‘Inconvenient women', mortality and a controversial work by Joan Didion: 13 new books to delve into
So here we are, going into the last month of autumn and if you're one of those people getting ready to hunker down in the impending cooler weather then there are plenty of new books for you to stock up on. Memoirs, fiction, science, even a controversial posthumous publication − so much to feast on. No wonder May is named after Maia, the Roman goddess for fertility and growth.
Always Home, Always Homesick
Hannah Kent
Picador, $36.99
April 29
Burial Rites, about the last woman executed in Iceland, was one of those books that captured the imagination of readers when it was published in 2013. Now Hannah Kent has written a lovely memoir about the curious path she took to becoming a writer − an exchange program took her as a 17-year-old to Iceland, a country she chose because she had never seen snow. She had the luck, she writes, to be born into a story-loving family and with that legacy has written three novels and now this tender account of how Iceland captivated her and forged her literary career.
Desire Paths
Megan Clement
Ultimo, $36.99
April 29
In her introduction, Megan Clement, who has lived in Australia, France, England and Zimbabwe, writes that 2020 was the year when 'grief' and 'trauma' were dropped into the cultural mainstream. In the course of this touching and carefully constructed memoir of dealing with the stringencies of the Melbourne lockdowns and the impending death of her terminally ill father, she also considers the nature of home, belonging and the meaning and realities of borders.
Little World
Josephine Rowe
Black Inc., $27.99
April 29
Orrin Bird has been left an unusual bequest − the incorruptible body of a saint in a box made of canoe wood. (Remember the saint in Charlotte Wood's Stone Yard Devotional?) The saint was young when thought to have died brutally, but her mind is still active, 'time breaking contract with her body' and 'death has brought very little in the way of answers'. In clear prose, this short, idiosyncratic novel brings us the people with whom the little saint 'travels' through time and landscape, her response to their predicaments and her reflections on her own existence. A remarkable concoction.
Everything Lost, Everything Found
Matthew Hooton
HarperCollins, $34.99
April 30
What was it Faulkner said? 'The past is never dead. It's not even past.' The revisiting of earlier events occurs in many novels, and does so again in Matthew Hooton's much-admired third. Jack is 12 years old when his mother is mauled by a croc in the Tapajos River in Brazil. Many years later, Jack, by now a grandfather, recognises he doesn't 'have infinite time to curate my own past' as his wife Gracie 'slips into ever longer states of forgetting'. But how can he come to terms with the past and his present?
Lonely Mouth
Jacqueline Maley
Fourth Estate, $34.99
April 30 The first novel by Jacqueline Maley, columnist with The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, became a bestseller. Her second opens with a paragraph that leaps off the page and plunges you into the story of Matilda, a fry chef at posh Sydney restaurant Bocca, her younger half-sister Lara, a model who lives in Paris, and their flighty mum, Barbara. When Lara's father, the decidedly dodgy actor Angus, reappears in their lives, any sort of equilibrium goes up in smoke. It's hard to put down.
Notes to John
Joan Didion
Fourth Estate, $34.99
April 30
This book is slightly problematic. You wonder whether its author − were she still alive − would have approved of its publication. Joan Didion wrote the adored Year of Magical Thinking, about the 2003 death of her husband, John Gregory Dunne. This posthumous book consists of notes addressed to him reporting on sessions with her psychiatrist, and reveals frank comments about their adopted daughter Quintana, alcoholism, depression and much more. If you love Didion, you'll probably want to read this.
I Want Everything
Dominic Amerena
Summit Books, $34.99
April 30
'I acted immorally, but what did literature have to do with morality?' asks the would-be literary star − 'a style machine with no substance' − early in this absorbing novel about truth and ambition. The unnamed narrator stumbles on a controversial, reclusive author − 'sharply chiselled cheekbones, like the bust of a deposed dictator' − and proceeds to try to find out why she disappeared from the public eye. But to woo Brenda's trust, he tells a porky or three, and she might just be leading him on for her own purposes. All will be revealed in Dominic Amerena's delicious debut.
The Opposite of Lonely
Hilde Hinton
Hachette, $32.99
April 30
The world takes its toll and Rose is well aware of that. Somehow, she seems to have shaken off friends, her father has died, her husband is no longer her husband and even her young son Max is trying her patience more than usual. After a near disaster while out shopping, a knight in shining armour comes to the rescue; Ellie, who becomes her new bestie. Loneliness is a curse at the best of times, so a friend indeed for a friend in need is a good thing … usually. Hilde Hinton has written another gentle and perceptive look at the travails of life.
