The Stranger at the Table by Cassie Hamer

 

 I’m on a roll! I keep discovering brilliant Australian women writers, and here is another: Cassie Hamer. The Stranger at the Table is completely different to any other book I’ve read in a long time. It is a sensitive, insightful exploration into the lives of a family and how they are affected by the withholding of secrets. There’s a fine line between hurting someone “for your own good” and self preservation.

My children are way into adulthood but whenever I read about  parents’ actions causing unintentional consequences for following generations I think: (a) I wish I could go back and be a perfect mother; or (b) I’ve dodged several bullets there! 

Marianne, the main character in Stranger at the Table, is trying to integrate back into a stable life with her husband and her two precious daughters. She has had to be brave and strong and to trust and rely on the love and support of her husband, mother and sister; however, nothing is as it seems in this absolutely riveting story, and there are many twists and turns to come.

I’ve been deliberately obscure in this precis, but if there is anyone out there who hasn’t already read The Stranger at the Table, this is an attempt to whet your appetite without giving anything away and thereby ruining the absolute pleasure of getting stuck into an unforgettable book. If you are a fan of Liane Moriarty, Cassie Hamer is your woman!

Published by Harper Collins

A Shadow at the Door by Jo Dixon

 

I

I bought A Shadow at the Door because I enjoyed The House of Now and Then so much. This one is a lot more dramatic, so much so that in the beginning I was starting to think the negativity was a bit overdone; however, balance was restored quickly and a splendidly compulsive story was underway.

The main character, Remi, is a former television star who, having divorced her wealthy and powerful husband and while recovering from a vicious physical attack, has undertaken to restore her once beautiful old Hobart home. A series of damaging events, including an online campaign to damage Remi’s income from her audiobook reading job, has eaten into her finances; and meanwhile, Remi’s ex, Simon, has a mortgage over his half of the property which formerly had been in their joint names, and he has started threatening Remi with foreclosure if she is late making payments. 

Reluctantly, Remi decides to rent out two of her rooms and so she meets Josephine and Emerson who become principal players; from this point on as the story progresses the suspense, the tension, the final build up are all riveting.

Tasmania is featuring a lot in books and movies lately, and Australia keeps producing world class writers. I’m now looking forward to Jo Dixon’s third book.

Published by Harper Collins 

The House of Now and Then

 

This is a dual time/dual plot line book. Tom has arrived in Australia from England in 2017 on a mission to deliver a sealed package he found in his deceased father’s belongings to a lady named Pippa, with whom his father obviously had a connection in 1986, in Sandy Bay, Tasmania. Meanwhile, Olivia has retreated from Sydney to Sandy Bay, trying to escape her shameful past and a vengeful enemy; Olivia is staying in a house owned by Eloise, the same house where Pippa had been staying in 1986. 

This clever book never becomes convoluted, despite its myriad characters, times and stories. It has mystery, intrigue, romance, and the good and bad aspects of the internet and especially social media. I even identified in a self-absorbed way with one part of the story, having also been found unconscious on a dark country road one night long ago, after coming off the back of the obligatory (in those days) motor scooter. Quite took me back to my misspent youth!

I’m sure a lot of people have read The House of Now and Then since it was first published but I discovered it just this week  on the Parkes Library Borrow Box. I recommend it highly to those who haven’t yet read it and who love to get their teeth into a good, twisty, vibrant piece of story telling.

Published by Harper Collins

Book People by Paige Nick

 

Book People by Paige Nick is in a class of its own: very clever and very funny; well, very funny if you’re a reader and have never had to cope with a mean, nasty review. What writer wouldn’t want to hit back at such a thing! What would I have done if a stranger had ever smacked one of my children? The problem here is the writer and the reviewer are both unhinged to start off with. 

 Norma runs an online book review club. She has left her job as an accountant and, at 42 years of age, taken up an internship with a publishing company. Unfortunately for Norma, she lives with Steve, a lazy, layabout wannabe author who spends his days on the couch wearing big headphones, mucking about on his laptop and hacking Norma’s credit card.

