SMSA (Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts)
New Book Highlights
ANIMAL STORIES
| Durrell, Gerald | Birds, beasts, and relatives |
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BIOGRAPHY
| Kent, Jacqueline | A certain style |
| McInnes, William | Fatherhood |
| Omarosa | Unhinged |
| Wainwright, Robert | Rocky road |
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GENERAL FICTION
| Abbs, Annabel | Frieda |
| Atkinson, Kate | Transcription |
| Bishop, Stephanie | Man out of time |
| Bleeker, Emily | The waiting room |
| Bonnier, Jonas | The helicopter heist |
| Chidgey, Catherine | The wish child |
| Dion, Katharine | The dependents |
| Douglas, Claire | Do not disturb |
| Drysdale, Pip | The Sunday girl |
| Empson, Clare | Him |
| Faulks, Sebastian | Paris echo |
| Forsyth, Frederick | The fox |
| Green, Linda | The last thing she told me |
| Gross, Andrew | Button men |
| Ham, Rosalie | The year of the farmer |
| Henderson, Gus | The wounded sinner |
| Jonasson, Jonas | The accidental further adventures of the hundred-year-old man |
| Jordan, Jack | Before her eyes |
| Koontz, Dean | The forbidden door |
| Kwaymullina, Ambelin | Catching teller crow |
| Miscellaneous | Reading the landscape |
| Montefiore, Santa | The temptation of Gracie |
| Moore, Wayetu | She would be king |
| Moriarty, Liane | Nine perfect strangers |
| Morton, Kate | The clockmaker’s daughter |
| Muddiman, Rebecca | No place like home |
| Purman, Victoria | The last of the Bonegilla girls |
| Redondo, Dolores | All this I will give to you |
| Rooney, Sally | Conversations with friends |
| Serle, Rebecca | The dinner list |
| Tesarsch, John | Dinner with the dissidents |
| Throsby, Holly | Cedar valley |
| Wood, Benjamin | A station on the path to somewhere better |
Reading the landscape / Miscellanous
All anthologies, whether of prose or verse, have a reason for being, but few could be as joyous as this collection of 25 works. For this anthology of verse and prose celebrates the 70 years that the University of Queensland Press (UQP) has been publishing works by some of Australia’s most outstanding writers. As the cover blurb says: If you have read and loved Australian literature, you will have read a UQP book. When it was decided to publish such a celebratory anthology, the UQP publishing director, Madonna Duffy selected seven words as reflective of the UQP philosophy and focus, and she invited authors whose books have played an important role in UQP’s success to use them as themes for the work they submitted. The words were hope, vision, legacy, origins, country, frontiers and heritage. The 25 writers selected have delivered works, which not only embrace those themes, but also inform readers about reading the Australian landscape. There are poems, essays, memoir and fiction, including important works by four of UQP’s impressive list of Aboriginal authors, with the whole collection introduced by Bernadette Brennan, herself an author published by UQP. She describes this anthology as one delighting with its variation, equally satisfying when dipped into or read in sustained sittings. There is certainly something for everyone in this stellar array of writing, demonstrating that Australian literature is in superb hands, whether being created or published. (Good Reading Magazine, October 2018)
Cedar Valley / Holly Throsby
On the first day of summer in 1993, Benny Miller arrives in Cedar Valley. She’s been invited, following the death of her mother, to stay at a cottage owned by her mother’s best friend. On the same day, a mysterious man—an enigma in a vintage suit and shiny shoes—also arrives. He walks down the main street and sits on the footpath, against the window of Cedar Valley Curios and Old Wares, for hours. As chapters alternate between both their stories, it’s revealed there might be a connection between the this man and Benny. This is a masterful novel. Throsby has a feel for small towns, as first evidenced in her debut novel, Goodwood, and once again in this second novel. There’s a fragility at the core of her characters and an intimacy that adds depth to their quirks and peccadillos; there is such heart in her storytelling. Throsby has artfully used a true unsolved Australian mystery as a plot device and it works remarkably well here. Cedar Valley is written with an assured hand and is essential reading for those who like their Australian rural tales with a touch of mystery. Readers who loved Goodwood will find even more to love here. (Books and Publishing, 26 July, 2018)
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HISTORICAL FICTION
| Barker, Pat | The silence of the girls |
The silence of the girls / Pat Barker
