Emily Perkins Lioness

The new novel from the author of The Forrests. From humble beginnings, Therese has grown used to a life of luxury after marrying into an empire-building family. But when rumours of corruption gather around her husband’s latest property development, Therese begins to look at her privileged world with new eyes. Reviewer Ann Skea called it ‘full of insight into the muddled emotions that often plague mixed families’.

Courtesy of Bloomsbury Publishing

Nikki Mottram Crows Nest

Nikki Mottram’s debut crime novel sees child protection worker Dana Gibson, newly arrived in Queensland from Sydney, thrown into the investigation of a double murder. Reviewer Karen Chisholm said: ‘The sense of chaos feels very real, adding a level of authenticity to a different viewpoint of a crime: one that prioritises children, often unwitting victims of upheaval and trauma.’

Courtesy of UQP

Gretchen Shirm The Crying Room

The new novel from the author of Where the Light Falls. When Bernie Rodgers and her husband move to the coastal town of Ballina, she finds there is more than a physical distance separating her from her adult daughters. Bernie loves her daughters, but the problem, she realises, is the way she loved them. ‘Shirm dances with a light step across the delicate territory between laughing and weeping.’ – Helen Garner

Courtesy of Transit Lounge Publishing

Grantlee Kieza Flinders

A biography of the famous navigator by the bestselling author of Banks, Banjo, and Monash. Matthew Flinders, best known for circumnavigating the continent of Australia in the early 1800s, took to the sea at the age of 16, inspired by the story of Robinson Crusoe and the voyages of Captain Cook. Flinders’ meticulous charts gave us the first detailed maps of the continent of Australia, and are still used today.

Courtesy of ABC Books