Scott Whitmont (OKG78) is a longtime bookseller who owned and operated Lindfield Bookshop for many years. Scott, who now works in business development for Booktopia Publisher Services, regularly reviews both new releases and recommended 'backlist' titles. 

If you would like to purchase a featured book, Scott recommends support of your local book store, or alternatively, if you prefer to order online, you can use the Booktopia links provided.

In the late '90s, John Baker (OKG68) ran a successful boutique wine store in Double Bay, known for its unique, quality rare and old wines. When he was approached about a rumoured huge caché of priceless wines hidden in the cavernous cellars of a disused winery in Tbilisi, Georgia, John couldn't resist the temptation to seek them out.

Might it really be the long-stored and forgotten cellar of none-other-than Joseph Stalin, one of the most reviled dictators of the 20th century? And might part of the aged collection of rare French 19th century vintages actually have previously belonged to Tsar Nicholas II? If so, the profit potential from a London or New York auction would be enormous… not to mention the stratospheric boost that could come to John and his business should he be able to pull it off.

Stalin's Wine Cellar is the gripping tale of what transpired when John and his staffer Kevin secured investors (apart from themselves) and set off to the 'Wild West'-like street of Tbilisi in search of the cellar, determined to inventorise its content; secure sample bottles for transportation and testing; and to negotiate the purchase from whoever were the current owners.

What they didn't count on was the Mafia-like Georgian gangsters who didn't play by the usual wine-merchant rules and an almost insurmountable, nascent government bureaucracy.

Readers will welcome the many insights into the glamorous world of high-end wine. From the streets of Sydney to those of Tbilisi, London, Paris and the vineyards of Bordeaux's famous Château d-Yquem, John and Kevin's wild and unexpected adventure will astound you… sometimes shock you and, often, make you laugh out loud at the perils and pitfalls of trying to achieve their mission.

When I read the blurb on the book's cover describing their audacious quest as "the Raiders of the Lost Ark of wine" I thought it hyperbole at its best. Having read the book in almost one sitting, I must admit to agreeing with the description! A ripping yarn - come to hear John speak about it in person at Knox on 26 October 2023. Booking details.

For those unable to attend, copies can be ordered from Booktopia. 

Among the rather hilarious collection of cautionary yarns gathered here are those of why you shouldn't soak your underpants in mercury; flatulence jars and the Great Plague of London and the deadly green wallpaper (made from arsenic) that proved more than a problem for Britain's trendy middle-class of the Victorian era.

Bound to be the perfect 'pick-up, put-down' gift of choice this Father's Day, Idiots, Follies & Misadventures will have you chuckling consistently and marveling at the many examples of human foibles and foolishness sprinkled throughout our history.

Link to order from Booktopia.

Link to book Literary Dinner - Pilu at Freshwater, Thursday 14 September (Mikey Robins in conversation with Scott Whitmont). 

THE TEA LADIES by AMANDA HAMPSON  (Penguin, April 2023)

The successful author of six heart-warming travel/romance novels, Melbourne-based author Amanda Hampson has set her sights on a new genre - cosy crime. Set in the middle of the 'Swinging '60s' The Tea Ladies is an original and entertaining tale of that now extinct breed - tea ladies, who pushed their trolleys through corporate offices and factory corridors providing management and workers alike with a much-needed 'cuppa' throughout the day. 

Our main protagonist is the canny Hazel Bates, whose powers of deduction and abilities to analyse the needs of a dying business belie her status on the corporate totem pole. She and her three tea lady cohorts proudly provide their services in neighbouring fashion and textile factories in Sydney's Surry Hills, catching up regularly at a local bar to exchange workplace gossip. This takes on particular importance when an abandoned warehouse opposite Hazel's Empire Fashionwear employer burns down; a mysterious Russian woman seems to have been kidnapped; and one of Hazel's colleagues is found dead, possibly murdered. As if that's not enough, Hazel's boss goes missing for weeks at a time, department store orders start drying up and Hazel's husband Bob begins acting very strangely. He only spends weekends in town with Hazel, working in the country as a regional sales rep during the week. Or does he?

As amateur sleuths often way ahead of police investigators, Hazel and her posse are a 1960's Aussie blend of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple; Murder She Wrote's Jessica Fletcher; and Paul Gallico's perspicacious Ada Harris of Flowers for Mrs Harris. Together, they solve the multiple mysteries and 'save the day' with pluck, determination and downright chutzpah. In the process, Hampson provides plenty of humour and a rollicking evocation of Aussie life in the '60s while ensuring that readers delight in the gang's quirky antics.

Reminiscent of Madeleine St. John's now classic The Woman in Black, The Tea Ladies is a charming mystery sure to delight. One can only hope that further Hazel Bates mysteries will follow and that some clever producer will bring this droll, feel-good tale as a series to the small screen.

