popular fiction
COME SUNDOWN by Nora Roberts ( Hachette, $ 38)
This is Nora Roberts at her best. At its core, it’s a romance novel but with a mystery/ suspense subplot that kept me turning the pages. In the first 20- odd pages, we meet Alice, who is returning home to her family’s Montana ranch. We then jump to seemingly ordinary life at the ranch, where we meet Alice’s niece and ranch manager, Bodine, and the rest of her family and raft of employees. Just as you start to get comfortable with the characters and events, everything changes as Bodine finds a body in the snow and here Alice’s story unravels. Come Sundown deserves a sequel, with the secondary characters Roberts always expertly creates, and life on the ranch so open to drama. Regardless, I’m ready for a re- read already.
TOGETHER by Julie Cohen ( Hachette, $ 35)
The blurb promises this book is perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes’s Me Before You and I couldn’t agree more. It’s not because they have similar storylines but more the way they have of captivating readers with the tales of utter love and devotion between two people. I’m not giving anything away here, but at the very start — which is also the end — Robbie wakes and leaves his wife, Emily, a letter, before taking his own life. Although we meet Emily and Robbie in 2016, we then jump back 50 years to where it all began and the story fills in the years in between. The emotional content is rich, with a number of shocking revelations, which means it’s easy to forget you’re reading a book while knowing the ending. I would recommend this book in a heartbeat.
MYMOTHER’S SHADOW by Nikola Scott ( Hachette, $ 35)
Imagine opening the door to somebody claiming to be your twin, a twin you never knew you had. This is exactly what happens to Addie, forcing her to question everything she thought she knew about her childhood. The story alternates between present day and the story of Addie’s mother, Elizabeth, who was sent away from her London home in the 1950s to stay with the Shaw family one summer. We follow Elizabeth and Addie in these alternating time periods as they discover more about themselves each and every day. It’s a sad yet emotionally satisfying read about family secrets and betrayal with an authentic feel to it and has the makings of a great movie.
HELLO GOODBYE by Emily Brewin ( Allen & Unwin, $ 33 )
Set in the 1960s, Hello Goodbye puts a twist on your average coming- of- age story, focusing on 17- year- old May as she is forced to leave home after becoming pregnant. She follows her older boyfriend to Melbourne and here she discovers a whole new world, realms away from life with her Catholic family in small- town Victoria. Set in an era of cultural change and touching on racism, war and forced adoption, this is a powerful and heartfelt read. I would happily recommend it.