Book Review: Dead Horse Gap by Lee Christine

 Dead Horse Gap

by

Lee Christine

 

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

 

Publication date: 1st February 2022 

 

Series: Alpine #3

Genre: Crime / Mystery

 

Pages: 279

 

RRP: $29.99AUD

 

Format read: Paperback

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

My review

 

There wasn't as much tension in this book as the previous two novels, Charlotte Pass and Crackenback.

However the story still held my attention as it had a compelling mystery at its centre.

 

I enjoyed following along with the police investigation as it changes from undercover drug surveillance to murder investigation. The mystery was well played out and I had no idea how it would eventually pan out.

 

The Snowy Mountains in New South Wales is an amazing setting; cold, secluded and a bit eerie. Lee Christine transports her readers into the snow, sleet and below zero temperatures. You may want to read this book snuggled up with a heater nearby.

 

Mitch Flowers is given the lead in this case, as Ryder prepares for his move to uniform country cop. Flowers takes over with confidence but he has a little secret of his own going on after dark. Nerida Sterling, another up-and-coming young detective, has an undercover role sniffing out some information on a suspected drug ring in the area. Lee Christine highlights the danger of undercover work and the pressure it places on a persons well-being.  

 

The addition of a long held feud between two families makes for another interesting plot line.

 

Dead Horse Gap was an easy read and highly entertaining. A compelling addition to the series. 

 

My rating 4 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

About the author

 

Photo: Goodreads

  In 2009, former corporate trainer Lee Christine decided to turn her writing hobby into a serious job.

 

Lee is the author of six romantic suspense novels. her first crime novel, Charlotte Pass, was published in 2020 and won the award for Favourite Romantic Suspense Novel in the 2020 Australian Romance Readers Awards. Her second crime novel, Crackenback, was published in2021 and Dead Horse Gap in 2022.

 

 

 

    

 

Book Review & Giveaway: A Stone's Throw Away by Karly Lane

 A Stone's Throw Away

by

Karly Lane

Poignant, heart-warming and suspenseful....

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Publication date: 3rd May 2022

 

Genre: Rural Crime 

 

Pages: 368

 

RRP: $29.99AUD

 

Format read: Paperback

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

My review

 

Investigative Journalist Pip Davenport moves to her uncle's quiet, country property to overcome a case of writers block. She is writing a book on her last assignment which ended in a prominent politician going to prison.

 

When a cold-case in the area is reopened Pip can't help but be pulled into the mystery. The town is tight-lipped and Pip feels there is more to this case than first appears.

 

The introduction of two potential love interests for Pip adds a touch of romance to this tension filled crime novel. I must admit to having a sneaky look forward to see who Pip would connect with. 

Pip is a strong, determined character. She is suffering a severe case of PTSD but when her journalistic instincts kick in she is fearless and doesn't balk at ruffling a few feathers.

 

Karly Lane has delivered a wonderfully immersive novel with visually pleasing descriptions, a highly engaging plot, gripping suspense and compelling twists.

 

A Stone's Throw Away is a story of courage, resilience and a passion for the truth. 

 

My rating  5 / 5   ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

 

 

Click the cover image to read my reviews of Karly's book. 

   

GIVEAWAY:

 

Thanks to the generosity of Allen & Unwin I have one paperback copy to giveaway to one lucky reader. (Australian addresses only)

Entry is via the form below. Entries close at Midnight on Friday 21st may 2022.

 

This giveaway is now closed and the winner was announced HERE

Book Review: Dressed by Iris by Mary-Anne O'Connor

 Dressed by Iris

by

Mary-Anne O'Connor

From sheer poverty to high glamour, a story of courage and all-conquering love

 

Publisher: Harlequin Australia

Imprint: HQ Fiction

 

Publication date: 2nd February 2022

 

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

Pages: 480

 

RRP: $ 29.99AUD

 

Format read: Paperback  

 

Source: courtesy of the publisher

 

My review

 

Dressed by Iris is a powerful novel with themes of hope, pride, optimism and rising above adversity. 

