Book: Peace

Summary: Constable Paul Hirschhausen runs a one-cop station in the dry farming country south of the Flinders Ranges. He's still new in town but the community work-welfare checks and working bees-is starting to pay off.
Now Christmas is here and, apart from a grass fire, two boys stealing a ute and Brenda Flann entering the front bar of the pub without exiting her car, Hirsch's life has been peaceful.
Until he's called to a strange, vicious incident in Kitchener Street. And Sydney police ask him to look in on a family living outside town on a forgotten back road. Suddenly, it doesn't look like a season of goodwill at all.


What I Thought: Brilliant - loved it.

Book: Up on Horseshoe Hill

Summary: Jemima Kincaid loves her home, her horses and her job as a farrier. Life has not been kind to her, but Jemima is happy in the close-knit rural community of Horseshoe Hill, which rallied around in her hour of need. Even so, she is fiercely independent and will never rely on anyone again. Particularly a man like Finn Blackwood.


An infuriatingly attractive geneticist and wild animal vet, Finn threatens not only the serenity of Jemima's present, but that of the future she has so carefully mapped out. But as their paths continue to cross, she finds her attraction to Finn impossible to counter, even as the trauma of her past threatens to undo her. Finn is fascinated by Jemima's solitary nature and unique vulnerabilities but Jemima knows all about loss and how to avoid it. Don't let anyone get close in the first place ...




What I Thought: Enjoyable - a bit disjointed at times but I'll give the author another go.

Book: Who's Minding the Farm

Summary:  In an era of rapid climate change, this vital account of how agriculture can address major issues is an Australian story with global ramifications. Patrice is at the frontline of enormous challenges, from water scarcity and land stewardship to food security and the rural-urban divide. The devastation of drought and the crises created by industrial-scale chemically-dependent primary production are discussed and alternatives proposed – along with bold ideas for new sources of energy.


What I Thought: OK. A bit too preachy, a bit too rambling but also some great stuff in there.

Book: The Lost Man

Summary: Two brothers meet at the border of their vast cattle properties under the unrelenting sun of outback Queensland. They are at the stockman’s grave, a landmark so old, no one can remember who is buried there. But today, the scant shadow it casts was the last hope for their middle brother, Cameron. The Bright family’s quiet existence is thrown into grief and anguish. Something had been troubling Cameron. Did he lose hope and walk to his death? Because if he didn’t, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects…


What I Thought: Another great read which had me guessing (wrongly). Looking forward to her next book.

Book: Charlotte Pass

Summary: When ski patroller Vanessa Bell discovers human bones high on Mount Stillwell at Charlotte Pass ski resort, Detective Sergeant Pierce Ryder of the Sydney Homicide Squad is called in to lead the investigative team.
Arriving in the isolated, snowed-in village with Winterfest celebrations underway, Ryder soon determines that the bones are those of Celia Delaney, a young woman who disappeared from the ski resort in 1964 during the biggest winter storm in Australian alpine history.
When a second murder takes place, Ryder suspects that the deaths are related, and that the person responsible is still in the village. Amid the escalating tension, Ryder is desperate to make an arrest before the stakes rise even higher.




What I Thought: Brilliant - so loved this. New author! Looking forward to the next in the series at some point.

Book: Wilder Country

Summary: Finn, Kas and Willow have survived the winter of storms. Severe winds and cold have kept the Wilders at bay. Now that spring has come, everything has changed. They're being hunted again, and they won't be safe while Ramage wants their blood.  But Finn and Kas made a promise to Rose - to find her baby and bring her back. And finding Hope means finding Ramage.


What I Thought: Great read - bring on book 3.

Bookgroup: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Summary: Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.

But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen, the three rescue one another from the lives of isolation that they had been living.


What I Thought: Absolutely brilliant - listened to the audiobook version and it was just wonderful. Really enjoyed this book.

Book: The Road to Winter

Summary: Since a deadly virus and the violence that followed killed his parents and wiped out most of his community, Finn has lived alone on the rugged coast with only his loyal dog Rowdy for company.

He has stayed alive for two winters - hunting and fishing and trading food, and keeping out of sight of the Wilders, an armed and dangerous gang that controls the north, led by a ruthless man named Ramage. But Finn's isolation is shattered when a girl runs onto the beach. Rose is a Siley - an asylum seeker - and she has escaped from Ramage, who had enslaved her and her younger sister, Kas.

Rose is desperate, sick, and needs Finn's help. Kas is still missing somewhere out in the bush. And Ramage wants the girls back - at any cost.


What I Thought: Great read - along the same vein of John Marsden's Tomorrow series. Looking forward to book 2.

Book: The Cedar Tree

Summary: Grace Campbell agrees to do just that, buoyed by the belief that isolation and rural peace will repair her marriage and provide a good life for her growing family.

But, as the ramshackle old homestead, shaded by an ancient Cedar Tree, unravels it’s secrets, Grace is swept up in the harsh beauty of the outback and it’s colourful characters. As if adjusting to a new and isolated lifestyle isn’t enough, the handsome new owner of Tullagulla shows up and Grace is thrown into turmoil.

Torn between the gentle stranger and her hot-headed husband, Grace is forced to confront her feelings and question her loyalties, while her love for Tullagulla further challenges her ability to make a life changing decision.

When tragedy strikes, will a century old ghost help her or destroy her?


What I Thought: A new author! Loved this and looking forward to book 2.

Book: The Recruit (CHERUB)

Summary: A terrorist doesn't let strangers in her flat because they might be undercover police or intelligence agents, but her children bring their mates home and they run all over the place. The terrorist doesn't know that one of these kids has bugged every room in her house, made copies of all her computer files and stolen her address book. The kid works for CHERUB.

CHERUB agents are aged between ten and seventeen. They live in the real world, slipping under adult radar and getting information that sends criminals and terrorists to jail.

For official purposes, these children do not exist.

What I Thought: Oh a new teen spy series. Can't get enough of these. This was good. Think I need to read more to get into it though.