Vaccine Nation
Raina MacIntyre
NewSouth, $34.99
May 1
Biosecurity expert Raina MacIntyre's latest book is a lament at the rise since 2020 of health disinformation and a plea to understand the value of vaccinations given the sad inevitability of a new pandemic. She points out that flu vaccinations in Australia in the over 65s are at 60 per cent, whereas only a few years ago, 70 per cent was the norm. To improve public perception of vaccines and public health, according to MacIntyre, we need 'political will, global cooperation and an integrated approach'.
Inconvenient Women
Jacqueline Kent
NewSouth, $34.99
May 1
Jacqueline Kent's titular women are the 'daughters of the suffragists, the mothers of … 1970s feminists'. These are the writers, ranging from Jean Devanny, author of the controversial The Butcher Shop, to Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonuccal), Katharine Susannah Prichard and Nettie Palmer, who 'used their power with words in support of their beliefs, and to question and change elements of the world'. There are plenty of familiar names, but many not so well known, and Kent brings her cast of writers effortlessly to life.
The Power of Choice
Julian Kingma
NewSouth, $49.99
May 1
Julian Kingma is a wonderful photographer. In this book, he has chosen to photograph terminally ill people who have decided to make use of Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation to ease their anxiety about death and regain dignity through their control of it. His stark black and white images are confronting, tender, beautiful, and terribly revealing. As 82-year-old former yoga teacher Liberty Pack says, 'I have no anxiety. I have a very peaceful feeling about the way my end will be.' The Power of Choice also has short introductions by Andrew Denton and Richard Flanagan.
The Emperor of Gladness
Ocean Vuong
Jonathan Cape, $34.99
May 13
The American poet and novelist won acclaim for his first novel, the brilliantly titled On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, and follows it up with a story that begins with 19-year-old Haia about to jump from a bridge. He is stopped by an old Latvian woman, Grazina, suffering from dementia, who invites the troubled youth to stay with her. Both are struggling, but the connection they form through their friendship − their love − from their particular edges of American society brings meaning to them both.
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The Names
Florence Knapp
Phoenix, $32.99
May 13
Does it matter what name you have? In Florence Knapp's first novel, Cora gives birth to a boy and wants to call him Julian. Her domineering husband reckons he should be named Gordon, as he is, while her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, reckons the moniker should be Bear. And so Knapp gives us three versions of the boy's life when the family circumstances are at times grim, and his life takes differing paths depending on his name. There's big word of mouth in the publishing world about this sliding doors novel.
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The Advertiser
a day ago
- The Advertiser
The best winter escape is a pile of fresh books
This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to The sun's early departure behind the escarpment used to fuel resentment. Any warmth turned quickly to chill. Muscles tightened, bones ached as night closed in after 4.30pm. I felt cheated. Winter, you always seemed mean, a bitter interlude between autumn's colourful glory and spring's message of hope and renewal. But you're changing. As each year passes, you grow milder. The frosts that once settled regularly have become rare, at least in this coastal hinterland. The skies of unrelenting grey are now more likely cobalt. And less than a week in and I can already count the sleeps until the days grow longer and you begin your return to the northern hemisphere, where I've always thought you belong. This year, I've resolved to seek out your charms and make the most of them. You see, I'm changing too. During the day, when you grace us with clear skies, I'll snatch a few minutes here, a few there, in that patch of sun that makes its way under the deck. Warmth in winter is precious, more so when delivered naturally by sunlight. It lifts the spirits and by helping the body to produce vitamin D boosts the health of muscles and bones. Not too much; a total of three hours per week will do. I'll find enrichment in your long nights, too, and not just with the hearty food the season demands - the soups; the pasta; the long, slow roasts. Winter is the season for reading and this year's headstart in autumn has me immersed in ancient Rome and Egypt. Mary Beard and Tom Holland have introduced me to the scandalous lives of the Roman emperors, opening my ears to the echoes now sounding in world affairs. Caligula, I see you in the White House! Guy de la Bedoyere is peeling back the mysteries of Tutankhamun's dynasty, revealing as he goes the immense difficulty faced by Egyptologists as they try to make sense of the ancient civilisation. After that, Islam Issa's history of Alexandria awaits. Only self-discipline prevents me from leap-frogging to it. The promise of losing myself in these fascinating stories bestows appeal on the long winter nights. I've even come to welcome them. As the house creaks and shudders in the cold, these histories transport me. They're inexpensive escapes into worlds unknown. So, winter, while you have me in your grip, I intend to make the most of it. The pile of books by the armchair will grow. So, too, the pile on the bedside table which already threatens