Sail by James Patterson

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Genre - Thriller

In an attempt to bring her family back together after the death of her husband, Katherine Dunne plans a sailing trip with her three children and her brother in law, Jake. Her new husband, Peter Carlyle is too good to be true and we soon find out he is not to be trusted. It doesn’t take long for things to go wrong on board the family yacht and their relaxing holiday at sea is set to become a battle for survival. If you like lots of action and don’t mind a few too many coincidences then you will enjoy this fast paced thriller from this popular author.

---- Reviewed by Sue, Knox

The Beach House by Jane Green

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Genre - Family Fiction

This is a good book to read whilst holidaying at your own beach house. Jane Green is a popular author and she has written another easy to read story full of interesting characters. She brings to life the seaside town of Nantucket and introduces us to a number of flawed relationships. The story revolves around eccentric Nan and her lovely old house. She has decided to rent out rooms for the summer to help make ends meet when her son Michael returns home after extricating himself from a messy affair with his married boss. Daniel needs holiday accommodation to be near his estranged wife and beloved daughters and newly divorced Daff is having some much needed time for herself. I enjoyed following the various dramas which unfolded for these people even though I found it a bit too contrived when they discovered a family connection and all wound up on vacation at Windermere.

---- Reviewed by Sue, Knox

Where the streets had a name by Randa Abdel-Fattah

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Genre - Fiction

This is a moving and topical story about the Palestinian experience from a child’s perspective. Thirteen year old Hayaat and her family deal with many obstacles in their daily lives. There are curfews and checkpoints, travel restrictions and dangerous public protests. They live in a small apartment as the family home was confiscated to make way for a new road which is now on the other side of the wall that divides the West Bank. When her grandmother falls ill, Hayaat decides it is important for her to once again touch some soil from her beloved Jerusalem. So she sets out on a curfew free day with her best friend Samy, who loves football and X factor. Although they are only venturing a few kilometres for this handful of dirt it is a long and dangerous journey as they pass through numerous checkpoints without correct travel permits.
This story gives us a very personal insight into the reality of life for so many people who live in the turmoil of war and is based partly on the authors own experiences of travelling in Palestine.

---- Reviewed by Sue, Knox

Oxford menace by Veronica Stallwood

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Genre - Mystery


Kate Ivory is a novelist living in Oxford who has a habit of becoming involved in murder. A local scientific laboratory has become the target for demonstrations by an animal rights group. A small bomb is detonated causing a little damage; graffiti is scrawled on walls & one person receives a letter bomb. When Kerri, the young woman who received the letter bomb, is killed in a hit & run accident, Kate thinks it could be murder. The lab is under pressure from the pharmaceutical company funding its research to get results, & there are several people who suspected Kerri of being a spy for the animal rights group. Kate’s personal life is also complicated with her current boyfriend wanting commitment & her mother mysteriously planning a holiday. This is an atmospheric series of mysteries set in a beautiful city. Recommended for anyone missing Inspector Morse.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Marie-Therese by Susan Nagel

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Genre - Non Fiction


When Louis XVI & Marie-Antoinette were guillotined during the French Revolution, they left two children behind in the Temple Prison. Their son, the little King Louis XVII, died soon after of neglect & abuse, but their daughter, Marie-Therese survived. She escaped from prison on her seventeenth birthday, but her experiences during the Revolution affected her for the rest of her life. She was tormented all her life by rumours that she was an imposter & that her brother had survived. After her escape, she lived in Vienna with her mother’s family, but, apart from short periods back in Paris when her uncles were restored to the throne, she was in exile from France for the rest of her life. Marie-Therese married her cousin, the Duc D’Angouleme, but had no children. She became a mother to her orphaned niece & nephew, & was known as a kind, charitable woman, but with an indefinable sadness caused by the shocking experiences of her childhood.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Murder on a midsummer night by Kerry Greenwood

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Genre - Mystery


Melbourne at the beginning of 1928 is suffering through a heatwave. Phryne Fisher, private investigator, becomes involved in two very different cases. Augustine Manifold’s mother is convinced that his death by drowning was murder, not suicide as the police think. Kathleen Bonnetti has died a rich woman, leaving her fortune to her children, but she hasn’t specified that only her legitimate children can inherit, and there was a missing year in her youth when she may have had an illegitimate child. Phryne is a perfect fantasy figure, rich, young, beautiful & clever. With her adopted daughters, Jane & Ruth, faithful companion, Dot, gorgeous lover, Lin Chung & the rest of her friends, she sets out to illuminate the mysteries of Melbourne in the 20s. Kerry Greenwood’s descriptions of clothes & food are very seductive & this is an exciting fast-paced mystery for lovers of the traditional crime novel.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

