Staff Recommended Reads

In the air, there's a feeling of Christmas...so settle into your coziest armchair and enjoy four captivating tales that will make your holidays merry and bright... "Silver Bells" by Fern Michaels: For years, movie star Amy Lee wondered what it would be like to leave her shallow Hollywood life and go back home to Apple Valley, Pennsylvania. This Christmas, she plans to find out. And Hank Anders, her high-school boyfriend, is now ready to give her a welcome she'll never forget... "Dear Santa..." by JoAnn Ross: Mystery author Holly Berry's SUV has broken down in the little hamlet of Santa's Village, Washington. Holly hates the holidays—that is until lodge owner Gabriel O'Halloran and his five-year-old daughter rekindle her belief in passion, magic, and Christmas wishes... "Christmas Past" by Mary Burton: Photographer Nicole Piper just received a very unwelcome Christmas gift—a letter that holds clues to an elusive killer's identity. Uncovering the truth means enlisting homicide detective David Ayden's help, and embarking on a road trip that will take them both into the heart of danger and desire... "A Mulberry Park Christmas" by Judy Duarte: Every Christmas, the folks living on Sugar Plum Lane pull out all the stops when decorating. After a bitter breakup, Alyssa Ridgeway's heart just isn't in it this year. But running into her first love, James "Mac" MacGregor, fills her with memories of the tender Christmas kiss they once shared...

Set in the same stunningly epic world as The Serpent and the Wings of Night, Carissa Broadbent's Six Scorched Roses is a short romantasy novel inspired by Beauty and the Beast. Six roses. Six vials of blood. Six visits to a vampire who could be her salvation . . . or her damnation. Lilith has been dying since the day she was born. But although she came to terms with her own imminent death long ago, the deaths of everyone she loves is an entirely different matter. As her town slowly withers in the clutches of a mysterious god-cursed illness, she takes matters into her own hands. Desperate to find a cure, Lilith strikes a bargain with the only thing the gods hate even more than her village: a vampire, Vale. She offers him six roses in exchange for six vials of vampire blood - the only hope for her town's salvation. But what begins as a simple transaction gradually becomes something more. Lilith is faced with a terrifying realisation: it's dangerous to wander into the clutches of a vampire... and, in a place already suffering the wrath of a god, more dangerous still to fall in love with one.

At a suburban barbecue one afternoon, a man slaps an unruly boy.The boy is not his own.It's a single act of violence, but the slap reverberates through the lives of everyone who witnesses it.Told through the eyes of eight of those present at the barbecue, this acclaimed bestseller is an unflinching interrogation of the life of the modern family. Poignant and provocative, The Slap makes us question the nature of commitment and happiness, compromise and truth. Whose side are you on?Now a major ABC TV series, prepare for The Slap to be the thing everyone's talking about - again!'... wildly energetic and fearless, thrillingly about our lives now' - Helen Garner'Whose side are you on? Honestly, one of the three or four truly great novels of the new millennium.' - John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'... nothing short of a tour de force ... a novel of immense power and scope.' - Colm Toibin, author of Brooklyn'A cool, calm, irresistible masterpiece.' - Chris Cleave, author of The Other Hand

On her first day at a new school, Lily befriends one of the daughters of infamous avant-garde painter Evan Trentham. He and his wife are trying to escape the stifling conservatism of 1930s Australia by inviting other like-minded artists to live and work at their family home. Lily becomes infatuated with this wild, makeshift family and longs to truly be a part of it.As the years pass, Lily observes the way the lives of these artists come to reflect the same themes as their art: Faustian bargains and spectacular falls from grace. Yet it’s not Evan, but his own daughters, who pay the price for his radicalism.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on the true story of Lale and Gita Sokolov, two Slovakian Jews, who survived Auschwitz and eventually made their home in Australia. In that terrible place, Lale was given the job of tattooing the prisoners marked for survival – literally scratching numbers into his fellow victims' arms in indelible ink to create what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust. Lale used the infinitesimal freedom of movement that this position awarded him to exchange jewels and money taken from murdered Jews for food to keep others alive. If he had been caught he would have been killed; many owed him their survival.There have been many books about the Holocaust – and there will be many more. What makes this one so memorable is Lale Sokolov's incredible zest for life. He understood exactly what was in store for him and his fellow prisoners and he was determined to survive – not just to survive, but to leave the camp with his dignity and integrity intact, to live his life to the full. Terrible though this story is, it is also a story of hope and of courage. It is also – almost unbelievably – a love story. Waiting in line to be tattooed, terrified and shaking, was a young girl. For Lale – a dandy, a jack-the-lad, a bit of a chancer – it was love at first sight and he determined not only to survive himself, but to ensure that Gita did, too. His story – their story – will make you weep, but you will also find it uplifting. It shows the very best of humanity in the very worst of circumstances.Like many survivors, Lale and Gita told few people their story after the war. They eventually made their way to Australia, where they raised a son and had a successful life. But when Gita died, Lale felt he could no longer carry the burden of their past alone. He chose to tell his story.

If you thought you knew the story of The Teacher's Pet, get ready to be shocked. Hedley Thomas takes you behind the scenes with a blow-by-blow account of one of the most intriguing and enduring murder mysteries of our time - the crime, the podcast investigation, the sexual exploitation of teenage students, the courtroom drama - and how justice was finally delivered.Lynette Simms disappeared from Sydney's idyllic northern beaches in 1982 and was never seen again.Lyn was a caring nurse, a loving mother and devoted wife. Her husband, Chris Dawson, was a rugby league star, a popular teacher, and exceptionally close to his identical twin brother, Paul.This facade of domestic bliss shattered as Chris became infatuated with the family's babysitter, his 16-year-old student, a girl he moved into Lyn's home and bed just two days after her disappearance.Thirty-six years later, investigative journalist Hedley Thomas revisited the story in a record-breaking podcast series that captured the unconditional support of friends, colleagues, neighbours, family and an international audience. With fresh leads and old evidence resulting in a public groundswell for authorities to take action, Chris was arrested in late 2018 and after a dramatic trial was found guilty of murder in August 2022.

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders.But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, The Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case.The four friends, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron, might be pushing 80 but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it's too late?

'Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel - a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the thirties. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man's struggle for justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much.To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age story, an anti-racist novel, a historical drama of the Great Depression and a sublime example of the Southern writing tradition.

One of the definitive novels of the twentieth century, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize. This enhanced edition includes an excerpt from the audio read by Sissy Spacek as well as footage from the documentary, Hey Boo, including contributions from Oprah Winfrey, Wally Lamb and Richard Russo among others.'Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel - a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the thirties. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man's struggle for justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much.To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age story, an anti-racist novel, a historical drama of the Great Depression and a sublime example of the Southern writing tradition.