Reviews

Florence Nightingale is a figure so well-known historically that her name has become a shorthand for describing someone virtuous and self-sacrificing in the care of others. But how much of the real woman, or indeed the period in which she lived do most people really know? In her debut novel, Brisbane-based writer Laura Elvery has…

Hekate, the daughter of Titans, has never known safety. When her parents are on the losing side of war with Zeus, her mother Asteria seeks refuge in the Underworld, where Styx and Hades agree to raise Hekate. Asteria flees, pursued by Zeus and Poseidon, while Hekate’s father, the Titan Perses, is captured, locked away somewhere…

Staggering through the desert, Jesse Bartos stumbles across a train station. Wounded and with only fragmented memories of what brought him to Dawn’s Holt station, he’s taken in by a welcoming, albeit strange, family, who assure him that the train will come. He just has to be patient. Stark Holborn returns with fever dream For…

Holly is a professional ghost-whisperer, convincing unruly and unwanted spirits to go into the light. It’s honest-ish work – those ghosts are making life difficult for the living, after all – but she’d be lying if she said she couldn’t use a big payday. Enter Callum. Successful paranormal investigator and podcast host. Oh, and Holly’s…

Bri Lee‘s latest novel takes us deep into the wilderness of Antarctica, to an area that some might call barren while others call it beautiful. Lee uses this landscape of dualities, in which two scientists undertake the final stages of a seed vault project to protect the biodiversity of the world’s flora, to unravel issues…

Karen Herbert‘s fourth novel is described as a ‘psychological medical thriller’; but, if you’re worried about gory surgical scenes or murderous doctors, then perhaps it might be better to think of The Ghost Walk as a mystery with an unlikely detective at its heart, and focus more on the psychological aspect. The protagonist of The…

There aren’t many of us who can imagine our lives changing in an instant. But many years ago, journalist, Nathan Dunne found that this was his reality. He contracted an illness called depersonalisation, a misunderstood and highly mysterious condition, as this book highlights. When Nothing Feels Real is Dunne’s first book. But,  he manages to…

Ever since her mother left, Dusty has always been a little withdrawn. Eschewing crowds and sticking with her younger sister Opi and best friend Mali, her books and the beautiful wilderness that surrounds her mountain home are enough for her. But one morning Dusty wakes with dirt on her feet, and no recollection of how…

Nina and Patrick first meet at the age of 12, whisked away to Belavere City to undergo a traditional rite of passage. Here, children discover their calling: the alchemical magic of the Artisans or the essential yet undervalued work of the Craftsmen. But, as they wait to find their fate, Nina and Patrick uncover a…

More than 100 years on from Picnic at Hanging Rock, Australian novelists are still exploring the terror of being lost in the Australian landscape, with many genres now borrowing from what we know as the Australian Gothic. Bronwyn Rivers‘ debut thriller, The Reunion, is one such novel, a mystery with an air of menace throughout as five…

Marion Taffe‘s debut work of historical fiction, By Her Hand, released earlier this year, is already sporting comparisons to literary heavyweights like Geraldine Brooks and Lauren Groff. Set in 10th Century Mercia, AKA England before it was actually England, the story follows Freda, a young woman whose fascination with learning, stories, and the power of…

The ‘little world’ of the title in Josephine Rowe‘s latest novella refers to the sphere of consciousness of an unusual narrator. Arriving in a wooden box in the back of a horse float, she is a nameless girl, perhaps a saint, perhaps a miracle; but, certainly she is the body of a young girl who…

Recently divorced phys-ed teacher Makayla is about to turn thirty and is determined to make up for lost time by having as many of the quintessential experiences that she missed out on in her twenties as possible. She makes a list. It includes such things as: go skinny-dipping, get a tattoo, and, the first cab…

Gareth and Louise Ward’s first co-authored novel, Dead Girl Gone, launched The Bookshop Detectives into a burgeoning cosy crime genre which has remained dominated by Richard Osman‘s Thursday Murder Club books since 2020. Loosely based on themselves, the Wards have created another gang of loveable amateur crime-solvers in Garth and Eloise Sherlock, two former police…

There’s a monster living in Cadenze. Confined to a pit deep inside the mountain, it’s been waiting – hungering – for its next meal. And Angelina Sicco, with her wonderfully full life, tops the menu. Attaching itself to her, the monster lurks somewhere in Angelina’s mind, waiting for the perfect moment to feast. But both…

Anna Maynard‘s debut novel, Dancing with Bees, might just be the perfect read to get you through the colder months of the year. Promising to delight fans of Emily Henry and Marian Keyes, this brightly coloured novel is more than a rom com – it’s a delight. Sunny Moritz is thirty-three and a little bit aimless….