La's orchestra saves the world by Alexander McCall Smith

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La (short for Lavender) goes to live in the country when her marriage breaks down. She’s a young woman & with WWII about to break out, she wants to do some war work. She helps out at a poultry farm where she meets Feliks, a Polish refugee, who has been a pilot in the RAF, but is now grounded. La falls in love with Feliks, but she has doubts about his background at a time when everyone is looking for spies. La helps to start up an orchestra in the village along with men from the local air base & people from the nearby town. The orchestra provides a focal point for the members during the worst times of the war with their plans for a victory concert when it’s all over. The descriptions of life in the country during wartime are wonderful, the threat of air raids & the reality of rationing. McCall Smith’s gentle style of storytelling is perfectly suited to this story of a woman trying to overcome sorrow & get on with her life.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Becoming Queen by Kate Williams

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Genre - Non Fiction


Queen Victoria was never meant to be Queen of England. Her cousin, Princess Charlotte, daughter of the Prince Regent, was the heir to the throne. Charlotte’s tragic death in childbirth meant that George III’s many children had to scramble to marry & have legitimate children, one of whom would inherit the throne. Although George III & his Queen had fifteen children, when Charlotte died, there were no other legitimate heirs. The royal Dukes had illegally married unsuitable women or kept mistresses & had over 50 illegitimate children. There was an undignified rush to ditch their partners & find respectable princesses to marry. The Duke of Kent married Victoire of Saxe-Coburg & Victoria was born. This fascinating book tells the story of Charlotte & Victoria. Charlotte’s childhood was unhappy as her parents hated each other & used her to score points off each other. Victoria’s childhood was dominated by her mother as her father died when she was a baby. Victoire came under the influence of Sir John Conroy, who ran her household. They were determined that Victoria would not rule alone & made plans for a regency if her uncles should die before she was eighteen. Victoria was equally determined to rule without her mother or Sir John. Her childhood was one of virtual imprisonment as her mother schemed to promote her daughter to the public as the heir to the throne. An interesting picture of the formative years of a Queen.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Uncommon arrangements by Katie Roiphe

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Genre - Non Fiction


This is a portrait of seven married couples living in London between the wars. Some of the couples, like Katherine Mansfield & John Middleton Murry, and Vanessa & Clive Bell, are still well known. Others, like Vera Brittain & Gordon Catlin are less so. Roiphe is interested in these unconventional couples who tried to negotiate new ways of living. Mansfield & Murry were often separated because she needed to travel to warm climates for her health. Brittain & Catlin had a semi-detached marriage because Brittain wanted to continue working as a writer & journalist while Catlin was an academic in the US. The Bells were at the heart of the Bloomsbury group & had a famously open marriage with Charleston becoming home to Vanessa’s lover, Duncan Grant, & his lover, Bunny Garnett. An interesting look at life, love & marriage.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

We shall not sleep by Anne Perry

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Genre - Mystery


This is the final novel in Perry’s WWI series. Chaplain Joseph Reavley must find out who murdered Nurse Sarah Price at a Casualty Clearing Station in France in the last weeks of the war. The possible suspects include wounded soldiers, medical staff & German prisoners. One of the German prisoners, Schenckendorff, is a vital witness in the plot that Joseph & his brother Matthew, an intelligence officer, have been trying to foil throughout the war. When Schenckendorff is arrested for Sarah Price’s murder, the Reavleys must find the real killer & get Schenckendorff to London before the Armistice is signed. As this is the end of a long series, all the strands of a complex plot must be resolved. Joseph & Matthew, along with their sisters, Judith & Hannah, have been searching for the man they call the Peacemaker, a traitor to Britain’s war effort, who has murdered many people, including their parents. The Reavleys must also find a way to deal with the traumas & grief they’ve suffered & look towards the future.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

The headhunters by Peter Lovesey

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Genre - Mystery


Jo & Gemma sit in a café planning ways to murder Gemma’s irritating boss. Friends Rick & Jake join in the game & they’re soon calling themselves the Headhunters. The laughter stops when Jo finds a woman’s half-naked body on the beach, and when Gemma’s boss disappears, & another body is discovered, the game becomes serious. This is an intriguing mystery. I suspected most of the main characters at some point. DCI Hen Mallin, who featured in a previous novel, The Circle, is the investigating officer, but this isn’t a traditional police procedural. Jo finds herself becoming more & more involved with Gemma’s flights of fancy & as the plot thickens, she can’t tell who to trust. Lovesey’s plot is entertaining, wonderfully convoluted & full of red herrings.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

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It is difficult to assign this novel a genre. Horror? Science Fiction perhaps? Regardless, it is a compelling read - hardly surprising given its Pulitzer Prize winning status. It is both bleak (VERY bleak) and beautiful, the story of the love between a father and son who remain unnamed throughout the story, and who are on a journey to survive(the Road of the title)in a post apocalyptic world. We are left to draw our own conclusions about the cause of the apocalypse. This is an existential piece in which cause and history is irrelevant, nothing that was is any longer. The future is a meaningless concept, all that matters is to survive the day. The father and son however, hold onto a remnant of hope - "the fire". They are "good guys" and this keeps them going.