Harry is a ferociously self-promoting author, the victim of the aforementioned mean, nasty review. He is married to Victoria, a surgeon whose tolerance for his obsessive nature is wearing thin.

This a terrific read. Unlike Harry’s nemesis I don’t comment at all on books I haven’t liked but I liked this one. A lot! I’m going to look for more of Paige Nick's books now; what a find this one has been. Thank you, Tony!

Published by Pan Macmillan South Africa 

It Should Have Been You by Andrea Mara

 

Susan thought she was sending a text to her sisters but  by mistake it went out to the entire neighbourhood WhatsApp group. The big problem here is that Susan was letting loose about bossy Celeste who had reprimanded Susan, although obliquely, on the group.  Obviously hurt, Susan thought she was telling her sisters things privately about Celeste and her husband and children which could be extremely damaging if they were made public … et voila!

The octopus that is social media grabbed Susan’s words in its tentacles and spread them far and wide.  Consequences piled on consequences and more damage was done than could have been imagined.

I won’t even try to limit my adjectives about this book: suspenseful, twisty, exciting, nail biting, nerve wracking and much more. The story is complex but never becomes confusing, even as more characters are introduced. Although it covers many aspects of life in 21st century Irish suburbia it is basically a murder mystery which kept me guessing up to the end. It is, quite simply, masterful storytelling. This was my first Andrea Mara book and I am going to have a wonderful time searching out her others.

Published by Bantam

The House of Burning Bones by Stuart MacBride

 

In The House of Burning Bones, Stuart MacBride’s Aberdeen coppers have to face daily a prejudicial, disapproving public whipped up by a harshly critical press churning out sensational headline grabbing half-truths; said coppers all the while expressing themselves in their own richly colourful ways.

Because of an epidemic of the Dreaded Lurgie sweeping the city, depleting police numbers, Detective Inspector Logan McRae is becoming overwhelmed with the number of cases he has to deal with, together with countless meetings, on top of a murder investigation and now the disappearance of a media mogul. To quote from the book’s blurb, Logan has been left with “…a skeleton staff of misfits, idiots and malingerers…” whose lineup includes Logan’s wannabe sidekick, PC Tufty Quirrel, and the ever repulsive, now demoted Roberta Steel.  Making matters even worse, they are experiencing a heatwave, as they go through some hair-raising chases, weighed down with heavy gear,  all crammed into a police van.

This is a big book, 627 pages, and every one of them filled with Stuart MacBride’s smart, funny, cynical style. Serious issues like immigration, racism, and the media’s influence on the general public’s attitudes, as well as the horrific crimes of arson, murder and sexual assault, are all part of the story. For all the pressures and stresses of his working life, however, Logan McRae is very fortunate to have his lovely partner, Tara, and daughter, Lizzie, at home.

To read a Stuart MacBride book is to listen to a story being told in a Scottish accent with subtitles in front of you. This was a terrific read, filled with vivid imagery and lots of colourful characters. Thank you Pan Macmillan for my copy.

Published by Pan Macmillan 

The Unquiet Grave by Dervla McTiernan

 

This is a nicely complex murder mystery with a plot and two sub-plots. Detective Cormac Reilly is investigating the death of a school headmaster who had gone missing and whose preserved body was found in a bog which has thrown up many similar corpses over the centuries. Carl Rigney is a computer genius who works for the national lottery and believes he has come up with a way to beat the system. Cormac’s former partner, Emma, enlists Cormac’s help in finding her missing husband.

Ireland’s wet, misty weather is the backdrop to the story and I shuddered for poor Cormac, stepping ankle deep into the mud while the rain was beating down on him. I loved the way the investigation uncovered clues when it looked like there weren’t any to be found, and how the three parts of the story fitted together.

Dervla McTiernan’s Cormac Reilly is a great character and it’s always good to read of his latest case, the politics around his career with the police force, and, of course, the latest developments in his private life. This one was a lovely, twisty mystery which made a perfect Mother’s Day weekend read.

Published by Harper Collinsl