The Book of Two Ways By Jodi Picoult Allen & Unwin Dawn Edelstein knows a lot about death. As a death doula (a death midwife), she helps people on their final journeys and tries to fulfill their last wishes. Fifteen years earlier, before she married and had a daughter, she was a graduate student in […]
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason Fourth Estate Martha writes a funny food column for a magazine, but her editor keeps taking out her jokes, so it might just be a food column. Turning 40, she realises that she has lost touch with school, university and work friends simply because they all had children and […]
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig Canongate Sixteen year-old Nora Seed sat in the warmth of the school library in Bedford, playing chess with the librarian Mrs Elm. Nora was worried about her future but felt she could talk to the librarian who had so much wisdom to share. Suddenly, there was a phone call […]
A Saint from Texas by Edmund White Bloomsbury Yvonne (pronounced Why-von in Texas) and Yvette (pronounced Why-vet) Crawford are twin sisters born in Ranger, Texas – once the oil capital of America before the wells ran dry in the 1930s. Their mother died in the 1950s and their father had millions in oil money in […]
The Commando Way by Bram Connolly Allen & Unwin Bram Connolly spent 20 years in the armed forces from the age of 17. After rigorous training, he was deployed to Somalia at the age of 19 and also served several tours of duty in East Timor and Afghanistan. As a commander for the Australian Special […]
The Dead Line by Holly Watt Raven Books Casey Benedict works as an investigative reporter for the Post newspaper in London. When the fashion editor presents her with a taffeta and tulle skirt for a high end fashion shop, she sees there is a piece of white silk folded among the petticoats. Embroidered on the […]
Bush School by Peter O’Brien Allen & Unwin In 2017 Peter O’Brien was invited to a reunion of students who had graduated from Balmain Teachers College sixty years before. At the gathering, it was suggested that those who had been sent to remote one-teacher schools record their experiences for historical interest. It wasn’t long before […]
Olive by Emma Gannon HarperCollins Olive is the same age as her mother was when she gave birth to her and she faces the “mother of all choices”. The number one conversation of everyone around her, including her boyfriend of 9 years, is – when is she going to consider having a baby? Olive finds […]
Better Luck Next Time by Kate Hilton Allen & Unwin We meet the Goldstein-Hennessey family at a Christmas gathering of the clan and fortunately there is a list of characters at the beginning of the book to help keep track of them as the reader follows the many unfolding dramas. Trying to play happy families […]
The Codes of Love by Hannah Persaud Muswell Press It is 2015 and it looks as if London couple Emily and Ryan has it all – successful jobs, stunning house and the secret to a successful marriage. The kids have grown up and, while all the marriages within their circle of friends are crumbling, their […]
