JULY 2026 “FOOD FICTION”

Helen:  Vianne by Joanne Harris  (2025)

 

This is the prequel to the author’s beloved book ‘Chocolat’ published in 1999. It follows a 21-year-old penniless Vianne who arrives in Marseille to escape her nomadic fugitive past.

With lyrical writing  and described as a delicious book, Helen enjoyed the focus on food and chocolate. There was also lots of magical and mystical themes not really enjoyed by Helen as she is not a fan of mystical realism.

 

Ed:  Chocolat by Joanne Harris  (1999)

 

Set in the French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes between Mardi Gras and Easter Sunday, it follows the story of Vianne Rocher, a single mother who  arrives with her six-year-old daughter Anouk to open a chocolaterie opposite the church.

She has a talent for cooking with chocolate and can choose chocolates that suits the personality of her customer.

The priest does not approve thinking she maybe a witch or a sorcerer and a threat to  the people’s faith.

Every page offers a description of chocolate and recipes, picturesque French villages, colourful gypsies and crazy old ladies.

A wonderful read.

 

Lyn: The Jam Maker by Mary-Lou Stephens  ( 2025)

 

This story is centred around the history of the Tasmanian jam industry. The writing is very descriptive, particularly of some of the ‘special jams’ made by Harriet Brown, almost ‘tasteable’.

Harriet was sent out to work in the factory, disguised as a boy, when she was only 12. Her friend Henry Jones had started in the factory on the same day. 

When she was 16, she was forced to  marry an older man who taught her every aspect of jam making. 

Harriet and Henry maintained their lifelong friendship including when Henry owned and managed the biggest jam factory . His life motto was “I EXCELL” becoming I X L, the brand names of his products.

A fascinating story, well researched, great characters and many twists and turns.

 

Judy J: Return to the Little Coffee Shop of Kabul  by Deborah Rodriguez (2017)

 

The author had first gone to Afghanistan in 2001 as part of a group offering aid after the fall of the Taliban. She founded a beauty school that trained 200 women in the art of hairdressing etc, many of whom went on to run their own salons.

She also opened a coffee shop.

Return to the Little Coffee Shop is set in the time when the Taliban are increasing their control, many NGOs have left and the local people are beginning to lose many freedoms they had once enjoyed.

The coffee shop is now run by several locals and tells the story of their daily struggles to accept the life being forced upon them.

Unfortunately the coffee shop only sells chocolate brownies, choc chip cookies and the local honey cake.

An interesting read to get a feeling of the times.

 

Judy De la T: When in Doubt, Add Butter by Beth Harbison (2012)

 

Gemma is 37 years old, has a successful business as a private chef cooking for different ones each night. Her life feels full and secure . Recipes are certain and  successful when you follow the directions and use good ingredients

But when her life takes on unexpected changes, how will she cope?

Judy described it as chic lit, mildly amusing and a good quick read.

 

Leslie: The Hope Flower by Joy Dettman (2021)

 

Lori Smyth- Owen, is the only girl in a family of twelve. Her father is a weak man who commits suicide to escape his bed-bound wife, Mavis, who is morbidly obese, volatile and mentally unstable. Upon their father’s death, the children, not wanting to be split up in the welfare system, plan to raise themselves. They can now take charge.

Food almost has its own personality in the story, feeding 12, including preschoolers, teenagers, young adults, always chaos, always a challenge.

Central to the story is the dining room table around which so  much discussion happens and plans made to keep the family together.

The underlying theme is hope. Hope their situation will change and their mother will return to the person that only the older children can remember.

Lesley enjoyed it and wanted the kids to come out on top.

 

Val:  The Second Worse Restaurant in France by Alexander McCall Smith  (2019)

 

Val described the book as faintly amusing , light weight and easy to read.

The author always includes many facts and knowledge in his books.

Paul Stuart, a renowned cookbook writer is researching his new book when his domestic arrangements change. His partner moves in with 2 cats who become quite the nuisance.

His cousin invites him to visit her in France, where they meet people running the local restaurant. They don’t really know what they are doing and Paul and his friends are encouraged to take it over.

 

Pat:  The Prodigal Daughter by Prue Leith  (2023)

 

Angelica Angelotti is a chef who also wrote cookbooks although Pat didn’t find her writing very convincing. Her parents had run successful Italian restaurants and so she had grown up in this life. 