A long time ago and in a place far, far away, a young woman by the name of Briseis is pondering her fate. She has been a Queen, but her husband and brothers have been brutally slain during the war with the Greeks, and she has been given as a prize to Achilles, the most famous warrior among Agamemnon’s men. Sound familiar? Yes, this is the most famous conflict in literary history, the last months of the Trojan War as recorded in The Iliad, and Briseis is just one of many women who are catapulted from riches and comfort to slavery and sexual servitude. Briseis wasn’t necessarily happy in her previous life, and ill prepared for the life of a slave, but she manages as best she can, keeping a low profile and observing the other women who have met a similar fate. Some are faring well in their new lives; for others it is an enduring horror. She is treated well enough and manages to befriend Patroclus, Achilles’ close childhood friend, who tells her a few insightful things about him. But things begin to go wrong when Agamemnon is asked to return his captured concubine and, in his anger, takes Briseis from Achilles. Those of you who are familiar with The Iliad will know it is all downhill from here. Briseis is an interesting narrator, cool, calm and very matter of fact. She breathes life into the women who are at the edges of the Trojan Wars – women who are barely mentioned in history’s recounting of events, yet it was the women who loved, hated, fed, tended to and buried these famous men. An interesting new take on a very old tale. (Good Reading Magazine, October 2018)
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MYSTERY
| Arlidge, M. J. | Down to the woods |
| Black, Cara | Murder in Montmartre |
| Camilleri, Andrea | Death at sea |
| Carlsson, Christoffer | The thin blue line |
| Carr, John Dickson | The hollow man |
| Charles, Paul | A day in the life of Louis Bloom |
| Coleman, Reed Farrel | Robert B. Parker’s Colorblind |
| Corby, Gary | Death on Delos |
| Deveraux, Jude | A willing murder |
| Dunn, Carola | The corpse at the crystal palace |
| Elliott, Lexie | The French girl |
| Galbraith, Robert | Lethal white |
| Gerhardsen, Carin | Cinderella girl |
| Greenwood, Kerry | The spotted dog |
| Harte, E. V. | The prime of Ms Dolly Greene |
| Huber, Anna Lee | Treacherous is the night |
| James, Peter | Absolute proof |
| Jansson, Susanne | The forbidden place |
| Keller, Julia | Bone on bone |
| Kellerman, Faye | Walking shadows |
| Kelly, Jim | Nightrise |
| Lemaitre, Pierre | Inhuman resources |
| McCall Smith, Alexander | The colours of all the cattle |
| McIlvanney, Liam | The Quaker |
| McKinlay, Jenn | Cloche and Dagger |
| Miscellaneous | Bodies from the library |
| Nadel, Barbara | Displaced |
| Oswald, James | No time to cry |
| Patterson, James | Ambush |
| Patterson, James | Revenge |
| Perry, Anne | Dark tide rising |
| Robb, J. D. | Leverage in death |
| Solana, Teresa | The first prehistoric serial killer and other stories |
| Stevenson, Benjamin | Greenlight |
| Todd, Charles | A forgotten place |
| Truss, Lynne | A shot in the dark |
| Yu, Ovidia | The betel nut tree mystery |
The prime of Ms Dolly Greene / E. V. Harte
V. Harte is the pseudonym of Daisy Waugh, a prolific writer of journalism, fiction (historical and contemporary) and non-fiction. She is also a tarot card reader and a graduate of the College of Psychic Studies, and advertises her psychic services in this book. Its heroine, Ms Dolly Greene, earns a rather meagre living as a professional tarot card reader, and, like the author, lives in west London near the Thames. Ms Greene’s house is tiny, her income puny, her neighbours tricky and her grown-up daughter nice but uncouth. She becomes increasingly involved with her neighbours after the battered and drowned body of a woman, possibly a recent client, Nikki, is washed up by Chiswick Bridge. It all adds up to a story that deserves to be described – unusually, in this genre – as rather sweet. (Literary Review, September 2017)
The Quaker / Liam McIlvanney
Set in Glasgow in 1969, Liam McIlvanney’s The Quaker is loosely based on the murders of the real – and never caught – serial killer “Bible John”, who is believed to have raped and strangled three women after meeting them in the city’s Barrowland Ballroom. DI Duncan McCormack is drafted in from the flying squad to review Glasgow CID’s failing investigation, much to the irritation of the incumbents, who have already attracted scorn from the media for their futile attempts to solve the case by mingling with the punters at the dance hall. A parallel narrative concerning safe-cracker Alex Paton, who travels home from London to take part in an auction house heist, is skilfully dovetailed as the plot thickens and McCormack gets drawn deeper into both cases. This is an atmospheric portrait of a dreich and seedy place in the throes of slum clearance, as well as a solidly crafted and satisfying detective story. (The Guardian, 15 Jun 2018)
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NON FICTION
| Ford, Clementine | Boys will be boys | 305.4 FORD |
