Books

The Shelly Beach Writers’ Group by June Loves, Viking, $29.95. It’s not that her unpleasant husband dumped her that bothers 50-something Gina Laurel, it’s the fact he beat her to it and she hadn’t quite come up with plan b. That’s how former corporate high-flier Gina finds herself house- and dog-sitting at Shelly Beach, with […]

Kill Me Once by Jon Osborne, Century, $32.95. Nathan Stiedowe knows serial killers better than anyone else, except perhaps for FBI Special Agent Dana Whitestone. That’s because Nathan is a serial killer. He’s also a perfectionist, and it’s an unfortunate combination for his victims as he goes about recreating some of the most sickening murders […]

Lasting Damage by Sophie Hannah, Hodder & Stoughton, $32.99. It could be that Connie Bowskill is simply losing her mind. Late one night, while taking a virtual tour on a property website, she sees a woman lying in a pool of blood. Or does she? Seconds later, the gruesome scene is gone. Husband Kit is […]

A Widow’s Story: A Memoirby Joyce Carol Oates, Fourth Estate, $35. Joyce Carol Oates is one of America’s most prolific novelists, best known forBlonde, an extraordinary fictional biography which offers a window into the soul of Marilyn Monroe. InA Widow’s Storywe catch a glimpse of Oates’ soul seen in sharp, detailed, jarring focus through her […]

The Secret Fate of Mary Watson by Judy Johnson, HarperCollins, $32.99. “Left Lizard Island September 2nd, 1881 in tank or pot in which beche de mer is boiled. Got about three miles or four from the Lizards. “September 7. Made for an island four or five miles from the one spoken of yesterday. Ashore, but […]

Bird Cloud: A Memoir by Annie Proulx, Fourth Estate, $35.95. This is a rare glimpse into the private world of Annie Proulx, 75-year-old author of The Shipping News and Brokeback Mountain. Bird Cloud — her first non-fiction publication in 20 years — deals with her building a house for herself to live in and her […]

Less Than Perfect by Ber Carroll, Pan Macmillan Australia, $25. Striving to achieve your parents’ expectations is a battle with universal resonance and is at the emotional heart of this intriguing tale of love and loss. Caitlin O’Reilly meets the love of her life at her 18th birthday party. The boy in question is a […]

MM — Personal: From the Private Archive of Marilyn Monroe by Lois Banner, Abrams, $55. It’s hard to believe there’s anything new left to see or read about Marilyn Monroe, but this slickly presented hardback tome promises to lift the veil on the private Marilyn. While it may not do that exactly, what author Lois […]

Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel, Hachette, $49.99. Thirty years ago, Jean M. Auel became a literary legend with The Clan Of The Cave Bear, the first book in her Earth’s Children series. Auel made prehistory come alive with the story of Ayla, an orphaned Cro-Magnon girl with an amazing knack for survival. […]

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, Virago, $22.99. First love is the sweetest they say. First love of a book may last longer — and if the book is worn out by that love it can be replaced. Take a naive and penniless girl, employed by the overbearing Mrs Van Hooper. Enter Maximilian de Winter, a […]