Books in the news... 5-6 September
Check out these new fiction and non -fiction titles from 5-6 September Spectrum, you can request them from the Library.
The Absent Therapist by Will Eaves
The Absent Therapist is a book of soundings, a jostle of voices that variously argue, remember, explain, justify, speculate and meander. Sons and lovers, wanderers, stayers, leavers, readers and believers: 'the biggest surprise of all is frequently that things and people really are as they seem.
Make me by Lee Child
“Why is this town called Mother’s Rest?” That’s all Reacher wants to know. But no one will tell him. It’s a tiny place hidden in a thousand square miles of wheat fields, with a railroad stop, and sullen and watchful people, and a worried woman named Michelle Chang, who mistakes him for someone else: her missing partner in a private investigation she thinks must have started small and then turned lethal.
Reacher has no particular place to go, and all the time in the world to get there, and there’s something about Chang . . . so he teams up with her and starts to ask around. He thinks: How bad can this thing be? But before long he’s plunged into a desperate race through LA, Chicago, Phoenix, and San Francisco, and through the hidden parts of the internet, up against thugs and assassins every step of the way—right back to where he started, in Mother’s Rest, where he must confront the worst nightmare he could imagine.
Walking away would have been easier. But as always, Reacher’s rule is: If you want me to stop, you’re going to have to make me.
The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory
Why would a woman marry a serial killer?
Because she cannot refuse...
Kateryn Parr, a thirty-year-old widow in a secret affair with a new lover, has no choice when a man old enough to be her father who has buried four wives - King Henry VIII - commands her to marry him.
Kateryn has no doubt about the danger she faces: the previous queen lasted sixteen months, the one before barely half a year. But Henry adores his new bride and Kateryn's trust in him grows as she unites the royal family, creates a radical study circle at the heart of the court, and rules the kingdom as Regent.
But is this enough to keep her safe? A leader of religious reform and the first woman to publish in English, Kateryn stands out as an independent woman with a mind of her own. But she cannot save the Protestants, under threat for their faith, and Henry's dangerous gaze turns on her.The traditional churchmen and rivals for power accuse her of heresy - the punishment is death by fire and the king's name is on the warrant...
From an author who has described all of Henry's queens comes a deeply intimate portrayal of the last: a woman who longed for passion, power and education at the court of a medieval killer.
Honour, Duty, Courage by Mohamed Khadra
When old friends Jack and Tom volunteer for the army medical corps, both men are unaware that their lives are about to change forever. Jack is a first-class vascular surgeon with a strong sense of duty to his country, and Tom a highly respected anaesthetist with a young child. Given 48 hours to deploy, they leave behind their comfortable lives – and the petty rivalries and mindless bureaucracy of the Victoria Hospital – for a war zone where their emotional and psychological strength will be tested to the limit. Who can they trust when even young children are potential suicide bombers, and insurgents could be within their very ranks? Will they both return? And if so, will they be able to take up their lives where they left off?
Honour, Duty, Courage is the culmination of Mohamed Khadra's countless interviews with doctors and nurses who have served in the Australian military. Their stories have been dramatised and identifying characteristics altered to maintain confidentiality, but their duty, their compassion and their honour have been preserved. The result is a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and leave you in awe of the heroism of our medical corps.
Smoke and Mirrors by Robin Bowles
Stuart Rattle and Michael O’Neill were the perfect couple. Country boys from working-class backgrounds, they became bon vivants and lovers, the envy of all their friends – until tragedy struck.
Stuart Rattle was at the peak of his design career, feted and entertained by hosts whose invitations were gold. His ‘Rattle’ interiors were his ticket into this exclusive lifestyle.
Michael O’Neill, his loyal and loving partner, employee, dogsbody and whipping boy, was always three steps behind, never in the limelight. In the words of Paul Bangay, the international garden designer and Stuart’s former partner, ‘Michael really had to fit into Stuart’s way of life ... Stuart had a definite style and lifestyle, and Michael took on that persona.’
