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a Gerritsen winner
25/10/2011
Bloodstream is Tess Gerritsen's 11th stand-alone novel. The action is set in the small town of Tranquility, Maine, where Dr Claire Elliott has relocated with her son, Noah, to remove him from less-than-desirable influences in Baltimore. After the discovery of some human bones at nearby Locust Lake, followed by a shooting at the high school Noah attends, Claire begins to suspect something is affecting the behaviour of the local youth population. Are they being affected by drugs, or is it some natural phenomenon? Claire even begins to wonder about a parasitic infestation. But the town displeased with her investigations, and Claire starts to feel persecuted. Tess Gerritsen is the master of medical detective drama, and once again shows her skill and knowledge in this novel. Characters, dialogue and plot are all excellent, and there are a few twists to keep it exciting. Another Gerritsen winner.
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Price: $14.99IN STOCK AT SUPPLIERThis title is IN STOCK and typically received within 7-10 working days of you placing your order.
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a Gerritsen winner
07/11/2011
Gravity is the 12th stand-alone novel by Tess Gerritsen. When Dr Emma Watson ends up on the crew of the Russian-American space station, its a dream come true for her. But nothing runs smoothly: the payload experiments are going wrong, crew are getting sick and dying and half the module is on low power due to problems with the solar array. Gerritsen is the master of the medical thriller, and this time, the scene is out of this world. Once again, she gives us an excellent plot with a few great twists; politics and intrigue, in a unique environment and under extraordinary conditions. A Gerritsen winner
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a taste of fifties English summer holidays
02/02/2011
Its summer, 1959, and we join the Singleton family for their annual week-long holiday at The Belvedere in Blackpool. On the surface, all seems well with Jack, Ruth and their daughters, seven year-old Beth and sixteen year-old Helen. But despite appearances, none of them is truly happy. Beth, not long out of hospital, just wanting to fill in her I-Spy book and fit in, is being smothered by an overprotective Ruth. Helen is basically a good girl but really longs for a bit of freedom: deceit may be her only option while Ruth holds the reins tight. Ruths burning ambition is a new semi-detached house on Boundary Drive, but Jack doesnt want to be saddled with a mortgage. And Jack is weighing up job offers against a sense of responsibility to his family and co-workers as well as mulling over a letter from Crete, a potential threat to his marriage if the secret from his wartime past is revealed.
Sallie Days stirring descriptions of the town and its associated attractions and distractions take us back to that time with consummate ease. Her characters have real depth and she conveys their emotions and feelings so well that their joys, fears, insecurities, frustrations and guilt are palpable. This story will resonate with anyone who grew up in the late fifties. If they did that growing up in England, the mention of the various household names from that time will evoke the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of their childhood. This expertly crafted story takes some unexpected turns and keeps the reader captivated. The excerpts from I-Spy at the Seaside which head each chapter are echoed in that chapter: a delightful touch. Altogether a brilliant read!
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Classic Upfield
25/10/2011
No Footprints in the Bush is the 8th novel in the Bony series by Australian mystery writer, Arthur Upfield. The scene is set with Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte witnessing the bombing from a small plane of a car. The car was carrying the police sergeant that Bony was to meet in regard to the recent murders of two aboriginal stockmen during the theft of cattle. Bony makes friends with the Wantella tribe's chief, Burning Water, and, against the wishes of the local land owner, Donald MacPherson, sets about investigating the three murders. The motive and the culprit are discovered quite early in the book; Bony departs from his usual behaviour of leaving the capture to "real" police when he learns about the murderers parentage. Upfield makes some comment on the treatment of and future of the Aborigine in this novel. As usual, the plot is original: aeroplanes, kidnapping, mixed marriages, a power-hungry half-caste with delusions of grandeur, smoke signals, tracking, grass castles, snakebites, a beautiful niece and some disloyal workers all feature. Classic Upfield.
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great Bony read
05/12/2011
An Author Bites The Dust is the 11th novel in the Bony series by Arthur Upfield. Bony finds himself spending his vacation time incognito, much to the displeasure of his wife, at Yarrabo, in the Yarra Valley, because famous author and critic, Mervyn Blake, has died, and it looks, to some, like an interesting case of murder. There are very few clues: a cat, a ping-pong ball, a crystal whiskey glass, some shoe-prints and an alcoholic gardener, but Bony manages, as always, to solve the case. In this novel, a hybrid of a cold-case investigation and a closed-room murder mystery, Upfield uses his characters to make a running commentary about the value and popularity of capital L literature versus commercial fiction in Australia. This novel has an interesting plot with a great twist and some unusual characters. A great Bony read.
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the voice of reason
28/02/2011
Small Wonder, Barbara Kingsolvers second book of essays, was written after the events of 9/11, and touches on subjects as diverse as Terrorism, why the world doesnt like America, Genetic Modification, Teenagers, Mothers, and Self-Sustainability. While I may not have agreed with every single word of the essays, on the whole, I found Kingsolvers to be the Voice of Reason. As with her previous book of essays, High Tide in Tucson, there were some aspects that avid readers of Kingsolvers novels would have found reflected there. The essays are interesting and thought-provoking. The essay on Genetic Modification is particularly succinct. I would recommend this book, not just to Kingsolver fans, but to anyone who wants to read a reasonable point of view.
