Ten new release books to read to get you through winter
Winter is the perfect time to curl up with a good book. From gripping action thrillers to relatable romance, here are ten new release stories to kick off your reading.
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THE SAFE PLACE by ANNA DOWNES
AFFIRM PRESS, RRP $32.99
This family-based thriller starts out as a very slow boil, drawing you in with drip-fed hints, subtle character development and vivid visual descriptions.
Emily is a struggling amateur actress living in London who, after being fired from a temp receptionist job at his company, catches the eye of her wealthy former boss, Scott. He recruits her for a position as house manager and assistant to his wife, who cares for their sick daughter at their extremely remote and luxurious estate in the French countryside.
Told in alternating points of view between Emily and Scott, with flashbacks from wife Nina, the secrets of this story are divulged one small morsel at a time, starting with the seemingly perfect Scott and why he’s so determined to get Emily in his family’s employ.
While The Safe Place at first reads like a meandering stroll through the French countryside, slowly dropping hints and creating enough suspicion about what exactly is going on with this affluent family to keep you turning the page, the big reveal two-thirds of the way through has the story rattling home like a high-speed rollercoaster.
Although this story did leave me with a few questions, it’s an engaging thriller and a promising debut from Brit-turned-adopted-Aussie Anna Downes.
VERDICT: AN IDYLLIC THRILLER
reviewed by Elouise Tynan
THE HALF SISTER by SANDIE JONES
MACMILLAN, RRP $30
A pleasant tradition of Sunday family lunch is ruined forever when a stranger knocks on the door looking for her long-lost father. Jess claims she’s the half-sister of gobsmacked Kate and Lauren – and she does bear a remarkable resemblance to the latter. That shock meeting opens the door for a forensic examination of the family’s seemingly uneventful past. Importantly, could the morals of their recently deceased father, always seen as a trustworthy pillar of the family, be suddenly drawn into question? With their grieving mother Rose angry and in denial, it’s left to Kate and Lauren to dig for the truth. As family secrets are unearthed, it’s soon hard to determine where the lies begin and end. Sandie Jones, author of the bestseller The Other Woman delivers a domestic drama loaded with twists and turns, red herrings and secrets in every family member’s closet. Don’t expect too many thrills, but it’s an easy, entertaining read to fill a Sunday afternoon.
VERDICT: SIBLING SECRETS
reviewed by Carina Bruce
CODE NAME HELENE by ARIEL LAWHON
SIMON & SCHUSTER, RRP $33
Historical fiction is not usually my first pick when browsing the bookstore shelves but this is an exception well worth making. This novel is one of my new favourites. Not only because the story is based on true life journalist and World War II spy Nancy Wake but also because the antipodean spy (born in New Zealand, bred in Australia) is shown as the strong and brave leader that she was and not the somewhat dismissive femme fatale that she has often been characterised. Of course, this is fictionalised story but there is just the right amount of fact woven through to make it a great read for people unfamiliar, or like me, very familiar with the true-life history of this war hero, who was also known as the White Mouse. The detailed descriptions and deep scene setting make this a story to sink your teeth into and at almost 450 pages you will want to settle in and take your time.
VERDICT: TRUE LIFE SPY THRILLER
reviewed by Karina Kilmore-Barrymore
THE TRIALS OF PORTNOY by PATRICK MULLINS
Scribe, $35
It is interesting that the very people who evangelise about freedom and democracy are the very ones who always want to curtail our liberties. Especially, in the past, when it came to books and what we can or cannot read. This wonderful account of how a group of brave publishers, booksellers and academics brought down Australia’s ridiculous censorship regime, bringing to light the amazing verbal contortions and twisted logic state and federal governments would go to in order to keep us in order. With the publication of Philip Roth’s Portnoy’s Complaint in 1970, Penguin Books set in motion a series of prosecutions that showed just how illiterate our leaders were, and just how far they were willing to go to impose a morality that itself was corrupt and depraved — charges they laid on books they didn’t like, had often never read or ones that may lead readers to think.
VERDICT: SENSE AND CENSORSHIP
reviewed by Barry Reynolds
DIARY OF A YOUNG NATURALIST by DARA McANULTY
TEXT, RRP $29.99
Teenager McAnulty lives in Northern Ireland and, as he matures in a world heavy with expectations on young people, he keeps a diary observing the tiniest creatures and plants in his garden. He begins by focusing on the small, the personal, and the beautifully frail, then expands his view to the wider world. In doing so, he takes us on a journey of discovery, both of nature and of ourselves. “Spring does something to the inside of you,” writes McAnulty. “All things levitate. There’s no choice to move up and forward.” As it follows the seasons, Diary of a Young Naturalist is a field guide for anyone, young or old, and no matter where they live, wanting to explore the natural world and their relationship with it. Hopefully it will inspire many people.