She wants to learn French cooking and so her parents agree that she can attend a cooking school in Paris. This also is a way of getting away from her dominant cousin Mario.

But to her parents’ dismay, the plan backfires in more ways than one.

Pat said she wouldn’t highly recommend it saying that the author’s writing style didn’t excite her.

 

Theresa:   A Gift from the Comfort Food Café by Debbie Johnson

 

Katie has had an unhappy childhood; she is now pregnant and has separated from the father of her child.

So moving to a new area, and in particular a quiet little country town gives her a new start.

The centre of the town is the café. It is where everyone meets and talks and helps each other. She gets a job in the local chemist and a new romance beckons.

Theresa described it as a simple read, light and happy with some humorous scenes.

The relationship between Kate and her little boy was just beautiful and she was able to rise above the sad life she had left behind.

 

Jo: Banana Cream Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke (2017)

 

This is one of a series of books featuring Hannah Swenson, a baker of cakes and cookies in her café. But she also investigates murder on the side. In this book a person is found murdered in her downstairs condo. Hannah gets involved in solving this crime.

Recipes are included throughout the book and Jo loves them but agrees they wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste.

 

Kerrie: Toast  The Story of a Boy’s Hunger by Nigel Slater (2023)

 

Nigel Slater’s memoir explored his growing up from 9 years old to 16. Kerrie “gobbled it up’ in little bite sized pieces. His life during these years is told through his memories of  food.

His mother suffered from asthma, dying in front of him when only 9.

His memory is the toast she always burnt but made with love.

His father cooks for ‘performance’ and power over Nigel. 

The beautiful writing made you feel and taste the food he is describing.

In many ways, the book mirrors the social history of post war England through the food  highlighting class differences and what they ate.

Parts of the book were very sad but there were also many funny moments.

 

Joan: The Farmers’ Wife Country Cookbook

 

To Joan this old book was a treasure having been given it many years ago.

The recipes were chosen from those that appeared in Midwestern America’s Farmers Wife magazine between 1893 and 1939.

 

Rosemary W: Butter by Asako Yuzuki  (2017)

 

This novel, inspired by a real-life serial murder case in Japan, follows a Tokyo journalist who starts interviewing a woman accused of tricking and possibly killing men seducing them with her cooking, believed to be poisoned.

Other themes in the book include:

Feminist literature for Japan highlights the patriarchal nature of society and the social expectations of women. It discusses what is perfect.

The habit of modern society for eating bland and unhealthy food.

Rosemary commented that there was so much in the book and it was gloriously written.

 

Michelle also read the book.

While agreeing with everything Rosemary had mentioned, she had appreciated the descriptions of food and the recipes. So much of the book was about food and waste.

 

Dimity: A Year at Hotel Gondola by Nicky Pellegrino (2018)

 

Kat is a food writer who travels the world, eating unusual things. But after she begins a new relationship and agrees to settle down with him, they start to run the Hotel Gondola in Venice.

So Kat sets up a book deal to write about their first year in the hotel, the food and the people of Venice they meet while working out their relationship.

Food is very prominent in the book, every meal is eaten out, described and recipes sent back to England. Food comes first and conversation later.

The book is rich in friendships and relationships with a backdrop of Venetian life. A nice read.

 

Judy A: Be Ready When the Luck Happens  by Ina Garten  (2024)

 

This is the personal memoir by one of the USA’s most well-known food personalities, Ina Garten. She is aka the Barefoot  Contessa, the author of thirteen bestselling cookbooks, and a beloved Food network personality, an Emmy Award winner, Instagram sensation, and cultural icon.

 

She had a difficult up bringing with cold and distant parents, but they were wealthy and she has never wanted for resources when the ‘luck’ arrived.  The Barefoot Contessa tag came from the first little café she operated, and all her cookbooks follow that title.

 

A lot of it is not just food and her life  but about buying and selling properties and renovating both in the US and in Paris and name dropping the people  she had spent time with.

 

It was an interesting read but forgettable.

 

Bev: Naked Chocolate by David Wolfe and Shazzie  (2011)

 

The book describes the history of chocolate, where it comes from and how it is processed.

It explains the scientific properties and health benefits of eating chocolate and elaborates how you will lose weight, sooth your heart, nourish your intellect and attract prosperity by eating.