to topple over. Not for me whiling away the nights in passive entrapment to the TV. Far better the adventures of the mind, which spring from the pages of books. As I write this, the shadows outside lengthen. The sun dips towards the escarpment. My thoughts turn to ancient Egypt and the evening's journey which lies ahead. HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you read more in winter? Do you prefer fiction or nonfiction? What book are reading now? Besides time to read, what are winter's other redeeming features? Email us: echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - Minimum wage earners will take home an extra $32 a week in pay after the industrial umpire handed nearly three million low-paid workers a wage rise above inflation. - The Greens are facing their "most serious test" as a party following the defection of a senator to Labor after a poor federal election result. - Minutes from the last Reserve Bank board meeting reveal why they came close to an unusually large cut, as the bank's chief economist outlines how they think Donald Trump's tariffs could hit the domestic economy. THEY SAID IT: "A home without books is a body without soul." - Marcus Tullius Cicero YOU SAID IT: A chat with Giuseppe and a delicious panini show that food shopping need not be joyless chore. Murray, who grew up in Christchurch in the 1960s, remembers his delight at the variety of food he found in local delicatessens when he moved to Australia. "It was a revelation. Over the last 20 years food shopping has gone a full circle. Everything is pre-packaged for your convenience. And to remove any sensory enjoyment whatsoever. It's all so dreary." All is not lost, writes Paul, who recently spent 10 weeks in Tasmania. "People were generally a lot friendlier, always having the time to chat. Overall, the produce was so much nicer than on the mainland. Sourdough bakeries everywhere, good coffee, great wineries, and nearly every town has weekend markets where you can buy local. Everything is close." Brad laments the changes: "Yes, there were delis, fruit shops, butchers and the ubiquitous milk bars in the '60s. And the proprietors were locals who knew our parents and us children by name. Now it's the super stores and the multinational franchises that inhabit every suburb. Time poor is matched by quality poor. Correlation with mental health crisis, anyone?" This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to The sun's early departure behind the escarpment used to fuel resentment. Any warmth turned quickly to chill. Muscles tightened, bones ached as night closed in after 4.30pm. I felt cheated. Winter, you always seemed mean, a bitter interlude between autumn's colourful glory and spring's message of hope and renewal. But you're changing. As each year passes, you grow milder. The frosts that once settled regularly have become rare, at least in this coastal hinterland. The skies of unrelenting grey are now more likely cobalt. And less than a week in and I can already count the sleeps until the days grow longer and you begin your return to the northern hemisphere, where I've always thought you belong. This year, I've resolved to seek out your charms and make the most of them. You see, I'm changing too. During the day, when you grace us with clear skies, I'll snatch a few minutes here, a few there, in that patch of sun that makes its way under the deck. Warmth in winter is precious, more so when delivered naturally by sunlight. It lifts the spirits and by helping the body to produce vitamin D boosts the health of muscles and bones. Not too much; a total of three hours per week will do. I'll find enrichment in your long nights, too, and not just with the hearty food the season demands - the soups; the pasta; the long, slow roasts. Winter is the season for reading and this year's headstart in autumn has me immersed in ancient Rome and Egypt. Mary Beard and Tom Holland have introduced me to the scandalous lives of the Roman emperors, opening my ears to the echoes now sounding in world affairs. Caligula, I see you in the White House! Guy de la Bedoyere is peeling back the mysteries of Tutankhamun's dynasty, revealing as he goes the immense difficulty faced by Egyptologists as they try to make sense of the ancient civilisation. After that, Islam Issa's history of Alexandria awaits. Only self-discipline prevents me from leap-frogging to it. The promise of losing myself in these fascinating stories bestows appeal on the long winter nights. I've even come to welcome them. As the house creaks and shudders in the cold, these histories transport me. They're inexpensive escapes into worlds unknown. So, winter, while you have me in your grip, I intend to make the most of it. The pile of books by the armchair will grow. So, too, the pile on the bedside table which already threatens to topple over. Not for me whiling away the nights in passive entrapment to the TV. Far better the adventures of the mind, which spring from the pages of books. As I write this, the shadows outside lengthen. The sun dips towards the escarpment. My thoughts turn to ancient Egypt and the evening's journey which lies ahead. HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you read more in winter? Do you prefer fiction or nonfiction? What book are reading now? Besides time to read, what are winter's other redeeming features? Email us: echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - Minimum wage earners will take home an extra $32 a week in pay after the industrial umpire handed nearly three million low-paid workers a wage rise above inflation. - The Greens are facing their "most serious test" as a party following the defection of a senator to Labor after a poor federal election result. - Minutes from the last Reserve Bank board meeting reveal why they came close to an unusually large cut, as the bank's chief economist outlines how they think Donald Trump's tariffs could hit the domestic economy. THEY SAID IT: "A home without books is a body without soul." - Marcus Tullius Cicero YOU SAID IT: A chat with Giuseppe and a delicious panini show that food shopping need not be joyless chore. Murray, who grew up in Christchurch in the 1960s, remembers his delight at the variety of food he found in local delicatessens when he moved to Australia. "It was a revelation. Over the last 20 years food shopping has gone a full circle. Everything is pre-packaged for your convenience. And to remove any sensory enjoyment whatsoever. It's all so dreary." All is not lost, writes Paul, who recently spent 10 weeks in Tasmania. "People were generally a lot friendlier, always having the time to chat. Overall, the produce was so much nicer than on the mainland. Sourdough bakeries everywhere, good coffee, great wineries, and nearly every town has weekend markets where you can buy local. Everything is close." Brad laments the changes: "Yes, there were delis, fruit shops, butchers and the ubiquitous milk bars in the '60s. And the proprietors were locals who knew our parents and us children by name. Now it's the super stores and the multinational franchises that inhabit every suburb. Time poor is matched by quality poor. Correlation with mental health crisis, anyone?" This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to The sun's early departure behind the escarpment used to fuel resentment. Any warmth turned quickly to chill. Muscles tightened, bones ached as night closed in after 4.30pm. I felt cheated. Winter, you always seemed mean, a bitter interlude between autumn's colourful glory and spring's message of hope and renewal. But you're changing. As each year passes, you grow milder. The frosts that once settled regularly have become rare, at least in this coastal hinterland. The skies of unrelenting grey are now more likely cobalt. And less than a week in and I can already count the sleeps until the days grow longer and you begin your return to the northern hemisphere, where I've always thought you belong. This year, I've resolved to seek out your charms and make the most of them. You see, I'm changing too. During the day, when you grace us with clear skies, I'll snatch a few minutes here, a few there, in that patch of sun that makes its way under the deck. Warmth in winter is precious, more so when delivered naturally by sunlight. It lifts the spirits and by helping the body to produce vitamin D boosts the health of muscles and bones. Not too much; a total of three hours per week will do. I'll find enrichment in your long nights, too, and not just with the hearty food the season demands - the soups; the pasta; the long, slow roasts. Winter is the season for reading and this year's headstart in autumn has me immersed in ancient Rome and Egypt. Mary Beard and Tom Holland have introduced me to the scandalous lives of the Roman emperors, opening my ears to the echoes now sounding in world affairs. Caligula, I see you in the White House! Guy de la Bedoyere is peeling back the mysteries of Tutankhamun's dynasty, revealing as he goes the immense difficulty faced by Egyptologists as they try to make sense of the ancient civilisation. After that, Islam Issa's history of Alexandria awaits. Only self-discipline prevents me from leap-frogging to it. The promise of losing myself in these fascinating stories bestows appeal on the long winter nights. I've even come to welcome them. As the house creaks and shudders in the cold, these histories transport me. They're inexpensive escapes into worlds unknown. So, winter, while you have me in your grip, I intend to make the most of it. The pile of books by the armchair will grow. So, too, the pile on the bedside table which already threatens to topple over. Not for me whiling away the nights in passive entrapment to the TV. Far better the adventures of the mind, which spring from the pages of books. As I write this, the shadows outside lengthen. The sun dips towards the escarpment. My thoughts turn to ancient Egypt and the evening's journey which lies ahead. HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you read more in winter? Do you prefer fiction or nonfiction? What book are reading now? Besides time to read, what are winter's other redeeming features? Email us: echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - Minimum wage earners will take home an extra $32 a week in pay after the industrial umpire handed nearly three million low-paid workers a wage rise above inflation. - The Greens are facing their "most serious test" as a party following the defection of a senator to Labor after a poor federal election result. - Minutes from the last Reserve Bank board meeting reveal why they came close to an unusually large cut, as the bank's chief economist outlines how they think Donald Trump's tariffs could hit the domestic economy. THEY SAID IT: "A home without books is a body without soul." - Marcus Tullius Cicero YOU SAID IT: A chat with Giuseppe and a delicious panini show that food shopping need not be joyless chore. Murray, who grew up in Christchurch in the 1960s, remembers his delight at the variety of food he found in local delicatessens when he moved to Australia. "It was a revelation. Over the last 20 years food shopping has gone a full circle. Everything is pre-packaged for your