Link to Order from Booktopia

It is a gripping tale about the devastating Great Flood of Gundagai in 1852. Told through the eyes of Wagadhaany, a girl survivor, it recounts her life and that of her 'miyagan' (family) as well as their relationship with the white settlers who had foolishly built the town on a flood plain, despite their warning. Poignant and engaging, it is filled with fascinating insight into Wiradyuri culture and language.

The story has now been edited and rewritten for young children as an attractive and engaging picture book with simple yet evocative illustrations by Samantha Campbell. Most of the townspeople were rescued from their rooftops by Yarri (Wagadhaany's father) and Jacky Jacky, who risked themselves to ferry people to higher ground in their bark canoes. 

As with the original adult version, Heiss liberally sprinkles Wiradyuri words throughout the text. All of them can be deduced from their context but a short glossary is nonetheless provided at the end of the book as well as an explanatory note from the author regarding how the book came about. 

Bidhi Galing would be ideal for classroom use or for any children 5-7. It teaches them about courage, heroism and history. Most importantly, however, it opens their eyes to a new perspective, to indigenous knowledge, culture and language which (until recently) has been sadly ignored in the education of our young people.

Links to order Bidhi Galing and Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray from Booktopia.

EMBOLDENED by Belinda Alexandra (Affirm Press) 9781922848376, April 2023        

A Sydney-based author of ten bestselling works of historical fiction, Belinda Alexandra has set her books in numerous countries and periods. Aside from superlative research, what they have in common is a strong female protagonist who has managed to overcome adversity and somehow come out the other side, forging ahead with life against the odds, with independence and admirable spunk.

Fans have often asked her about the inspiration behind these feisty characters. In a nonfiction departure from form, Belinda has now written Emboldened, a compelling melange of memoir and history that delves into the real-life women who've both inspired her in her writing and also helped make her into the confidant, ever-curious woman she is today.

Suffering her own trauma some years ago, Belinda found herself terrified, fleeing from her home in the middle of the night with just her phone, wallet and latest novel on a USB stick. "How do you begin your life again when you've lost everything you've worked for and your dreams have been shattered?"

The question is addressed through chapters entitled Reliance, Purpose, Passion and Connection. She shares many lessons she has applied to her own life from the fortitude and resilience demonstrated by a number of women. Firstly, there is her White Russian grandmother Alexandra who miraculously lived through the Russian Revolution; emigration to China and the Japanese Occupation before facing the post-War fall to the Communists and fleeing as a refugee to Australia via the Philippines. Alongside her was Belinda's feisty mother Tania, who witnessed horrors and deprivations which should not be in the experience of a young girl.   

The book's next heroine is American Virginia Hall who, despite having lost a leg in a pre-War accident, became one of the Allies' most successful and celebrated WWII spies in Vichy France. Despite coming from abject poverty in Barcelona, Spain, Romany dancer and singer Carmen Amaya became, arguably, one of the greatest ever flamenco dancers. Then there is the story of our own Edna Walling, one of Australia's most influential landscape designers and environmentalists.

 These women would be proud of Belinda Alexandra. Through their stories and her own, she provides a wonderful framework for overcoming any challenge that life may throw. Her non-formulaic advice and wisdom coupled with her well-honed talent for storytelling dispenses practical guidance and applicable life philosophy whilst all the while simply providing readers a gripping and uplifting tale. Bravo.

Link to order (Booktopia) 

THE NIGHT TRAVELERS by  Armando Lucas Correa (Simon & Schuster) ISBN 9781761104718, April 2023

Spanning four generations of a refugee family in Berlin, Havana and New York from 1931 to 2015, this sweeping and engaging historical novel recounts the life stories of four women. In 1939, Ally, a victim of Nazi persecution, sends her mixed-race daughter Lilith to Cuba to escape Germany's shocking racial purification edicts. Twenty years later, Lilith's young daughter Nadine escapes to America from revolutionary Cuba and the punitive repercussions she would suffer from her family's support of the Batista government. By 1988 as the Berlin Wall is about to fall, her daughter Luna is back in the city where the family began, determined to convince Nadine to uncover the mysterious truth about their family history.

Through each generation of the family, history seems destined to repeat itself - trauma, the plight of refugees finding themselves pawns of history, and the forging of new identities. Each generation experiences sometimes unimaginable loss, yet ultimately demonstrates the power of resilience and survival and the irrepressible love a mother holds for her child.     

Works of fiction rarely come with an extensive bibliography but the six pages of The Night Travelers' attest to the author's extensive and thorough historical research of Nazi eugenics, the 1939 fated voyage of the MS St. Louis from Marseilles to Havana, the Cuban Revolution and 'Operation Pedro Pan' which saw the flight of 14,000+ unaccompanied Cuban children to the United States. 

Having been a refugee himself, Cuban-American Armando Correa fully understands the complex themes he adroitly explores. The scope of his third novel could not be more ambitious, nor could it be more completely triumphant. Perfect for reading groups and lovers of good story-telling and history, The Night Travelers will doubtlessly find a wide and appreciative audience.