VERDICT: IMPASSIONED
reviewed by Jeff Maynard
PREY by L.A. LARKIN
CLAN DESTINE PRESS, RRP $29.95
This thriller is awash with blood and gore but it’s also a must-read as investigative journalist Olivia Wolfe takes on a chilling international assassin and a syndicate of rhino poachers who have a lot to lose. Appropriately named Wolfe, who goes above and beyond her journalistic calling, can usually cover her back, armed with martial arts skills, knives, guns and cyber hackers on her team. As far-fetched as that may sound, Wolfe pushes the gripping action along at pace as she probes four murders and links in South Africa, England, Russia and Vietnam between politicians, billionaires and even a poor teacher. Apart from the bloodshed, this book will make you think more deeply about the cruel trade in southern Africa’s rhino horns. This is the second book in Australian-based Louisa Larkin’s Wolfe series – after her heroics in Afghanistan, Antarctica and a military base in Nevada – but it works well as a stand-alone novel too. Just let your stomach settle after dinner before tackling the gruesome bits.
VERDICT: MORE WOLFE WITH BITE
reviewed by Carina Bruce
THE DEAD LINE by HOLLY WATT
RAVEN BOOKS, RRP $30
The debut writer who won the CWA Steel Dagger for best thriller published in the UK in 2019 is back with a second book featuring investigative journalist Casey and her team, Miranda and Hessa. This time, they confront some of the worst abuses of the fashion industry, and the lengths some desperate couples will go to to have a baby. In both cases, the trail leads to Dhaka in Bangladesh. Casey’s task is to connect a desperate message for help found sewn into a fashion garment made in one of Bangladesh’s worst clothes factories, to a powerful Harley Street specialist who helps British couples desperate for a baby. The investigation takes her into the Rohingya refugee camps, where girls are stolen to become surrogates. Not all survive. The journalists also have their own issues – Miranda wonders what she will do to save her marriage, Casey deals with the fallout of a relationship that collapsed, and Hessa connects with a heritage she never knew. The sections that deal with the Rohingya women are the most moving in what is a dark story of the underside of Western gloss. CORINNA
VERDICT: CONFRONTING
reviewed by Corinna Hente
ON SECRETS by ANNIKA SMETHURST
HACHETTE, RRP $17
When News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst answered a knock at the door on June 4 last year, her life was turned upside down. Instead of the carpet cleaner she was expecting, five Australian Federal Police officers stood on her landing waiting to raid her apartment in connection to a story she had written 13 months earlier about a proposal to expand the powers of the Australian Signals Directorate. What ensued was a seven-hour examination of her apartment, where even her freezer and every page of her cookbooks was examined for any notes connected to the story. The raid thrust Smethurst into the unenviable role of poster girl for press freedom. And while the AFP may have recently ruled out charges, Smethurst spent almost a year with the threat of a possible jail term hanging over her head. It had a profound effect on her. This is a must read for anyone who believes in the value of press freedom.
VERDICT: READ ALL ABOUT IT
reviewed by Shelley Hadfield
BEACH READ by EMILY HENRY
PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE, RRP $16
Don’t let the colourful cover or generic title fool you – Beach Read is a romantic tale of two very different writers, filled with humour, chemistry and true heart.
January, an established romance author, lives for swoony contemporary stories that end with happily-ever-afters. While Gus, a published literary author, is intent on documenting all the hardships and hurt life so often dishes out.
When the two meet (or I should say re-meet given they were college rivals), January is wrestling with writer’s block after a family betrayal and Gus has long retreated into his own world to battle complications from his past.
In order to tackle their problems, the pair issue each other a challenge – write a novel in the other’s genre.
Don’t let the heavier subject matter plaguing our protagonists put you off. Beach Read is exceptionally funny and grounded in authenticity, providing the perfect counterbalance to Gus and January’s life drama, and has all the light and bright interactions you expect from a love story.
Beach Read is a fully formed romance that should be added to your to-be-read list yesterday.
VERDICT: RELATABLE ROMANCE
reviewed by Elouise Tynan
BURN by PATRICK NESS
WALKER BOOKS, RRP $25
Sarah Dewhurst is an ordinary girl living on a struggling American farm in the 1950s, when her dad employs a dragon. Soon she discovers it’s not a random event: she’s the focus of an ancient dragon prophecy that places her at ground zero for the start of a war that will destroy humankind. And the dragon’s not the only one with an agenda – an assassin and the FBI are both rushing to intervene. The local racist Deputy is paying close attention, though that’s more about her mixed race parentage and her friendship with a local boy from a Japanese family. The Cold War is at its height, and the world has just discovered the Russians are putting up a spy satellite. Dragons and humans have an uneasy peace, but all that hangs in the balance. When the fiery confrontation comes, it has explosive consequences. Ness, who has won a host of awards for his young adult writing, is best known for the fantastic Chaos Walking trilogy. He says this is a stand-alone book at this stage, though I’m expecting a series.
VERDICT: FAST AND FURIOUS
reviewed by Corinna Hente
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