It worked for sixteen years, until the fateful morning when Michael violently killed Stuart as he lay in bed. He tucked him neatly back in and brought him cups of tea, takeaway curries and glasses of wine, trying to convince himself he hadn’t committed this terrible deed. They even watched TV together.
Five days later, Michael tried to preserve his much-loved partner’s dignity by setting fire to their apartment.
How did it all go wrong? Smoke and Mirrors is the tragic life-and-death story behind the headlines.
Doujon's Heart by Greg Callaghan & Ian Cutherbertson
When 20-year-old Australian Doujon Zammit was bashed by bouncers on a Greek island in July 2008, his tragic story made headlines in both Australia and Greece. Doujon had sustained terrible head injuries and would not recover. His grief-stricken parents, Oliver and Rosemarie, honoured Doujon's previous wish to be an organ donor, and Oliver became famous overnight in Australia and in Greece when he announced that Doujon's organs would be donated to Greek recipients.
The day Doujon received his fatal injuries was also the day 31-year-old Greek-Australian journalist Kosta Gribilas was given a death sentence in a hospital in Athens. Critically ill with virus-induced heart failure, he was told he had only two weeks to live. Without an urgent transplant, Kosta knew he would soon die. He'd followed Doujon's story on TV, and even as he watched Oliver's emotional announcement, Kosta hadn't thought he might be saved - the doctors didn't want to give him false hope. On 2 August, after an emotional farewell to partner Poppy and his family and friends, Kosta drifted asleep for what he thought was going to be the last time. A day later he woke up with Doujon's heart beating in his chest and the life he'd longed for now ahead of him.
Because of the public nature of Doujon's fatal attack, Kosta met Rosemarie and Oliver when they visited Athens. It was to be the beginning of an extraordinary, heartwarming friendship that would sustain both families through the dark days to come - a roller-coaster course of events neither family could have possibly predicted. Through all this, Kosta is constantly reminded of Doujon's remarkable gift: 'How can I ever forget Doujon, when every heartbeat reminds me how blessed I am?'
A beautiful, inspiring story about two families united by tragedy and how a selfless and courageous gift of love keeps on giving to this day.
The Absent Therapist is a book of soundings, a jostle of voices that variously argue, remember, explain, justify, speculate and meander. Sons and lovers, wanderers, stayers, leavers, readers and believers: 'the biggest surprise of all is frequently that things and people really are as they seem.
Make me by Lee Child“Why is this town called Mother’s Rest?” That’s all Reacher wants to know. But no one will tell him. It’s a tiny place hidden in a thousand square miles of wheat fields, with a railroad stop, and sullen and watchful people, and a worried woman named Michelle Chang, who mistakes him for someone else: her missing partner in a private investigation she thinks must have started small and then turned lethal.
Reacher has no particular place to go, and all the time in the world to get there, and there’s something about Chang . . . so he teams up with her and starts to ask around. He thinks: How bad can this thing be? But before long he’s plunged into a desperate race through LA, Chicago, Phoenix, and San Francisco, and through the hidden parts of the internet, up against thugs and assassins every step of the way—right back to where he started, in Mother’s Rest, where he must confront the worst nightmare he could imagine.
Walking away would have been easier. But as always, Reacher’s rule is: If you want me to stop, you’re going to have to make me.
Why would a woman marry a serial killer?
Because she cannot refuse...
Kateryn Parr, a thirty-year-old widow in a secret affair with a new lover, has no choice when a man old enough to be her father who has buried four wives - King Henry VIII - commands her to marry him.
Kateryn has no doubt about the danger she faces: the previous queen lasted sixteen months, the one before barely half a year. But Henry adores his new bride and Kateryn's trust in him grows as she unites the royal family, creates a radical study circle at the heart of the court, and rules the kingdom as Regent.
But is this enough to keep her safe? A leader of religious reform and the first woman to publish in English, Kateryn stands out as an independent woman with a mind of her own. But she cannot save the Protestants, under threat for their faith, and Henry's dangerous gaze turns on her.The traditional churchmen and rivals for power accuse her of heresy - the punishment is death by fire and the king's name is on the warrant...