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heartwarming and enjoyable
01/09/2011
Three Wishes is the first novel by Australian writer, Liane Moriarty. It is the story of the Kettle sisters: triplets Catriona and Lynette (identical) and Gemma (non-identical). The scene opens at their 34th birthday party at a busy Sydney seafood restaurant. The celebration is a champagne-fuelled noisy, happy one until suddenly one of the sisters stands up, shouts You have both fucking ruined my life!, the fondue fork she has been wielding lands in her sisters very pregnant belly, and she then faints from the shock of what she has done, breaking her jaw on the table on her way down. Enough of a scene to entice any reader to read on! As we learn what led to this moment, and what came after it, we share the Kettle familys ups and downs. Moriarty gives us an original plot, interesting characters and credible dialogue, as well as humour and heartache. She touches on sibling relationships, especially those between triplets, mental cruelty, young parenthood, adultery, surrogacy, dreams and goals in life. A very enjoyable, heart-warming novel.
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Price: $23.99In stock
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Well worth reading
22/05/2013
Two Lives is a memoir written by international best-selling author, Vikram Seth. In this interesting and engaging book, Seth writes about his great uncle Shanti Behari Seth (Shanti Uncle), born in Biswan, and his German Jewish great aunt, Hennerle Caro (Aunty Henny), born in Berlin, describing them as two exiles who found their home in each other. Using interviews with his uncle as well as letters, photographs and official documents, Seth builds up a comprehensive image of the lives of two people he held dear. But as with his travelogue, From Heaven Lake, this also contains commentary on world affairs and much of the authors own life: Seth states I felt that a picture of these individual lives would be complemented by glimpses of their century, even if these glimpses were mediated by the opinion, perhaps opinionatedness, of the author. Indeed, the lens has also turned around upon its wielder, for this book is memoir as well as biography. As such, while a fascinating examination of two very interesting lives, it also gives much insight into the inspiration for and circumstances surrounding the writing of his various works. It is certainly intriguing to see how his interests and life events are linked to his novels. The depiction of World War Two, the Holocaust and other events of the Twentieth Century from two unique perspectives is also quite interesting. And of course, Seth once again exercises his poetic brain cells for the charming dedication. This book has aptly been described as an engaging and moving narrative. Well worth reading.
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Divine Secrets Of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood
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does not grab
11/09/2012
Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood is the second of the Ya-Yas series by Rebecca Wells. Set in two main locations, it tells of Sidalee Walkers retreat to a remote cabin near Seattle to examine her past life and prospective marriage to Connor McGill, an examination that is facilitated and augmented by a scrap book of memorabilia her mother sends her from Louisiana, Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, a book full of photos, letters, newspaper cuttings, tickets and tokens dealing with her mothers dysfunctional childhood and adolescence, and Siddas own. Members of the Ya Ya sisterhood, her mother Viviane and friends Caro, Necie and Teensy, ultimately help Sidda find her way. From reading about the authors own background, it appears that this novel is semi-autobiographical, as the authenticity from personal experience is apparent. While there are many heart-warming moments, there is also quite a bit of heartbreak, and it is quite slow-moving in places, making me wish shed just get on with it. Siddalee and Vivi seem to be rather self-indulgent, allowing themselves the neuroses and existential crises that only rich people can afford. This novel touches very briefly and superficially on the subject of The Help. Certainly it did not grab me enough to want to read the companion volume, Little Altars Everywhere.
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Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year Of Food Life
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a very interesting read
26/12/2011
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is the 7th non-fiction book by Barbara Kingsolver. Co-written with her husband, Stephen L. Hopp, and her daughter, Camille Kingsolver, this book details her familys experiences during the year they decided to become locavores, trying to obtain their food locally, either from their own garden or farms close by, and thus eat seasonally. But this book is much more than that. It gives us the low-down on many, often controversial, subjects such as GM foods, Mad Cow Disease, Free Range and Organic produce, evolution, vegetarians and vegans, as well as Farmers Markets, cheese making, canning and bottling, seasonal eating, and breeding chickens and turkeys. There are many delightful, illustrative, and often educational anecdotes that occasionally had me laughing out loud. There is a timely warning for those evolution-deniers, the creationists, as well as the ironic method the Slow Food movement has employed of saving rare breeds: getting more people to eat them. The ultimate aim of eating food which has been produced in a manner that means it tastes good and is good for both the eater and the environment seems like a worthy one. This book is thought-provoking, inspiring, and practical, with recipes and meal plans by Camille. The side-bars by Stephen L. Hopp are informative and, at times, revelatory. I dont know how much of what is in this book is applicable to where I am (Australia), but it will certainly have me looking at and thinking about where my food originates. A very interesting read.
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