Books Archive

Exiles (October 2022)

By Jane Harper

November 2, 2022

Aaron Falk returns in this masterful novel of intrigue.

At a busy festival site on a warm spring night, a baby lies alone in her pram, her mother having vanished into the crowds.

A year on, Kim Gillespie’s absence casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather deep in the heart of South Australian wine country to welcome a new addition to the family.

Aaron Falk, federal investigator, is joining the celebrations.  But as he soaks up life in the lush valley, he begins to suspect this tight-knit group may be more fractured than it seems.  As hidden truths slowly emerge, Falk faces the darkest of questions.

The Twist of a Knife (October 2022)

By Anthony Horowitz

November 2, 2022

‘Our deal is over.’

That’s what reluctant author Anthony Horowitz tells ex-detective Daniel Hawthorne in an awkward meeting.  The truth is that Anthony has other things on his mind.

His new play, Mindgame, is about to open in London’s Vaudeville Theatre.  Not surprisingly Hawthorne declines a ticket.

On opening night, Sunday Times critic Harriet Throsby gives the play a savage review, focusing particularly on the writing.  The next morning she is found dead, stabbed in the heart with an ornamental dagger which, it turns out, belongs to Anthony and which has his fingerprints all over it.

Anthony is arrested, charged with Throsby’s murder, thrown into prison and interrogated.

Alone and increasingly desperate, he realises only one man can help him.

Forever Home (October 2022)

By Graham Norton

November 2, 2022

Carol is a divorced teacher living in a small Irish town, her only son now grown.  A second chance at love with the older Declan brings her unexpected connection and belonging, but sparks local speculation: what does a woman like her see in a man like him?  What happened to his wife who abandoned him all those years ago?

The gossip only serves to bring them closer, but when Declan becomes ill things start to fall apart.  His children are untrusting and cruel, and Carol is forced to leave their beloved home with its worn oak floors and elegant features and move back in with her parents.  Unwilling to see her daughter suffer, Carol’s mother vows to get to the bottom of things.  It seems there are secrets in Declan’s past, strange rumours that were never confronted, and suddenly the house they shared takes on a more sinister significance.

Compassionate, knowing and exquisitely tense, Graham Norton’s gripping and darkly comic novel looks beneath the surface of everyday life to reveal that dangerous place where hidden desires and forgotten fears lurk.

The Bullet that Missed (October 2022)

By Richard Osman

November 2, 2022

It is an ordinary Thursday and things should finally be returning to normal.

Except trouble is never far away where the Thursday Murder Club is concerned.  A decade-old cold case leads them to a local news legend and a murder with no body and no answers.

Then, a new foe pays Elizabeth a visit.  Her mission?  Kill…or be killed.

As the cold case turns red hot, Elizabeth wrestles with her conscience (and a gun), while Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim chase down clues with help from old friends and new.  But can the gang solve the mystery and save Elizabeth before the murderer strikes again?

A Heart Full of Headstones (October 2022)

By Ian Rankin

November 2, 2022

John Rebus stands accused: on trial for a crime that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life.  Although it’s not the first time the legendary detective has taken the law into his own hands, it might be the last.

What drove a good man to cross the line?  Or have times changed, and the rules with them?

Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke faces Edinburgh’s most explosive case in years, as a corrupt cop goes missing after claiming to harbour secrets that could sink the city’s police force.

But in this investigation, it seems all roads lead to Rebus – and Clarke’s twin loyalties to the public and the police will be tested to their limit.

The Bookseller at the End of the World (October 2022)

By Ruth Shaw

November 2, 2022

Ruth Shaw runs two tiny bookshops in the remote village of Manapouri in Fiordland, in the deep south of New Zealand.

This rich memoir weaves together stories of the characters who visit her bookshops, musings about favourite books, and bittersweet stories from Ruth’s full and varied life.

She’s sailed through the Pacific for years, been held up by pirates, worked at Sydney’s Kings Cross with drug addicts and prostitutes, campaigned on numerous environmental issues, and worked the yacht Breaksea Girl with her husband Lance.

Underlining all her wanderings and adventures are some very deep losses and long-held pain.  Balancing that out is her beautiful love story with Lance, and her delightful sense of humour.

This will make you weep and make you laugh and make you want to read more books – and make you want to visit Ruth and her two wee bookshops.

The It Girl (October 2022)

By Ruth Ware

November 2, 2022

It was Hannah who found April’s body ten years ago.  It was Hannah who didn’t question what she saw that day.  Did her testimony put an innocent man in prison?

She needs to know the truth.

Even if it means questioning her own friends.  Even if it means putting her own life at risk.

Because if the killer wasn’t a stranger, could it be someone she knows?