AOIFE CLIFFORD It Takes A Town. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
In Aoife Clifford’s third novel, the death of a local celebrity brings two old schoolmates together to answer some troubling questions. In a small town, news spreads, and in this particular small town – Welcome by name, though not always by nature – glamorous Vanessa...
MIRANDA DARLING Thunderhead. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Miranda Darling deploys all the voices in her protagonist’s head to reveal a fraught relationship in this allusive novella. Winona Dalloway, like Mrs Dalloway in Virginia Woolf’s novel of that name, often finds herself ‘lilting between observing life from the outside...
ROBINNE LEE The Idea of You. Reviewed by Jessica Stewart
It’s Flashback Friday: Jessica Stewart reviews Robinne Lee’s 2017 novel of an older woman and a younger man which is getting renewed attention thanks to a film adaptation. Is there a right way to love? In a thousand ways we are told what is acceptable, ethical,...
GARRY DISHER Sanctuary. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
A new crime novel by Garry Disher is always exciting. In Sanctuary, he introduces a new protagonist: a female lone wolf. Meet Grace. She’s a very good thief, having been taught by experts and practising since she was a kid. Specialising in small, high-value...
TRAVIS BALDREE Bookshops and Bonedust. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
In Travis Baldree’s latest fantasy novel, his warrior’s quest is not to slay dragons but to save a failing bookstore. Travis Baldree’s second novel can be enjoyed as a standalone or as the prequel to his bestselling Legends and Lattes. If you don’t already adore Viv,...
DONNA M CAMERON The Rewilding. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Donna M Cameron’s second novel is both a fast-paced tale of a whistleblower on the run, and a paean to the beauty of the natural world. The instant he ruins his life a vision of his mother explodes in his head. He can’t see her face, yet he knows she is smiling....
MELINDA HAM The Lucky Ones. Reviewed by Suzanne Marks
These stories of refugees who have found new lives in Australia encompass enormous suffering, courage, and determination to survive. ‘We are not numbers or statistics. We fled from our homelands because we were standing up for what we believed was right. We had...
SCOTT EYMAN Charlie Chaplin vs America. Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck
Cancel culture is nothing new: Scott Eyman’s biography shows how Charlie Chaplin’s fame was no protection when the tide turned against him. I flip-flopped into success from being a frightened, lonely person … Success brought life into focus and showed me the...
SULARI GENTILL The Mystery Writer. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
In Sulari Gentill’s new novel, aspiring writer Theo and her brother Gus become embroiled in increasingly bizarre conspiracy theories. The Mystery Writer is the latest book by the prolific and always intriguing Australian author Sulari Gentill. Set in the USA, as her...
LIAM MURPHY The Roadmap of Loss. Reviewed by Paul Anderson
Liam Murphy’s debut novel is both a road trip across the US and a journey into the past. It’s tempting to invoke the first stanza of Philip Larkin’s famous poem ‘This Be The Verse’ here. That’s because The Roadmap of Loss is about unresolved childhood psychological...
ROBYN BISHOP The Rust Red Land. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Through the story of Matilda, Robyn Bishop’s novel reveals the constrained lives of women in rural New South Wales in the late 1800s. It is July 1892 and Matilda is just old enough to help Clara out of her cot, change her nappy and dress her, but not old enough to...
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