It is impossible to do justice do McCarthy's prose. Through his profound talent with words, McCarthy takes us on the journey with the two protagonists,in language that like the landscape,is terse and sparse but overwhelming in its descriptive power. It is ultimately a triumph of the power of a father's love and belief in his son, and a little boy's trust that somewhere, in some of the few of the world's survivors, there is still good to be found among the horrors encountered almost daily, in the struggle to survive. Perhaps it is also a comment of hope for the world, that even in the most unspeakable and evil circumstances,somewhere at sometime, the flame of humanity will continue to flicker.

---- Reviewed by Barb, guest

Resistance by Agnes Humbert

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Genre - Non Fiction

Agnes Humbert was an art historian living in Paris when the Germans invaded in 1940. She immediately became part of a group which spread anti-Nazi propaganda throughout occupied France through newsletters called Resistance. The title of the newsletter, Resistance, became the name of all the groups opposing the occupation. Agnes’ group was quickly betrayed & Agnes was arrested & sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for distributing propaganda. This book was written using the diary she kept until her arrest & her memories of her trial & deportation to a German labour camp. Agnes was forced to work in German factories in shocking conditions as slave labour. Slave workers were forced to do the most dangerous jobs such as weaving nylon without any protective clothing. Their hands were continually burnt by acid & they were considered unworthy to receive medical attention or adequate food. Agnes fought back by sabotaging her work so as to make the nylon useless or the wooden boxes she made in another factory fall apart because she cut short the nails she was given. After the Americans liberated the camp in 1945, Agnes began organizing supplies for the refugees pouring into Germany & collecting evidence to prosecute the Nazis. This remarkable book is a testimony to the strength of Agnes Humbert. She never loses her sense of humour, or her sense of outrage at the fate of her country & her determination to survive.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Star gazing by Linda Gillard

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Genre - Romance

This is a wonderful romantic novel with an unusual heroine. Marianne has been blind since birth. Tragically widowed in her 20s when her husband was killed in the Piper Alpha oil rig explosion, she now lives in Edinburgh with her sister Louisa, a novelist who writes Scottish Gothic vampire romance. Now in her 40s, Marianne is lonely but determined not to admit it, spiky, prickly & resistant to help or pity. One night, she arrives home in the snow & loses her door key. A man appears, helps her find her key, they have a brief conversation about Puccini, and he disappears. Keir Harvey lives on Skye, and as he gets to know Marianne, he becomes determined to take her to Skye and “show” her the stars. As a sighted person, I can’t judge how accurate Linda Gillard’s portrayal of blindness from the inside is, but, as a reader, I was totally convinced. Keir is a heart-stoppingly attractive hero, and Marianne is so stroppy, you just have to love her & want this relationship to last. It’s unusual in romantic fiction to have a heroine who exasperates the reader as much as Marianne does, but, the book is all the better for it. There are more than enough bland heroines out there. Marianne is real & the journey she takes with Keir is a delight. Edinburgh & Skye in winter are gorgeous settings for the story, and Louisa & her Goth assistant, Garth, provide some lighter moments. This is a fantastic romance with real characters. I read it in one afternoon, unputdownable.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

The fears of Henry IV by Ian Mortimer

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Genre - Non Fiction

Henry IV is one of the lesser-known English monarchs. Most lovers of English history would know that he deposed Richard II, had leprosy & was the father of Henry V, & most of that was learned from Shakespeare. Actually, he didn’t have leprosy, just a nasty skin disease. He did depose Richard II, but Richard was far from the noble monarch depicted by Shakespeare. He was a paranoid tyrant who planned to disinherit Henry when his father died & threatened the inheritance rights of all the nobility. Parliament virtually begged Henry to accept the crown, but once Henry was king, they thwarted his plans by keeping him short of money. His reign was plagued by rebellions in Wales & in the North of England, wars with France & Scotland, & the struggle with Parliament. In contrast with the glorious military achievements of his son, Henry V, his reign seems disastrous. However, Mortimer’s portrait of the king is a sympathetic one. He had little choice but to depose an unfit monarch, but then had to live with the consequences of an act that was seen to be violating God’s laws.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

The private patient by P D James

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Genre - Mystery


Investigative journalist Rhoda Gradwyn is booked into a private clinic in Dorset to have a scar removed from her face. The scar was inflicted over 30 years before, and when Mr Chandler-Powell, the plastic surgeon, asks Rhoda why she’s having the scar removed now, she says “Because I no longer have need of it.” This is the intriguing opening of the new mystery by P D James. We know on the first page that Rhoda is the murder victim, but why is she murdered? Is it because of who she is, or is it what she knows? James always uses wonderfully isolated locations for her books, & the Dorset clinic is just the kind of remote place with a small group of suspects which she enjoys. The staff of the clinic are the main suspects & most of them have something to hide. The book has an air of finality about it, as Commander Adam Dalgliesh contemplates marriage & a new job when his investigative team is disbanded. Recommended for lovers of the classic English detective story.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Still no fixed address by Jackie Hartnell

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Genre - Non-fiction

Jackie has travelled extensively through the world, mainly by herself and sometimes with members of her family. Her travel dialogues are very easy to read, enjoyable and entertaining.