convenience. And to remove any sensory enjoyment whatsoever. It's all so dreary." All is not lost, writes Paul, who recently spent 10 weeks in Tasmania. "People were generally a lot friendlier, always having the time to chat. Overall, the produce was so much nicer than on the mainland. Sourdough bakeries everywhere, good coffee, great wineries, and nearly every town has weekend markets where you can buy local. Everything is close." Brad laments the changes: "Yes, there were delis, fruit shops, butchers and the ubiquitous milk bars in the '60s. And the proprietors were locals who knew our parents and us children by name. Now it's the super stores and the multinational franchises that inhabit every suburb. Time poor is matched by quality poor. Correlation with mental health crisis, anyone?" This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to The sun's early departure behind the escarpment used to fuel resentment. Any warmth turned quickly to chill. Muscles tightened, bones ached as night closed in after 4.30pm. I felt cheated. Winter, you always seemed mean, a bitter interlude between autumn's colourful glory and spring's message of hope and renewal. But you're changing. As each year passes, you grow milder. The frosts that once settled regularly have become rare, at least in this coastal hinterland. The skies of unrelenting grey are now more likely cobalt. And less than a week in and I can already count the sleeps until the days grow longer and you begin your return to the northern hemisphere, where I've always thought you belong. This year, I've resolved to seek out your charms and make the most of them. You see, I'm changing too. During the day, when you grace us with clear skies, I'll snatch a few minutes here, a few there, in that patch of sun that makes its way under the deck. Warmth in winter is precious, more so when delivered naturally by sunlight. It lifts the spirits and by helping the body to produce vitamin D boosts the health of muscles and bones. Not too much; a total of three hours per week will do. I'll find enrichment in your long nights, too, and not just with the hearty food the season demands - the soups; the pasta; the long, slow roasts. Winter is the season for reading and this year's headstart in autumn has me immersed in ancient Rome and Egypt. Mary Beard and Tom Holland have introduced me to the scandalous lives of the Roman emperors, opening my ears to the echoes now sounding in world affairs. Caligula, I see you in the White House! Guy de la Bedoyere is peeling back the mysteries of Tutankhamun's dynasty, revealing as he goes the immense difficulty faced by Egyptologists as they try to make sense of the ancient civilisation. After that, Islam Issa's history of Alexandria awaits. Only self-discipline prevents me from leap-frogging to it. The promise of losing myself in these fascinating stories bestows appeal on the long winter nights. I've even come to welcome them. As the house creaks and shudders in the cold, these histories transport me. They're inexpensive escapes into worlds unknown. So, winter, while you have me in your grip, I intend to make the most of it. The pile of books by the armchair will grow. So, too, the pile on the bedside table which already threatens to topple over. Not for me whiling away the nights in passive entrapment to the TV. Far better the adventures of the mind, which spring from the pages of books. As I write this, the shadows outside lengthen. The sun dips towards the escarpment. My thoughts turn to ancient Egypt and the evening's journey which lies ahead. HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you read more in winter? Do you prefer fiction or nonfiction? What book are reading now? Besides time to read, what are winter's other redeeming features? Email us: echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - Minimum wage earners will take home an extra $32 a week in pay after the industrial umpire handed nearly three million low-paid workers a wage rise above inflation. - The Greens are facing their "most serious test" as a party following the defection of a senator to Labor after a poor federal election result. - Minutes from the last Reserve Bank board meeting reveal why they came close to an unusually large cut, as the bank's chief economist outlines how they think Donald Trump's tariffs could hit the domestic economy. THEY SAID IT: "A home without books is a body without soul." - Marcus Tullius Cicero YOU SAID IT: A chat with Giuseppe and a delicious panini show that food shopping need not be joyless chore. Murray, who grew up in Christchurch in the 1960s, remembers his delight at the variety of food he found in local delicatessens when he moved to Australia. "It was a revelation. Over the last 20 years food shopping has gone a full circle. Everything is pre-packaged for your convenience. And to remove any sensory enjoyment whatsoever. It's all so dreary." All is not lost, writes Paul, who recently spent 10 weeks in Tasmania. "People were generally a lot friendlier, always having the time to chat. Overall, the produce was so much nicer than on the mainland. Sourdough bakeries everywhere, good coffee, great wineries, and nearly every town has weekend markets where you can buy local. Everything is close." Brad laments the changes: "Yes, there were delis, fruit shops, butchers and the ubiquitous milk bars in the '60s. And the proprietors were locals who knew our parents and us children by name. Now it's the super stores and the multinational franchises that inhabit every suburb. Time poor is matched by quality poor. Correlation with mental health crisis, anyone?"
