BOOKCLUB

Our favourite autumn reads

Fabulous Fiction

Shrines of Gaiety delves deep into the seamy side of the glitzy Jazz Age nightclub scene in 1920s London. Award-winning author Kate Atkinson has based protagonist Nellie Coker on the reallife Kate ‘Ma’ Meyrick, who owned a string of famous nightclubs and was in and out of prison for licence violations. Nellie is pursued by DCI Frobisher, who is investigating missing girls who may be involved with the clubs’ dancers. Former librarian Gwendolen Kelling joins the detective to work undercover and the three main characters’ stories intersect with historic events in a brilliant, thought-provoking novel. Penguin, RRP $32.99

Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan combined forces to produce Mad Honey, a riveting suspense novel that combines a very contemporary love story, a murder trial and a lot of information about beekeeping. Two single mothers, Olivia and Ava, have both moved to a small New Hampshire town to escape their pasts and meet when their teenage children, Asher and Lily, fall in love. Everything appears to be going well until Olivia receives a phone call – her son is being questioned by the police about Lily’s sudden death. As the case unfolds, long-held secrets are revealed. Allen & Unwin, RRP $32.99

Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed Hamnet brought William Shakespeare’s wife Anne Hathaway to vividly imagined life and now The Marriage Portrait does the same for Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara. At 15, Lucrezia is married off to Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, who is keen to produce a son and heir, but a year later she dies childless. The novel paints a detailed portrait of a young woman who has grown up in the rarefied world of a 16th-century Medici palazzo and then finds herself isolated in her mysterious husband’s remote villa. A compelling, richly dramatic tale. Hachette, RRP $32.99

Multi-award-winning Irish author Sebastian Barry’s latest novel, Old God’s Time, tells the moving story of a man who is forced to come to terms with past loves, memories and mysteries. Retired policeman Tom Kettle is leading a quiet life at his home by the sea when two former colleagues turn up to ask questions about a decades-old case that still haunts him. His peace is further disturbed by a troubled young mother and family who move in next door. And what happened with Tom's wife and their two children? Nothing is quite what it seems. Allen & Unwin, RRP $32.99

Real Life

Lead singer of rock band U2, artist and activist Bono’s remarkable autobiography, Surrender, is subtitled ‘40 Songs, One Story’, a nod to the book’s 40 chapters which are each named after a U2 song. Bono takes us from his early days growing up in Dublin to U2’s journey to becoming one of the world’s most influential rock bands, to his more than 20 years of activism dedicated to fighting AIDS and extreme poverty. Writing with honesty, self-reflection and humour, Bono opens the aperture on his life – and the family, friends and faith that have sustained, challenged and shaped him. Penguin, RRP $49.99

THRILLS & CHILLS

Fans of Fiona McIntosh’s enigmatic detective Jack Hawksworth, who stars in the bestsellers Bye Bye Baby, Beautiful Death and Mirror Man, will be thrilled by his latest outing in Dead Tide. While on sabbatical as guest lecturer in a London university, one of Jack’s female students dies under suspicious circumstances and he finds himself drawn into a chilling new case. His investigations lead him to Adelaide, where he identifies an international crime consortium that preys on childless couples and vulnerable women. A page-turning take on greed and corruption. Penguin Random House, $32.99

Ashes in the Snow was inspired by the experiences of author Oriana Ramunno’s great-uncle, who was detained in a German concentration camp during World War II. The harrowing story is set in Auschwitz, Poland in the winter of 1943, and is largely told by a young Jewish prisoner, Gioele Errera, and detective Hugo Fischer, who is sent to the camp to investigate the murder of an SS officer. While grappling with the confronting evidence of the Final Solution, Hugo is forced to decide what is most important to him – and who, if anyone, he should try to save. Harper Collins, RRP $32.99

In Alex North’s newest gripping thriller, The Half Burnt House, the discovery of a body in a dilapidated, half burnt down mansion opens up a painful relationship between siblings Katie and Chris. The pair have been estranged for many years – young Chris was attacked when Katie left him alone one fateful afternoon and although he survived, he is deeply physically and emotionally scarred. Chris is the prime suspect for the murder in the mansion, and Katie is determined to save her brother to make up for her former negligence. A riveting, darkly suspenseful read. Penguin, RRP $32.99