With a backpack an an enquiring mind, Jackie has adventures in southern England, Spain, Prague, Norway, Cambodia and Vietnam. The details of her 'moto' rides in Cambodia and her funny experiences in outback Australia are just two examples of her travels. Read her first book, No fixed address, for further fun and adventures.



---- Reviewed by Julie, Ferntree Gully

The Warrior's Princess by Barbara Erskine

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Genre - Mystery




Best read from Barbara Erskine, read this book in 3 days. Once again she makes you feel part of the story. I wait with baited breath for the next one. I wish she could write as fast as I read her books.

---- Reviewed by Georgina, Guest

The guernsey literary and potato peel pie society by Mary Ann Shaffer

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This remarkable book is an epistolary novel, a style which went out of fashion around the time of Jane Austen. It consists of letters written in 1946 by Juliet Ashton, a writer living in London, her friends & the members of a literary society on Guernsey. Dawsey Adams has bought a book which Juliet once owned, and has written to the address in the front cover to tell her how much he enjoyed it. The book was the essays of Charles Lamb, and this starts a correspondence which changes Juliet's life. She hears about the formation of the Literary Society during the German occupation of the Channel Islands in WWII, learns what a potato peel pie is, & learns of the harsh conditions of life for the islanders, who were completely cut off from the world & relied on their German captors for news, food, & life itself. I smiled with recognition, laughed & cried. The book is full of the love of books & reading, friendship, & tells a relatively unknown story of WWII. The author worked on the book for many years, and sadly died just before it was published. This is a unique reading experience.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

The vows of silence by Susan Hill

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Genre - Mystery


A gunman is killing young women in the cathedral town of Lafferton. There seems to be no connection between the women targeted, and the police have few leads. DCS Simon Serrailler & his team must follow the few leads available & try to anticipate the murderer’s next move. What distinguishes this series from most other series in the genre is the feel & texture of real life which Hill evokes. Serrailler is another in a long line of loner detectives, wary of commitment in his private life. But, he has a family, and for me, this allows us to see his humanity & makes him a believable character. His sister, Cat, has just returned from a sabbatical in Australia with her husband & children. Cat & Chris are both doctors, and this has brought in other characters to the series that reappear in this book. Most significantly, Jane Fitzroy, an Anglican priest, who ran away from the tentative beginnings of a relationship with Simon in an earlier book. Serrailler’s mother has died, & he’s upset by his father’s new relationship. Other characters are briefly introduced, and, in some cases, violently removed, just as the reader has started to get to know them. We also enter the mind of the killer, and understand his motives while the police are still in the dark. There are plenty of red herrings & the solution is satisfying. I read it in an afternoon & can’t wait for the next installment.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Alfred & Emily by Doris Lessing

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This is an interesting mix of fiction & non fiction. The first half is a fictional idea of what the lives of Lessing's parents (the Alfred & Emily of the title) could have been like if they hadn't married, and if WWI hadn’t disrupted their lives. They meet, but marry other people and are fulfilled in different ways. Lessing feels that WWI blighted their lives, and had an effect on her own life as well. “That war, the Great War…squatted over my childhood…And here I still am, trying to get out from under that monstrous legacy, trying to get free.” Her father lost his leg & met her mother when she was nursing at the Royal Free Hospital. They emigrated to Rhodesia, but it wasn't a great success. Alfred really wanted to be an English farmer in Surrey & Emily's great love was killed in the war, and her life after that was really only second best & full of regrets. The second half of the book is a memoir of Alfred & Emily’s real lives. Lessing has written about her African childhood before, in her autobiographies & the Martha Quest series of novels. Here, though, she focuses more on her parents’ experiences of struggle & hardship, & the result is a moving account of two people who could have been happier if world events had left them untouched.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

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Genre - Fairytale



You know how it is sometimes with a book.... your friends and colleagues come up to you and say that this is a book you would really like but for some perverse reason you decide that it really isn't for you and you choose not to read it... and then you come across that book some while later and pick it up and start reading and find that you are totally entranced and wonder to yourself "Where has this book been all my reading life and why hasn't anyone told me about it?" and then you realise that they have and you have just been too obtuse to sit down and just read it!!! Well such a book is Neil Gaiman's "Stardust".

It begins with the line....

"There once was a young man who wished to gain his Heart's Desire."

and then continues to tell you of the many adventures and misadventures of young Tristran Thorn as he discovers what his Heart's desire truly is.

It has undergone several iterations having been a Graphic Novel, then a Novel, then a Movie, then a Movie tie-in, an Audio Book and now a DVD.
I enjoyed the movie, and I know it's a cliche, but the book is so much better. Gaiman went out of his way to write a fairy/faerie story for adults and he has succeeded brilliantly. I recommend that you get the original graphic novel with illustrations by Charles Vess and then as a special treat request the Audio Book read by the author himself.

