Our Dark Secret

Author:  Jenny Quintana Publisher/Year:  Mantle (Pan Macmillan)/2020 Publisher description The crazy girls, they called them – or at least, Elizabeth liked to think they did. As a teenager in the late 1970s, she was clever, overweight and a perfect victim for the bullies. Then Rachel and her family arrived in town and, for Elizabeth, it …

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Squishy Taylor and the Secret Envelope

Author: Ailsa Wild Publisher/Year: Hardie Grant Egmont/2019 Reviewer: Kim Peterson Squishy Taylor and the Secret Envelope, the 11th book in the series by Ailsa Wild, is based on the adventures of 11-year-old Squishy Taylor. Neither I nor my nine-year-old companion had difficulty in following Squishy Taylor and the Secret Envelope as a standalone, despite not …

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The Girl in the Mirror

Author: Rose Carlyle Publisher/Year: Allen & Unwin/2020 Publisher overview Identical twins only look the same … Beautiful twin sisters Iris and Summer are startlingly alike, but beyond what the eye can see lies a darkness that sets them apart. Cynical and insecure, Iris has long been envious of open-hearted Summer’s seemingly never-ending good fortune, including …

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The Survivors

Author: Jane Harper Publisher/Year: Pan Macmillan Australia/2020 Publisher overview Kieran Elliott’s life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences. The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal community he once called home. Kieran’s parents are struggling in a town where …

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Billings Better Bookstore and Brasserie

Author: Fin J Ross Publisher/Year: Clan Destine Press/2020 Publisher overview Young Fidelia Knight arrives in Melbourne in 1874, alone except for her treasured companion, Samuel Johnson; well, half of him. To escape servitude, Fidelia hides each night in the renowned Coles Book Arcade. She loves words, you see, and wants to know them all. What …

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The Mother-In-Law

Author: Sally Hepworth Publisher/Year: Pan Macmillan/2019 Publisher overview Someone once told me that you have two families in your life – the one you are born into and the one you choose. Yes, you may get to choose your partner, but you don’t choose your mother-in-law. The cackling mercenaries of fate determine it all. From …

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Deadly Secrets

Author: HR Kemp Publisher/Year: H.R. Kemp/H Schuster Publishing/2019 Publisher overview Can ordinary people thwart a powerful conspiracy? Shelley Ormond’s life is about to change forever. Her friend, a young refugee, dies suddenly and the federal police have shrouded her case in secrecy. Shelley has never been bold, but she will have to break the rules …

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Torched

Author: Kimberley Starr Publisher/Year: Pantera Press/2020 Publisher Overview An explosive, haunting and utterly compelling crime novel about mothers and sons and the ties that bind them. A small Yarra Valley town has been devastated by a bushfire, and Reefton Primary School Principal Phoebe Wharton can’t sleep. She’s the single mother of Caleb who is accused …

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The Trespassers

Author: Meg Mundell Publisher/Year: University of Queensland Press/2019 Publisher Description Fleeing their pandemic-stricken homelands, a shipload of migrant workers departs the UK, dreaming of a fresh start in prosperous Australia. For nine-year-old Cleary Sullivan, deaf for three years, the journey promises adventure and new friendships; for Glaswegian songstress Billie Galloway, it’s a chance to put …

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Banking Bad

Author: Adele Ferguson Publisher/Year: ABC Books/Harper Collins Australia/2019 Publisher Description For every person with a bank account Against all the odds, Australia held a royal commission into the banking and financial services industries. Its revelations rocked the nation. Even defenders of the banks were blindsided. Few people were more instrumental in bringing about the commission …

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