For Sala and Kib, hiding beneath the lake in the safety of Kib’s ship, life has become fairly comfortable. Kib is researching the planet, using his technology to learn as much as he can about Palude. And Sala is waiting on the keei eggs laid on the wings of the ship to mature enough to…

“The queer love child of pulp horror and classic sci-fi” Barbara Truelove’s rip-roaring sci-fi adventure of AI and monsters is full of human heart. Of Monsters and Mainframes may feature a cast of sentient AI and monsters of the night, with humans operating largely as minor characters, but underneath all those fangs and fur and…

Acclaimed biographer Jacqueline Kent explores the left wing movement through the lens of women writers in her latest biography Inconvenient Women: Australian Radical Writers 1900 – 1970, tracking the lives and works of prominent authors and poets such as Mary Gilmore, Katherine Susannah Prichard, Kath Walker and Dorothy Hewitt among many others. In her introduction…

Atmospheric in a strange, almost empty way, The Sun Was Electric Light is the debut novel from Australian author Rachel Morton. As the winner of the 2024 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards, it may come as no surprise to hear that this one is something truly special, meditative and evocative – or that this uniqueness comes at…

Tara Calaby’s second novel The Spirit Circle came out in January of this year and has followed hot on the heels of her debut, The House of Longing, which came out in 2023 – an impressive turnaround for historical fiction, which often requires extensive research. The result is an assured and atmospheric read featuring headstrong heroines, forbidden…

Headstrong women and vibrant imagery take centre stage in Nadia Mahjouri’s debut novel, Half Truth, in which themes of belonging and identity meld with those of motherhood and family to create a rich and powerful story of a grandmother and granddaughter united in their uncertainty by the absence of one man. In 1999, Zahra begins…

If you’re a fan of sci fi/fantasy novels that are more on the cosy end of the scale, you’ve probably heard of TJ Klune – or at least heard of his novel The House in the Cerulean Sea and its highly anticipated sequel. But you probably haven’t heard of The Bones Beneath My Skin, which…

Lord Alaric Valerian has spent centuries isolated in his crumbling castle, busying himself with his artistic endeavours, and making a fine mess while doing it. But, even vampires suffer from overbearing parents and his mother has decided that Black Crag Castle is the perfect place for a ball – a ball where they will announce…

1863 Melbourne comes to life in Madeleine Cleary‘s much buzzed about debut novel, The Butterfly Women, released earlier in the month through Affirm Press. A publishing imprint making a name for itself in historical fiction, Cleary joins renowned historical fiction writer Pip Williams (The Dictionary of Lost Words), as well as a growing list including the…

Agathion College isn’t the kind of school to offer scholarships. Isolated on a remote Scottish moor it houses the problem children of the rich, powerful, and famous, teaching them philosophy, and the value of the mind over the body. And yet, Page Whittaker is here. Invited by the Archon to join Agathion, all she wants…

American rom-com writer, Emily Henry, although having already published several novels for young adults, really made a name for herself with her first novel for adults, Beach Read in 2020. Since then, the publication of a new Emily Henry novel has become a major bookish event, with the release of her latest book, Great Big…

Like the protagonist of her second novel, Jessica Stanley is an Australian writer living in London. They share other similarities too, such as favourite authors, and perhaps the moments that Stanley has drawn from her own experience in order to shape Coralie’s are what makes her story feel so real. Set against the backdrop of…

“…our idea of nature is cultural… the idea of nature doesn’t much serve the needs of the creatures we share the planet with or even the needs of most humans, but has been largely constructed to serve a powerful few.” Jane Rawson’s thorough exploration of scientific history and the cultural relationship with the concept of…

It’s 2018, and zombies are taking over Australia. Sunny, Toby, and baby Veronica are on the run, trying desperately to survive. Or, at least, that’s the case for Toby and Veronica. Sunny’s already dead, but, somehow, she’s still clinging on. Nearly two decades later, Vee lives and works in an underground facility, wiping out the…