The Secret Mantra by David Michie Hay House Matt Lester is in the Himalayan Mountains, following a goat track to the Tiger’s Nest Monastery in Bhutan. In The sequel to The Magician of Lhasa, the former quantum physicist Matt has completely changed his life and devoted the last 5 years to spiritual development with Tibetan […]
Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron Bloomsbury Variations of the Cinderella story have been told for nearly 2000 years and the mythology of the popular fairy tale lingers in our cultural ether even today. While the Grimm brothers’ tale is a lot darker than the Disney one, the possibility that magic can transform a destitute […]
Poly by Paul Dalgarno Ventura Press Melbournites Chris and Sarah Flood met in Hong Kong. He was working as a DJ and she was dancing professionally with Tasty Moves in Asia. Many years and two children later (7 year old Oliver and 5 year old Sophie), Chris can’t decide what to buy his wife for […]
Indigo Owl by Charlie Archibold Wakefield Press This is Adelaide author Charlie Archibold’s second Young Adult novel and it is set on the futuristic planet of Galbraith. After Earth was destroyed by climate change and overpopulation, only private corporations had the money to colonise new planets and Galbraith was a huge pharmaceutical enterprise. It is […]
The Wreck by Meg Keneally Echo Publishing Meg Keneally is fascinated by marine history and the title of her second historical novel gives an indication as to what historical aspects have influenced her writing of The Wreck. In the nineteenth century, the sailing ship Dunbar was forced into the cliff face a little south of […]
Tiny White Lies by Fiona Palmer Hachette I love that Fiona Palmer thanks her teenage children, who were born in the age of technology, for being the inspiration for her family drama. Her main character Ashley Grisham is still recovering from her husband’s suicide eight months previously when she finds out that her only child, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Money for Something by Mia Walsch Echo It was a relief when nineteen year old Mia Walsch was fired from her job in the windowless room full of filing cabinets. Pretending to be ‘normal’ for eight hours a day was sucking at her soul. So she answered a newspaper ad – “Erotic Massage, Good Money. […]
