Literary Brooding

The Betrayal  by Kate Furnivall Paperback, 400 pages,  Expected publication: November 2nd 2017 by Simon & Schuster Ltd The dogs of war are on the horizon as twin sisters, Romaine (Romy) and Florence DuChamps find themselves caught up in a game of espionage that is being played on the streets of Paris. Both sisters have secrets from each other, from their friends and from the political and social circles they keep. The story commences with a younger Romy standing in the study and covered with her father’s blood. Trying to reason what has occurred, has she murdered her father or has something else happened? She has no memory of what has happened. Florence comes to the rescue and concocts a story that will save Romy from the guillotine.  This singular significant event snakes its way through the lives of the two sisters and creates a crescendo of events that influences their entire lives. Furnivall has taken an interesting period of history to set the novel in. A...

Living the 1960s by Noeline Brown National Library of Australia Pages:   192. Publication Date:   01 October 2017 Bind Format:   Paperback The National Library of Australia rather cleverly asked Noeline Brown to write a book about Australia in the 1960s. Noeline Brown is well known to Australian television audiences for The Mavis Bramston Show, Naked Vicar Show and Blankety Blanks. With her trademark dry humour and ability to spin a yarn, Brown takes you on a personal exploration of the social, political and cultural times of Australia. This is just a wonderful book as Brown has a personal conversation with you about what was happening in Australia. There are big issues are canvassed but it some of the little insights that are the most poignant. When you consider the evolution of the telephone from having prime occupancy in the hall way and almost being revered if you happened to own one. How the car brought about the motels, the introduction of th...

Crimson Lake (Crimson Lake #1) by Candice Fox Paperback, 389 pages Published January 30th 2017 by Penguin Books Australia You have been accused of a heinous crime, the murder and rape of a child, you are police officer, you have no alibi and your family and friends all believe you are guilty. For Ted Conkaffey he went from having it all to a man trying to keep a low profile in the backwaters of Cairns. He becomes involved with convicted killer Amanda Pharrell, who even though she has a long history with Crimson Lake manages to establish her own investigative agency. The two become involved trying to determine what has happened with local missing author Jake Scully. Fox knows how to write a rapid fire engaging thriller that keeps you flicking the pages. She is able to carefully place clues and hints through out the text and this keeps the twists and turns coming. The characters are complex, struggling to hold it all together and wonderfully flawed. Fox has certainly created a cou...