The ‘naked chocolate’ is the raw cacao bean and information is given on how to prepare it.

60 original and mouth-watering chocolate recipes are shared.

 

Kris: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg (1987)

 

The story is told over two timelines. Its 1985 and Evelyn Couch , a middle-aged, menopausal woman struggling with her weight and self-worth meets Ninny Thredgoode in the Rose Terrace  Nursing Home. While in the waiting room, Ninny tells the story of her life in the 1930s.

 

One of these stories is of Ninny and her sister-in-law, Idgie opening the Whistle Stop Café in the 1930s. The cooks were two coloured women. The café becomes central to the town in rural Alabama.  One of the favourite dishes was green fried tomatoes. Times were tough in the depression, racism was everywhere but  people made the best of their life.

Kris described as a heartwarming and funny book, although there were a few gruesome moments, it is well worth the read.

 

Rosemary S: The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan    (2022)

 

This is a warm, uplifting historical novel set during World War two in rural England when food rationing  is a part of everyday life.

The story centres on a BBC radio cooking competition, The Kitchen Front, where four contestants must create delicious meals using limited wartime products.

Four women from very different backgrounds enter the competition to become the first female co-host of the programme. Although each hope to win for personal reasons, the competition ultimately leads them to friendship, self-discovery, and the courage to change lives.

 

Some of the recipes which are included in full in the book:

Curried Salt Cod

Mushroom Soup using locally foraged ingredients

Sardine Rolls, using canned sardines

Whale Meat and Mushroom Pie using 1 pound of whale meat steak.

 

AUGUST BOOK CLUB : A book from the Library Kit

Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

Fragile Monsters by Catherine Menon

Life after Life by Kate Atkinson

JUNE 2026 -- ANY BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR HELEN GARNER

 

All the books read this month were written by the acclaimed Australian writer, HELEN GARNER, both fiction and non-fiction.

 

THE MUSHROOM TAPES

ROSEMARY S:  She did not finish it.  It was tricky with three people talking, but Rosemary gave us some interesting facts about Helen Garner.  She is an acclaimed Australian writer who is as interesting as her books.  She won an award for her first novel, Monkey Grip – fiction mixed with fact. She is also a passionate AFL fan following the Western Bulldogs.  Helen keeps extensive diaries renowned for her honesty and detail.  In 2016 she was sent an email telling her about a life changing prize of $100,000 which originally went into her spam folder.  She is considered a great writer of non-fiction.

SELECTED NON FICTION TRUE STORIES ( PUBLISHED 1996)

TAM:  One of the stories was about going to the morgue.  She uses very descriptive language.  The story about the unscheduled sex education class was quite funny.  There were Greek boys in the class.  It caused a lot of controversy and she lost her job.

LYN:  Although the print was very small, she thoroughly enjoyed what she read. It was wonderfully descriptive. A few of her favourites being“At the morgue “– Her descriptions of the autopsy procedure providing a read understanding of the process.“Won,Tew,Three,Faw” - A non musical family organizing and celebrating a completely different family Christmas celebration.  Lyn felt as if she was actually there in each of the stories. She also started reading House of Grief.  It is a difficult read.

THIS HOUSE OF GRIEF (2014)

JUDY J:  It was considered one of the Guardian’s 100 best books of the 21^st century.  On Father’s Day2005, just after nightfall, Robert Farquarson drove his three young sons back to their mother, his ex-wife.  He was a pathetic figure, lowly paid job, unable to maintain relationships, always babied by his older sisters, never really grew up and take on adult responsibilities.  On that dark country road, barely five minutes from the children’s home, the old white car swerved off the highway and plunged into a dam.  He freed himself.  The court case that followed became Helen Garner’s obsession, one that would take over her life until it’s final verdict.  She describes the court proceedings, including 2 trials, appeals, sentencing etc.  Some of it is tedious to read. 

ROSEMARY W:  She also read this book.  She found it incredibly boring.  She felt all Helen Garner was doing was writing about the boring facts and she is not sure why she is reading it.

JOAN:  All of this stuff has to come out where you must count every little detail.  I am not a fan of her non- fiction style because of her personal musings and revelations.  All sorts of facts come up.  They dunked the car three times. It was reported that “Her personal investment in what she is witnessing is compromising her notational style”.