 

In a Great Southern Land is one of my all time favourite novels so I was expecting big things from Mary-Anne O'Connor and I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed.

 

Iris lives with her family in the shanty towns of Newcastle. It's 1930 and Australia is on the verge of The Great Depression. The family get by on the mother Agnes' frugalness and the bit of money they get from the father Bob's panning.

The Catholics and the Protestants had a great divide and when Iris falls for local boy John, who is a Protestant, she knows their relationship can never be. However she lives on dreams and hope that one day they can be together.

 

When a job offer on the Sydney Harbour Bridge comes up for Iris's father and brother, the family of eight move to Sydney.

Through this one struggling family Mary-Anne O'Connor has delivered an emotional story highlighting the plight of renters, the high unemployment, anti-eviction riots and political unrest of the time.

 

Amidst a backdrop of poverty Iris discovers she has a flair for fashion design and with her family's help and encouragement she enters the fashion industry, although her path is beset with prejudice and setbacks.

 

I love stories where women push the boundaries for their time. These are the women that helped change attitudes and laws, giving women the right to choose how to live the life.

 

Mary-Anne O'Connor uses real situations from her grandparents' tales which makes this story all the more endearing. Many of the scenes brought back memories of my own grandparents' stories.

 

Dressed by Iris is an inspiring and moving story rich in memorable characters who will stay with you long after you turn the last page.

 

My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

About the author

 

Mary-Anne O'Connor has a combined arts education degree with specialties in environment, music and literature. She worked in marketing and lecturing and co-wrote/edited A Brush With Light and Secrets of the Brush with artist Kevin Best, her late father.

Mary-Anne lives in a house overlooking her beloved bushland in northern Sydney with her husband Anthony, their two sons Jimmy and Jack, and their very spoilt dog Saxon. This is her seventh major novel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review & Giveaway: Unforgiven by Sarah Barrie

 Unforgiven

by

Sarah Barrie

 

Once a victim, she's now a vigilante

 

Publisher: Harlequin Australia

 

Imprint: HQ Fiction

 

Publication date: 1st December 2021

 

Genre: Crime Fiction

 

Pages: 496

 

RRP: $29.99AUD

 

Format read: Uncorrected advance copy

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher 

About the book

 

Lexi Winter is tough, street-smart and has stood on her own two feet since childhood, when she was a victim of notorious paedophile the Spider. All she cares about now is a roof over her head and her long-term relationship with Johnny Walker. She isn't particular about who she sleeps with ... as long as they pay before leaving.

Lexi is also an ace hacker, tracking and entrapping local paedophiles and reporting them to the cops. When she finds a particularly dangerous paedophile who the police can't touch, she decides to gather enough evidence to put him away. Instead, she's a witness to his death ...

Detective Inspector Rachael Langley is the cop who cracked the Spider case, 18 years earlier - but failed to protect Lexi. Now a man claiming to be the real Spider is emulating his murderous acts, and Rachael is under pressure from government, media and her police colleagues. Did she get it wrong all those years ago, or is this killer a copycat?

Lexi and Rachael cross paths at last, the Spider in their sights ... but they may be too late ...

 

My review

 

Unforgiven takes place over a three week period but the action is so full on it feels much longer.

Told through first person narration by Lexi, former victim now vigilante paedophile hunter. I feel this type of narrative gives the reader  a more personal look at Lexi, how she feels and why she acts the way she does. An alternating third person narrative is also given for DI Rachael Langley. The alternating narratives keep the story moving at a fast pace.

 

I did find the content of child abuse, paedophilia and child murder deeply disturbing and very hard to read at times.

 

Barrie highlights the complexity of the dark web with its numerous hidden portals and the difficulty police have with breaking into these sites and making arrests before they close down.

As Rachael and her team try to catch a deadly paedophile calling himself The Spider they are hampered by the stretched resources of police and community services and the limited power they have to act on information received.