| Urban, Andrew L. | Murder by the prosecution | 364.15 URBA |
| Woodward, Bob | Fear | 973.93 WOOD |
Boys will be boys / Clementine Ford
In Boys Will Be Boys, a follow-up to her bestselling debut Fight Like a Girl, Clementine Ford takes a new angle on gender relations. Inspired by the birth of her son, Ford unpacks the gendered expectations society places on both boys and girls, and how they are ultimately damaging to everyone. The book consists of a series of essays linked by the central theme of gender roles. Topics covered include gender-reveal parties, men’s rights activists, gender representation in film, rape culture, the family courts, internet culture, the ‘it’s just a joke’ defence and gender issues in politics, both in Australia and abroad. Ford’s tone is conversational, including frequent profanities and internet-speak, but her arguments are well thought through, and backed by solid and wide-ranging research. She draws examples from academia and both the local and international news media to good effect. Throughout the book, she builds a case that the phrase ‘boys will be boys’, with all that it implies, is deeply damaging to boys, girls and wider society. It is highly recommended to anyone interested in gender issues. (Books and Publishing, 26 July 2018)
Fear / Bob Woodward
“He’s always looking for adult supervision.” So says big-money donor Rebekah Mercer to alt-right mastermind Steve Bannon of Donald Trump early on in Woodward’s book, setting a theme that will be sounded throughout the narrative. By the author’s account, Trump, sensitive and insensitive, out of his element and constantly enraged, cannot be trusted to act on his own instincts while anywhere near the Oval Office. Indeed, the earliest and instantly newsworthy moment of the book comes when economic adviser Gary Cohn spirits away a letter from Trump’s desk that would have broken the U.S. alliance with South Korea. Trump demanded the letter but then, it seems, forgot about it in its absence. It’s not the sole instance, either, as the author steadily recounts. Drawing on deep background, meaning that sources cannot be identified—the reasons are immediately evident—Woodward ticks down a long list of insiders and their various ways of adapting to the mercurial president, sometimes successfully but more often not. Trump emerges as anything but fun—but also rather easily managed by those around him, so long as he is able to sign documents and otherwise look presidential. Woodward’s book will shock only those who haven’t been paying attention. For those who have, it reinforces a strongly emerging narrative that there’s a serious need for grown-ups on Pennsylvania Avenue—grown-ups who have read the Constitution. (Kirkus Reviews, 15 Oct 2018)
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ROMANCE
| Burrows, Annie | The Marquess tames his bride |
| Laurens, Stephanie | The lady’s command |
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SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
| Iggulden, Conn | Shiang |
| Jemisin, N. K. | The fifth season |
| Mieville, China | The last days of new Paris |
| Turtledove, Harry | Through darkest Europe |
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New additions to eBooks at SMSA
EBOOKS
| Biography | Daniels, Stormy | Full disclosure |
| General | Gross, Andrew | The last brother |
| General | Ham, Rosalie | The year of the farmer |
| General | Kawamura, Genki | If cats disappeared from the world |
| General | Moriarty, Liane | Nine perfect strangers |
| General | Picoult, Jodi | A spark of light |
| General | St. John, Madeleine | The ladies in black |
| General | Throsby, Holly | Cedar Valley |
| Mystery | Greenwood, Kerry | The spotted dog |
| Non fiction | Carreyrou, John | Bad blood |
Nine perfect strangers / Liane Moriarty
Send a motley crew of hurting but comfortably heeled Aussies to a secluded resort for a pricey 10-day “Mind and Body Total Transformation Retreat” and what happens? In this cannily plotted, continually surprising, and frequently funny page-turner from bestseller Moriarty (Big Little Lies), nothing like the restorative reset they’re anticipating. The nine guests at Tranquillum House include middle-aged romance writer Frances Welty, her normal spunkiness shaken by recent personal and professional setbacks, and 20-year-old Zoe Marconi, there with her parents on the anniversary of the family tragedy that shattered their lives. What they haven’t reckoned on is Tanquillum House’s messianic but precariously stable director, whose secret agenda could be dangerous to their health. It would be unsporting to disclose more about Moriarty’s largely endearing cast, since her progressive revelations about them contribute so much toward making this such a deeply satisfying thriller. Moriarty delivers yet another surefire winner. Author tour. Agent: Faye Bender, Faye Bender Literary.