THE CHILDREN’S BACH

JUDY A. :  First published in 1984.  The story follows Dexter and Athena Fox, a husband and wife who live with their two sons, one who is severely disabled, in the inner suburbs of early 1980’s Melbourne.  Dexter runs into a friend from his college days named Elizabeth who has taken care of her younger sister Vicki now that their mother has died.  Elizabeth has an on again, off again relationship with Phillip who has a 12 year old daughter named Poppy.  The book is about the interplay of all their relationships.  PROS:  Garner’s inciteful asides on her characters.  Her voice and style come through strongly, just like her writing.          CONS: the descriptions and attitudes around Billy, the disabled child,  made for uncomfortable reading for me.

PAMELA:  She said the writing was wonderful, but she was not interested in the characters and did not finish reading.

DIMITY:  She appreciated the opportunity to read Helen Garner.

EVERYWHERE I LOOK (pub 2016)

MARGARET:  This is a collection of essays, diary entries and true stories spanning more than 15 years.  It’s a portrait of a writer’s life and a particular way of seeing the world.  It includes a moving tribute to her mother, her joy in discovering the ukulele and a famous and controversial essay called “The Insults of Age”(2015).  There are also the beginnings of her fascination with reporting in court cases and what it revealed about human behaviour.  She also writes stories about some of the writers she knows including eight views of Tim Winton in eight paragraphs over many years of their friendship. Her writing is beautifully descriptive.

REGIONS OF THICK RIBBED ICE (2015)

PRUE: It’s only about 36 pages. It is comprised of short stories, essays, travelogue, memoir and autobiography all rolled into one.  She is on a cruise to the Antarctic with a group of photographers.  She did not take a camera. Her descriptions of the photographers are morose.  Helen Garner didn’t like the penguins, but she was very descriptive about the ice.  She has a journalistic style of writing.  Prue quite enjoyed it but was glad it was only short.   It was quite entertaining and the Antarctic was interesting, but she doesn’t think she will read any more Helen Garner books.

THE SPARE ROOM (2008)

DEBORAH:  She won’t say she liked it.  Deborah said she didn’t want to read about a lady who was dying of cancer and getting alternative treatments.  I am not sure she will read anymore.

KRIS:  Also read this book.  Helen is the narrator and her friend, Nicola who lives in Melbourne has cancer.  She comes to Sydney to stay in Helen’s ordinary suburban house at Helen’s request.  Helen thinks it will be a short time in palliative care but, although Nicola is terminally ill, she will not admit failure and is trying all sorts of experimental and expensive treatments which are making Nicola very ill and requiring much more care from Helen than she imagined.  This is a novel based on her own experience with a terminally ill friend and Helen Garner’s  need to explore her own unflattering and raw emotions during that time.  The themes are ageing, death and friendship.  It’s a heart wrenching story, but it is a very honest story with touches of humour as it confronts painful realities we all face at some time.  I loved the read.    Helen Garner has a very conversational voice in her writing.

JO CINQUE’S CONSOLATION (2004)

KERRIE:  She read it once and ten years later read it again. This is a true story. It is a revelatory read because of her style.  She is a witness to what happens.  In 1997 A young man in Canberra is killed by his fiancée and her friend.  Many people are around at the time.  It’s about grief and loss and families of Jo and the 2 girls.  The law is complex and terrible. The young woman is described as having narcissistic personality disorder. Kerrie loved the writing but not the story.

TERESA:  The story is absurd.  The girlfriend planned the death of Jo because she wanted to commit suicide.  Instead, she killed her boyfriend. Teresa was very impressed with Helen Garner’s writing and how she expresses herself, but the story is so sad.

THE FIRST STONE (1995)

JO:  In the Autumn of 1992, two young women at a Melbourne University were indecently assaulted at a party by the head of the residential college.  Pat didn’t really like it.  Men felt entitled to do what they wanted with the women.  She didn’t feel comfortable reading it but it was interesting.

ONE DAY I’LL REMEMBER THIS (1987-1995) AND HOW TO END A STORY DIARIES 1995-1998

VAL:  This is the story  of a disintegration of Helen Garner’s 3^rd marriage in one of her diaries 1992 to 2000.  She writes about her third marriage to the writer “V”, Murray Vale.  She explores her feelings about him, why he needs constant admiration.  He has a relationship with a young painter and Helen finds out.  He lies constantly and counselling doesn’t help.  Val feels Helen is a very complex person.  She went to the Turkish baths.  She said all the women were rude and very outspoken.  Val liked the descriptions but not the author. Val read MONKEY GRIP years ago but couldn’t get into it.