The Age
a day ago
- The Age
Looking for your next crime fix? Here are four novels by local authors
The moral centre of the story is Rose, a former British police officer, whose traumatic encounter with domestic abuse early in her career effectively frames the narrative. She's since completed a PhD, written a bestselling book and is volunteering at a refuge while also compiling a report to parliament on this pressing social issue in hopes of changing the legislation for the better. It therefore comes as a shock when Rose is informed out of the blue that her estranged daughter has gone missing with her two small charges while working as a nanny for a wealthy family in Western Australia. Rose's obnoxious ex-husband is immediately on the phone begging her to find the daughter she barely knows. But is it too late for them both? Although our attention is initially on Rose, Foster also introduces the endearing detective, Mal Blackwood. On the cusp of retirement, Blackwood is desperately trying to save his marriage of 38 years, but is unable to resist the lure of a big case: a propensity his long-suffering wife Margie knows only too well. While Blackwood leads the official investigation, Rose follows her own line of inquiry with the two narrative threads converging in an effective, and affecting, dénouement. What lifts this thriller to another pitch are the keen observations of the many family lives upon which it touches. They may be very different but they are similar in their complexity and pain. Carved in Blood Michael Bennett Simon and Schuster, $34.99 The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin Alison Goodman Harper Collins, $34.99 New Zealand writer Michael Bennett is also writing about family life, but from the rather different perspective of former detective senior sergeant Hana Westerman. Hana has recently left the force to return to her home town of Tātā Bay after several bruising cases that feature in the two earlier books in this always compelling award-winning series. Crime series characters often carry a lot of baggage and Hana is no exception, although all you need to know is telegraphed in the opening paragraphs as she faces down a mako shark while swimming in the bay. Although brave and calm under pressure, Hana inevitably has her breaking point. This arrives when her ex-husband, another detective, is gunned down while buying champagne to celebrate their daughter Addison's engagement to her non-binary partner PLUS-1. While this appears to be a random incident, it's anything but. Hana therefore offers her services to the investigating officer, a young female Pasifika detective, who Hana perceives as the kind of much-needed cop who might eventually effect systemic change. Bennett doesn't labour the point while providing telling insights into Māori culture. As Hana watches a group of Māori teenagers who have just passed their driving test chasing her ex-husband's cop car round the rugby oval, her cousin points out that it's 'Nice to see a bunch of Māori kids chasing the cops instead of the other way around'. Ouch. Carved in Blood concludes with the promise of a sequel and a whole lot of new trouble for Hana, whose work is hardly done. Catch up with her soon. Looking for something different again? Then I can suggest nothing better than Alison Goodman's entertaining Regency romp, The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin. If you loved the TV series Bridgerton, then you will love this book, although there is far less sex and a lot more unrequited passion. As a component of her PhD in creative writing, Goodman meticulously researched the period before completing two novels, of which this is the second. Rest assured, while the historical detail is impressive, the author never lets pedantry get in the way of a rollicking good story that also has its more serious side. Loading As in Bridgerton, there's a swag of feminist and political revisionism. Lady Augusta and her twin sister, Julia, are harbouring two women on the run, essentially for their same-sex union. Although this might seem a stretch, Goodman introduces the reader to the true case of the Ladies of Llangollen, two women who flouted convention by setting up a home together in North Wales and who are now considered to be an iconic queer couple. The often testy-with-each-other sisters, Gus and Julia, are also in love despite being considered to be old maids at the venerable age of 40. While Gus has fallen for Lord Evan Belford, who has been framed for murder and is also on the run, Julia is enamoured of a Bow Street Runner, a man considered far beneath her in social stature. The pair are also exceptional sleuths, largely because of their cultural invisibility as older women. Although the adventure that ensues may be less of a road guide and more of cautionary tale in which Gus breaks every imaginable rule to save her lover, there's rather more to The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin than romance.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Looking for your next crime fix? Here are four novels by local authors