---- Reviewed by Paul, Administration

Wedding season by Katie Fforde

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Genre - Romance

This book is gorgeous romantic froth & I loved it. How does Fforde manage to make her heroines real women, juggling jobs, families, relationships, and yet, her men are pure fantasy figures? Still single & straight in their 30s, bruised by love but not bitter, kind, helpful & sexy all at the same time. Sarah is a wedding planner who doesn't believe in romance; Elsa, a dressmaker who needs some self confidence; and Bron, a hairdresser with a boorish boyfriend who wants to make some changes in her life. When a Hollywood celebrity hires Sarah to plan her perfect wedding, Sarah is eager to take up the challenge, with help from Elsa & Bron. Then, her younger sister, Lily, announces that her wedding is planned for the same day, and could Sarah help her plan the perfect wedding with no budget at all? Throw into the mix three lovely men – Hugo, the photographer who reminds Sarah of a miserable love affair; Lawrence, the best man at a wedding where Elsa steps in as bridesmaid at the last minute; and James, a gardener with a bruised heart who lives next door to Bron – and you have all the ingredients for a lovely romance.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

The dig by John Preston

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The Sutton Hoo ship burial is the greatest archaeological discovery made in Britain in the 20th century. On the eve of WWII, Edith Pretty, the owner of Sutton Hoo House, asked Basil Brown, a local archaeologist, to excavate the curious mounds in the grounds of her estate. As he did so, he realized he had found a ship burial, the largest ever found in Britain. The beautiful gold & garnet jewellery, the helmet, silver bowls & other objects found in the burial chamber inspire awe, envy & greed. John Preston's novel is told in the voices of Mrs Pretty, Basil Brown & Peggy Piggott, a young woman on honeymoon with her archaeologist husband. The Piggotts are invited to help on the dig once the professionals from the British Museum, led by C W Phillips, take over. Mrs Pretty is in ill-health, secretly visiting a London spiritualist, hoping to hear from her long-dead husband and struggling to connect with her young son, Robert. Basil is dismayed as his careful discoveries are taken over by the "real" archaeologists and he's sidelined. As his wife, May, says, "My Basil may be self-taught and not have the right letters after his name...that's no reason to treat him like he's all sappy in the head." Peggy has realized already that her marriage is a mistake, and the discoveries she makes on the dig confirm her feelings. The atmosphere of excitement at the dig overshadowed by the coming war, the mystery of the discoveries, and the effect of all this on the characters is beautifully observed.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Ekaterinburg by Helen Rappaport

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Genre - Non Fiction


The fate of the Romanovs is well known. Many books have been written about the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II & his family – Tsaritsa Alexandra, Tsarevich Alexey & the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria & Anastasia – many of them full of wild speculation that some of the family survived the murders in 1918. Helen Rappaport’s new book focuses on the last two weeks of their lives, imprisoned in the Ipatiev House (known to their Bolshevik captors as the House of Special Purpose) in Ekaterinburg, a small town in the Urals. The book is based on extensive research among Russian sources not generally accessible to Western researchers & this is its great strength. Rappaport alternates between taking the reader inside the claustrophobic atmosphere of the Ipatiev House, as the family’s horizons are narrowed to the few rooms on the first floor, circling back through time to fill in background detail on the inept rule of the Tsar which led to the upheaval of revolution, & moving to Moscow, Petrograd & London as political forces influence the family’s fate. The final chapters are harrowing with the description of the family’s murder & the almost farcical ineptitude of the executioners. A compulsively readable book for anyone interested in the Romanovs or Russia in the 20th century.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Deaf sentence by David Lodge

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Desmond Bates has been going deaf for the last 20 years. He took early retirement from his position as Professor of Linguistics because he couldn’t hear what his students were saying. Now, he faces the frustrations & indignities of deafness every day. His wife, Winifred (Fred), is sympathetic but sometimes irritated. When Desmond meets post graduate student, Alex Loom, he agrees - without realizing it - to a meeting about her thesis on the linguistics of suicide notes. He hasn’t heard a word she said at a noisy gallery opening & doesn’t realize he’s agreed to anything at all. This leads him into a confusing relationship with the manipulative Alex, who wants Desmond to supervise her thesis. Desmond is also worried about his elderly father (also going deaf), living alone in London. This is the most poignant and humorous part of the book. Harry lives in the family home, in increasing squalor, hiding money under the floorboards, and refusing to spend any money on making his life more comfortable. David Lodge has written a beautifully observed novel which illuminates the world of people with hearing loss. Desmond’s theory that blindness is tragic while deafness is merely comic is illustrated by the facts of his everyday life – struggles with hearing aid batteries, lip reading classes, & the funny yet frustrating misunderstandings in everyday conversation. Lodge shows the reader the isolation of the deaf in this absorbing novel.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Still waters by Judith Cutler

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Genre - Mystery


Detective Chief Superintendent Fran Harman is happy in her personal life – she’s in love with colleague, Mark Turner, & they’ve bought their dream home together. If only Mark’s daughter could accept their relationship. Her professional life is more of a problem. Her new boss is a man she once mentored, and his attitude to work – and Fran - has changed for the worse. She’s covering for an ill colleague, is reviewing a potentially unsafe conviction before the case comes to court, & trying to investigate a straightforward suicide which she has a hunch may not be so simple. Her desire to keep working on the investigative side of her job is thwarted by the new boss’ love of constant meetings & committees. Her relationship with Mark takes a potential turn for the worse when his selfish daughter leaves her husband & wants to move back home. I enjoy this series very much. Fran is a middle-aged woman trying to juggle work & family, caught in the trap at work of being promoted away from the parts of the job she loves. There’s plenty of police procedural here as well as the personal lives of the main characters, and the potential for the series to develop in new ways as Fran takes on a new job at the end of the book.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Bad Hair Days by Pamela Bone