From an author who has described all of Henry's queens comes a deeply intimate portrayal of the last: a woman who longed for passion, power and education at the court of a medieval killer.
When old friends Jack and Tom volunteer for the army medical corps, both men are unaware that their lives are about to change forever. Jack is a first-class vascular surgeon with a strong sense of duty to his country, and Tom a highly respected anaesthetist with a young child. Given 48 hours to deploy, they leave behind their comfortable lives – and the petty rivalries and mindless bureaucracy of the Victoria Hospital – for a war zone where their emotional and psychological strength will be tested to the limit. Who can they trust when even young children are potential suicide bombers, and insurgents could be within their very ranks? Will they both return? And if so, will they be able to take up their lives where they left off?
Honour, Duty, Courage is the culmination of Mohamed Khadra's countless interviews with doctors and nurses who have served in the Australian military. Their stories have been dramatised and identifying characteristics altered to maintain confidentiality, but their duty, their compassion and their honour have been preserved. The result is a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and leave you in awe of the heroism of our medical corps.
Stuart Rattle and Michael O’Neill were the perfect couple. Country boys from working-class backgrounds, they became bon vivants and lovers, the envy of all their friends – until tragedy struck.
Stuart Rattle was at the peak of his design career, feted and entertained by hosts whose invitations were gold. His ‘Rattle’ interiors were his ticket into this exclusive lifestyle.
Michael O’Neill, his loyal and loving partner, employee, dogsbody and whipping boy, was always three steps behind, never in the limelight. In the words of Paul Bangay, the international garden designer and Stuart’s former partner, ‘Michael really had to fit into Stuart’s way of life ... Stuart had a definite style and lifestyle, and Michael took on that persona.’
It worked for sixteen years, until the fateful morning when Michael violently killed Stuart as he lay in bed. He tucked him neatly back in and brought him cups of tea, takeaway curries and glasses of wine, trying to convince himself he hadn’t committed this terrible deed. They even watched TV together.
Five days later, Michael tried to preserve his much-loved partner’s dignity by setting fire to their apartment.
How did it all go wrong? Smoke and Mirrors is the tragic life-and-death story behind the headlines.
Doujon's Heart by Greg Callaghan & Ian Cutherbertson
When 20-year-old Australian Doujon Zammit was bashed by bouncers on a Greek island in July 2008, his tragic story made headlines in both Australia and Greece. Doujon had sustained terrible head injuries and would not recover. His grief-stricken parents, Oliver and Rosemarie, honoured Doujon's previous wish to be an organ donor, and Oliver became famous overnight in Australia and in Greece when he announced that Doujon's organs would be donated to Greek recipients.The day Doujon received his fatal injuries was also the day 31-year-old Greek-Australian journalist Kosta Gribilas was given a death sentence in a hospital in Athens. Critically ill with virus-induced heart failure, he was told he had only two weeks to live. Without an urgent transplant, Kosta knew he would soon die. He'd followed Doujon's story on TV, and even as he watched Oliver's emotional announcement, Kosta hadn't thought he might be saved - the doctors didn't want to give him false hope. On 2 August, after an emotional farewell to partner Poppy and his family and friends, Kosta drifted asleep for what he thought was going to be the last time. A day later he woke up with Doujon's heart beating in his chest and the life he'd longed for now ahead of him.
Because of the public nature of Doujon's fatal attack, Kosta met Rosemarie and Oliver when they visited Athens. It was to be the beginning of an extraordinary, heartwarming friendship that would sustain both families through the dark days to come - a roller-coaster course of events neither family could have possibly predicted. Through all this, Kosta is constantly reminded of Doujon's remarkable gift: 'How can I ever forget Doujon, when every heartbeat reminds me how blessed I am?'
A beautiful, inspiring story about two families united by tragedy and how a selfless and courageous gift of love keeps on giving to this day.