The moral centre of the story is Rose, a former British police officer, whose traumatic encounter with domestic abuse early in her career effectively frames the narrative. She's since completed a PhD, written a bestselling book and is volunteering at a refuge while also compiling a report to parliament on this pressing social issue in hopes of changing the legislation for the better. It therefore comes as a shock when Rose is informed out of the blue that her estranged daughter has gone missing with her two small charges while working as a nanny for a wealthy family in Western Australia. Rose's obnoxious ex-husband is immediately on the phone begging her to find the daughter she barely knows. But is it too late for them both? Although our attention is initially on Rose, Foster also introduces the endearing detective, Mal Blackwood. On the cusp of retirement, Blackwood is desperately trying to save his marriage of 38 years, but is unable to resist the lure of a big case: a propensity his long-suffering wife Margie knows only too well. While Blackwood leads the official investigation, Rose follows her own line of inquiry with the two narrative threads converging in an effective, and affecting, dénouement. What lifts this thriller to another pitch are the keen observations of the many family lives upon which it touches. They may be very different but they are similar in their complexity and pain. Carved in Blood Michael Bennett Simon and Schuster, $34.99 The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin Alison Goodman Harper Collins, $34.99 New Zealand writer Michael Bennett is also writing about family life, but from the rather different perspective of former detective senior sergeant Hana Westerman. Hana has recently left the force to return to her home town of Tātā Bay after several bruising cases that feature in the two earlier books in this always compelling award-winning series. Crime series characters often carry a lot of baggage and Hana is no exception, although all you need to know is telegraphed in the opening paragraphs as she faces down a mako shark while swimming in the bay. Although brave and calm under pressure, Hana inevitably has her breaking point. This arrives when her ex-husband, another detective, is gunned down while buying champagne to celebrate their daughter Addison's engagement to her non-binary partner PLUS-1. While this appears to be a random incident, it's anything but. Hana therefore offers her services to the investigating officer, a young female Pasifika detective, who Hana perceives as the kind of much-needed cop who might eventually effect systemic change. Bennett doesn't labour the point while providing telling insights into Māori culture. As Hana watches a group of Māori teenagers who have just passed their driving test chasing her ex-husband's cop car round the rugby oval, her cousin points out that it's 'Nice to see a bunch of Māori kids chasing the cops instead of the other way around'. Ouch. Carved in Blood concludes with the promise of a sequel and a whole lot of new trouble for Hana, whose work is hardly done. Catch up with her soon. Looking for something different again? Then I can suggest nothing better than Alison Goodman's entertaining Regency romp, The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin. If you loved the TV series Bridgerton, then you will love this book, although there is far less sex and a lot more unrequited passion. As a component of her PhD in creative writing, Goodman meticulously researched the period before completing two novels, of which this is the second. Rest assured, while the historical detail is impressive, the author never lets pedantry get in the way of a rollicking good story that also has its more serious side. Loading As in Bridgerton, there's a swag of feminist and political revisionism. Lady Augusta and her twin sister, Julia, are harbouring two women on the run, essentially for their same-sex union. Although this might seem a stretch, Goodman introduces the reader to the true case of the Ladies of Llangollen, two women who flouted convention by setting up a home together in North Wales and who are now considered to be an iconic queer couple. The often testy-with-each-other sisters, Gus and Julia, are also in love despite being considered to be old maids at the venerable age of 40. While Gus has fallen for Lord Evan Belford, who has been framed for murder and is also on the run, Julia is enamoured of a Bow Street Runner, a man considered far beneath her in social stature. The pair are also exceptional sleuths, largely because of their cultural invisibility as older women. Although the adventure that ensues may be less of a road guide and more of cautionary tale in which Gus breaks every imaginable rule to save her lover, there's rather more to The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin than romance.
