Books special
Pack yourself off to a quiet spot and disappear in the best chick lit and murder my steries
THE DIAMOND HUNTER
by Fiona McIntosh, Penguin, $37
Set in Africa’s diamond rush of the 1870s, six-year-old Clementine is being raised by her distracted mining father James, who leaves her upbringing to their Zulu companion Joseph One-Shoe. When James and Joseph discover a large, flawless awless diamond, their future looks secure, but a dark bargain means heartbreak and betrayal.
SO LUCKY
by Dawn O’Porter, Harper Collins, $32.99 Beth is a wedding planner whose husband has lost interest in her, Ruby is a single mum struggling with a health condition while struggling to bond with her toddler, and Lauren takes to Instagram to share her life. Together they tell a humorously dark narrative about what it means to be “so lucky”.
THE GERMAN HOUSE
by Annette Hess, HarperCollins, $35 She’s 24 years old and dreaming of marrying her wealthy suitor Jurgen, when Eva Bruhns is hired as a translator for a war crimes trial. Set in Frankfurt in 1963, she starts to question her entire life and begins a path that will change the past and present of her nation.
LONG BRIGHT RIVER
by Liz Moore, Random House, $37 A killer is on the loose in a small community in Philadelphia and Officer Mickey Fitzpatrick can’t find her sister Kacey, who is suffering from addiction. While they were once inseparable, Mickey now becomes dangerously obsessed with finding the culprit and her sister – before it’s too late.
THE TOPEKA SCHOOL
by Ben Lerner, Allen & Unwin, $40 He’s a senior in the class of ’97 with parents who are psychologists, but Adam Gordon struggles to find his feet. Shifting perspectives and time periods, this is a compelling read about the challenges of raising a son, the collapse of free speech, the new right and the identity crisis of white men.
OLIVE, AGAIN
by Elizabeth Strout, Viking, $35 Featuring the writer’s famed heroine Olive Kitteridge (played by Frances McDormand in the HBO series), we revisit the straighttalker in her 80s. Now with a new man, the Maine widow reflects on her late husband and her estranged son, while opening herself up to new experiences – some welcome, some not.
IMPOSSIBLE CAUSES
by Julie Mayhew, Raven Books, $42 After the tragic loss of her father and brother, 16-year-old Viola Kendrick and her mother move to the isolated island of Lark, home to St Rita’s School. But the mysterious island, which is fogged in for six months of the year, harbours dark secrets and Viola soon finds herself at the centre of a murder mystery.
WHO DID YOU TELL?
by Lesley Kara, Bantam Press, $37 Astrid is doing her best to turn her life around. She’s moved in with her mum and is attending AA. Part of her recovery is confessing her misdeeds and making amends for them – but someone knows exactly what she’s done and they won’t stop until Astrid learns that you have to pay for some mistakes.
THEENDOF THE OCEAN
by Maja Lunde, Simon & Schuster, $37.99 In 2019, haunted by memories of the love of her life, Signe sets out to cross the ocean on her own. Twenty-four years later, David and his daughter Lou flee war-torn Europe. In the fight for their lives, they find an old boat that brings hope and survival as the two stories weave together.
ON SWIFT HORSES
by Shannon Pufahl, HarperCollins, $33 It’s the ’50s and Murial is newly married and working in a San Diego diner, eavesdropping on the ex-jockeys and trainers of the local racetrack. Starting to bet – and win – on the horses, she forms an unlikely friendship with her husband’s brother and both begin their quest for freedom.