Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Weathering the Storm is the latest book by Queensland writer Mandy Magro who has been producing books in the romance genre since 2011. She writes with authority using insights from her own previous adventures. As a passionate woman and a romantic at heart, Mandy loves writing about soul-deep love, the Australian
Reviewed by Rod McLary There is something about rural noir which immediately engages the hearts and minds of Australian readers. Whether it is the immersion in the landscape, the laconic dialogue of the characters, or the familiarity of those characters, the novels in this genre – think Jane Harper, Chris Hammer, Jack Heath and others
Reviewed by Ian Lipke This is vintage Nora Roberts – with the odd strength and certainly weakness thrown in. It is a novel about an injured cop who fights to bring down a pair of twisted killers. Natural Resources police officer, Sloan Cooper, and her partner had just taken down three men preying on hikers
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Once again well-known celebrity Anh Do and illustrator, Anton Emdin, have combined to produce another book in the series Smarty Pup. For those who do not know this series, Lily’s dog JJ had once had purple space goop plopped on him and since then he had become a talking genius, so
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke This book is another beautifully presented hard-covered children’s book about Dreaming stories. Presented by First Nations’ people, these books share the stories and knowledge passed down from generations to generations. The information in this particular book is presented by Uncle Bud Marshall who shares information of the land around Nambucca Heads.
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke This beautiful hard-covered children’s book is by debut author Sharara Attai. She believes that the racial and cultural diversity within her own children and their cousins is a good reflection of modern-day Australia. Through the brief text on each page and illustrations including people from diverse backgrounds, she shares the message
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Gretchen Shirm’s book, Out of the Woods, is such an accomplished piece of work that a reader is encouraged into speculation. Evidence exists to provide a solid case. We are told that the writer was a former lawyer, a conclusion we would have drawn from the tightness of the title, the
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke The Maid’s Secret is another story by Nita Pronovost, better known by her pen name Nita Prose. Her Maid series of stories includes The Mistletoe Mystery, The Mystery Guest and The Maid. Her 2022 debut novel, The Maid, won an Anthony Award (2023), Barry Award (2023), Goodreads Choice Award (2022), Macavity
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Annette Kellerman had little hope of living a normal, suburban life, at least that’s the way Grantlee Kieza tells her story in his latest biography. The granddaughter of a grandmother and mother who could be classed only as odd, and a grandfather who, in his eccentricity, chose to live his life
Reviewed by Richard Tutin When we want to make sense of modern society who can we turn to for some ideas and possible guidance? Philosophers spring to mind but the field is wide and varied. The same goes for other writers who have written about the state of their society as they saw it. Professor
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve The title, Unsettled, poses questions that Kate Granville’s personal history of the last 200 years seeks to offer with powerful insights into our own relationship with the land which was ‘settled’ by the English in 1788. The crushing defeat of the referendum in 2023 compels those who were disappointed and deeply
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders Australia is famously girt by sea, and a beautifully presented hardback on our 40 coastal tracks from across the nation has to be welcomed. The walks have previously featured in Great Walks magazine and, according to Brent McKean, this book is a little different because you really get to understand what
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders Journalists are prolific story tellers. Their profession is demanding and stress is no stranger. But that can go to another level when they become the story. Particularly when that story involves incarceration in a foreign jail. Working for an Arab news service, Peter Greste suddenly went from relative obscurity in Australia
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve The sequel to the first novel written by this husband and wife team Dead Girl Gone is, by all accounts, as charming and humorous as readers previously enjoyed. Written in brief, alternating chapters, Eloise and Garth, own and run Sherlock Tomes in a small New Zealand town, Havelock North. Over time,
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Sara Foster is beginning to establish herself as an author who contributes a little bit extra to her stories. Her latest book, When She Was Gone, is an excellent example of a story that appears straight forward but, as each event or piece of knowledge is revealed so too are complications