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Genre - Non-fiction


This biography was published in 2007 while Pamela was in remission from cancer. Pamela was a well known Melbourne Age journalist, feminist, human rights champion and a passionate advocate for women. This is not a true step by step account of medical intervention but a journey into an extremely interesting and often sad struggle to awake the Australian public about the reality of the happenings to humans in Africa, especially children and women. A moving look at serious illness and how it affects sufferers and their families. Pamela died on 27 April 2007.

---- Reviewed by Julie, Ferntree Gully

La Vie Parisienne : looking for love and the perfect lingerie by Janelle McCulloch

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Genre - Non-fiction

If you have ever visited Paris, this book is a good reminder of the feel of the atmosphere of this city. Janelle has caught the essence of a Parisian in the respect that she has spent many hours studying the culture, especially the female of the species. Being well dressed and wearing high heeled shoes are a must for the women and the men just love females. There are great descriptions of walking in the back streets of Paris and the gazing that happens when sitting having coffee in one of their many wonderful cafes. You will learn about food, wine and local titbits of everyday life. As quoted in her book, ‘An education in style, glamour, gastronomy and grace in a place where even the asparagus spears are exquisite’. I loved the black and white photographs that really complement the style of book.

---- Reviewed by Julie, Ferntree Gully

The Night Ferry by Michael Robotham

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Genre - Mystery

Detective Alisha Barba becomes involved in a sinister world of slavery and people trafficking when she is reunited with her old school friend Cate Beaumont. Cate is pregnant and afraid and her last words to Alisha are about her fears for her baby when she is suddenly killed by a car. Alisha follows a trail of deceptions from London to Amsterdam and discovers a dangerous smuggling ring which exploits orphans from Afghanistan and desperate middle class families in London.



---- Reviewed by Sue, Knox

Things I want my Daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble

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Genre - Family

Lisa, Jennifer, Amanda and Hannah have lost their mother, Barbara to cancer. Each one of them is going to miss her terribly as they face the trials and triumphs of their life without her. Before Barbara died she wrote letters to her four daughters to help them to cope with their loss and to give them just a bit more of her advice and wisdom. For such a bleak subject this story is full of love and warmth and humour as Barbara writes down her memories of the early years of marriage and children and her thoughts on relationships and love. It is a celebration of life filled with people we can identify with and care about.


---- Reviewed by Sue, Knox

Sisters by Danielle Steel

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Genre - Family Relationships


Sisters tells the story of 4 girls and a year in their lives where everything that they had known changes forever and they are left picking up the consequences. Sabrina, the lawyer, Tammy, the TV producer, Annie, the artist and Candy the 21 year old Supermodel all head back to the family home for the regular 4th of July party. Unfortunately an accident occurs which results in the family being torn apart as they all struggle to live with the after effects of the accident. All of the four girls suddenly have to get used to life without their mother, who had been a strong influence in the lives of her daughters and one of the girls is left blind. Their father falls apart emotionally after the accident as his wife had been his cornerstone. The following year that follows brings major life changes that need to be dealt with and sorted out by everyone involved. I found this story to be interesting and at times moving as the characters gradually sort out their lives.


---- Reviewed by Sarah, Croydon

Mr Darcy’s Diary by Maya Slater

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Genre - General fiction


If you have read Pride and Prejudice then hopefully you would enjoy the story from Mr Darcy’s point of view as told by Maya Slater. Mr Darcy’s Diary follows the same time period as Pride and Prejudice but is told in the form of diary entries written by Mr Darcy. At different times throughout the story bits of text from Pride and Prejudice appear, such as in conversations between characters. It is suggested by Maya Slater through these entries that the reader can see how and why Mr Darcy acts the way he does, what influences him and has his attentions. Maya Slater has used other historically well known people that the Darcy family would have known as other characters within the story. An example of this is Lord Byron who in the story is a good friend of both Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley. The book has an Editor’s note about a desk and what was found in the desk. It turned out that Jane Austen was somehow connected with the country estate that the desk had been at. Found in the desk, in a hidden compartment was a diary that was similar to the story of Pride and Prejudice. What or how true the connections maybe it is fun to speculate. I found it to be a great read and thoroughly enjoyed the story as presented.

---- Reviewed by Sarah, Croydon

The Quickie by James Patterson

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Genre - Thriller


This is another extremely fast moving book by James Patterson. Lauren's marriage is perfect she has a fantastic job and she loves her life. Which is why she can't believe her eyes when she witnesses the ultimate betrayal, Lauren sees her husband with another woman. This leads her to seek revenge a way to even the playing field. However her revenge quickie, a night of passion takes a terrifying turn when she witnesses a shocking crime. The crime threatens to unravel her whole life and it doesn't seem to matter which choices Lauren makes; she just can't seem to catch a break, when the crime is brought into the light of day and the police take on an aggressive stance towards solving the case.


