2020 Books in review....

In 2020 I had an excellent reading year with 97 books read. By far and away my best ever. I'm putting it down to COVID which means I was home more and did more jigsaws (84)! So a quick breakdown: Non-fiction - 7 (mainly about rural stuff) Teen - 32 (So many good teen spy series - hooked) Rural Fiction/Romance - 37 (way less than normal) Crime - 14 (so many great Aussies authors - loving them) General Fiction - 7 (a few randoms - bookclub/scratchable poster) I did manage a few Bookclub books - but not many... Incredibly I listened to 62 audiobooks - generally while driving or re-finding my love of jigsaw puzzles. So 2021 is here and I will aim again for 52 books - fingers crossed I get there - just so many other competing demands :)

Book: Conspiracy 365 - May

Summary: Callum wakes up in a bare room, with stabbing pains in his neck. He comes to the horrifying discovery that his identity has been stolen and that he has been locked up in a psychiatric institution. What's even worse - he has lost his backpack! All the clues he needs to solve the mystery surrounding his family have disappeared at a stroke. Where the hell is he? Contact with the outside world is impossible. And nobody believes who he really is ... What I Thought: Another great read – ripper Aussie series.

Book: Cross My Heart

Summary: Tessa De Santis's child-free marriage in inner-city Sydney is ordered and comfortable, and she likes it that way. When tragedy strikes and her childhood friend Skye Whittaker dies, Tess is bound to honour a promise to become foster-mother to Skye's ten-year-old daughter, Grace, throwing her life upside down. Leaving her husband and work-driven life behind, Tess travels to an isolated property where the realities of her friend's life - and death - hit hard. The idyllic landscape and an unexpected form of therapy ease her fears, and her relationship with Grace begins to blossom. But a secret from her earlier life with Skye refuses to remain hidden, and Tess is forced into a decision that will either right the wrongs of the past, or completely destroy her future. What I Thought: This was a good read. Definitely a little deeper than most stuff I’ve read lately.

Book: Theodore Boone - The Scandal

Summary: Theodore Boone, courtroom hero and the only kid lawyer in town, is facing a tough week at school with his exams. But things take a turn for the worse when a huge scandal is revealed - by none other than his best friend, April. And when April makes a decision that Theodore advises against, the scandal suddenly blows up and is all over the news. Their futures are on the line and April's running scared. Can Theodore find a way to reverse the damage and save several lives from ruin? What I Thought: I enjoy these books. Less Theo action here than normal though but I did enjoy still.

Book: Red Dust Dreaming

Summary: Elizabeth Langtree’s has her life in order – safe, organised, planned. Sure, she has her troubles, but they are nothing she can’t handle. Then everything is turned upside down when her family send her to Australia to collect her orphaned nephew. It all seemed so simple in New York, but Australia is nothing like she expected, and she soon falls under the spell of the Outback – the station, the lifestyle, and the seriously sexy owner who has been caring for Luke since the death of his mother. Elizabeth soon discovers that what seemed simple a world away is anything but, and her duty is at odds with the dictates of her heart. She must choose, knowing that a mistake will not only cost her everything, but destroy the future of a devastated little boy. What I Thought: I liked this – new author. Easy read.

Book: Jenna

Summary: Jenna Matthews is a city girl, no question. Despite a childhood spent in the Outback, she's committed to her fast-paced life and the competitive world of corporate law. When her best friend asks her to be bridesmaid, Jenna finds herself in Wirralong and wildly attracted to the best man. A fling? Why not? Dangerously sexy Sam Twist runs his vast family sheep property and is as keen as Jenna to keep their relationship at fling status. Then the authorities turn up on his door step and Jenna jumps in to help despite Sam’s protests. She soon learns that after years of drought, there are others in the district who need her skills. Her dilemma? Spending too much time around Sam is perilous. He could rob a girl of her heart. What I Thought: A nice quick rural read – thoroughly enjoyed.

Book: Fledgling (Jason Steed)

Summary: Jason Steed is looking for a place to call home. He finds what he's looking for in the Sea Cadets—an elite group of British youngsters being groomed for lifelong service in the military. But when a routine training exercise goes awry, Jason finds himself in the middle of a secret mission. The future of the world hangs in the balance...and Jason might be the only one who can save it. What I Thought: Absolutely loved this. Another teen spy series to add to my list!

Book: Where the Dead Go

Summary: A fifteen-year-old girl has gone missing after a party in the middle of the night. The following morning her boyfriend is found brutally murdered in his home. Was the girl responsible for the murder, or is she also a victim of the killer? But who would want two teenagers dead? The aftermath of a personal tragedy finds police detective Gemma Woodstock in the coastal town of Fairhaven with her son Ben in tow. She has begged to be part of a murder investigation so she can bury herself in work rather than taking the time to grieve and figure out how to handle the next stage of her life - she now has serious family responsibilities she can no longer avoid. But Gemma also has ghosts she must lay to rest. Gemma searches for answers, while navigating her son's grief and trying to overcome the hostility of her new colleagues. As the mystery deepens and old tensions and secrets come to light, Gemma is increasingly haunted by a similar missing persons case she worked on not long before. A case that ended in tragedy and made her question her instincts as a cop. Can she trust herself again? What I Thought: Enjoyed this – not quite as good as the first few in the series but still a great read.

Book: This Farming Life

Summary: Farmer Tim Saunders manages to incorporate some writing into his days, and here he describes his life through the seasons: Summer, shearing, slaughter, crop harvest, conservation; Autumn, floods, trading stock, drenching, dagging; Winter, maize harvest, lambing; and Spring, docking, pet sheep, weaning. It's a tough life and through his writing Tim tells of his connection to the land, why he loves farming, how he's also conflicted by it and what it is that keeps him tethered to that place. What I Thought: An interesting read. Quite enjoyable.

Bookgroup: Bad Behaviour - A Memoir of Bullying and Boarding School

Summary: Fourteen-year-old Rebecca Starford spent a year at this school in the bush. In her boarding house sixteen girls were left largely unsupervised, a combination of the worst behaved students and some of the most socially vulnerable. As everyone tried to fit in and cope with their feelings of isolation and homesickness, Rebecca found herself joining ranks with the powerful girls, becoming both a participant--and later a victim-- of various forms of bullying and aggression. Bad Behaviour tells the story of that year, a time of friendship and joy, but also of shame and fear. It explores how those crucial experiences affected Rebecca as an adult and shaped her future relationships, and asks courageous questions about the nature of female friendship. What I Thought: Really fascinating read as basically the author is the same age as me. Gosh women can be nasty.

Book: Men At work

Summary: In Men at Work, Annabel Crabb deploys political observation, workplace research and her characteristic humour and intelligence to argue that gender equity cannot be achieved until men are as free to leave the workplace (when their lives demand it) as women are to enter it. What I Thought: A riveting essay – so very true! I just love Annabel Crabb

Book: Catch Your Death

Summary: Books 3 in series… This time, tigers are roaming the streets of Twinford, and it looks like someone has deliberately released some very rare and very dangerous animals. Things are going to get wild – and Ruby is going to get badly lost in the wilderness. The question is: will she ever make it out alive? Well, as always, you wouldn't want to bet against her… What I Thought: This was ok. Not as good as the first couple.