MELISSA ASHLEY The Birdman’s Wife. Reviewed by Tracy Sorensen
Melissa Ashley’s debut novel brings to life the remarkable Elizabeth Gould – watercolourist and wife of the famous ornithologist. Make no mistake: despite its gentlewomanly veneer, redolent of spring gardens and gentle watercolours, this is a book that is red in tooth...
ANGELA SLATTER Vigil. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
Vigil makes a very rich pudding. Neil Gaiman and Ben Aaronovitch have both blended crime and fantasy in a very seductive fashion and Angela Slatter has done the same with this tale of the crimes that result from a clash of the Weyrd and the Normal, set in...
Crime Scene: TANIA CHANDLER Dead in the Water. Reviewed by Robin Elizabeth
Crime fiction is blended beautifully with elements of commercial women’s fiction in Dead in the Water. Tania Chandler brings back the femme-fatalesque Brigitte in the sequel to her Davitt and Ned Kelly Awards shortlisted debut novel, Please Don’t Leave Me Here, but...
Crime Scene: MELINA MARCHETTA Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil. Reviewed by Ashley Kalagian Blunt
Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil engages many of today’s pressing political issues within a well-crafted crime fiction plot. Melina Marchetta’s seventh novel, a realist crime story aimed at adults, is a switch from her previous fantasy and Australian-based YA books....
CARMEL BIRD Family Skeleton. Reviewed by Kylie Mason
In Family Skeleton one of Australia’s most prolific and original authors delivers a tale of life-changing family secrets. Margaret O’Day has always lived an ordered and beautiful life. She’s a beloved mother and grandmother and, as an enthusiastic volunteer and...
KIM FALCONER The Blood in the Beginning: Ava Sykes #1. Reviewed by Lou Murphy
A killer ride packed with punches, this riveting cross-genre urban-fantasy thriller is set in dystopian Los Angeles. Ava Sykes is a 24-year-old in her final year of studying medical science at UCLA. After graduation she hopes to be accepted for an internship with the...
BELINDA ALEXANDRA Southern Ruby. Reviewed by Sally Nimon
Southern Ruby is an epic story with deep themes, presented in an entertaining way. Southern Ruby, the seventh novel by Australian author Belinda Alexandra, is an epic traversing two continents and three generations in pursuit of one central question: are we the...
LEAH KAMINSKY We’re all going to die: A joyful book about death. Reviewed by Tracy Sorensen
Leah Kaminsky invites us to ask questions about our own attitudes and behaviours in the face of death, with the promise of a more fully lived life. To be a doctor terrified of death, writes Kaminsky, is like being a pizza chef terrified of dough. This is the problem...
MELANIE JOOSTEN A Long Time Coming: Essays on old age. Reviewed by Shelley McInnis
Old age may be a long time coming, but it is coming. This eloquent collection advocates for the elderly. It was a Doris Lessing novel – specifically, Diary of a Good Neighbour – that inspired Melanie Joosten to take up social work with the idea of working with older...
Crime Scene: ANNA WESTBROOK Dark Fires Shall Burn. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
Inspired by the true events surrounding an unsolved murder, Dark Fires Shall Burn is set in Sydney’s Newtown in the aftermath of World War II. The title of Anna Westbrook’s debut novel is wonderful. Based around a stanza from the Australian poet Dorothy...
ANNA SPARGO-RYAN The Paper House. Reviewed by Kylie Mason
An unimaginable loss leads to unimaginable suffering in this debut novel. Heather and Dave have bought a house on a hill by the sea; a house with unusual rooms, a rambling back yard and a bull-nosed verandah. They are expecting their first child and have sold their...
Recent Posts
LYNNE OLSON The Sisterhood of Ravensbrück. Reviewed by Ann Skea10 July 2025Lynne Olson documents how, within the horror of a Nazi concentration camp, the [ … ]
SARAH GILBERT Unconventional Women: The story of the last Blessed Sacrament Sisters in Australia. Reviewed by Suzanne Marks8 July 2025Sarah Gilbert’s account of this religious order offers a rare insight into the [ … ]
JENNIFER MILLS Salvage. Reviewed by Robert Goodman3 July 2025The new novel from the author of Dyschronia and The Airways is climate fiction [ … ]
BELINDA LYONS-LEE The Haunting of Mr and Mrs Stevenson. Reviewed by Ann Skea1 July 2025The new novel from the author of Tussaud imagines what might have inspired [ … ]