The Book of Lost Fragrances is a sweeping and suspenseful tale of secrets, intrigue, and lovers separated by time, all connected through the mystical qualities of a perfume created in the days of Cleopatra–and lost for 2,000 years. The Book…
Comedy In A Minor Key Synopsis A penetrating study of ordinary people resisting the Nazi occupation — and, true to its title, a dark comedy of wartime manners — Comedy in a Minor Key tells the story of Wim and Marie, a Dutch…
Glynis Ridley’s novel The Discovery of Jeanne Baret is A Story of Science, the High Seas, and the First Woman to Circumnavigate the Globe is compelling historian speculation based on fact. Read my full review. The Discovery of Jeanne Baret Synopsis: The year was…
Lamberto Lamberto Lamberto Synopsis : A modern fable for children and adults: a story of one man’s quest for eternal life and how finds it in the most extraordinary of ways—in the grand tradition of Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince. When we…
In Murder on a Midsummer Night the fabulous Phryne – the 1920s most elegant and irrepressible sleuth – returns for her seventeenth adventure investigating the death of a man at St Kilda while at the same time trying to find…
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a modern classic. We discuss why in our novel & movie review and share favourite quotes.
Avenue of Eternal Peace Synopsis Beijing is a city of opportunity and danger when cancer specialist Wally Frith arrives there from Sydney. Chance encounters have life-changing consequences. As the doctor’s journey spirals back into his own family story, memories and ghosts…
Decline and Fall, Evelyn Waugh’s first and many say funniest novel immediately caught the ear of the public with his account of an ingénu abroad in the decadent confusion of 1920s high society. Decline and Fall Synopsis Subtitled “A Novel of…
Rules of Civility, Amor Towles’ wonderful debut was an international bestseller. Read my book review to find out why and learn about the latest on the anticipated movie release. Rules of Civility Book Synopsis Set in New York City in 1938, Rules…
The Peacock Emporium, an early Jojo Moyes novel, is filled with drama and characters as intriguing as the curios in lead Suzanna Peacock’s shop. Jojo Moyes is now is best known for her internationally bestselling novel Me Before You. The Peacock Emporium Synopsis…
In Jamrach’s Menagerie Carol Birch conjures up a world of kaleidoscopic sights, sounds and smells more vivid and captivating than reality. Jamrach’s Menagerie Synopsis 1857. Jaffy Brown is running along a street in London’s East End when he comes face to…
With this fictional novel People of the Book, Geraldine Brooks conveys her own passionate interest in the story of the Sarajevo Haggadah. Read my review.
Oscar & Lucinda won Australian author Peter Carey the 1988 Booker Prize and the 1989 Miles Franklin Award. It was shortlisted for The Best of the Booker. Oscar & Lucinda Synopsis A young Anglican minister who looks like a scarecrow, thinks like an angel, and…
Connie Willis’ To Say Nothing of the Dog is one of the most intelligent and enjoyable audiobooks I have ever listened to. Read on for our full review.
The Tiger’s Wife Synopsis ‘Having sifted through everything I have heard about the tiger and his wife, I can tell you that this much is fact: in April of 1941, without declaration or warning, the German bombs started falling over…
Kate Morton’s The Forgotten Garden is a captivating and atmospheric story of secrets, family and memory that I highly recommend in audiobook. The Forgotten Garden Synopsis Thirty-eight-year-old Cassandra is lost, alone, and grieving. Her much-loved grandmother, Nell, has just died…
