books better

Our pick of the latest new releases all have compelling tales to tell

WE MUST BE BRAVE Frances Liardet, $29.99 Spanning the sweep of the 20th century, this is a luminous MILKMAN

Anna Burns, $29.99

Winner of the 2018 Man Booker Prize, Milkman is a deeply honest novel told in prose that is as precise and unsentimental as it is devastatingly brutal. Set against the backdrop of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, 18-year-old ‘Middle Sister’ is trying hard not to stand out while being pursued by the sinister ‘Milkman’. A darkly complex and challenging novel for our times. and profoundly moving novel about the people we rescue and the ways in which they rescue us back.

The heart of this story is Ellen’s love for Pamela – the four-year-old girl she fostered during war time – and the profound effect the love for a child can have on one’s life.

Some books just sweep you along right from the start, and this is one of them. THE MOTHER-IN-LAW Sally Hepworth, $29.99 A twisting, compelling novel about one woman’s complicated relationship with her mother-in-law, which ends in murder. Dark secrets and complex family relationships are at the heart of this tightly wound, page-turning thriller, which will keep you guessing to the end.

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS

John Guy, $24.99

Now a major film, this is a dramatic reinterpretation of the life of Mary, Queen of

Scots by one of the leading historians of this period. Crowned

Queen of Scotland at nine months, and

Queen of France at 16, the life of Mary Stuart was one of unparalleled drama and conflict.

HEROES Stephen Fry, $35

Few mere mortals have ever embarked on such bold and heart-stirring adventures, overcome myriad monstrous perils or outwitted scheming vengeful gods quite as stylishly and triumphantly as Greek heroes. The dazzling companion to the bestselling Mythos, Heroes is the story of what we mortals are truly capable of.

This is storytelling at its best. Wise, generous and captivating SARAH WINMAN, AUTHOR OF TIN MAN