Caribou Island by David Vann, Penguin, $24.95. When Vann ‘s first work of fiction, Legend Of A Suicide, was published in 2009, it shot across the literary world like a comet, blazing a tail of prizes and critical acclaim that took pretty much everyone — including the author — by surprise. This novel proves it […]

The Shallows by Nicholas Carr, Atlantic, $32.99. A fascinating book about the way computers and the internet are changing the way we read and absorb information. The basic premise is this: after centuries of linear, literary thinking, book-type thinking, our minds are being rewired into a new kind of mind that operates in short, disjointed, […]

Batavia by Peter FitzSimons, Random House, $49.95. I would rather sail around Antarctica on the Titanic twice than cruise the coast of West Australia on the Batavia. Not only did 74 per cent of women survive the sinking of the Titanic, none of them or their husbands and children were murdered, or compelled to kill, […]

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 […]