MONKEY GRIP (1997)

MICHELLE:   This novel was set in Melbourne, where single mother, Nora narrates her tumultuous relationship with a heroin addict while trying to bring up her daughter. Michelle had heard about Helen Garner and wanted to read this book.  She grew up in the 1970’s and had experienced little bits of what was going on at the time. Michelle enjoyed it and said it felt very real. She would like to read more of Helen Garner’s books, maybe the Mushroom Tapes.  She documents what she sees and explores the dark side of life.

Michelle is a new member to book club.  This was her first day with us.

Kris

 

Next month, July we will be discussing the books we have read – the topic is Food fiction.

 

 

MAY 2026: Three Books from the Library Kits

This month we had the choice of three books -

Educated by Tara Westover,   The Feel - Good  Hit of the Year by Liam Pieter   and The Eye of the Sheep by Sofie Laguna.

 

 

Educated by Tara  Westover

 

Summary:

Born to survivalist in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from the mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over overseas and to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she’d travelled too far, and if there was still a way home.

 

Comments from Book Club members:

 

Rosemary: She enjoyed the book, found it interesting but thought the narrative was written leading to a movie.

 

Val: Val described it as a troubling book, she was interested but didn’t enjoy it. It appalled her that people in society got away with the treatment of others. Tara’s brother Shawn should have been arrested for his sadistic behaviour.

 

Kerrie: It was important to keep in mind that not all Mormon families behave the way these did. But the father was way beyond any religious figure. 

Part of the author’s healing was to tell her story. People had always lied to her and denied what had happened to her.

 

Kelly: While reading, her emotions went up and down. She was shocked at the abuse and the isolation in which they lived.

 

Cindy: Cindy couldn’t finish it and felt validated after listening to other people’s opinions.

 

Judy A: Generally agreed with the previous comments.

 

Tam: Echoed other people’s comments but added that the mother annoyed her because she didn’t protect her children.

 

Judy J: Tara was able to educate herself as were 2 of her brothers. All finished with PHDs! Those children who stayed behind, continued to live and work with the parents. There wasn’t any more contact with the family.

 

Judy A: Even though she knew her family relationships were deeply unhealthy, even dangerous, yet she still yearned to be accepted within that group.

There were things she didn’t find credible, chief among them being the list of injuries this family suffered and recovered from.

 

Joan: Joan was unsure what Tara Westover was doing now and thought she would have difficulty in having ‘normal’ relationships.

 

 

The Feel-Good Hit of the Year by Liam Pieper 

 

Summary:

Liam Pieper was raised by his bohemian parents to believe in freedom and creativity, and that there's nothing wrong with smoking a little marijuana to make life easier. Nothing if not precocious, he used these lessons to develop a fledgling drug habit and a thriving business selling pot from the back of his pushbike. This lifestyle taught him much.

But from these highs (chemical and otherwise), Liam's life began to spiral down to some striking lows. After a family tragedy and then his arrest on several counts of possession and trafficking, Liam had to pause and ask himself: How the hell did I get here and how would he find some way out?

 

Comments from Book Club members:

 

Ed: Ed thought the book was well written and the young man was very enterprising in making money through selling drugs. She was astonished by the amount of money involved in the drug trade.

The author eventually sorts himself out and becomes a freelance writer.

She wouldn’t rave about it.

 

Lyn:

She didn’t find the book ‘achingly funny or heart splittingly tragic’ as said in the  reviews. Heartbreaking – yes! Frustrating – a definite yes!

Lyn chose the book because of the subject, pleased she had read it, but not a book she enjoyed.

 

 

The Eye of the Sheep  by Sophie Laguna

Summary:

Told from the mesmerising point of view and in the inimitable voice of Jimmy, this is an extraordinary novel about a poor family who is struggling to cope with a different and difficult child.

He's not like other kids. He finds a lot of the adult world impossible to understand - especially why his dad gets so angry with him. Jimmy's mother Paula is the only one who can manage him. She teaches him how to count sheep so that he can fall sleep. She holds him tight enough to stop his cells spinning. It is only Paula who can keep Jimmy out of his father's way. But when Jimmy's world falls apart, he has no one else to turn to. He alone must navigate the unfathomable world and make things right.