 

Barrie does add a little humour into what is otherwise a dark read with Lexi's neighbour Dawny who has a few tricks up her sleeve when Lexi is in  need of help. Dawny was a fun character and a warning to us all to never underestimate the old lady who lives across the road. 

 

Unforgiven is a gripping, tension filled read that exposes the fragility of children and the extraordinary work of the people trying to protect them.

 

My rating 4.5 / 5   ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

 

About the author

 

Photo: Goodreads

 Sarah Barrie is the author of eight novels, including her bestselling print debut Secrets of Whitewater Creek, the Hunters Ridge trilogy and the Calico Mountain trilogy. In a past life, while gaining degrees in arts, science and education, Sarah worked as a teacher, a vet nurse, a horse trainer and a magazine editor, before deciding she wanted to write novels. About the only thing that has remained constant is her love of all things crime.Her favourite place in the world is the family property, where she writes her stories overlooking mountains crisscrossed with farmland, bordered by the beauty of the Australian bush, and where, at the end of the day, she can spend time with family, friends, a good Irish whiskey and a copy of her next favourite book. 

 

 

Giveaway

 

Thanks to Harper Collins I have two additional copies of Unforgiven to giveaway. One here on my blog and one on Instagram @theburgeoningbookshelf  You can enter both. Australian addresses only. Giveaway closes at midnight EDST on 20th January 2022. 

 

This giveaway is now closed and the winners were announced HERE

Book Review: 138 Dates by Rebekah Campbell

 138 Dates

by

Rebekah Campbell

 

The true story of one woman's search for everything

 

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

 

Imprint: A&U New Zealand

 

Publication date: 2nd July 2021

 

Genre: Non Fiction / Memior

 

Pages: 416

 

RRP $29.99AUD 

Format read: Paperback

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via DMCPR Media.

 

About the book

 

 On the outside, Rebekah Campbell has an enviable life. She is founder of hot Sydney startup Posse.com, writes a popular blog and gives inspirational talks at conferences for female entrepreneurs.

But when she turns off the light each night, she is alone and terrified of the future. She knows that what's important to her isn't money or startup glory or social media followers. She wants love. She wants a family.

And she is stuck. She hasn't been on a date in ten years. She's too embarrassed to list herself on the internet and can't bear the risk of getting rejected.

She decides to act. She'll take the tactics she's learnt building companies and apply them to finding a man. Her epic journey will take her on dates with 138 different men in Sydney, New York and San Francisco, while at the same time confronting the immense challenges of launching a business.

She'll face exhaustion, humiliation and heartbreak; she'll meet some strange and dangerous characters. And she will strip herself of the ego and expectations that have been holding her back. She will not stop.

138 Dates proves that the end is always worth the effort.

 

My review

 

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Not being the target audience and all.

 

If you follow Rebekah on social media you know how this turns out but this little spoiler didn't affect my reading pleasure.

 

Rebekah is open and honest as she takes on finding love as she would a business venture, organising do's and don'ts lists and practically interviewing her dates. 

I did find her quite judgemental and not very warm when she was on the dates. She was all business.  

I admire her tenacity as she goes on 138 different dates and I enjoyed all the descriptions of the different restaurants and meals she had. 

 

As she combines looking for love with the stress of running a start-up, Rebekah talks a lot about her business and work although I still feel she played down how stressful and time consuming starting your own business is.

 

I really enjoyed this candid and entertaining look at dating in your mid thirties and the call out not to give up on your dreams. However, I feel the real take out was Rebekah's acceptance of herself. It's hard to find love when you don't love yourself.

