Author’s choice:

the mustread books for summer

Michael Robotham

Gold Dagger award-winning author Michael Robotham is one of Australia’s most widely read crime writers whose thrillers have been translated into 24 languages. He lives on Sydney’s northern beaches, writing in a garden shed that his daughters call, “The cabana of cruelty”. His latest book, Close Your Eyes, pits brilliant clinical psychologist Joe O’Loughlin against a stalking killer.

Michael’s top summer reads:

1 I know I’m supposed to be reading gritty noir about men who walk the mean streets, but it’s summer and I’m diving head-first into a family saga.

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett begins on a Sunday afternoon in Southern California when a single kiss reverberates through the lives of two families. Full of love, loss, intrigue, betrayal and humour, it has a cast of characters that will convince you that your family isn’t as weird as you feared.

2 An honourable mention goes to Ian McEwan for Nutshell, a wonderful modern-day riff on Hamlet where the narrator is an unborn child, eavesdropping on his mother and his uncle’s treachery. The clever conceit never falters as McEwan returns to form with a book that made me laugh out loud and open another bottle of wine.

3 And since it’s expected – my crime read of the summer is Real Tigers by Mick Herron, the third book in the Slow Horses series. These brilliant spy novels are the complete antidote to James Bond – or maybe the antithesis – full of washed-up, disgraced secret agents, who are banished to the back office, but manage to save the day.

Lucy Treloar

She was born in Malaysia but educated in Australia, England and Sweden, and now Lucy Treloar is an Artist in Residence at Melbourne’s Arts House. Lucy’s 2015 debut novel,

Salt Creek, was multi-award-winning and shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award.

Lucy’s top summer reads:

1 Deborah Levy writes with the lightest touch, but her books really pack a punch. Her Man Booker Prize shortlisted Hot Milk directs an unflinching gaze on a complicated mother–daughter relationship. It’s funny and bitter and beautiful all together. Highly recommended. 2

I’d heard great things about Heather Rose’s The Museum

Of Modern Love, set against the backdrop of performance artist Marina Abramović’s extraordinary art event, The Artist is Present, in which sitters take turns to sit before her and meet her gaze. For one man, New York composer Arky Levin, it’s transformative. This wonderful meditation on love, art and commitment doesn’t disappoint. 3 We’re lucky in Australia with our incredible young adult fiction writers. Two of my favourites are Fiona Wood and Cath Crowley, whose books my daughter and

I have enjoyed for years. Crowley’s most recent, Words In Deep Blue, is a heartfelt story of grief and love set in a bookshop. Beautiful.

Rachael Treasure

Living in rural Tasmania, mum of two Rachael Treasure gets her inspiration from the land and considers herself an environmental entrepreneur. She is one of our best-selling rural romance authors and has just released her memoir,

Down The Dirt Roads, about healing, healthy food and hope.

Rachael’s top summer reads:

1 You won’t find more fun and more romp (and rump) than a Jilly Cooper novel. Jilly’s latest,

Mount!, is packed full of all her human and animal characters from previous books. It’s like meeting old friends I’ve known forever and makes me want to run off to Rupert Campbell-Black’s estate, Penscombe, have a snog with a stable hand, followed by a gin and tonic. 2

After I finished Mark Lamprell’s

The Lovers’ Guide To Rome, I felt like I’d visited the classical, romantic city, ridden a Vespa, fallen in love with a backpacker, touched the ancient stonework and rediscovered myself … whereas, in reality, I’d just packed lunchboxes and driven the kids to and from school. The dynamics of the relationship between a married couple were particularly well-nuanced. Mark’s clever book was a lovely escape. 3 I was intoxicated by the world of wine makers, captured beautifully in Rose’s Vintage by Kayte Nunn. I got to walk in the shoes of Rose as she discovered the Australian landscape and the love of her life. She took me to picnics among the vines with gorgeous vintners. I found myself longing for the dishwasher to unpack itself so I could escape to Kalkari Wines and immerse myself in Rose’s world of food, wine and love. It’s a terrific kick-back-relax summer read. >>

Sarah Hopkins

Sydney-based Sarah Hopkins is an author, criminal lawyer and wife of chef Matt Moran. Her first novel was highly commended in the ABC Fiction Awards and her latest work, This Picture Of You, a taut family drama, was shortlisted for the Barbara Jefferis Award.

Sarah’s top summer reads:

1 The Natural Way Of Things is an engrossing dystopian novel about friendship and survival by the wonderful Australian author, Charlotte Wood. It is very moving and beautifully told.

2 I never get tired of Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Huge and intricate, the interweaving narratives around

Anna and Count Vronsky are as masterful as the central love story. There is nothing better over the holidays than to pick up one of the classics. This is one I plan to dip back into this summer.

3 But if you only have a few days – and you’re after something a bit lighter – We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler is a great read about sibling relationships, about what parents do to their children and what makes us human. AWW