 

Comments from Book Club members:

 

Theresa: She described the book as depressing, sad, offensive and the undiagnosed autistic Jimmy, reminded her of Rainman.

He was loved by his mother who idolised him and puts up with the horrible husband.

 

Pat: Pat found the book hard to read, too depressing but needs to be read because this is happening now in society. She felt sorry for all the characters, all had their own problems.

 

Margaret: The book puts you in the mind of one of these children and how they see the world. It’s exhausting, the mix of depression, poverty, levels of sadness. Some moments of hope were brilliantly written but also exhausting.

 

Sheila: You could hear Jimmy’s voice all the way through the happenings with the family. She thought the author had done a lot of research or had close contact with a dysfunctional family.

She didn’t enjoy it, but glad she had read the book.

 

Joan: Jimmy’s first-person narrative through the book was outstanding. There is anger, judgement, understanding, compassion, hope and trust. But this is balanced with humour in the ending.

Joan described the book as one of the best written and challenging books she has read.

 

Debra: She didn’t like it, in fact she hated it. But she understood and appreciated the needs of the child.

The redeeming thing was the hope at the end. Jimmy was going to get help and support. Book Club can challenge what you read.

 

Cindy: She couldn’t finish it but appreciated it more after listening to other’s comments.

 

Jo: When Jo started the book, she hated. But with perseverance, she continued and eventually, ‘couldn’t put it down’. 

 

Judy J May 2026

 

 

 

           JUNE:   Australian author Helen Garner

 

 

 

 

 

 

APRIL 2026 Books written by Australian authors

 Kerrie: The Drover’s Son, a children’s book written by Leah Purcell and beautifully illustrated by Dub Leffler. It follows on from the author’s previous book The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson. 

Kerrie also read Kyra Geddes, The Story Thief (2024) which melds real events with a fictional character, posing the question “who has the ‘right’ to tell a story?”

This book explored a difficult  mother/daughter relationship. The story touchingly describes the deep connection between a mother and her son and a relationship that grows for the boy from a spiritual connection made with a stranger.

Contemporary family themes of growing up, responsibility, loyalty and our relationship with nature are all handled with sensitivity, whilst describing a time long past. 

It’s a beautiful, strong story for everyone.

 

Lesley:  Cry of the Curlew by Peter Watt  published in 2000

This fictional family saga is set in the early years of the colony of Queensland, ranging between the Gulf and Townsville. Two families, the Irish Duffy’s and the Scottish Macintoshes rage war against each other.

Both want superiority in the wild, slowly developing gulf country, for the grazing rights, the potential rich mining deposits and for emerging commercial interests.

The outback is harsh and unforgiving. Emerging towns are rough, wild and challenging and the weather is a hard task master.

The story begins with the horrific slaughter of the local Aboriginal tribe whose ancestors lived on the land of the now intolerant, cruel, murderous Macintosh clan. The rampage ends up including some members of the Duffy clan.

The bitter and deadly rivalry with the deceptions and schemes of the families all in hope of great riches and false glory, make for a story full of subplots, a fast pace and some appreciation of just how hard it was for the early pioneers.

The lives and treatment of our first nation people during this period is deeply affecting.

Lesley enjoyed this book even though it was quite uncomfortable reading in parts.

 

Ed: The Suspect by Michael Robotham

The book was originally published in 2004 and is the first in the Joe O’Loughlin series. 

It has recently been part of the TV series adapted from several of the author’s novels.

O’Loughlin had a successful career as a clinical psychologist but is drawn into helping the police search for the killer of a young girl.

According to Ed, there were many murders, some were so gruesome it was difficult to talk about them.

 

Rosemary S:

Darling Girls is a gripping and emotionally layered novel written by Sally Hepworth. It centres on three women, Jessica, Norah and Alicia, who although not biological sisters, developed a sisterhood through a shared and deeply traumatic childhood. Raised together as foster children at Wild Meadows, their sisterhood has endured well into adulthood.

The story is set in motion when each woman receives a call from police: a body has been discovered beneath the former site of Wild Meadows, now being redeveloped. This revelation forces them to confront buried memories and raises unsettling questions about what happened all those years ago.

The author builds suspense, delivering twist after twist, many of which land unexpectedly close to the final pages. Despite the heavy themes, the novel ultimately offers a satisfying and hopeful resolution.