 

My rating 4 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

 About the author

 

Rebekah Campbell is the co-founder of Hey You, a mobile app used by more than one million Australians to order and pay at cafes. She has kept a blog about her experiences as an entrepreneur which was named 'Best Business Blog' by Smart Company and became a New York Times column in 2012. Rebekah writes a monthly opinion piece for AFR BOSS Magazine and has contributed to MamaMia, Women's Agenda and Stuff. She is a high-profile public speaker who spoke at TEDx Sydney and numerous events for Business Chicks. Rebekah was named a Woman of Influence in 2015 and APEC Young Woman Innovator. She is currently the host and curator of the City of Sydney's virtual event series 'Reboot', supporting 18,000 Sydney business owners to recover from the impact of COVID 19. Rebekah's personal passion is her everything which she finds at the end of this book.  

 

 

Book Review: The Fossil Hunter by Tea Cooper

 The Fossil Hunter

by

Tea Cooper

 

A rare fossil, an unsolved mystery, a trail into the past....

 

Publisher: Harlequin Australia

 

Imprint: HQ Fiction

 

Publication date: 27th October 2021

 

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

Pages: 384

 

RRP: $32.99 AUD

 

Format read: Paperback

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

About the book

 

Wollombi, The Hunter Valley 1847

The last thing Mellie Vale remembers before the fever takes her is running through the bush as a monster chases her - but no one believes her story. In a bid to curb Mellie's overactive imagination, her benefactors send her to visit a family friend, Anthea Winstanley. Anthea is an amateur paleontologist with a dream. She is convinced she will one day find proof the great sea dragons - the ichthyosaur and the plesiosaur - swam in the vast inland sea that millions of years ago covered her property at Bow Wow Gorge, and soon Mellie shares that dream for she loves fossil hunting too...

1919
When Penelope Jane Martindale arrives home from the battlefields of World War 1 with the intention of making her peace with her father and commemorating the death of her two younger brothers in the trenches, her reception is not as she had hoped. Looking for distraction, she finds a connection between a fossil at London's Natural History museum and her brothers which leads her to Bow Wow Gorge. But the gorge has a sinister reputation - 70 years ago people disappeared. So when PJ uncovers some unexpected remains, it seems as if the past is reaching into the present and she becomes determined to discover what really happened all that time ago...

 

My review

 

It was such a lovely coincidence that I picked up The Fossil Hunter to read after I had just returned from a weekend in Wollombi. This made the setting so easy to picture even though i had seen it over 100 years after the book is set I feel nothing much has really changed in this small town.

 

The Fossil Hunter is a dual time-line narrative with both time-lines (1847 &  1919) set in the past.

Tea Cooper's main characters are women interested in paleontology which was regarded as a strange pastime and was even cause for many rumours to morph and grow as the years passed.

 

I enjoyed how Cooper made paleontology interesting and even a little exciting. It is something I had never really thought about before.

What starts as an intriguing story of paleontology and finding fossils and possibly dinosaur bones soon turns to a compelling mystery.

 

There are times when we find questions in the second timeline which are yet to be played out in the first. I found myself eagerly reading not willing to put the book down until the final twist as Cooper adds elements of mystery and intrigue to the story. 

 

The Fossil Hunter is another fabulous read from Tea Cooper. Compelling, interesting and wonderfully immersive.

 

My rating 4.5 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

 
 

 

About the author

 

Tea Cooper writes Australian contemporary and historical fiction. In a past life she was a teacher, a journalist and a farmer. These days she haunts museums and indulges her passion for storytelling.

 

https://www.teacooperauthor.com/ 

 

 

 

Challenges Entered: Australian Women Writers Challenge AWW2021

 

                                   Aussie Author Challenge #Aussieauthor21

                                   

                                   Historical Fiction Challenge 

 

 

Book Review: The Hush by Sara Foster

 The Hush

by

Sara Foster

 

Everything can change in a heartbeat

 

Publisher: Harper Collins

 

Publication date: 27th October 2021

 

Genre: Thriller / Dystopian

 

Pages: 359

 

Format read: Paperback

 

Source: Courtesy Better Reading Preview 

About the book

 

Six months ago, in an English hospital, a healthy baby wouldn’t take a breath at birth. Since then there have been more tragedies, and now the country is in turmoil. The government is clamping down on people’s freedoms. The prime minister has passed new laws granting authorities sweeping powers to monitor all citizens. And young pregnant women have started going missing.

