SUZANNE LEAL The Deceptions. Reviewed by Jessica Stewart
The deceptions in Suzanne Leal’s third novel span World War II Czechoslovakia and the Holocaust to present-day Sydney. The genesis of this novel was the story of a Czech gendarme who had formed a relationship with a young Jewish woman he was guarding. Leal had...
DAN FREY The Future is Yours. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
Dan Frey’s novel is both a critique of Silicon Valley and an exploration of what it might mean if we really could see into the future. Time travel is one of the most persistent and fun tropes in science fiction. The list of time travel books, TV shows and movies...
UNA MANNION A Crooked Tree. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Una Mannion’s debut novel explores the lives of five siblings and how they deal with a series of increasingly dangerous situations. ‘Out. Get out.’ My mom said it with her voice low, which let us know she meant it. Ellen reached across Thomas, opened the back...
JODI PICOULT The Book of Two Ways. Reviewed by Sally Nimon
Jodi Picoult’s latest novel explores whether the ancient Egyptians have lessons for us in their approach to death. How would a near-death experience change your life? Would the joy of being a lucky survivor make you leap up, take a deep breath, and pick up where...
IRMA GOLD The Breaking. Reviewed by Amy Walters
Canberra writer Irma Gold brings her passion for elephants to her debut novel. After losing her job as a receptionist, Hannah flees to Thailand where her money will go further. Here she encounters Deven, a fellow Australian expat working as a teacher, whose passion is...
BRANDON SANDERSON Rhythm of War: Stormlight Archive Book 4. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley.
Brandon Sanderson’s epic fantasy series encompasses battles both mental and physical. A thousand quotes from noted scholars leapt to her mind. Accounts of what it was like to be in war. She’d read hundreds; some so detailed, she’d been able to smell the blood in...
IAIN RYAN The Spiral. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
Inventive and brutal, there are good reasons why Iain Ryan’s third novel is being talked about. It’s fair to say that thrillers come at the reader of Australian fiction at a pretty hefty rate, and it’s hard to avoid some familiar story elements, e.g....
JONATHAN LETHEM The Arrest. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
In his twelfth novel Jonathan Lethem delivers a post-apocalypse story that is also a commentary on the genre. It seems everyone wants to write post-apocalyptic fiction at the moment. But Jonathan Lethem cannot be accused of just jumping on the bandwagon in his twelfth...
REBECCA STARFORD The Imitator. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Set in wartime London, Rebecca Starford’s debut novel brings a true story of espionage to life. When I was halfway through this book I discovered, by accident, that it is based on real wartime espionage that occurred in London between 1939 and 1940. Evelyn, the...
DOUGLAS STUART Shuggie Bain. Reviewed by Linda Godfrey
Douglas Stuart’s Booker Prize-winning debut shows the human cost of elevating the economy over society. Shuggie Bain is set in post-Thatcher Glasgow among people who are doing it hard. Many who worked in the mines and associated industries have lost their jobs...
MARIA DAHVANA HEADLEY Beowulf. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
Maria Dahvana Headley’s new translation of Beowulf makes the most of the story’s female characters, and isn’t afraid to say ‘Bro’. Beowulf is one of the oldest pieces of English literature, an epic story of a great warrior and three of...
Recent Posts
2026 Summer Surprise Giveaway12 February 2026Surprise! Here’s a very special giveaway of four recent novels. Take your [ … ]
WRIGHT THOMPSON The Barn: The murder of Emmett Till and the cradle of American racism. Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck10 February 2026Wright Thompson’s account of the 1950s murder of a Black teenager in [ … ]
JOSHUA BLACKBURN The Language-Lover’s Lexipedia. Reviewed by Ann Skea5 February 2026Joshua Blackburn has compiled a treasure-trove of the humorous, the obscure, [ … ]
MARIAN WILKINSON Woodside vs The Planet: How a company captured a country. Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck3 February 2026Australian governments are addicted to fossil-fuel exports that harm the [ … ]