 

Pat also read this book, and the author has become a favourite of hers. 

She also commented on the twist at the end saying it will ‘blow your mind’.

 

Val: Mischance Creek by Garry Disher

This is the 5^th book in the series featuring Constable Paul Hirchhausen or “Hirsch” for short.

Garry Disher is a South Australian writer who was born in the northern part of the state, the setting for these books. His father was also a storyteller and from him he learnt the importance of pacing, the plot and suspense. All are very evident in his books.

Hirsch is becoming used to the pace of rural life and is visiting farmers checking gun licenses etc. He gets a call to assist a tourist whose car is in a ditch. It turns out she is a Danish tourist visiting the area seeking information about her mother who disappeared several years before.

He writes well, his characters are believable and he brings in current issues such as sovereign citizens. His strength is describing the rural area; you can feel and see it.

 

Jo also read this book and has enjoyed others by the author.

 

Pamela: 

An Iron Rose by Peter Temple is a standalone novel , the first after his Jack Irish series.

The main character Mac receives a phone call informing him that his friend Ned is dead. There is an implication  of suicide, but Mac doesn’t believe this, so he begins his own enquiry.

He had previously been a policeman in Melbourne but is now a blacksmith enjoying a quieter life in the country.

Pamela loved the economy of the language the author uses but still conveys so much. He has great powers of description and uses words with such finesse.

 

Kellie: What Rhymes with Murder by Penny Tangey

A young, exhausted mother takes her baby to  ‘Rhyme Time’ at the local library and meets others in a similar situation to her. 

Before the end of the session a murder has occurred, and the library becomes a crime scene. Suddenly, these people who were just recently strangers, are drawn together and eventually form an unlikely group of sleuths.

An easy read and cosy crime at its best.

 

Judy De la T

 Judy read several books during the month including the following:

 

The Last Woman in the World by Inga Simpson.

This dystopian thriller is about Rachel, a reclusive glass worker hiding in the NSW bush from a deadly plague. This secluded life ends when mother Hannah and her sick baby arrive seeking help, forcing Rachel to join them on a dangerous journey to get help, through a landscape destroyed by fires and a mysterious contagion.

 

The Thinning also by Inga Simpson

 

Iluka by Cassie Stroud

This debut novel tells a story of family trauma and how childhood adversity shapes adult lives.

 

Trust by Chris Hammer

Trust is the third book featuring ex-journalist Martin Scarsden. On returning home he finds his partner missing and an unconscious man on the floor.

 

Lyn: Bill the Bastard by Roland Perry and published in 2012

This book is a story of Australian servicemen, particularly those of the Light Horse and their horses during the Gallipoli and Palestine campaigns in World War 1.

It focuses on the huge 730kg chestnut whaler, known affectionately as “Bill the Bastard’ and trooper Major Michael Shanahan, the only man who could ride him.

The pages are filled with the stories of genuine, likeable Aussie servicemen and women all striving to make the best of difficult situations.

Particularly moving was learning of the fate of the horses after the war.

Lyn described it as an interesting, entertaining and informative read.

 

Judy J:

Having seen the musical version of  My Brilliant Career Judy needed to read the book again.

It is a semi-autobiographical novel, and not strictly a true story. Written by Miles Franklin when she was 16 and published in 1901 when she was still only 21 years old.

But it heavily mirrors her own life experiences during those early years of her life.

Her real name was Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin and through her life she was very involved in feminist and literary circles both here and in USA.

But what stood out after rereading the book was how young she was and yet how she adapted to living the different experiences she had in so few years.

In her short life all she wanted to do was learn, to write and be free spirited. She never wavered from her determination not to marry.

When the book and musical end, there isn’t any indication of the brilliant career she was to have.

 

Tam: Those Other Women by Nicola Moriarty

The story follows two groups of women, a mother’s online group and a non-mother’s group which end up pitting against each other, often with disastrous results.

Most of this is played out through social media. 

The book offers a real insight to the way women often judge each other cruelly and unnecessarily. 

Tam though there were many real-life situations that you could relate to.

An easy but very good read with fortunately a heart-warming conclusion.

 

Judy A: Discipline by Randa Abdel-Fattah

This is a short novel, set in Sydney over a couple of weeks and centred around the lives of mainly two characters. The triggering incident is the arrest and charging with terrorism of Nabil, a year 12 student from a local Islamic college. He was protesting a university’s ties  to an Israeli weapons manufacturer.

