2019 In Review: The Year’s Best Books (Award Winners)
Discover the year’s best books and award winners for 2019, focussing on the major literary and crime writing awards.
Search Results
So You Want to Live Younger Longer? by Dr Norman Swan
As I read this book I could hear Dr Swan’s calming Scottish brogue. I feel forever grateful for his voice of reason during the COVID…
London Falling by Paul Cornell
London Falling by Paul Cornell centers around a team of London police, who have to solve a series of murders strangely befalling on the opposition…
A Message from the President
SMSA is delighted to announce Lisa Harris has been appointed as Secretary to the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts (SMSA).
Mystery & Crime Reading Group 2025
The Mystery & Crime reading group is for SMSA Members, meeting regularly for lively discussion with people who share a love of books.
The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness
This is the fifth instalment in the All Souls Trilogy (A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night and The Book of Life, followed by Time’s…
Catching up with Rachel Franks
Now in their sixth year, the BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival’s Danger Awards are a highly anticipated event in the crime genre calendar. This year…
The Harp in the South by Ruth Park
Re-reading The Harp in the South by Ruth Park is more than an excercise in nostalgia. I found myself fascinated with the deceptively simple and…
The Claimant by Paul Terry
The Claimant by Paul Terry follows the fascinating story of an ordinary Wagga-Wagga butcher – and his claim over a prestigious English baronetcy!
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent is the remarkable story of Agnes Mangusdottir, a women awaiting execution in Northern Iceland in the early 19th Century.
Violet Kelly and the Jade Owl by Fiona Britton
What an absolute delight this book is! It’s a fabulous romp through 1930s Sydney, in the company of our feisty and indomitable Violet Kelly and…
Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden
Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden is the true story of Shin Dong-hyuk, born and raised in a North Korean labour camp, …