Better books

[ A ROUND-UP OF THE NEWEST AND BEST NOVELS TO READ ]

THE WARSAW ORPHAN

Kelly Rimmer (Hachette, $32.99) Elzbieta Rabinek is aware of the swiftly growing discord just beyond her Warsaw home. But she has no idea what goes on behind the walls of the nearby Jewish ghetto, until she makes a discovery that propels her into a dangerous world. Elzbieta comes face to face with the plight of the Gorka family, who must give up their newborn daughter. For Roman Gorka, this injustice is the final straw, and not even his love for Elzbieta can suppress his anger.

CITY OF VENGEANCE

D.V. Bishop

(Pan Macmillan, $32.99)

In Florence in 1536, a prominent Jewish moneylender is murdered, a death with wide implications. Cesare Aldo, an officer of the most feared criminal court, is given four days to solve the murder; he must catch the killer before the feast of Epiphany or suffer the consequences. Aldo uncovers a plot to overthrow the ruler of Florence. If the Duke falls, it will endanger the whole city. But a rival officer wants to expose details about Aldo’s private life that could ruin him. Can Aldo stop the conspiracy, or will his own secrets destroy him first?

WIN

Harlan Coben (Penguin Random House, $32.99) Windsor ‘Win’ Lockwood is approached by the FBI to accompany them to a prestigious building in Manhattan. Win doesn’t recognise the unidentified older dead man, but immediately spots the Vermeer painting hanging on the wall as the one stolen from his family home 20 years ago. So, too, a suitcase with Win’s initials. The dead man was the leader of a group responsible for multiple deaths, as well as the abduction and abuse of Win’s cousin. Needless to say, the case piques his interest...