MILES ALLINSON In Moonland. Reviewed by Ann Skea
The second novel from the author of Fever of Animals begins with a family mystery and explores the appeal – and consequences – of joining a cult. ‘Parents are only there to be memories for their children …’ Joe, who narrates the first part of this book, certainly...
GABRIELLE CHAN Why You Should Give a F*ck About Farming. Reviewed by Tracy Sorensen
In this survey from the ground up, Gabrielle Chan argues we all have a stake in the future of farming. Do you give a f*ck about farming? You’d perhaps be forgiven for a low-energy response to this brusque question. There’s a lot going on at the moment, and you might...
BILLIE JEAN KING All In: An autobiography. Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck
Billie Jean King was a champion on and off the tennis court, working for inclusion and civil rights as she made tennis history. Whenever Muhammad Ali met up with tennis legend Billie Jean King, he liked to say, ‘Billie Jeeeean, you’re the Queen.’ And ‘the Queen’ she...
NRB readers’ favourites for 2021
Which were the reviews you enjoyed the most this year? We’ve come up with the ten most popular reviews we’ve run this year, based on reader views. Inevitably it skews a little to reviews we ran earlier in the year (as there has been more time for readers to...
SARA FOSTER The Hush. Reviewed by Emma Foster (no relation)
An unsettlingly plausible near-future UK provides the backdrop for Sara Foster’s dystopian thriller, The Hush. In Sara Foster’s seventh novel, the world is emerging from years of pandemic lockdowns; the threat of food scarcity, economic turmoil and climate...
MICHAEL BURGE Tank Water. Reviewed by Mary Garden
In Tank Water Michael Burge brings a fresh dimension to crime fiction set in small Australian towns. Michael Burge’s debut novel Tank Water is a crime thriller set in rural Australia. Beautifully and vividly written, I read it quickly in one day. And a few weeks...
CHARITY NORMAN The Secrets of Strangers. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
NZ-based Charity Norman’s sixth novel is her second to be shortlisted for Best Crime Novel in the Ngaio Marsh Awards. Taut, tense and cleverly constructed, The Secrets of Strangers is a thriller set in London that explores human behaviour in the high-risk...
ROSE TREMAIN Lily: A tale of revenge. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Rose Tremain’s latest novel is both a mystery set in 19th-century London and an indictment of the abuse of children. She dreams of her death. It comes as a cold October dawn is breaking in the London sky. A sack is put over her head. Through the weave of the burlap,...
JANET McCALMAN Vandemonians: the repressed history of colonial Victoria. Reviewed by Lucy Sussex
Historian Janet McCalman discovers what happened to the freed convicts who settled in Victoria. New Zealanders like to call convicts ‘Australian royalty’, omitting the inconvenient fact that boundaries and identity were hardly fixed in stone back then. A convict could...
Christmas 2021 Giveaway #4
Don’t miss out! This is the last in this series of giveaways celebrating the festive season. To go in the draw to win all four of these books, simply email editors@newtownreviewofbooks.com.au with ‘Christmas 4′ in the subject line and your name and address in...
Christmas 2021 Giveaway #3
Treat yourself to a bundle of great books to celebrate the festive season. To go in the draw to win all four of these books, simply email editors@newtownreviewofbooks.com.au with ‘Christmas 3′ in the subject line and your name and address in the body of the email...
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