A spark of light / Jodi Picoult
Drama abounds in Picoult’s latest issue-driven novel (following Small Great Things) in which a hostage crisis in a women’s health center/abortion clinic provides a look at a volatile subject. George Goddard, a lone gunman seeking revenge for his daughter’s abortion, busts into the clinic in Jackson, Miss., killing and wounding several staff and patients. He holds a handful of them hostage, including Wren and Bex, the 15-year-old daughter and adult sister of Hugh McElroy, the police hostage negotiator assigned to the crisis. Meanwhile, Beth, a teenager in a hospital in Oxford, Miss., whose attempts to have a legal abortion were thwarted, takes medication to abort her 16-week-old fetus and nearly dies from blood loss. She is brought to a hospital and her life is saved, but the state prosecutor’s office accuses her of murder upon finding out the reasons for her condition. Picoult’s extensive research shines throughout, but the book’s reverse chronological structure interferes with the complicated back stories, which include the gunman’s reasons for going on a rampage; a doctor’s path to performing abortions; why a pro-life believer goes undercover to the clinic to obtain damaging evidence; Beth’s thwarted attempts to get a legal abortion; and the relationship between Wren, Bex, and Hugh. Nevertheless, this is a powerful story that brings clarity to the history of abortion and investigates the voices on both sides of the issue. (20 August 2018)
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AUDIOBOOKS
| General | Lapena, Shari | The couple next door |
| Mystery | Bauer, Belinda | Snap |
| Mystery | Brook, Allison | Death overdue |
| Mystery | Brook, Allison | Read and gone |
| Mystery | Mizushima, Margaret | Killing trail |
| Non fiction | Bogel, Anne | I’d rather be reading |
| Non fiction | Robin, Gretchen | The happiness project |
| Romance | Laurens, Stephanie | Murder at the Mandeville Hall |
Death overdue / Allison Brook
Free-spirited Carrie Singleton, the narrator of this whimsical first novel and series launch from the pseudonymous Brook, has no plans to remain long in charming Clover Ridge, Conn. But Carrie does love her temporary position as event planner for the local library, so when the library director offers her the permanent job as head of programs and events, she happily says yes. At one memorable library presentation, retired detective Al Buckley reveals that he has finally cracked an infamous cold case: the murder of local woman Laura Foster. But before he can name the killer, he’s poisoned by a lethal treat that someone slipped onto his plate. Carrie believes that whoever murdered Laura also killed Al, so she and Laura’s son set out to find new evidence about the case. With the help of the library’s resident ghost, the late librarian Evelyn Havers, who can only be seen by Carrie and a four-year-old named Tacey, Carrie discovers that Laura harbored dangerous secrets of her own. Fans of Jenn McKinlay will enjoy this series. And never fear: there is a cat. (Publishers Weekly, 1 September 2018)
The couple next door / Shari Lapena
At the start of Lapena’s suspenseful, heart-wrenching debut, set in upstate New York, Anne and Marco Conti come home from a party at their neighbors’ house to find their front door open and their infant daughter Cora’s crib empty. They left Cora alone after the sitter cancelled at the last minute. Not a shred of evidence indicates that anyone entered the house after the Contis left for the party, though the police detectives on the case, Rasbach and Jennings, discover that the motion detector on the back door was disabled, the Contis’ garage door was left open, and tire tracks, not from the Contis’ car, were in the garage. Could the couple be covering up a kidnapping? Rasbach and Jennings suspect that they’re withholding something, but they sense the Contis’ anguish is legitimate. The tension grows as the united front that Anne and Marco have presented crumbles. After numerous twists and turns, just when everything appears to be resolved, Lapena delivers one final, deftly crafted surprise. (Publishers Weekly, 23 May 2016)
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New Books — October 2018
The new books for October 2018 are now available to borrow, with new ebooks and audiobooks.
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