Link to order (Booktopia) 

AGENT SONYA: THE TRUE STORY OF WW2'S MOST EXTRAORDINARY SPY by Ben Macintyre (Penguin $24.99)

It's often the case that real-life stories are more fantastical than anything the most imaginative novelist could invent. This certainly holds true for the life story of Ursula Kuczynski Burton whose name is, no doubt, unknown to most but who became one of the 20th century's most extraordinary and significant spies.

Ursula was born to a secular Jewish family in Berlin in 1907, coming of age at the same time as the Nazis' were consolidating their power. Fanatically anti-Fascist and anti-Nazi, she soon dedicated herself to leftist politics and the cause of Communism, determined to improve the lot of average people around the world. Whilst living in Shanghai with her first husband in the 1920's, she was happily recruited by the Soviet Union to spy on their behalf. 

She threw herself enthusiastically into what would become her lifelong career and continued to be one of their greatest hidden assets in Manchuria, Poland, Switzerland and England over many decades. Often risking torture and death, she expertly performed as spymaster, saboteur, radio operator and bomb-maker, all the while juggling being a wife and mother to (ultimately) three children by three different men.    

After becoming 'handler' to Klaus Fuchs, a pro-Soviet atomic physicist working on the Manhattan Project for the British, Ursula was instrumental in providing the Soviet Union with classified documents that allowed them to develop their own atomic bomb, leading the way to the Cold War and forever changing the face of geopolitics and superpower rivalry.   

Ursula was the ultimate survivor, navigating her way through the Stalinist purges of the '30s and miraculously escaping detection or capture from her many adversaries over the years, most of whom could not see beyond the domesticated mother quietly living in the suburbs. Her dedication to her spycraft never wavered. This incredible and fascinating tale is meticulously researched and will appeal to all spy story lovers and students of history.

Link to order (Booktopia) 

ALL THE BROKEN PLACES By John Boyne (Doubleday $32.99)

Sixteen years after penning his bestseller, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas about a young boy named Bruno whose father is commandant at Auschwitz, Irish novelist John Boyne has decided to write a sequel - one on which he'd been ruminating ever since his debut work for young readers had put him on the international literary map.   

All the Broken Places, however, is very much for adults. It tells the life story of Gretel Fernsby, Bruno's older sister, a young teen in World War II who is now a 91 year-old widow, living for decades in the same luxurious London block. 

Despite being semi-reclusive, when a young family moves into the apartment below her, Gretel can't help but strike up a friendship with the engaging young son, Henry. As dark secrets about the family are revealed, Gretel's quiet world is deeply shaken and her very safety threatened. These developments aside, it also brings back repressed memories of Bruno and her own family's dark and disturbing past.

Since fleeing Germany after the War, Gretel has successfully hidden her real identity and the complicit part she has played in history. The guilt, grief and remorse she has felt for 75 years has defined her worldview and her relationships. Now, threatened with public disclosure and so close to the end of her life, is redemption possible? Is it ever too late for bravery?   

This touching and masterfully plotted tale about doing the right thing, about confronting one's past and seeking absolution is absorbing storytelling at its best and will stay with you long after you have turned the last page.   

Link to order (Booktopia)

Christmas Gifts and Holiday Reading

As we enter the gift-giving season, Scott Whitmont has prepared a summary of the very best in new release best-selling titles - nine books from which you can choose both Christmas presents and holiday reads with confidence that they will be appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed.

EXILES Jane Harper

The 'Queen of Australian Rural Crime', Jane Harper, author of The Dry, does not disappoint with this, her third Investigator Aaron Falk mystery.  At a busy festival site on a warm spring night, a baby lies alone in her pram, her mother vanishing into the crowds and going missing…   Harper's mysteries make the perfect holiday reads, gripping from start to finish.

Booktopia Link

THE TILT Chris Hammer

If Harper is "the Queen", then Hammer is surely "The King of Rural Crime"! The author of the bestselling Scrublands and Dirt, Chris Hammer provides brilliantly layered detective novels which are the most satisfying of thrillers.  In The Tilt, newly-minted detective Nell Buchanan returns to her home town, annoyed at being assigned a decades-old murder. But this is no ordinary cold case, as the discovery of more bodies triggers a chain of escalating events in the present day.

Booktopia Link

LESSONS Ian McEwan

The epic, mesmerising latest offering from the author of Atonement is a powerful meditation on history and humanity told through the prism of one ordinary man…and is the most autobiographical of all his novels to date.   Spanning Roland Baine's life from his childhood in WWII through the days of the Chernobyl disaster 25 years later and to the Covid pandemic, he sometimes rides with the tide of history but more often struggles against it. He seeks solace through every possible means - literature, travel, friendship, drugs, politics, sex and love. McEwan is one of the most accomplished craftsmen of plot and prose.

Booktopia Link

THE SEVEN MOONS OF MAALI ALMEIDA Shehan Karunatilaka

Winner of the 2022 Booker Prize, this is an epic, searing satire from the man who's been dubbed 'Sri Lanka's coolest author'.   Colombo, 1990. Maali Almeida, war photographer, gambler and closet queen, has woken up dead in what seems like a celestial visa office. His dismembered body is sinking in the serene Beira lake and he has no idea who killed him. At a time where scores are settled by death squads, suicide bombers and hired goons, the list of suspects is depressingly long, as the ghouls and ghosts with grudges who cluster round can attest. But even in the afterlife, time is running out for Maali. He has seven moons to try and contact the man and woman he loves most and lead them to a hidden cache of photos that will rock Sri Lanka.   Described as a 'metaphysical thriller' and 'philosophical romp', the Book Prize judges commented that they particularly admired and enjoyed the ambition of its scope and the hilarious audacity of the book's narrative technique.

Booktopia Link

RUNT Craig Silvey

This heart-warming tale from the author of Jasper Jones and Honeybee is officially a 'children's book' but is really a delight for readers of ALL ages. Set in the country town of Upson Downs, it's the story of the special bond between Annie Shearer and her best friend, an adopted stray dog called Runt. An hilarious tale of kindness, friendship and bringing out the best in others.

Booktopia Link

BAREFOOT KIDS Scott Pape

This new book from "The Barefoot Investor" has broken new release sales records. It's the book for the kids in your life if you want them to be good with money. Described as an "epic money adventure", let Scott Pape delight and teach them at the same time with his fun projects and inspiring stories. This book is one of the best investments you can make in your kids' futures. (For ages approximately 7 to 12).

Booktopia Link

MY DREAM TIME: A MEMOIR OF TENNIS & TEAMWORK Ash Barty

An Aussie sporting hero admired by all, this is a memoir of Ash Barty's family, career and teamwork - the story of how she got to where she is today. It's about how she found the path to be the best she could be as an athlete and as a person. Inspirational, it's told with the wisdom one would not expect from someone still in her mid-twenties.

Booktopia Link

THE BOOK OF ROADS & KINGDOMS Richard Fidler

Subtitled, From the wonders of imperial Baghdad to the darklands at the ends of the earth, here is the story of the medieval wanderers who travelled out to the edges of the known world during Islam's fabled Golden Age - told as only the ever-popular writer-broadcaster Richard Fidler can do. He expertly weaves together beautiful and thrilling pictures of the dazzling lost world of the empire that was Baghdad - from its rise to its devastating fall.

Booktopia Link

THE BATTLE OF LONG TAN Peter FitzSimons

From Knox Old Boy Peter FitzSimons (OKG78) comes another gripping narrative of Australian military history. This is the story of the Australian forces' deadliest battle in Vietnam. The surviving men who faced the unceasing onslaught of the Viet Cong and North Vietnam soldiers on a wet afternoon in the August 1966 Battle of Long Tan can today hold their heads high in the best ANZAC tradition. This page-turning account of what they faced is presented with typical Fitzy storytelling prowess - a tale of horror, bravery and the costs of war.

Booktopia Link

THE THREE LIVES OF ALIX ST PIERRE by Natasha Lester (Hachette, Sep22)

The definitions and boundaries of literary genres have appropriately blurred and changed in the 21st century and readers, more than ever, should not 'judge a book by its cover'. Thus this recommendation of a book which, at first glance, might not appear to be one that might appeal to blokey Knox Old Boys! All lovers of historical fiction will appreciate the massive research that has gone into the fascinating tale of The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre - a WWII novel of the Italian Partisans, a spy mystery, fashion history and love story all rolled into one. 

Perth-based author Natasha Lester cleverly weaves her narrative of Alix's life before, during and after the War. As an orphaned girl, she's taken under the wing of her friend's well-to-do family and sent to finishing school in Switzerland. 

Then, due to her language ability, she's recruited by the newly formed OSS (Office of Strategic Services) to work with Allen Dulles in Bern, putting her in perfect position to secretly communicate with, and assist the Partisans across the border in Italy. A final failed mission by the valiant troupe leads to tragedy - for them and for Alix personally.

After the War, still haunted by its aftermath, Alix is hell-bent on tracking down the source of the incident's failed intelligence, a war criminal who has escaped justice and may still be out there, determined to silence her. A multi-lingual PR expert, she's offered a pristine press liaison job, assisting Christian Dior to launch his 'Maison' and to promote his line of dresses which would revolutionize the fashion world and make Dior the new arbiter of style. At a time of rationing and recovery, the collection's colours, couture glamour and voluptuous designs served as a much-needed tonic for war weary women, despite initial protests against their 'radical' style.

Alix must deal with the professional criticism and juggles her day-job responsibilities with her increasingly dangerous investigation into the Partisan episode and the crippling guilt she feels over it. In the meantime, the reader is transported to the world of 1947 Paris and the many societal challenges and injustices that women who wanted more for themselves than marriage and children then faced.

As she does with all her books (this is her 7th), Natasha Lester keeps her readers gripped from start to finish and provides an insightful 'author note' afterword, outlining her research and laying out the true history and characters that inspired her novel, sure to be a Christmas season bestseller.

Link to purchase from Booktopia 

HORSE by Geraldine Brooks (Hachette Australia)

Australia's own Pulitzer Prize winning author Geraldine Brooks has proved herself to be a master of historical fiction with a string of bestselling novels in her canon such as Year of Wonders, March and People of the Book.   

Now, she is once again gathering plaudits from the literary world with Horse, a thoroughly engrossing 'then and now' tale of antebellum horse breeding and racing coupled with art history, mystery and the intricacies of museum conservation methods.

Meticulously researched, Brooks sheds light on the fascinating world of horse racing in the mid-19th century American South, where, for wealthy white men, racehorse ownership was a matter of great prestige and profit.   

Enslaved black groomsmen and trainers often played an integral role yet were routinely unacknowledged. Two such unsung heroes in Horse are Harry Lewis and his son, Jarret, who forms a wondrous bond with Lexington, one of the sport's greatest American champions and stud sires. In the present-day narrative, Nigerian-American art historian Theo Northam rescues a discarded painting of a horse that fires his interest in equine art while, at the Smithsonian, the neglected skeleton of Lexington is found in an attic and studied by Jess, an Aussie osteologist who soon develops a professional and personal bond with Theo.   

There is so much more to Horse than a darn-good yarn. Brooks competently explores issues of slavery and racism - both in pre and post Civil War America as well as during the current 'Black Lives Matter' era, making one question how much has really changed in 250+ years. The role that art plays as a chronicler of history and the unique communication and relationships that are possible between human and horse are movingly and intriguingly scrutinized.   

Readers will, no doubt, find Horse - an entrée into the equine racing and art world - poignant, enlightening,  informative and eminently satisfying.

Link to purchase Horse from Booktopia.

FRAMED by John M. Green (Pantera Press) 

Art conservator JJ Jego is happily house-sitting in her boss's swanky, luxury apartment on Sydney's foreshores when she glimpses a few paintings through a neighbour's parted curtains. Given her expertise, she recognises the image of Van Gogh's masterpiece, Six Sunflowers, known to have been destroyed during World War II. Then she spies what looks like a Rembrandt, infamously stolen from a Boston gallery in 1990. Surely they must be fakes?....But what if they're not? Can she somehow finagle meeting the neighbour to get a closer look?   

So begins one of this season's best crime thrillers - an art heist mystery that will simultaneously grip readers while it entertains and educates, its action moving from Sydney to Belfast, Paris and Monte Carlo.   

JJ reluctantly finds herself in the firing line of a ruthless global organised crime empire as she doggedly pursues the answers to some of art history's biggest mysteries. Bestselling thriller writer John M. Green, with this, his sixth novel, clearly has put in the research hard yards. The latest techniques and equipment used in art detection are meticulously explained along with the real-life history of the multiple masterpieces that feature in the story. Beneath the surface of 'Framed', however, is a lot more than paint pigments and canvas wefts and warps. Without labouring extraneously or detracting from the action-filled narrative, Green also sheds light on issues beyond the world of art. Social anxiety, divorce, bipolar disorder, coercive control and dyslexia all make their way into the story, ensuring a novel which offers far more sophistication and cerebral food for reflection than your average thriller.  

This book will, no doubt, have readers rushing to the Art Gallery of NSW and other galleries around the world to appreciate priceless art treasures through new eyes. At its very end, happily, 'Framed' leaves the door well and truly open for a sequel - one which readers will eagerly anticipate.

Link to purchase from Booktopia. 

SECRETS BEYOND THE SCREEN by Anita Jacoby (Ventura Press)

By the time most people lose treasured and aged parents, their adult children intimately know their life stories, familiar with every anecdote and memory heard over decades of sharing. This was not the experience of Anita Jacoby, the much-respected television producer behind such shows as Andrew Denton's Enough Rope, 60 Minutes and many other popular interview programs of investigative journalism.

It was at a dinner party years after her beloved father Phillip had died that a lawyer guest asked her if she knew about his infamous and long-running court case of the 1950's. Anita looked blank. What court case? 

So began the most personal project of investigation Anita had undertaken in her long, impressive career - uncovering the mystery of Phillip Jacoby. A supportive, ever-encouraging father, she'd spent hours on end with him discussing life and world events, yet he never revealed the trauma and tragedies of his own past.   Anita knew he had emigrated from Nazi Germany in 1934 and made a successful life in business, culminating in his heading Sony Australia. She had never known, however, that he'd been arrested by the Nazis in 1933 for his opposition to the regime, nor that Phillip's father was Jewish. She was also in the dark about details of his internment as an 'enemy alien' in 1940 and subsequent release on appeal. Apparently, Phillip was 'too Jewish' for safety in Nazi Germany but 'not Jewish enough' for protection in wartime Australia.

As Anita had an older half-sister, she knew he had been previously married. She did not know that he had, in fact, been married four times in total and had also had a live-in relationship with Emmy Lewy, the woman for whom he'd left wife #1. As if that wasn't surprise enough, she learned that Emmy as well as Phillip's second wife, Phyllis, had taken their own lives. The aforementioned court case surrounded the controversy of his disastrous, short marriage to an alcoholic third wife, Bonnie.

How do such revelations affect one's feelings for, and understanding of, a parent previously held on a pedestal, whose flaws and demons had never surfaced or been explained? As the subject of one of her interviews, President Bill Clinton said, Sooner or later, every child learns that her (or his) parents aren't perfect…and that's a terrifying thing…

The challenge for Anita was to uncomfortably turn the tables, making herself and her family the subject of investigation. After decades of professionally shining the spotlight only on others, this was not easy. The result of her perseverance is a compelling and touching family story of truth and acceptance. 

It is, in fact, two books in one. Secrets Beyond the Screen provides behind-the-scenes insight into television news production and the work that goes into the delivery of our favourite programs.  It outlines the battle of a young woman determined to succeed despite hitting 'the glass ceiling' in a profession which (at least then) was filled with bias against women, despite obvious ability equal to their male counterparts. The book is also a gripping true-life mystery filled with romance, family, history and overcoming adversity. Most of all, it's a touching portrait of courage, compassion and family love, filled with welcome life lessons for us all.    

Anita is the sister of Karl Jacoby (OKG77), and wife of John Cary (OKG77).  

Available to purchase from Booktopia. 

THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY by Sulari Gentill  (June 2022) 

The story opens with a piercing scream shattering the erstwhile silence of the Boston Public Library where four strangers, Freddie (our narrator - a novelist and fictional version of Hannah), Caine (a fellow writer also working on his next book), Whit (a failing law student) & Marigold (a heavily tattooed student of psychology) are working on their respective projects in the Reading Room. Understandably, it prompts them to start talking with each other, which leads to friendship and bonds made even closer through their shared experience when subsequently, a woman's body is found by cleaners in an adjacent room the next morning. The reader is advised very early on that one of them is a murderer. The stage of massive intrigue is well and truly set!   Gentill delivers a darn-good mystery with surprises galore. Readers will be convinced they know the killer's identity multiple times throughout the book, only to be surprised and foiled in their suppositions by yet another plot twist or revelation. All the while, Leo's letters to Hannah raise additional questions about his motivations (perhaps nefarious?) and backstory.   

Aside from the intrigue which keeps readers on their intellectual toes, Sulari Gentill lifts the veil on the world of the novelist and his/her need to research thoroughly to make their story credible, to examine language and the varying words or expressions used in different countries and to tie up all loose ends of plot detail and unanswered questions. She succeeds on all levels and provides a remarkable novel offering brilliant insight into the writer's craft.

Available to Pre-Order from Booktopia 

ETHEL ROSENBERG: A COLD WAR TRAGEDY by Anne Sebba (July 2021)

In 1953 Ethel Rosenberg became the first woman in the United States to be executed for a crime other than murder. Aged thirty-seven and the mother of two young sons, Ethel's conviction for conspiracy to commit espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union is still controversial. In this insightful biography, Anne Sebba, known primarily for her bestselling biography of Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (That Woman), has interviewed Ethel's sons and others who knew her (including a fellow prisoner) and made clever use of the dramatic and tragic prison letters that Ethel exchanged with her husband Julius who, of course, met the same fate as her. Though Sebba leaves us to form our own opinions, she clearly believes that Ethel was not guilty and had her rights abused by a government motivated by fear. While presenting her research, Sebba allows the reader real insight into Ethel's personality, her idealism and her role as a supportive wife and loving mother battling the conservative social mores of 1950s America. One is definitely left with the view that Ethel Rosenberg was a 'Cold War victim'. Her story, immortalised now in popular culture, is a painfully gripping one brilliantly told in this tour de force contribution to 20th century history scholarship. 

Available to order from Booktopia 

MAYBE THE HORSE WILL TALK by Elliot Perlman (October 2020) 

Daily life can be stressful in the 21st century. It certainly is for second-year associate lawyer Stephen Maserov toiling away at the uber-firm (Freely Savage Carter Blanche) to make his budget and not become a 'downsizing' statistic. At the same time, he's trying to salvage his marriage and turn around his separation with his wife; be an attentive (though non-live-in) parent to his two young children and pay the mortgage via the job that he hates. To succeed, he finds himself daringly taking a professional risk he never imagined was in his make-up to do – pushing himself boldly out from his coterie of lawyer colleagues in a desperate attempt to make himself professionally indispensable. Perlman, the superlative author of the earlier best-selling Seven Types of Ambiguity and The Street Sweeper is not known to date for his comic talent but reading Maybe The Horse Will Talk is often a laugh-out-loud experience as it ruminates on contemporary survival; marriage; love & friendship; the workplace and issues of corporate corruption and sexual harassment. Perlman is an erudite wordsmith and storyteller of the highest order. A book to be recommended unreservedly.

Available to order from Booktopia. 

RETURN TO BERLIN by Ellen Feldman  

American author Ellen Feldman has a large number of engrossing historical novels under her belt, the last of which, Paris Never Leaves You was set in Nazi-occupied Paris.

Her new offering, Return to Berlin, jumps forward a few years to the Postwar period when U.S. forces were 'denazifying' Germany, interviewing thousands of citizens for leadership roles in the judiciary, journalism and civil service to ascertain first whether they were former Nazis or collaborators of the old regime. 

Millie Mosbach and her brother David, having fled Berlin for the U.S. as children immediately before Kristallnacht, return to their former home in this capacity, as did many other former German, bilingual Jews. 

Their secret personal agenda is to discover the fate of their parents and younger sister who never made it out of the country themselves before the borders closed shut and from whom they have not heard since 1942.

Through the story, the plight of the city shattered by its immediate past and the challenges faced by its postwar residents rebuilding their lives is vividly recreated. The devastation of survivor guilt and the haunting heartbreak of those such as Millie, desperately trying to begin life afresh, is likewise captured with tender eloquence. Explored themes of love versus hatred, family support and forgiveness all add to the mix to make Return to Berlin a recommended choice for book club discussion and for all fans of historical fiction and plain good storytelling

Available to order from Booktopia

WHEN TIME STOPPED by Ariana Neumann  

Ariana Neumann grew up in a well-to-do household in Caracas, Venezuela. Her father Hans, a successful industrialist and entrepreneur, had come to South America from Czechoslovakia as a young man and forged a successful career, respected and admired in the community. A constant presence by Hans' bedside was a somewhat dour framed photograph of his parents – Otto and Ella. It was the only picture Ariana had ever seen of the grandparents from Prague she'd never known. Aside from the picture and knowing her Uncle Lotar who had also immigrated, she knew nothing else of her father's family or of his early life in Europe. 

Then one day, the curious detective-like eight-year-old girl found a box hidden in Hans' wardrobe. In it was a 1943 I.D. card clearly bearing her father's photo as a young man. Curiously, however, the card bore the name of Jan Sebesta. Why? As if this wasn't mystery enough, why was it issued in Germany showing a Berlin address when she knew her father came from Prague? 

Hans never spoke about his past and neither had Uncle Lotar. It was only after her father's death that Ariana came into possession of the box (now filled with numerous other letters, tickets, permits and official documents) that set her on the path to solving the mystery and piecing together the puzzle which was the Neumann family history. 

With meticulous research and the help of many newly discovered relatives and family friends along the way, Ariana set out on the genealogical mystery trail that would take decades and lead her to the Czech Republic, Germany and the United States. It would uncover the Jewish heritage of which she'd known nothing and a truth-stranger-than fiction tale of determination, survival and immense courage. She would uncover stories of never-before-mentioned heroes and heroines without whom her father and uncle certainly would not have survived. How could her father never have spoken of his saviours? They had been consigned to that silent space where he kept his memories.  

Like a tightening noose that could not be undone, regulations became more and more restrictive for Jews under the Nazis. Whether in Prague, the country town of Libcice, in Berlin hiding in plain sight or incarcerated in the concentration camp of Theresienstadt, the Neumann family were hell-bent on surviving and reuniting.  

The path to resolution that would finally leave Ariana with a full sense of her identity for the first time would be intricate and complex, just like the workings of the watches which her father passionately collected and fixed. Just as the perfect timepiece ticks on with confident precision, so the mechanism of the Neumann family can now operate smoothly and can face the future with its many parts and pieces of its past finally in place. This is the ultimate satisfying genealogical detective story. 

Available to order from Booktopia 

THE ECHO CHAMBER, John Boyne 

Inspired by Boyne's own experience being trolled on Twitter for perceived offences felt by the self-appointed police of political correctness, The Echo Chamber satirically examines the 21st century obsession with our mobile phones and social media. With brilliant 'laugh-out-loud' humour, we follow the travails of the Cleverley family of five – doomed to suffer the karma inevitably coming their way from overzealous postings and often inappropriate online pronouncements. How might their lives (and ours) change for the better if they (we) were not so smart-phone addicted and motivated by 'likes' collected and what strangers might think of us? A brilliant comic novel with social commentary galore. 

Available to order from Booktopia 

TWO MUMS AND A DAD by Toby Roberts

Navigating adolescence, new schools, emerging sexual urges, relations with the opposite sex and 'fitting in' with a crowd of peers can be challenging at the best of times for most young boys. However, when you feel like a geeky nerd who looks like an undernourished chihuahua, your mother emerges to be a feminist lesbian and you go to a conservative Anglican school, the challenge of being accepted might feel particularly overwhelming! This was the case for young Toby Roberts whose memoir of the 1980s reveals the plight he and his three siblings faced whilst watching their parent's marriage unravel and their mother's girlfriends move in to radically change the family dynamic and the pubescent boy's view of what is normal. With bathos and laugh-out-loud humour, Roberts self-depracatingly recounts his youthful peccadilloes and misadventures. Two Mums and a Dad is a tender, thoughtful true tale which will make you think deeply about school, family and love, about acceptance and peer pressures, sexuality and puberty. Along the way, you'll be thoroughly entertained and experience the very best of mirth.

