SOPHIE HARDCASTLE Below Deck. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Sophie Hardcastle’s second novel explores the lure of the sea, and the cost of violence. It starts below deck. Olivia (Oli) has been kidnapped. Well, not actually kidnapped but rescued late at night, in a drunken stupor, by Mac, an old man who now needs to...
JULIAN LEATHERDALE Death in the Ladies’ Goddess Club. Reviewed by Kim Kelly
The author of Palace of Tears and The Opal Dragonfly returns with a new historical novel that encompasses murder and an exotic all-female club in 1930s Kings Cross. Julian Leatherdale’s third historical novel is a lavish escapade through Sydney’s Kings Cross...
EVIE WYLD The Bass Rock. Reviewed by Linda Funnell
Evie Wyld won the Miles Franklin Award for her last novel, All the Birds, Singing. Her latest, set on the coast of Scotland, contains both beauty and violence. The Bass Rock opens with a small girl, who we will shortly meet as the grown-up Viv, finding the body of a...
JULIET MARILLIER The Harp of Kings. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
The author of the Sevenwaters series returns to the magic of ancient Ireland and the mysterious Otherworld in her latest novel. The Harp of Kings is the first in the new Warrior Bards series from Juliet Marillier. It is loosely connected to her Blackthorn and...
ANDREW HUNTER MURRAY The Last Day. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
The world has literally stopped turning in Andrew Hunter Murray’s dystopian thriller. Andrew Hunter Murray’s debut novel The Last Day is one of an interesting new strain of post-apocalyptic dystopian thrillers. Unlike standard cli-fi apocalypses that project...
PETER J CONRADI A Dictionary of Interesting and Important Dogs. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Not just for dog-lovers, this miscellany contains canine tales from literature and history. First, a confession. I am not particularly fond of dogs. So, when this book was sent to me for review I was unenthusiastic and expected it to be just another collection...
This week’s reviews: Jeanine Cummins and Lili Wilkinson
Dear Subscribers: We’re very sorry that due to a technical issue (now fixed) email notifications didn’t go out this week when we posted our new reviews. So here they are for you now. We hope, as always, that you enjoy them. — Jean and Linda JEANINE CUMMINS...
LILI WILKINSON After the Lights Go Out. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
An outback mining town is the setting for the apocalypse in Lili Wilkinson’s novel. In a parallel universe, a version of me gets to have a normal life, where ‘being prepared’ means bringing a cardigan… Pru’s father is a doomsday prepper. She and her twin sisters...
JEANINE CUMMINS American Dirt. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
Jeanine Cummins’s novel about the journey of a Mexican mother and son fleeing to the US has sparked a storm of controversy. American Dirt opens with a scene that is as shocking as it is gripping. Eight-year-old Luca is going to the toilet when a bullet fired...
EMMA DONOGHUE Akin. Reviewed by Justine Ettler
The bestselling author of Room returns with a novel about a reluctant guardianship. With an impressive string of awards and shortlistings behind her, including the Ferro-Grumley Award for Lesbian Fiction for her historical novel Slammerkin (2000), Emma Donoghue is...
JESSE HOGAN, ANDREW FAULKNER AND SIMON AUTERI For Cap and Country. Reviewed by Bernard Whimpress
This collection of 22 interviews with Australian cricketers is framed around the symbolism of the baggy green cap and, more importantly, around the actuality of representing their country. Conceived by player agent Simon Auteri, 18 of the interviews in For Cap and...
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