The Australian Women’s Weekly’s guide to the best books to read this summer

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

The most anticipated book of the year is Atwood’s sequel to her novel The Handmaid’s Tale, 34 years after the original.

And while it may not pack the same punch, this is racy addictive storytelling. Fifteen years have passed and Offred is out on her own. Through three narrators – brutal Aunt Lydia and Offred’s daughters Agnes and Nicole – we witness the advancement of Gilead via explosive testaments.

Tidelands by Philippa Gregory

Gregory moves away from the Tudors with a new series, set during the English civil war about ordinary people. Heroine Alinor’s greatest hope is to survive without falling into poverty.

She’s a herbalist whose abusive husband has disappeared, leaving her to fend for the family. Against a background of Oliver Cromwell dethroning King Charles I, this first instalment highlights the danger for women who speak out.

Good Girl Bad Girl by Michael Robotham

Haunting psychological thriller about two key cases for forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven. One a murder investigation, the second involving a vulnerable 15-year-old’s release from a children’s home.

The Weekend by Charlotte Wood

Jude, Wendy, Adele and Sylvie are in their 70s and have been friends for decades. When Sylvie dies, the others meet over a Christmas weekend to clean out her house. Funny and poignant all at once.

The Confession by Jessie Burton

An absorbing tale of love, motherhood, friendship and secrets, from the author of The Miniaturist, features a dual time frame flitting between 1980 and 2017.

Connie, an alluring novelist of some renown, meets 20-year-old Elise by chance on Hampstead Heath in London, igniting an unexpected relationship. It is Burton’s language as much as her plot that beguiles, and soon you are lost in both.

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

This gripping study of sexual desire in the real lives of three women is the result of eight years of painstaking study by the author. In two cases she even moved to the towns where her protagonists live so she might better understand them.

It’s about power, pleasure and pain as an uncompromising window into the sexual desires of Maggie, Lina and Sloane opens up to the reader. Explicit, yes, but an engrossing read.

Ian McKellen: The Biography by Garry O’Connor

It’s hard to believe Sir Ian McKellen – aka Gandalf – is 80. He is still so spritely and passionate. In this intimate biography, though, you can see just how much the Shakespearean actor has fitted in – not just on stage and film, but in life.

This is about the man behind the actor, a definitive account told by biographer Garry O’Connor, who also directed Sir Ian in some of his early roles.

Silver and Gold, The Autobiography of Norman Hartnell

Sir Norman Hartnell was the Queen’s go-to fashion designer when it mattered most. He made the royal’s wedding gown in 1947 when she was still Princess Elizabeth and her magnificent Coronation dress six years later.

Hartnell is best known for romantic evening wear shimmering with beads and embroidery, and in this re-released autobiography – first published in 1955 – he describes his extraordinary life.

Winging It by Emma Isaacs

Anyone who has ever been to a Business Chicks breakfast and listened to the likes of Nicole Kidman or Dame Quentin Bryce knows about the genius of Emma Isaacs. For the rest of us there is this book, in which the Aussie CEO and entrepreneur explains how she turned a dream into a job and all by believing in the power of kindness.

Emma, a mother of five, doesn’t have strategies for work/life balance, she just gets on with it. What has made her soar to the top is that she has the courage to leap into the unknown. In short, inspiration personified for us all.

The Mountbattens by Andrew Lownie

Based on over 100 interviews, Andrew Lownie’s controversial portrayal of Dickie and Edwina Mountbatten, 40 years after the anniversary of Lord Mountbatten’s assassination by the IRA, is quite an eye-opener.

Dickie was a surrogate father to Prince Charles as well as being the last Viceroy in India and Supreme Allied Commander of South East Asia. His rich socialite wife Edwina had a magnetic charisma and enjoyed numerous affairs. Together they made a powerful glamorous partnership, able to manipulate the highest of British society.