---- Reviewed by Tegan, Guest

The Mitfords : letters between six sisters ed by Charlotte Mosley

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Genre - Non Fiction


The Mitford sisters were notorious for beauty & scandal. Diana married Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists & one of the most hated men of the 20th century. Unity had a passion for Hitler, lived in Germany during the 1930s & was so distraught at the outbreak of WWII that she attempted suicide. Jessica was a Communist, running away with a young man to the Spanish Civil War & spent much of her life in America. Nancy was a novelist with a waspish sense of humour who lived in France & was unhappily in love with a man who would never marry her. Pamela loved the country life but became increasingly eccentric in later life. Deborah married the Duke of Devonshire, and turned Chatsworth into one of the most popular stately homes in Britain. The letters between the sisters span almost the whole 20th century & are a fascinating look at life for the upper classes. The relationships between the sisters go through good & bad times. Jessica refused to speak to Diana for decades because of her disgust at her politics. Nancy informed against Diana during WWII which led to her being interned & separated from her children. After the death of their mother in 1963, Deborah became the centre of the correspondence, and she is the most likeable & stable of the sisters. Happy in her marriage & with the great work of transforming Chatsworth, she is the link between the sisters as they grow older.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

The far traveler by Nancy Marie Brown

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Genre - Non Fiction


This book combines history, archaeology & the storytelling of the sagas to tell the story of Gudrid, an Icelandic Viking woman who sailed to Vinland – America - in the 11th century. Gudrid’s story is told in two of the Icelandic sagas, stories combining myth and history. They were written down 200 years after the Viking Age, but they represent the oral stories handed down since that time. In this book, Brown retells the sagas & also shows how archaeology has proven some of the stories to be true. The Vikings are known to have reached the coast of America hundreds of years before Columbus. Evidence has been found of a settlement there, founded by Eirik the Red. It was abandoned only a few years later, but stories of Vinland (Vine Land) were told in Greenland and Iceland long after. Gudrid was a great traveler. She went on a pilgrimage to Rome as well as traveling in Europe & America. The book tells the story of Gudrid by bringing in details of the lives of other Viking women known about from history & saga. It brings to life the harsh conditions of life in the far north, and the struggle for survival which led people to explore the outer limits of their world.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult

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Genre - Fiction

Picoult has written another absorbing moral dilemma, this time it's about a condemned inmate's desire to be an organ donor. Itinerant carpenter Shay Bourne was sentenced to death for the murder of a little girl, Elizabeth Nealon, and her policeman stepfather. Eleven years later, Elizabeth's sister, Claire, needs a heart transplant, and Shay volunteers. Should Claire and her mother, June accept the heart from this man? Should the State allow him to choose the manner of his execution to enable organ donation? The complex plot includes debates about capital punishment, organ donation, mother-daughter relationships and religion.

---- Reviewed by Sue, Knox

The suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale

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Genre - True Crime

This absorbing book is an examination of one of the most famous murder cases of the 19th century. Three year old Saville Kent was found horribly murdered in the outdoor privy of Road Hill House in June 1860. Jonathan Whicher, one of the first plain clothes detectives at Scotland Yard, is sent down two weeks after the murder, to help the local police. Whicher becomes convinced that one of the family is responsible for Saville’s death. The case exposed the Kents to intrusive publicity, and the family’s history was laid bare. Samuel Kent’s first wife had died, some said of madness, some said because he was having an affair with the governess. When Samuel then married the governess, and started a second family, the older children were said to feel neglected and jealous. Saville was the favoured child of this second marriage. Had one of his half-siblings murdered him out of spite & jealousy? Had Saville seen his father in bed with the nursemaid and been killed to keep him quiet? Had a jealous neighbour or disgruntled former servant taken their revenge on Samuel by murdering his beloved child? All these theories were canvassed in the press, and Jonathan Whicher’s investigation reached an inconclusive end. His career was damaged by his failure to bring the culprit to trial, although he was confident he knew who the murderer was. Five years later, the murderer was brought to trial after a dramatic confession. But was this the truth? Summerscale’s recreation of the crime is masterly. She shows the influence of the murder on the sensation fiction of Wilkie Collins and Mary Elizabeth Braddon which was so popular in the 1860s. The case exposed middle-class society’s secrets and flaws.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

