Books

THE BOTTICELLI SECRET BY MARINA FIORATO, ALLEN & UNWIN, $32.99. A man and a young woman race to decode the secrets of a painting, while pitched against a powerful secret society and trailed by a freakish assassin. Yes, it’s all a bit The Da Vinci Code, but The Botticelli Secret is a lot more fun […]

WILDFLOWER HILLBY KIMBERLEY FREEMAN, HACHETTE AUSTRALIA, $32.99. “The worst mistake we can make about old people is to forget they were young once,” says award-winning women’s fiction writer, Kimberley Freeman. And so, in her latest novel, she heads up into the attic and opens up Grandma Beattie’s old memory box to discover a poignant chapter […]

HOMECOMINGBY CATHY KELLY, HARPERCOLLINS, $32.99. Seventy years after leaving Ireland, Eleanor Levine, now a famous psychoanalyst, returns to her homeland. She becomes drawn into the lives of three women: beautiful young actress Megan, who is in hiding after an affair became public; Rae, a pillar of the community with a secret past; and Connie, a […]

Hell On The Way To Heaven, BY CHRISSIE FOSTER WITH PAUL KENNEDY, BANTAM AUSTRALIA, $34.95. Chrissie Foster’s experience is almost beyond belief. Two of her three daughters were abused by a paedophile priest, leading to the suicide of one and the secret alcoholism of another, who was severely disabled in a drunken car accident. The […]

The Confessions Of Catherine De Medici, BY C.W. GORTNER, HODDER & STOUGHTON, $32.99. A riveting first person account of the extraordinary life of Florentine-born Caterina (Catherine) de Medici, 14-year-old bride of the 14-year-old Duke of Orleans, later crowned King Henry II of France, to whom she bore three kings among her seven children. In spite […]

Hawke: The Prime Minister, BY BLANCHE D’ALPUGET, MUP, $54.99. The most important thing to do when reading Hawke: The Prime Minister is to keep reminding yourself that it is written by his second wife, Blanche D’Alpuget. If you forget, even for a few pages, then you could be lulled into thinking he was the greatest […]

Food Fashion Friends, BY FLEUR WOOD, PENGUIN, $59.95. If you’ve yet to discover Sydney-based fashion designer Fleur Wood and her soft, slightly bohemian but always elegant sense of style, this book is a good place to start. As well as making great frocks, Wood is a fervent home cook and her passion shines through the […]

Getaway presenter Catriona Rowntree discusses her favourite books in our new monthly Book Club feature. What was the last book you read? After reading a recommendation in this very magazine, I grabbed at the airport, en route to Tuscany, Frances Mayes’ latest offering Every Day Iin Tuscany. To read her colourful description of her beloved […]

Music act La Spina might be a family affair but if you’re expecting Partridge style harmonies and Von Trapp family matching kitchen-curtain outfits you’re way off- the brother-sister music act say music from their first collaboration will “smack you in the face.” While Anna-Marie, 36, had an established career singing with pop megastars Savage Garden […]

Detective Anna Travis’ worst nightmare comes true when a sadistic killer she helped put behind bars claims he can help her with a murder investigation. A redhead, clad in snappy suits and starched collars, Lynda La Plante’s Detective Inspector Anna Travis has crime investigation in her blood. Her late father was a detective chief superintendent […]