Me Elton John, by Elton John

In his first and only official autobiography, music icon Sir Elton John reveals the truth about his crazy life, which is also the subject of the hit movie Rocketman. This really is Elton uncut, the story of a shy boy who spun out of control as a superstar.

Graces Mothers: Letters To Our Children

Georgie Abay, the former Australian Vogue deputy editor and founder of The Grace Tales, has pulled together this beautiful coffee table book, which would make a gorgeous gift for any mother. Featuring letters from 60 eminent women from Australia and around the world to their children, it’s a beautiful read that will make you want to call your own Mum and tell her how much you love her. Available from Bauer Books.

Condé Nast: The Man and his Empire by Susan Ronald

Magazine mogul Condé Nast turned Vogue into a fashion bible, polished Vanity Fair into an icon and adored the Jazz Age and wit of Dorothy Parker.

The Collaborator by Diane Armstrong

Holocaust survivor and Australian author Diane Armstrong’s first novel in 10 years is a turbulent tale of horror and romance, based on the true story of an unholy pact made between Hungarian journalist Rezsö Kasztner (Armstrong recreates him as Miklós Nagy in her story) and Nazi henchman Eichmann.

It saved the lives of thousands of Hungarian Jews but ended up being famously scrutinised in an Israeli court in 1954. Meanwhile in Sydney in 2005, an Australian woman sets off on a journey to discover the truth about the man who saved her grandmother’s life.

Khaki Town by Judy Nunn

Set in 1942 in Townsville, Judy Nunn’s 15th novel is a compelling read based on a true story, a secret that has been hidden for 70 years. Singapore has fallen and Australia is in trouble, as American soldiers flood into Townsville to provide aid.

What follows unpicks the ugly racism of the era as the black GIs win some hearts and anger many others. It all reaches a peak in a field on the Ross River and US Congressman Lyndon Johnson is called in to investigate the horror of that night.

Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters

Evie Summers is an assistant at a film agency and is tasked with persuading the company’s biggest name – the arrogant Ezra Chester – to finish his rom-com script. If she can’t, Evie needn’t turn up for work anymore. But Ezra decides he won’t get back to his script unless Evie proves falling in love as they do in the movies is possible in real life.

So, Evie sets about trying to find love one rom-com plot at a time, from When Harry Met Sally to Notting Hill. Smart and laugh-out-loud funny.

The Burnt Country by Joy Rhoades

This sequel to the excellent The Woolgrower’s Companion finds our feisty heroine Kate Dowd struggling to run her NSW sheep station Amiens, as the community bickers and gossips behind her back.

Estranged husband Jack wants her to sell the farm and with her wartime lover Luca back in town, he’s asking for a divorce and promises to protect Kate’s reputation … but for a price. Then a dry winter bushfire season threatens.

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

Five women from different backgrounds come together in a Kentucky town in the 1930s and form a travelling horseback library, which they take to the poor in remote communities.

Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

Jump aboard with favourite heroine Becky Brandon as she embraces Christmas shopping with gusto and encounters family chaos in the process.

The Farm by Joanne Ramos

Inspired perhaps by The Handmaid’s Tale, Joanne Ramos’ chilling novel is set in a surrogacy farm in a luxury retreat in New York’s Hudson Valley, where pregnant women are trapped while they produce the perfect baby for someone else.

Dior by Alexandra Palmer

In 1947 Christian Dior rocked the fashion world with his new look, launching legacy silhouettes celebrating the female shape. Bathed in postwar optimism, the designer created stunning ready-to-wear lines which were sold around the world, as well as ground-breaking perfume and make-up lines. This exquisite hardback book, with photographs and sketches, examines a decade of Dior glamour until he died in 1957.

The Scentual Garden by Ken Druse

Growing for fragrance is at the heart of this visually vivid encyclopaedia of plants.Working with perfumers’ classifications, Ken Druse has 12 categories, from floral and fruity to balsamic and medicinal. He also explains how plants produce scent and how they communicate with each other.