As a midwife, Emma is determined to be there for those who need her. But when her seventeen-year-old daughter Lainey finds herself in trouble, this dangerous new world becomes very real, and both women face impossible choices. The one person who might help is Emma’s estranged mother Geraldine, but reaching out to her will put them all in jeopardy …

The Hush is a new breed of near-future thriller, an unflinching look at a society close to tipping point and a story for our times, highlighting the power of female friendship through a dynamic group of women determined to triumph against the odds

 

My review

  

Keep them meek and keep them scared.

Sara Foster’s The Hush, set seven years post Covid, is a dystopian novel that is highly believable in many aspects.
Smart watches are used to monitor a person’s health, every movement and purchase. Okay not so unlike present day Australia so far. It’s all for the citizens safety. So that’s okay?

When the still birth rate begins to dramatically rise new laws are introduced to monitor all pregnancies. Then pregnant teenaged girls start to go missing.
Anyone who posts or protests about these missing girls is dealt with severely and shut down immediately. The only right people have is ‘to obey’.

The Hush is so scarily real I raced through it. I was devastated at how helpless the people were and eager to see where Sara Foster was going with the plot.

Foster gives us a society where the very existence of human beings is threatened and a Government that is consumed with control and hidden agendas.

Friendship is an over-arching theme throughout the book, along with mother / daughter relationships. Women band together to help each other putting their own lives in danger.
I enjoyed the inclusion of the teenagers and how they united and were ready to protest about the way people were being treating. The way some of the teenagers got around the constant surveillance with the watches gave me a laugh. It was so believable.

I know the media had been shut down and threatened as well but I would have liked to have seen more of the spin the media put on the events.

I liked how the parts of the book were divided into the different stages of labour, very cute.

 

My rating 4 / 5

 

Challenges Entered: Australian Women Writers Challenge AWW2021

 

                                   Aussie Author Challenge #Aussieauthor21

 

About the author

Sara Foster is the author of six previous bestselling psychological suspense novels: You Don't Know Me, The Hidden Hours, All That Is Lost Between Us, Shallow Breath, Beneath the Shadows and Come Back to Me. Sara lives in Western Australia with her husband and two daughters, and is a doctoral candidate at Curtin University.

https://www.sarafoster.com.au/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Birds of a Feather by Tricia Stringer

 Birds of a Feather

by

Tricia Stringer

 

As one door closes another one opens

 

Publisher: Harlequin Australia

 

Imprint: HQ Fiction

 

Publication date: 29th September 2021

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

 

Pages: 352

 

RRP: $ 32.99AUD 

Format read: Paperback

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

About the book

Eve has been a partner in a Wallaby Bay fishing fleet as long as she can remember. Now they want her to sell - but what would her life be without work? She lives alone, her role on the town committee has been spiked by malicious gossip and she is incapacitated after surgery. For the first time in her life she feels weak, vulnerable - old.

When her troubled god-daughter Julia arrives at Wallaby Bay, she seems to offer Eve a reprieve from her own concerns. But there is no such thing as plain sailing. Eve has another house guest, the abrasive Lucy, who is helping her recuperate and does not look kindly on Julia's desire for Eve's attention.

But Lucy, too, has demons to battle and as each woman struggles to overcome their loss of place in the world, they start to realise that there may be more that holds them together, than keeps them apart.

 

My review

 

Tricia Stringer once again manages to deliver a heartfelt story with characters that readers will resonate with. Their problems and concerns are highly relatable and dealt with in a manner that is believable as the navigate the areas of friendship, family, ageing and companionship.

Julia who has retained a close friendship with her mother's best friend Eve, after her mother has passed away returns home to Wallaby Bay when her life falls into a rut and she feels she needs a bit of a break. She naturally turns to Eve as she is like a second mother.