The student, Nabil is just a catalyst for how the main characters are dealing with the institutions they  work for.

Ashraf is a secular Muslim academic whose career and personal life are in freefall. His wife became increasingly fundamentalist and they divorced. She’s taken their two teenage daughters and gone with her new husband to Yemen.

Hannah is a young journalist, trying to juggle the demands of new motherhood and the trauma of her husband’s family being bombed back in Gazza and fighting racism in the newsroom

Judy described the writing as clear and concise and very hard hitting. This is highlighted in the way the author contrasts what institutions like newspapers and universities say what they believe, especially about freedom of speech and in what they actually  practice and tolerate.

 

Margaret: The Glass House and The Oasis both books by Anne Buist and Graeme Simsion

The Glass House

Psychiatry registrar, Dr Hannah Wright, a country girl with a chaotic history, thought she had seen it all while working in the emergency room of a city hospital. But nothing compared to the psychiatric ward of the Menzies Hospital.

Hannah must learn on the job in a strained medical system as she and her colleagues deal with the common, the bizarre, the hilarious, the tragic, the treatable and the confronting.

In The Oasis, Hannah continues her training in the outpatient’s section of the Menzies Hospital dealing with OCD, ice addiction, the mental impact of ageing and a myriad of other issues.

Both books are written with great humanity and touches of humour showing compassion and offering insights into the issues that people are dealing with.

The third book in the series is to be published later in 2026.

 

Dimity: Khaki Town by Judy Nunn

Set in Queensland during World War 11 this historical novel is based on a true wartime story.

In 1942 Singapore had fallen and a small Queensland city is transformed into a transit place for soldiers.

The Australian troops begrudge the US soldiers for being overpaid and very loud. There are incidences of racial tension often leading to violence in the tropical heat.

Dimity enjoyed it as the author keeps you interested through the book.

 

Helen: Damascus by Christos Tsiolkas

Winner of the Victorian Premier’s Fiction Literary Award.

A haunting, moving and fictional narrative of  Saul/Paul’s (plus other characters Lydia, Timothy) against the backdrop of no-holds barred depiction of the violent, cruel and brutal Grecko-Roman world of the first century.

Helen found the structure of the book very difficult to follow, it was a difficult read which unfortunately she couldn’t finish.

 

Joan: Limberlost by Robbie Arnott published in 2022.

The book follows  Ned living on an apple orchard Tasmanian farm from childhood to adulthood.

At 15 he lives there with his moody and reserved father, and his bossy sister. His 2 brothers are away at war and his mother died when he was very young.

He traps rabbits for the skins that he sells, eventually saving enough money to buy a boat. This he uses to explore the river.

Gloomy and underlying tensions playout through the story along with Ned’s defeatist attitude.

 Joan was disappointed  with the book.

 

Debra:  The Wolf Tree by Laura McClusky

With a family connection to Scotland and memories of spooky stories, the author has written this mystery set in an isolated island community. They have little connection to the mainland, no phones except in the post office, and generations of secrets. Its dark, windy, stormy and remote.

Two police officers are sent to confirm the suicide of one of the young residents. But the evidence doesn’t confirm this. Bad weather means they are cut off from the mainland, and they are there alone without backup at all.

Debra enjoyed the story so much that she read the author’s next book The Cursed Road featuring the same detectives.

 

Theresa: My Brother Jack by George Johnston published in 1964

Theresa described the book as an absolute treasure, an Australian classic and written with just beautiful  language.

The two brothers grew up in Melbourne after their father returned from World War 1 and their mother had been nursing and continued to care for returned soldiers.

The book describes the changes in the brothers’ relationship over the years.

Jack, the elder, was originally the tough fighter who drinks and swears while David lives a quiet existence, preferring the company of books.

During the Depression years, the fortune of the brothers starts to change. David earns a good income and status as a writer but yearned for the simplicity of Jack’s life. Jack was the practical one who could fix anything.

As World War 11 began, the brothers grow further apart as David’s status as a war correspondent increases. But eventually, Jack looks up to his younger brother, showing the type of admiration that as youngsters, David felt towards Jack.

The book was a good reminder of how tough those war years were on everyone. War does terrible things to people.