Tag: Australia
+ abuse, audio book, Australia, child abduction, crime fiction, family, fiction, grief, loss, marriage, motherhood, review, Scotland, secrets, superstition
Stranger in the Woods by Anni Taylor
Photographer Isla Wilson is thrilled she’s landed her dream job, but the clients who hired her are getting stranger by the day. It sounded so perfect – a month‘s assignment at the misty, sprawling Scottish Highlands property of brilliant architect Alban McGregor, and his wife, Jessica. But deep in the woods, there is a chilling playhouse.Two years ago, the McGregors’ daughter, Elodie, died after … Read More Stranger in the Woods by Anni Taylor
+ crime fiction, folklore, Historical fiction, List, murder mystery, Nordic noir, Scandi noir, supernatural, superstition, thriller, World War Two, WW2
My Top 10 Books of 2025 – Part One
Here are my favourite ten books of 2025 Part One, not counting audiobooks. Quite a disparate selection for a change. Audiobooks to follow. Late Venetian by GN Lawson If you are looking for a fast paced thriller, Late Venetian is not for you. But it’s already one of my favourite books of 2025 so far. I’m not sure why – maybe because the two main characters … Read More My Top 10 Books of 2025 – Part One
+ audio book, Australia, fiction, folklore, Historical fiction, mythology, Netherlands, review, superstition
The Night Ship by Jess Kidd
Based on a true story, an epic historical novel from the award-winning author of Things in Jars that illuminates the lives of two characters: a girl shipwrecked on an island off Western Australia and, three hundred years later, a boy finding a home with his grandfather on the very same island. 1629: A newly orphaned young girl named Mayken is bound for the Dutch … Read More The Night Ship by Jess Kidd
The Grapevine – Kate Kemp
A gripping and atmospheric debut novel about a mysterious murder that exposes the secrets behind closed doors in 1970’s suburban Australia. It’s the height of summer in Australia, 1979, and on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac a housewife is scrubbing the yellow and white checkered tiles of the bathroom floor. But all is not as it seems. For one thing, it’s 3am. For another, she … Read More The Grapevine – Kate Kemp
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
A foundling, an old book of dark fairy tales, a secret garden, an aristocratic family, a love denied, and a mystery. The Forgotten Garden is a captivating, atmospheric and compulsively readable story of the past, secrets, family and memory from the international best-selling author Kate Morton. Cassandra is lost, alone and grieving. Her much loved grandmother, Nell, has just died and Cassandra, her life already … Read More The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
+ abuse, Australia, child abduction, child abuse, childhood, dark humour, family, fiction, grief, rabbit, relationships, review
The Little Clothes by Deborah Callaghan
Thirty-eight-year-old lawyer Audrey is tired of not being seen. Not seen by her mother, who always preferred her golden brother. By her sleazy boss, who works her to the bone, without reward or recognition. By her self-obsessed colleagues, who want her to help them fix their lives without any acknowledgement of her own. Her social life consists of late nights in the office, visits … Read More The Little Clothes by Deborah Callaghan
Into The Flames by James Delargy
A town under fire. A detective with something to prove. A killer hiding in plain sight. The small town of Rislake in the picturesque Blue Mountains is about to be engulfed by a major bushfire. The order has been given for the residents to clear out. But a last sweep uncovers one person is missing: Tracey Hilmeyer, wife of one of the firefighters tackling … Read More Into The Flames by James Delargy
+ assisted dying, Australia, dark humour, dystopia, eco thriller, Historical fiction, Italy, kidnapping, List, murder mystery, mystery, thriller, World War Two, WW2
My Top 10 Books of 2024 – Part One
I couldn’t decide whether to cheat or not. Should I move my favourite audiobooks into their own section and give myself more room for extra favourites in this list? Or should I feature them in both? Then I looked back to last quarter and I did move them. So here are my favourite 10 books of 2024 so far, not counting audiobooks. The Dubrovnik … Read More My Top 10 Books of 2024 – Part One
+ Australia, childhood, crime fiction, family, fiction, forgiveness, friendship, grief, journalist, lies, loss, love, murder, obsession, police corruption, Psychological fiction, review, secrets, sisters, thriller
To The River by Vikki Wakefield
How long can you hide the truth? The Kelly family has always been trouble. When a fire in a remote caravan community kills nine people, including 17-year- old Sabine Kelly’s mother and sister, Sabine confesses to the murders. Shortly after, she escapes custody and disappears. #ToTheRiver @VikkiWakefield @noexitpress #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour Recently made redundant from marriage, motherhood and her career, journalist Rachel Weidermann has long suspected … Read More To The River by Vikki Wakefield
Complication by Fikret Pajalic Out Now
In this gripping short story collection, Pajalic depicts working-class characters in all their gutsiness and glory. Featuring animals in most stories as a motif for grief and hope, Pajalic alternates between tender stories of survival and the gritty underbelly of Melbourne’s Western suburbs. Even when his characters are shady and flawed, morality and conscience shine through. Genre: Contemporary Fiction | Short Stories Pages: 188Publisher: Pishukin … Read More Complication by Fikret Pajalic Out Now
+ Australia, crime fiction, dark humour, Edinburgh, female friendship, fiction, hostage, murder, review, Scotland, thriller
Halfway House by Helen Fitzgerald
They’re the housemates from Hell… When her disastrous Australian love affair ends, Lou O’Dowd heads to Edinburgh for a fresh start, moving in with her cousin, and preparing for the only job she can find … working at a halfway house for very high-risk offenders. Two killers, a celebrity paedophile and a paranoid coke dealer – all out on parole and all sharing their … Read More Halfway House by Helen Fitzgerald
+ Australia, business, crime fiction, family, fiction, love, murder, nineties, racism, review, secrets, World War One
Cover the Bones by Chris Hammer – Ivan Lucic & Nell Buchanan #3
NO ONE IS EVER INNOCENT IN PARADISE.A small town.A closely guarded secret, stretching back decades.And blood in the water. A body has washed up in an irrigation canal, the artery running through Yuwonderie, a man-made paradise on the border of the Outback. Stabbed through the heart, electrocuted and dumped under cover of night, there is no doubt that detectives Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan … Read More Cover the Bones by Chris Hammer – Ivan Lucic & Nell Buchanan #3
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