Islands, Australian Geographic

From the Whitsundays and Norfolk in the east, to Kangaroo and Phillip in the south,Rottnest and Cocos in the west and Torres Strait and Fitzroy in the north, this is the ultimate guide to Australia’s islands.

For Valour: Australians Awarded the Victoria Cross by Craig Blanch & Aaron Pegram

The fascinating stories of 100 great Australians who have shown extreme bravery in battle.

Mrs Escobar My Life with Pablo by Victoria Eugenia Henao

Victoria Eugenia Henao met Pablo Escobar when she was 13 and ran away with him at 15. This is the first time she has spoken out about living with the drug lord, one of the wealthiest and most violent criminals in the world.

Despite his infidelity and abusive behaviour, she remained by his side until his death. An intriguing if disturbing account of the man behind the legend.

Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA by Amaryllis Fox

In college Amaryllis Fox was recruited by the CIA and lying became her new normal. In her memoir she reveals the truth about a life which destroyed her marriage. As a mother her perspective has changed and she wants to “spill that most secret of secrets … we’re all pretending to be fierce because we’re all on fire with fear.”

She Said by Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey

A testament to the power of dogged journalism. This is the untold story of how the Harvey Weinstein scandal was uncovered one celebrity at a time.

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson

When newcomer Angelica Roux arrives at Amy Whey’s book club night, their lives take a sharp turn. Roux – as she prefers to be called – takes over the evening and initiates a seemingly innocuous game of ‘Never Have I Ever’, which turns out to be a rather dangerous take on Truth or Dare.

Now Roux is in control and as the plot unfolds, it’s clear she knows something serious the book club hostess has been hiding from the suburban neighbourhood.

Platform Seven by Louise Doughty

No-one understands the human psyche like thriller writer extraordinaire Louise Doughty, whose Apple Tree Yard had us all on the edge of our seats. Platform Seven is another triumph and tackles coercive control. It’s 4am on Platform Seven on a deserted railway station in England.

Thinking he is alone, a man edges towards the platform edge only to encounter Lisa Evans,who knows what he wants to do and intervenes. Both die. How did it come to this? The railway station and its staff hide a myriad of secrets.

Silver by Chris Hammer

Following his brilliant outback thriller Scrublands, author Chris Hammer is back with likeable journalist protagonist Martin Scarsden. This time Martin returns to his hometown of Port Silver to try to put the traumatic memories of his past behind him.

Girlfriend Mandy has inherited a house in the pretty town and both feel this could be the new start they desperately need. But then Martin discovers his best friend from back in the day has been murdered and it is Mandy who is the prime suspect. Hammer’s pacing is brilliant as the tension mounts, set against the well-etched Aussie landscape.

On The Chin by Alex McClintock

Even if you have no interest in boxing this book takes you by surprise. It’s a sport that oozes passion and pain. For many a ticket out of poverty, for the promoters a potential goldmine, for the spectators a combination of primal gladiator and technician.

Alex McClintock is a sports journalist and used his own progress through the amateur ranks to get under the skin of this controversial sport.

The Golden Era by Rod Laver with Larry Writer

From the 1950s to the 1970s, Australia was the world’s tennis superpower and our king was Rod Laver, whose two singles Grand Slams – winning the Australian, French, Wimbledon and United States championships in a calendar year – have never been equalled.

This is Rod’s deeply personal account of those great years and includes interviews with Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe, Margaret Court and more.

The Day The Lies Began by Kylie Kaden

Lies compound in this domestic drama which picks up pace halfway through. Two couples bound by friendship are trapped in a web of deceit that begins on the day of the Moon Festival.

Peace by Garry Disher

Constable Paul Hirschhausen is the lone cop in a sleepy town in the dusty Flinders Ranges, with little more action than local lads nicking a ute … until he’s called to the scene of a vicious crime.