glad to get to spend more time dwelling in the universe of the title novella, about two spaceship stowaways who are chased inside the walls of the ship by murderous robots, and discover an interdimensional entity of Lovecraftian proportions. Stone’s writing is stunning throughout; fans of all niches of speculative fiction will enjoy. Publisher’s Weekly, June 2020.

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AUDIOBOOKS

The Boyfried by Freida McFadden

Bestseller McFadden’s jaw-dropping latest (after The Housemaid Is Watching) keeps the author’s trademark twists coming fast and furious. Thirty-four and unhappily single, Sydney Shaw haunts the popular dating app Cynch, where she matches with a string of losers. One night, while Sydney fights off the unwanted advances of her latest date, a handsome stranger comes to her rescue. He turns out to be a doctor named Tom Brewer, and soon he and Sydney strike up a relationship. All goes well until Sydney’s neighbor turns up dead, and her ex-boyfriend, homicide detective Jake Sousa, is assigned to the case. Jake links the murder to a string of killings across New York City—many facilitated by the use of Cynch—and Sydney starts to worry that her new boyfriend is hiding something deadly. McFadden toggles between Sydney’s perspective in the present and Tom’s in the past, while he carries on a relationship with a woman named Daisy. It all comes together with a series of hard-to-predict but fair-play surprises that reward rereading. McFadden extends her hot streak with this canny exploration of love, death, and dating. Publisher’s Weekly, July 2024.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Romance author Yarros (The Things We Leave Unfinished) blends the epic tale of a reluctant dragon rider’s coming-of-age with a sexy dark academia aesthetic in her astounding debut fantasy. Fearsome General Sorrengail demands that her children follow in her footsteps as dragon riders—even her youngest, Violet, who has trained her whole life to be a scribe like her late father. Forced to join a deadly war academy, Violet is unprepared to perform the fatal tasks all cadets must complete to become dragon riders. The odds are stacked against her due both to her delicate stature and to her mother’s reputation: it was Sorrengail who gave the order to execute all separatists in the last rebellion. The rebels’ orphaned children have all been conscripted to the academy, putting a target on Violet’s back. Worse, her own brooding but handsome wing leader, third-year student Xaden Riorson, is the son of the separatists’ leader. Meanwhile, the wards that protect the city are failing, but as danger draws nearer, clever Violet grows stronger, discovering that riding dragons may be her destiny after all. Yarros’s worldbuilding is intricate without being overbearing, setting the stage for Violet’s satisfying growth into a force to be reckoned with. Readers will be spellbound and eager for more. Publisher’s Weekly, March 2023.

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