The Boys in the Island by Christopher KochThe little boy stood looking at the Soons. Soon! Soon! Soon! they hummed; and it was not words the way people spoke words, it was a long humming song, going on and on. When Night Comes by Favel PerrettThere was a time when Vikings filled our house and … Continue reading My Reading – April 2022

Vandemonians, the repressed history of colonial Victoria by Janet McCalman‘Me name’s Miles; Ellen Miles,’ remarked an old woman at the City Court yesterday. Spinning Tops and Gumdrops, a portrait of colonial childhood by Edwin BarnardThis book tells the story of the six generations of children, the offspring and descendants of convicts and settlers who grew … Continue reading My Reading – March 2022

These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer A gentleman was strolling down a side street in Paris, on his way back from the house of one Madame de Verchoureux. He walked mincingly, for the red heels of his shoes were very high. Saturdee by Norman Lindsay 'Pet-er!' called a voice, in that rising inflection which commands … Continue reading My Reading – February 2022

All the Green Year by Don CharlwoodThe year I remember best from those days is 1929. This was the year I turned fourteen and went into the eighth grade; the year too that Grandfather McDonald became peculiar and we moved to live with him in his house on the cliffs. Red Horse by M.J. LogueIt … Continue reading My Reading – January 2022

Hell Ship: The True Story of the Plague Ship Triconderoga, One of the Most Calamitous Voyages in Australia's History by Michael VeitchThere is only one known image of my great-great-grandfather, Dr James William Henry Veitch. The Imitator by Rebecca StarfordEvelyn spotted Stephen across the busy road. A Royal Affair by Alison Montclair'Men find me intimidating,' … Continue reading My Reading – December 2021

The Right Sort of Man by Alison Montclair Tillie climbed the stairs from the Bond Street Station out to Davies Street, blinking in the afternoon light. The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes June the first, a bright summer's evening, a Monday. I've been flying over the streets and houses of Dublin and … Continue reading My Reading – November 2021

The Piper by Charles Todd The old house shuddered in the wind that roared up the glen, swept over the shoulder of the lowest hill, and then dropped howling into the loch on the far side. Best Seller by Terry Tyler 'I like the article in Red best, don't you babe?' The Crooked Ash: A … Continue reading My Reading – October 2021

Private Prosecution by Lisa Ellery I liked what I saw. Revenge in Rubies by AM Stuart "...Beneath the floor of a cellar in...Hilldrop crescent, Camden-road the mutilated and battered body of a woman which had been buried in quicklime was found." The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey Purveen Mistry sighed, adjusting her hat on her … Continue reading My Reading – September 2021

A Just Equinox by James McQueenSick, sick...This terrible aversion, revulsion ... but the compelling need to take enough to stop the sickness the numb tingling shaking deathliness creeping rising up taking hold... The Work of Art by Mimi MatthewsCaptain Arthur Heywood had never seen such an ill-mannered assortment of canines in his life. Workhouse Waif … Continue reading My Reading – August 2021

The Playmaker by Thomas Keneally He began hearing for the parts in the play early in April, the day after the hanging of private Handy Baker and the five other Marines. A Keeper by Graham Norton He longed for silence. The roar of the wind churned with the rasping rhythm of the waves and filled … Continue reading My Reading – July 2021