An expert in murder by Nicola Upson

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Genre - Mystery


The writer becomes the detective in this first novel by Nicola Upson. Josephine Tey was one of the best writers of detective fiction in the Golden Age. In this novel, she becomes a character, a suspect, and maybe even the next intended victim. Tey also wrote plays under the pseudonym Gordon Daviot, and had a great success in the 1930s with Richard of Bordeaux, her play about Richard II. On the train to London from Edinburgh for the final week of the play's run, Josephine meets a young fan, Elspeth Simmons, and is horrified when, on arrival at Kings Cross, Elspeth is murdered. There are hints that Josephine’s play had something to do with the murder. Was Josephine the intended victim? Detective Inspector Archie Penrose of Scotland Yard, a friend of Josephine’s, investigates. The novel gives a wonderful picture of London theatre life in the 30s, all the backstage gossip, the artifice behind the on-stage glamour. There were almost too many characters with too many hints of possible connections & motives. I enjoyed Archie Penrose, with his obvious echoes of Tey’s fictional detective, Alan Grant, but there was a little too much flitting from one character to another. I would have liked more emphasis on the police investigation. This is an enjoyable novel with a great deal of atmosphere, and I’m looking forward to the next novel in the series.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Murder on the Apricot Coast by Marion Halligan

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Genre - Mystery


Cassandra Travers has married the Colonel (from Halligan’s previous book, The Apricot Colonel) and it looks as though they will live happily ever after. When the daughter of one of Al’s friends is found dead after a drug overdose, it’s shocking, but doesn’t seem mysterious. Except that Fern’s parents were sure she wasn’t on drugs, and then, someone starts chasing Fern’s laptop which contains the manuscript of a shocking expose of child prostitution & illegal immigration. When Cassandra & Al take possession of the laptop, they begin to investigate. Halligan has written a novel filled with lovely domestic detail about Cassandra’s life in Canberra & at Al’s spectacular house on the coast. She writes lusciously about food, as always. I could almost taste the prawns on black bread. Cassandra’s job as an editor leads to lots of delicious, thinly veiled literary gossip & opinions that add to the enjoyment. The mystery element isn’t particularly mysterious, but I read these books for the pleasure of the seductive detail of Cassandra’s life & work.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

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Genre - Fiction

Kate and Tully are two women who have been friends for thirty years. They meet in 1974 as girls in a small country town where Kate feels she is a social outcast and Tully seems to be the coolest girl in the world. One terrible night they make a pact to be friends forever and we follow their lives and loves through the years against a backdrop of popular music from the times. This is the kind of book that is easy to read, with larger than life characters making difficult, wrenching decisions. It reminds us of the importance of friendship in our lives and to appreciate the people who have made us who we are.


---- Reviewed by Sue, Knox

S is for Silence by Sue Grafton

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Genre - Mystery


What you thought: S is for Silence is the nineteenth in the series of the alphabet mysteries with Kinsey Millhone, who never fails to disappoint. It’s September 1987, thirty five years previously, Daisy Sullivan’s mother; Violet, disappeared from Serena Station, California on the 4th July 1953 and was never heard from again. Now Daisy wants peace of mind.

At first Kinsey is hesitant to open this case, but she decides to spend five days looking into it. Soon Kinsey discovers that there are people that want to keep their association with Violet away from prying eyes. They will do anything to stop Kinsey, even if it means killing her in the process…

This is another great mystery from Sue Grafton, she knows how to keep us in suspense, drawing out the tension to the point where it is almost painful. There have been times where I have found myself telling Kinsey ‘Kinsey, don’t do that, you’re asking for trouble’. But she goes ahead and does it anyway.


---- Reviewed by Nola, Guest

Daphne by Justine Picardie

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Novelist Daphne Du Maurier is at a crossroads in her life. She’s just turned 50. Her husband, Tommy, is having a nervous breakdown, he’s been having an affair for several years, and their marriage has become distant and remote. Daphne becomes absorbed in writing a new book, a biography of Branwell Bronte, brother of the famous Bronte sisters. Daphne has been obsessed with the Brontes since childhood and wants to rehabilitate Branwell’s reputation. She corresponds with Alex Symington, a librarian who is an expert on Branwell’s manuscripts, but has some secrets of his own. Another strand of the novel is about a young woman researching her PhD on Daphne in present day London. This is the least effective part of the novel. The references to Du Maurier’s most famous novel, Rebecca, are not subtle and don’t really add much to the book. The story of Du Maurier and her life at Menabilly, the house in Cornwall which inspired Manderley in Rebecca, is absorbing. A novel for anyone who loves reading about writers and their obsessions.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Death and the Maidens by Janet Todd

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Genre - Non Fiction


Fanny Wollstonecraft was a 22 year old girl who committed suicide in a small hotel in Wales in 1816. Her sad story is one of the sidelights of literary history because her mother was Mary Wollstonecraft, a famous feminist, and her half-sister was Mary Godwin, who married the poet Shelley, and wrote Frankenstein. Fanny’s life was lonely and unregarded. She was illegitimate and her father abandoned mother and daughter shortly after Fanny’s birth. Her mother died giving birth to Mary when Fanny was only three, and she then lived in the household of her stepfather, William Godwin, with his second wife and several step-siblings. Fanny was the odd one out, not pretty, not clever, put-upon. When Shelley eloped with Mary Godwin, leaving Fanny behind, she was devastated. Her loneliness increased as she was torn between her stepfather and her siblings. Janet Todd’s book is a fascinating look inside this circle of geniuses. Written with sympathy for Fanny’s short, unhappy life, it is essential reading for anyone interested in the Romantic poets.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters