Category: Adult Fiction

The Alphabet of Light and Dark, by Danielle Wood

When Essie’s grandfather dies, she returns to Bruny Island and to the lighthouse where her great-grandfather was keeper for half of his life. There, in the solitude of the now empty lighthouse and the keeper’s cottage, she unravels the stories of her great grandparents, her grandparents, her parents and herself.

Her grandfather has left her a box of memories – a postcard, a carved coconut and a tiny coin – and the memories of the stories he told her when he was alive. These are the fragments which she will explore and weave together to write the story of her ancestors and to try to make sense of her own life.

In the meantime, a childhood acquaintance has reentered her life. But Pete Shelverton has a history of his own.

The Alphabet of Light and Dark won the Vogel Literary Award for author Danielle Wood. Her writing has a wonderful richness which makes it both absorbing and highly accessible. A beautiful read.

The Alphabet of Light and Dark, by Danielle Wood
Allen & Unwin, 2003

Killing Superman, by Mary-Rose MacColl

Scott Goodwin lost his father when he was eighteen but has never been able to accept that his father is dead. At his funeral, Scott refused to cry because he was sure the man in his coffin was not his father. Afterwards, he tried desperately to prove the wrong man had been buried and to find his father, who he was sure was still alive. Now, twenty years later, Scott has come to accept that he will never know the truth. Until he meets Emily, who offers to help him.

Scott shares his story with Emily as he falls in love with her. But when they travel to France and Scott sees his father on a beach, he has to confront the truth about his father – and about Emily.

Killing Superman is an intriguing tale about grief, love and lies. Readers will find themselves drawn into the double mystery, struggling alongside Scott for understanding.

A gripping read.

Killing Superman, by Mary-Rose MacColl
Allen & Unwin, 2003

The Castlemaine Murders, by Kerry Greenwood

For those who expect fictional sleuths to be either slightly alcoholic, but charming, old men, or tweed wearing women, Phyrne Fisher comes as somewhat of a surprise. Miss Fisher is a sassy, liberated woman in post world war one Australia, who seems to have a penchant for being caught up in murder cases which she never fails to solve.

In her latest adventure, The Castelmaine Murders, Phryne meets with a mummified bullet-studded corpse in the ghost train at Luna Park. Unable to leave the mystery alone, Phryne heads off to Castelmaine, determined to solve the case.

As always, solving a mystery is a dangerous past time, and Phryne soon finds herself in a spot of bother. Perhaps her Chinese lover Lin Chung will need to act as her knight in shining armour.

The Castlemaine Murders, by Kerry Greenwood
Allen & Unwin, 2003

Dying for Cake, by Louise Limerick

Five women meet regularly for coffee while their children are at school. But something bad happens – Evelyn’s baby goes missing and Evelyn herself is in pyschiatric hospital unable, or unwilling, to say where baby Amy is.

For the remaining members of the group, Amy’s disappearance triggers change. Unable to understand Evelyn’s illness and unwillingness to help find Amy, each woman begins to reevaluate her own life.

Plump Joanna decides she needs to lose weight, but all she wants to do is eat cake. Wendy has a secret she desperately wants to escape. Claire is trying to recapture her artistic talent. Susan wants to reclaim lost time. Overshadowing all, is Evelyn. She doesn’t say what she wants. But doesn’t she want her baby back?

Dying for Cake is a journey for understanding and for personal identity. The many faces of motherhood, of friendship and of truth are explored warmly, drawing the reader in to the complex lives of the characters.

Dying for Cake is the first novel for Louise Limerick, a Brisbane-born mother and author.

A heart-wrenching read.

Dying for Cake, by Louise Limerick
Pan Macmillan, 2003

Misconceptions, by Terry McGee

Julia loves her job. An obstetrician, she helps women to bring their children into the world safely and with as little intervention as possible. Although her job is gruelling – long, irregular hours leave her little time for herself or her daughter – keeping busy keeps her thoughts from dwelling on painful memories. In one painful year she lost her unborn son, lived through a very public court case involving her husband, and saw the demise of her marriage. The intervening years have dulled the pain and now Julia thinks she may be starting to move on.

Then a letter arrives which shakes Julia to the core. She is being sued for malpractice, by the mother of a child born brain damaged and permanently disabled. For Julia this is a double blow – not only will her professional integrity be challenged, but she must also revisit the pain of her husband’s traumatic court case. Will she be able to survive the court case and keep her personal life intact?

Misconceptions is a touching drama, which draws the reader to the character of Julia and to the friends and family who fill her life. It also provides an insight into the world of obstetrics, hospitals and litigation. Author Terry McGee, herself a practising obstetrician, is able to share her own knowledge in a believable way.

Great reading.

Misconceptions, by Terry McGee
Macmillan, 2003

Shadow Alley, Compiled by Lucy Sussex

Reviewed by Tash Hughes

Shadow Alleyis a collection of short stories relating to crime and involving young investigators or witnesses.

Editor Lucy Sussex approached a number of authors for this book, requesting a crime story involving youth. For those authors with an existing detective character, she requested a retrospective story of the character, although only two such stories are included. Fans of Phryne Fisher and Verity Birdwood will enjoy insights into the development of these sleuths.

For each story, Sussex introduces the author first with a brief bio of their work. After the story, the writer includes an afterward relating to the story and this adds interest to the collection.

Each story is unique in both style and content; most are gripping page-turners. The collection includes work by Garry Disher, Kerry Greenwood, Jennifer Rowe and Jenny Pausacker. Although she is a published writer herself, none of Sussex’s work appears in the anthology.

As a collection, the book is not only about crime but also about youth finding their identities and learning about how other people act and react to situations. Sussex wanted the book to balance the power and understanding of detectives with the powerless and confusion often felt by teenagers.

Great reading and very entertaining.

Shadow Alley, by Lucy Sussex (ed)
Omnibus, 1995

Forbidden Love, by Georgia Mantis-Kapralos

Athena Zamerkopolous is caught between two worlds. Her parents want her to follow Greek tradition and prepare her herself for the life role of wife and mother. She must not date, or even mix with her female friends outside of school hours. Athena wants to live like other girls her age – dating, having fun, and eventually marrying for love.

Life gets a whole lot more complicated when Athena falls in love with the most popular guy in Fremont High – Scott Sanders. Although she knows her parents will never approve, Athena can not resist Scott, and the two have a secret relationship. When her father finds out, he reveals a secret of his own. He has arranged a marriage with the son of his Greek friend, a man who Athena has never met. Now she must make the hardest decision of her life – marry this stranger and lose Scott, or face losing her family.

Forbidden Love is a tale of teenage love and of cultures clashing. It is a familiar situation in the multicultural setting of Australia as cultures merge or clash on a regular basis. It is unfortunate that the story is impeded by the need, in many places, of an editor’s touch. As a self-published book, the enthusiasm and warmth of the writer shine through, but the need for tighter prose is distracting.

A nice story.

Forbidden Love, by Georgia Mantis-Kapralos
Self Published, 2001

Death Before Wicket, by Kerry Greenwood

Phryne Fisher is a sleuth with a difference – this 1920s Australian heroine is sassy, adventurous, promiscuous, and a woman before her time. Although she lacks a university education, she is versed in language, culture and the classics, and able to hold her own in any society. Men fall at her feet and women trust her. She is also brilliant, if unorthodox, in solving mysteries and crime.

In Death Before Wicket she visits Sydney to watch some cricket, attend a ball and visit the University. But Phryne’s plans for a few pleasurable days are interrupted by two mysteries – the disappearance of the sister of her companion, Dot, and the theft of exam papers and other documents from the University.

Phryne finds herself deep in the midst of greed, blackmail and the dangers of black magic, as she weaves some magic of her own to solve the twin mysteries.

Death Before Wicket is the tenth Phryne Fisher adventure from Kerry Greenwood. First published in 1999, it has been rereleased to coincide with the release of the latest installment, The Castlemaine Murders.

Death Before Wicket, by Kerry Greenwood
Allen & Unwin, 2003

Urn Burial, by Kerry Greenwood

When Phryne Fisher is invited to holiday at Cave House, she looks forward to some fine society and some quality time with her lover, Lin Chung. But she has barely arrived when she is caught up in solving a crime.

Fisher, by all appearances a lady of society,is in fact a sophisticated sleuth. Attracting danger and mystery nearly as much as she attracts members of the opposite sex, she maintains her elegance and composure whilst managing to be ruthless and canny.

In this case, her host, Tom Reynolds, has been receiving death threats from someone in the household, Phryne herself is nearly killed when her horse trips on a deliberately placed wire and the parlourmaid is strangled to death before her corpse mysteriously disappears.

Phryne finds herself in danger when she is locked in the cellar with Lin Chung, but, despite her fears, manages to solve the case and maintain her dignity.

The eight in the Phryne Fisher series, Urn Burial is stylish and sharp.

Urn Burial, by Kerry Greenwood
This edition published by Allen & Unwin, 2003, first published by Penguin, 1996

Wife For Hire, by Dianne Blacklock

Sam has made a career out of being a perfect wife and mother to her husband Jeff and their three children. So, when Jeff leaves her for another woman, she is devastated – and angry.

With her perfect life in tatters, Sam must make a new one for herself – and quickly finds the perfect job – working as a wife for hire. Sam works for professionals – men and women – who don’t have time for the jobs traditionally handled by a wife – shopping, travel arrangements, bill payment, gift purchasing and more. But when she is assigned Hal Buchanan as a client, she finds him a little difficult to work for, primarily because he doesn’t want to use her services.

As her up and down relationship with Hal develops and her family faces the challenges of new arrangements, she can longer organise everything to perfection. Letting go of her control is not always easy, especially where her emotions are concerned.

Wife For Hire is a lively combination of personal growth, romance and light humour. The effects of divorce on the individual and the whole family are explored, as are relationships between generations, and the search for self identity.

Great reading.

Wife for Hire, by Dianne Blacklock
Pan Macmillan, 2003