A year ago a teenaged boy was found dead on the grounds of a fancy girls’ school, and now, a girl turns up at the police station with a card that says someone knew who killed him. I love the main detectives in this book; young Stephen, desperate for a shot at the Murder Squad, and Conway, who was so frustrated a year ago. The many teenaged girls are well drawn, the atmosphere both real, and eerie, and the mystery satisfyingly convoluted. It took me longer to read this than others in the series, perhaps because I have enough teenaged girl drama in real life, or perhaps because the otherworldly parts of the story were a little much at times, but I still enjoyed it very much.
The scenery isn’t quite as good as when you read (listen to the eAudiobook) rather than watch it, but the accents are as good, thanks to the narrator. An environmental survey starts off badly, and gets worse for the three women up on the lonely hill, who are conducting it. A very satisfying murder mystery, told from four different perspectives, the final one being Vera’s.
This book would best be described as an Australian western adventure. Set during the goldrush we meet brothers Toby and Patrick (Paddy) who have just lost their parents at the hands of a bushranger. What follows is their tale of survival as they attempt to regain thier family farm. The Australian landscape is harsh and so are many of the people who live in it, and for a few a happy ending.
Kim Leamy teaches photography in Melbourne, when she is approached by an American man convinced that she is his sister, who disappeared from their home in 1990. What follows is a fast-paced, psychological thriller, told in the present, and 1990. There is plenty of intrigue, red herrings galore, and a satisfying conclusion.
A cast of offbeat characters who find themselves at Lost Lake, a collection of lakeside cabins. A story of family, loss and friendship. Magic also is a major thread – do we see the magic in everyday life when we need it?
This is one of the titles in the RRL Book Club collection. The Trauma Cleaner tells the true story of Sandra Pankhurst who has lived an extraordinary life: husband and father, drag queen, sex reassignment patient, sex worker, businesswoman, trophy wife. As a little boy, she was raised in violence and excluded from the family home. Sandra now brings order and care to the living, and the dead: a woman who sleeps among garbage she has not put out for forty years, a man who bled quietly to death in this loungeroom. Biographer, Sarah Krasnostein, accompanies Sandra on her cleaning assignments, at the same time piecing together her much forgotten life history. A fascinating and utterly moving story of survival.
Cassie feeds some fox cubs behind her flats in London, though the adults tell her not to. One night, she follows her favourite fox, and finds herself at the Frost Fair on the Thames, in the 17th century. Its a sweet, very simple tale about kindness and a little magic.
Down Under: Travels in a Sunburned Country, for many reasons, was of particular interest to me. It was a book that was easy to pick up where I last left off. Bill Bryson the author, travelled and fell in love with Australia – hence, I have gained a knowledge of places I would love to visit, history of Australia that I never knew, all entangled with Bill Bryson’s amusing and entertaining sense of humour.
Set in London, Saving Missy is about an elderly lady whose world has shrunk until she finds little pleasure in it. A series of encounters see her adopt a dog, which opens her up to community, and reflection on her life. It’s an uplifting story about kindness, acceptance, the uncomplicated love of dogs, and the power of community. For fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and A Man Called Ove, Saving Missy doesn’t feel derivative, but is another hopeful, enjoyable read.
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