Eve is recovering from shoulder surgery and has employed ex-nurse Lucy to oversee her recuperation. Here the three women are brought together and as they work through a rocky start an unlikely friendship evolves.

Stringer explores themes of women in male dominated industries, forced retirement and its mental effects, mother guilt, small town gossip, coping as a single parent with a FIFO partner and on a smaller scale how the evolving Covid pandemic affected different people.

The three women were all abrupt and disgruntled, at a crossroads in their life, at the start of the book and I liked the dynamics of the characters and how they were being frostily polite to each other.  I enjoyed their growth as they embraced a new optimism and purpose. Each supporting and encouraging the other.

Tricia Stringer reinvents the meaning of family as Eve, Julia and Lucy navigate the ups and downs of life.

My rating 5 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

 

Tricia Stringer is a bestselling and award-winning author. Among others, her books include commercial fiction titles Table For Eight, The Model Wife and The Family Inheritance, the rural romances A Chance of Stormy Weather and Come Rain or Shine and historical sagas Heart of the Country, Dust on the Horizon and Jewel in the North. Tricia grew up on a farm in country South Australia and has spent most of her life in rural communities. She now lives in the beautiful Copper Coast region, often exploring Australia's diverse communities and landscapes, and shares this passion for the country and its people through her stories.

 

 

Challenges Entered: Australian Women Writers Challenge AWW2021

 

                                   Aussie Author Challenge #Aussieauthor21

 

 

Book Review Blog Tour: The Safe Place by L. A. Larkin

 The Safe Place

by

L. A.  Larkin

Publisher: Bookouture

 

Publication date: 9th November 2021

 

Genre: Crime Thriller

 

Pages: 394

 

Price: $1.99AUD (Kindle price @12/11/21) 

 

Format read: eBook

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

About the book

 

Her heart pounds at the sound of footsteps outside her cabin in the woods. The snap of a twig tells her someone is close by. As she treads lightly towards the back door, she says a silent prayer—don’t let him find me…
 

Ever since Jessie Lewis reported her boyfriend, fire chief and local hero, for beating her, she’s been an outcast from the small town of Eagle Falls. And when someone sets fire to a house in the woods, killing the entire Troyer family, the locals turn on her again, taking her very public argument with Paul Troyer as proof that she lit the match.
 

Devastated that anyone could think her capable of murder, Jessie turns to Ruth. New in town, and an ex-FBI agent, Ruth could be the exact person Jessie needs to smoke out the murderer. But can she trust her with her life?
 

Days later, another house linked to Jessie is set ablaze. Combing the ashes for answers, she catches sight of an inscription she hasn’t seen since her childhood—since she lost someone very close to her. Is the killer is coming for her next?
 

As local wildfires take hold of the town and everyone is evacuated, Jessie knows she must put herself in unthinkable danger to catch the killer. And when she does, will she have the strength to take them down first?

 

My review

 

L.A. Larkin has delivered an adrenaline pumping small-town crime thriller fuelled by lies and secrets.

 

After being ostracised by the local community Jessie Lewis moves to a small cabin in the woods outside her home town of Eagle Falls. When a family of four is killed in a fire lit by an arsonist the town turns on Jessie once again.

Ex-FBI agent Ruth Sullivan has moved with her young family to her husband's home town of Eagle Falls. She is struggling with the damaging effects of a bomb blast plus PTSD induced nightmares. Ruth is finding it hard to fit into this tight knit community.

 

Ruth and Jessie, almost a generation apart in age, were alike in many ways. Both were strong determined women trying to escape their past. The two women immediately clicked and when Jessie found herself in trouble she turned to Ruth for help. Jessie is determined to clear her name and uncover a corrupt sheriff, long held secrets, a murderer and an arsonist.

 

Larkin has created a small-town community filled with domineering, manipulative and misogynistic men. The story includes themes of domestic abuse, victim blaming and gaslighting.  

