What should I read this week?

Cheryl Akle recommends eight new books, from Jacinda Ardern's memoir to a gripping crime thriller by Stephen King

What to read this week

Who could forget the images of New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern embracing grieving families after the Christchurch mosque attacks? It captured the compassion that would mark her leadership, and it was just one of many challenges Ardern faced. Even as she became leader, she hid her pregnancy, acutely aware that any display of emotion might be seen as weakness. In this thoughtful memoir, Ardern reflects on an eventful term in office, and on her childhood, including years spent in a remote logging town where her father served as the local police officer.

Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

After Ash’s restaurateur father dies suddenly, a handsome stranger claiming to be an old friend is quick to get in touch and he’s soon sharing a bed with Ash’s mum, Paddy’s beloved widow. But did he really know Paddy that well? Ash is the only one who senses something is off. Meanwhile, the local florist is wondering who her new husband really is when he disappears for days on end, and a series of other women have the same doubts about their partners. Jewell’s latest thriller is all the more shocking since it is based on real-life stories of serial conmen scamming vulnerable women.

Ransom War by Max Smeets

Author and cyber crime expert Max Smeets takes a deep dive into the frightening, relatively new phenomenon of cyber crime, revealing the real people behind it, what they want and what can be done to stop them. The operations are more sophisticated than most people would imagine, with a hierarchical structure that resembles a modern corporation. The victims aren’t just faceless either – they include individuals, schools, hospitals and
government departments, meaning this modern crime is a threat to every one of us, and to national security and society in general. Compulsory reading for leaders and policy makers, and fascinating to anyone, really.

Never Flinch by Stephen King

It takes a master like Stephen King to at least try to place us inside the mind of a killer on a mission to murder. This murderer isn’t killing at random. He is targeting victims to avenge a friend wrongly accused of a crime, and killed in prison. It’s a mission that makes no sense, but readers do get a glimpse of his twisted logic. Meanwhile, private detective Holly has been hired to protect women’s rights activist Kate McKay from a stalker enraged by her stance on abortion. As Holly closes in on the stalker, the two storylines collide. King is the king of crime, proving it again with this complex moral thriller.

Cult Bride by Liz Cameron

When we hear of people entrapped by a cult, it’s easy to assume it would never happen to us, or our loved ones. But people succumb every day. Liz Cameron was recruited at a Canberra shopping mall by seemingly ordinary people. By the time family members became alerted, it was too late. Liz had been brainwashed by cult members, and taught to shun her family, friends and university before coming close to death. It is the devotion of her family, with the help of a deprogrammer from the US, that saved her from the standard cult means of breaking a person – food and financial control, lack of sleep and hard work. A powerful, eye-opening story of manipulation, survival and recovery.

Danger Road by A. L. Tait

Writer A. L. Tait, also known as Allison Tait, is passionate about getting youngsters to read, and this is precisely the kind of story to engage young minds: twenty-five years ago, on a dark winter’s night, teenager Corey Armstrong was left for dead by a hit and run driver on Danger Road. The incident becomes the subject of a “true crime” podcast, as young brothers Alex and Leo decide to try to find out what happened. Tait says: “This one is the closest thing I could write to an adult crime novel while sticking firmly in middle-grade territory” and Candice Fox has blurbed it, saying: “A tense, immersive thriller that’ll be your next addiction.” Bravo!

Rise and Ahine by Kimberley Allsopp

Noah and August would seem to be happily married but August is secretly thinking she may be happier if they were no longer together. Why is she having these thoughts, and is Noah having them too? As it turns out, he is, and the cracks in the relationship deepen when they call their new dog different names. Allsopp’s second novel is wonderfully observed: it’s easy to become immersed in the fracturing of the relationship, with many resonant moments as the couple discover all that they took for granted in their relationship. Noah had always wanted to make music and August longed to paint. Now they have all the time in the world, but will they end up feeling empty?

King of the Desert by Nick Arley

Nick Arley moved from England to Australia at the age of five. In a remote NSW town, he entertained himself with horseback riding and pushbikes until he tried a friend’s Honda motorbike. That sparked a lifelong obsession, entering off-road competitions around the world and even riding across the Arctic Circle in Alaska. Then came a quest for a Guinness World Record in his attempt to cross all 10 of Australia’s deserts in record time. Arley takes us on the ride as he faces the planning required to complete the feat in only 14 days, as well as the passion and commitment to traverse some of the world’s harshest deserts alone.