PATRICK NESS The Crane Wife. Reviewed by Paula Grunseit
An ancient folk tale reworked in modern London provides a meditation on memory and the creative spirit. A story never ends at the end. There is always after … No, a story is not an explanation, it is a net, a net through which the truth flows. The net catches some of...JOHN LE CARRÉ A Delicate Truth. Reviewed by Peter Corris
Le Carré’s espionage fiction remains in a class of its own. John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963) created a new kind of espionage fiction and set a standard only ever equalled by le Carré himself in some of the other books featuring the mild...RUPERT THOMSON Secrecy. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
Seventeenth-century Florence comes alive in this intricately plotted story of a wax sculptor’s unusual commission. This elegant novel is set in Florence in the last decade of the 17th century. It’s the story of Zummo, a sculptor who uses wax as his medium and...Crime Scene: HONEY BROWN Dark Horse. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
A classic of foreboding and suspense set in the Victorian High Country. There are a few authors out there who write books that just about guarantee that sleep will be lost, and lights will be left on for quite some time after finishing them, and as with Brown’s...HANNAH KENT Burial Rites. Reviewed by Linda Funnell
This novel of a condemned woman in nineteenth-century Iceland grips like a northern winter. It is March 1829 and Agnes Magnúsdóttir has been sentenced to be beheaded for murder. Her crime has made her notorious, and she is aware of the impact she now has on those...GRAEME SIMSION The Rosie Project. Reviewed by Kylie Mason
This delightful story revives the screwball comedy in a very 21st-century way. Associate professor of genetics Don Tillman knows the best way to solve a problem is to approach it rationally and systematically. So when he decides it’s time to get married, he applies...DOUGLAS KENNEDY Five Days. Reviewed by Paula Grunseit
The author of The Pursuit of Happiness delivers a sweeping American saga laced with philosophy. Set in Maine and Boston, Douglas Kennedy’s 11th novel is narrated by Laura, a middle-aged radiographic technician with a husband and two children. Married for 21 years to...ROBIN HOBB Blood of Dragons: Book Four of the Rain Wild Chronicles. Reviewed by Jean Bedford
Inscrutable dragons and a mysterious city: the final volume of Robin Hobb’s latest series ties up the loose ends and reveals a few surprises. Blood of Dragons is the fourth and final book in The Rain Wild Chronicles and follows seamlessly from City of Dragons,...KAREN FOXLEE The Midnight Dress. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
A lyrical gem from the award-winning author of The Anatomy of Wings This is a story of friendship set in a Queensland town, not far from Cairns, between two young women: Rose, 15 going on 16, whose father is an itinerant artist; and Pearl, an endearing, vibrant girl...AMITY GAIGE Schroder. Reviewed by Rose Powell
A cleverly constructed identity disintegrates in the face of the bond between father and daughter. Schroder is the quiet and brave third novel by Amity Gaige. It explores the long shadows of lies, the short work lies can make of everything you hold dear, and the...KATE ATKINSON Life After Life. Reviewed by Jean Bedford
A fascinating evocation of multiple lifetimes from this innovative and accomplished novelist. Kate Atkinson is known for her playfulness and writerly experimentation. In previous novels she has played with point of view (‘head-hopping’) with such confident...
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