6 addictive reads for your next book club pick
THESE WILL KEEP YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS TALKING WELL INTO THE NIGHT
THE BRIDE TEST BY HELEN HOANG
Khai Diep doesn’t want to be in a relationship, so his mother takes matters into her own hands and decides to recruit the perfect wife for her autistic son. Enter Esme Tran, a woman from Ho Chi Minh City, who hopes an American husband might turn around the fortunes of her struggling family. But while she falls for Khai, he’s more resistant. A sweet and occasionally steamy read.
MISCONCEPTION BY REBECCA FREEBORN
Ali and husband Tom are expecting their first child when at 30 weeks, the baby dies in utero. Overwhelmed with grief, they struggle to survive the terrible loss while still balancing work, their relationship and the expectations of those around them. But when Ali begins to fragment, the possibility of a happy future seems increasingly unlikely. An often painful but always tender portrait of life after stillbirth.
TAKING TOM MURRAY HOME BY TIM SLEE
When bankrupt dairy farmer Tom Murray decides he’d rather sell the herd and burn down his house than hand it to the bank, tragedy strikes. His widow Dawn decides to hold a funeral procession for Tom in protest, going from country Victoria to Melbourne while mysterious arson attacks follow it. A gem of a read and an Australian classic in the making.
SIX MINUTES
BY PETRONELLA MCGOVERN
Toddler Bella is being looked after by her mum’s friends at playgroup when she vanishes, apparently without a trace. As the small town rallies to find the girl, suspicions quickly fall on her parents, a local schoolteacher and others, while the spiteful online army rushes to offer their own opinions on what happened. Super tense from beginning to end, this is a great read that will spark plenty of debate.
THE YIELD BY TARA JUNE WINCH
When Albert ‘Poppy’ Gondiwindi dies and his granddaughter Augie returns to farewell him, she finds the land of her kin has been claimed by a mining company. As Augie resolves to fight back, she begins a quest to learn her family’s stories, find out about her missing sister and locate Poppy’s dictionary, which tells stories of the Gondiwindi. A stunning and beautiful read.
FAKE BY STEPHANIE WOOD
In this thought-provoking memoir, Stephanie writes about meeting a man who appears sweet and loving, but also cancels plans, makes up elaborate excuses and doesn’t quite feel like the real deal. When they split up, she begins to investigate and what emerges is a shocking tale of a man whose whole life appears to be built on lies. A cautionary tale in an era of Dirty Johns and catfishing.