 

The scenes of the house fires were horrifyingly real and as the story progresses the number of likely suspects mounts.

The suspense was rife, I was on the edge of my seat, it took all of my reserve not to read ahead to see what happened next.

 

The Safe Place is fast paced, action packed and suspense filled making it a novel not to be missed. 

 

I really enjoyed Larkin's previous novels Devour and Prey but she has outdone herself with The Safe Place! 

 

My rating 5 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

About the author

 

L.A. Larkin’s crime-thrillers have won her fans all over the world. Described as a superb ‘chiller thriller’ writer by Marie Claire magazine and praised by Lee Child, Louisa likes to write stories with lots of plot twists and characters that surprise. She feels very privileged to be able to brainstorm her story ideas with friends in the police and the FBI.

 

 

Website: https://lalarkin.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LALarkinAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lalarkinauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/la_larkin_author/ 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: At the End of the Day by Liz Bryski

 At the End of the Day

by

Liz Bryski

 

It is never too late to make friends....

 

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

Publication date: 28th September 2021

 

Genre: Contemporary fiction

 

Pages: 336

 

RRP: $32.99AUD

 

Format read: Paperback 

 

Source: courtesy of the publisher

 

About the book

 

 When Mim Squires and Mathias Vander are stranded together on a disrupted flight home to Perth, they are surprised to find that they have much in common. Mim owns a bookshop, Mathias is a writer, and both are at turning points in their lives. Mim's childhood polio is taking a toll on her life. Mathias is contemplating a cross-continent move to be nearer his daughter.

But life back in Perth is not smooth sailing, with their respective family members going through their own upheavals. As Mim and Mathias both struggle to adjust to the challenges of being in their late seventies, secrets from the past that neither wishes to face rise to the surface, challenging their long-held beliefs in their independence and singularity.

At the end of the day, can they muster the wisdom and the courage they need to change?

 

My review

 

Miriam Squires is on her return to Perth after visiting her sister in England. She is starting to feel the effects of post polio and wonders if she will have the strength to make this trip again.

Mathias Vander is stopping over in Perth , to visit his daughter, on his return from Brussels where he was visiting his childhood friend Luc. Luc is dying and Mathias knows that was the last time he would see his old friend.

 

Miriam and Mathias meet while on an unplanned extended stopover and  find they have a lot in common. Their ensuing friendship enriches and changes not only their lives but also the lives of the people they hold most dear.

 

This was my first Liz Bryski novel and I love how her characters are real people with real flaws; they get annoyed with people, say the wrong thing at times and are often overwhelmed with life.

 

Miriam and Mathias had both migrated to Australia many years ago leaving behind family and friends and Liz Bryski highlights the dilemma caused by advancing age as they each find the trips back home harder and harder

As we watch Miriam and Mathias'  friendship grow the couple find they can open up about events they suffered as children and have kept locked away.

 

I enjoyed Liz Bryski's engaging writing style and even though many of the characters had faced adverse circumstances during their lives, which were quite emotional to read, the story on a whole was heartfelt and touching.

The book concludes on the cusp of the Covid19 pandemic. And we all know how that pans out!

 

Liz Bryski delivers engaging women's fiction through likeable characters and relatable life events. I am looking forward to reading some of her back list. 

 

my rating 4 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

About the author

 

Photo: Goodreads

 Liz Bryski is a novelist, non-fiction writer, former journalist and ABC broadcaster, with more than fifty years experience in the British and Australian media. She is the author of eleven bestselling novels, including Gang of Four and A Month of Sundays, as well as more than a dozen non-fiction books. She lives close to Freemantle in Western Australia, with Gazza, her three-year-old rescue dog who is in charge of exercise, household security and chasing cats. She has two sons and twin grandsons.

  

 

 

 
 

 

Challenges Entered: Australian Women Writers Challenge AWW2021

 

                                   Aussie Author Challenge #Aussieauthor21