Available to order from Booktopia. 

THREE SISTERS Heather Morris 

At a time when Holocaust survivors with adult memories of their ordeal are 90 plus, the recording of their testimonies for posterity is as urgent as ever. Since her fictionalised retelling of Lala and Gita Sokolov's story in The Tattooist of Auschwitz and the follow-up tale of Cilka's Journey, Heather Morris has fast built her credentials as a 'warrior for remembrance', retelling these tales of hope and survival. A plethora of Survivor stories has flooded the market in recent years but each one carries its own unique message of resilience, memory and affirmation of life. Three Sisters - with its troika biography of the Slovakian Meller sisters - is a welcome contribution to the genre and also stands as an ultimate testament to the love and commitment of siblings to each other. In childhood, before the premature death of their beloved father, Cibi, Magda and Livi swore to him that they would always stay together and care for each other no matter what. As they grew up modestly but happily in the loving care of their mother and grandfather, little did they imagine the lengths to which they would need to go to fulfil this pledge and ensure each other's survival. It would do readers a disservice to reveal details of this epic tale which gradually and grippingly unfurls with its sometimes torturous and sometimes miraculous episodes. Suffice it to say that at its satisfying completion, one is left with a supremely enhanced understanding of Auschwitz-Birkenau inmate life; the 'Death March'; post-War anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe and the early days of the State of Israel. Most of all, one is left with an exultant celebration of family love and the irrepressible will to survive. Three Sisters is a heartbreaking yet uplifting and triumphant tale.

Available to pre-order from Booktopia. 

THE FAMILY DOCTOR  Debra Oswald 

Debra Oswald, respected creator of TV's Offspring has built a reputation for her ability to paradoxically juxtapose serious life gravitas with laugh-out-loud humour. It was therefore surprising to discover that with her latest novel, she has totally reinvented herself, jumping genres to provide a gripping suburban thriller. Sydney G.P. Paula Kaczmarek supports her lifelong friend Stacey and two children by allowing them to move in with her to find refuge from their violent, estranged husband and father. When he tracks down and murders his family, Paula is, understandably, devastated and traumatized. She is haunted by self-blame, questioning herself for not adequately protecting them. When, soon thereafter, a patient comes into her surgery with suspicious injuries and an overly anxious child, the woman soon admits that she's terrified that her husband's violence will escalate if she tries to leave him. It occurs to Paula that she has it within her means to save this woman and others like her – and perhaps give meaning to Stacey's tragic end. Can one justify taking a life to save a life?  If the medical and the court system cannot protect such women and children, can Paula? Should she? Issues of domestic violence, medical ethics and the justice system are handled with aplomb. At the same time, themes of revenge, grief, new love, resilience and remorse are deftly explored. Ideas stemming from Oswald's adroit plotline are planted cerebrally like seeds, destined to continue to grow and blossom long after the book has been put down

Available from local bookshops and Booktopia. 

WHEN YOU ARE MINE Michael Robotham (Hachette)

Philomena McCarthy has reached her goal as an officer in London's Metropolitan Police despite having a Dad who's a known gangster. No mean feat! On a domestic violence call-out, she comes to loggerheads with the accused man, Darren Goodall, who turns out to be a powerful and corrupt police officer himself, lauded as a hero for his career achievements but not an enemy one would choose to make. Phil befriends his abused mistress, Tempe Brown, and the two women gradually become an important part of each other's lives. But Tempe clearly has secrets of her own and is not everything she appears to be.  When a journalist's body is found in the Thames, Philomena begins to investigate his death, suspecting Darren's involvement. Could Tempe have a connection to the case….or even Philomena's father? As usual, Robotham expertly demonstrates that he is a master of crime mystery, keeping the reader guessing and the pages turning with multiple gripping twists and subplots. Known for his excellent Joe O'Loughlin series and the more recent Cyrus Haven series, Sydney-based Robotham provides a perfect stand-alone thriller for the ultimate in welcome lockdown escapism!

Available from local bookshops and Booktopia. 

WHEN MEN CRY  Nick Wasiliev (Breathe Art Holdings) 

Good old Aussie mateship is at the core of this impressive and engrossing debut novel from young Sydney author Nick Wasiliev but it offers so much more. Examining masculinity and the mental health crisis of 2020s Australia, this is a portrait of four men in their early 20s, friends who met at university and, despite their diverging paths, remain connected and caring. In typical Aussie bloke fashion, however, they do not always excel in communicating their commitment to each other – let alone understanding it. Finding one's life path and identity, exploring dating and relationships, moving out of home, developing moral values and transitioning from boy to man is the destiny of every male adolescent and is challenging in itself. When a friend in crisis facing depression, rage, self-loathing and instability is added to the mix, navigating nascent adulthood is nigh impossible. Through his characters, however, Wasiliev allows the reader a sobering and insightful examination of mental health, youth, friendship, loyalty and redemption which demonstrates a deft literary talent and understanding of the human condition.

Available from local bookshops and Booktopia.