Novels good enough to stay in for – cosy at home and out of the cold.
The Glasgow Smile by Chris Stuart
Chris Stuart’s debut novel, For Reasons of Their Own, won the Ngaio March Best First Novel Award. Her second novel, The Glasgow Smile, is another thrilling, page-turning read.
In a grimy, graffiti-covered Melbourne inner city laneway, a woman is found murdered. Was this a random thrill kill, politically driven, or tragically personal? DI Robbie Gray, along with her indigenous officer, Mac, digs deep and discovers the legacy of long-held secrets can have tragic consequences.
Original Sin Press, RRP $35.00
A Disappearance in Fuji by Nilima Rao
1914, Fiji. Akal Singh is assigned the case of an indentured Indian woman who has gone missing from a sugarcane plantation. Some say she has run off with the overseer, but the newspaper headlines scream ‘kidnapping’…
Alexander McCall Smith has endorsed A Disappearance in Fiji, which I find particularly apt as this debut novel reminds me of his books – charming and full of warmth and wit.
Echo Publishing, RRP $37.00
The Spanish Garden by Cliff Taylor
In his Spanish garden overlooking the Kaipara Harbour, Sidney King reluctantly prepares to mark his one-hundredth birthday. At the same time, a discovery is made in Spain which could unlock a mystery that has haunted him since he fought in the Spanish Civil War. This multi-generational novel tells a story of memory and loss and a man’s enduring obsession with love. The Spanish Garden is a moving novel that will appeal to readers of The English Patient.
Quentin Wilson Publishing, RRP $37.50
Rings On Water by Madeline Eskedahl
This thrilling crime novel starts with a man being lost overboard when a narcotics pickup at sea goes wrong. Then a young woman is found dead on a beach, and Sergeant Bill Granger is called on to investigate. He had hoped for a quiet off-season in Matakana. Instead, a complex web of small-town secrets and a desire for revenge will soon place Bill’s family in danger. You will never look at Matakana the same way again!
Matheson Bay Press, RRP $36.99
