Some Sintilating Reads from Book Chat

03 June 2026

While the group enjoyed a good haul of mysteries and thrillers, historical fiction also got a look in, with a fair smattering of literary and contemporary reads and even an unexpected dystopian novel from a much-loved author.

We got going with The Secret of Snow by Tina Harnesk which brings to life the world of the Sami people of Scandinavia. It follows the story of an elderly couple and the problems of managing life as they age in a small village. Also here we learn of a young man’s life, newly arrived in the village as well as newly engaged, while mourning his late mother. Woven in are elements of Sami culture. This was an excellent read translated from the original Swedish.

The Black Monk by Charlotte Grimshaw took a bit of getting into, delving into one woman’s depression. A story about family secrets and alcoholism, this is also a psychological thriller with echoes of Grimshaw’s memoir, The Mirror Book. Main character Alice is a children’s author writing her first adult novel, becoming aware of a mysterious dark figure haunting her. This is a very dark book which failed to grip our reader.

Slip by Abby Lay is the story of Grace, a linguist who rents a room in a house in Sicily to immerse herself in the language while waiting for her barrister boyfriend to join her. In the meantime she gets to know Nico who owns the apartment and who shows Grace the authentic local experience she craves. Our reader particularly enjoyed the delicious settings in what proved to be a lovely story.

Walk the Blue Fields by Claire Keagan is a short-story collection by the author who gave us Small Things Like These, which was recently made into a movie. A master of shorter fiction, these stories are snatches of Irish life that pack a lot into the glimpses they reveal. Not happy stories, but beautifully written and thoughtful.

Tim Winton branches out into dystopian fiction with his new novel, Juice. A chunkster of a book, the story is set in a near future which makes it all the more disturbing. A man and a child are fugitives who stumble upon an abandoned mine site, laden with trash. The traumatised pair decide it could be the refuge they are looking for, but they are not alone. An excellent if scary read was the verdict.

The first historical novel we heard about was Sewing Moonlight by Kiwi author Kyle Mewburn. Starting off in the early part of the 20^th century, we're in Millers Flat in the South Island, where a young German washes up on the Clutha River. Deciding to stay, he works a small holding, using the Steiner principles of horticulture, and gets to know his neighbours. When war comes these loyalties are tested. Our reader really enjoyed the writing, the characters and the descriptions of subsistence agriculture.

In a similar era is The Raffle Baby by Ruth Talbot, which takes us to American Depression of the 1930s. Told through the recollections of an old man, we follow three teenagers who band together, moving from town to town for work and looking out for each other. It’s a struggle to survive that will challenge them to stay on the right side of the law in this evocatively written story of love and resilience.

The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh is the well-known 2000 novel set in Burma – a family saga that spans a century, following the expulsion of the Burmese royal family by the British in 1885. Rajkuma is a poor boy who has befriended a young woman in the royal court. Later, as a rich man, he travels to find her again. A beautifully written story that’s also a bit grim and a sad reminder of the effects of colonisation.

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry is another classic, first published in 1996 and one of those books many of us decided we had planned to read years ago. Set in India, 1975, it follows a collection of different characters attempting to make a life amid the poverty. As the characters depend on and eventually trust each other a state of emergency is declared by the government. This is a grim read but a beautiful one, and well worth making time for.

 

A big fan of Robert Harris, An Officer and a Spy was another stunning read for one member of the group, bringing to life a part of history they knew little about. It describes the events around the Dreyfus Affair, in which a French army captain is wrongly convicted of espionage. Capt. Dreyfus is humiliated also for being Jewish and sent off to a penal colony on Devil’s Island and sentenced to a lifetime of solitary confinement. What follows is the stuff of history.

More a thriller than a historical read is The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth which takes us to undercover ops in Iran when British and American intelligence discover a major Al Qaeda plan in the works. The requirement for intelligence spurs them to plant a spy, a prisoner of Guantanamo Bay and former Taliban commander, but also a war veteran who can pass himself off as a westerner as easily as an Arab. The scene is set for nail-biting drama.

An Enemy in the Village by Martin Walker was our first crime novel, taking us to the south of France. Bruno, the St Denis Chief of Police, is investigating the suicide of an estate agent but he suspects things are not quite what they seem. While there is an interesting mystery at the heart of this book, readers are also treated to lots of lovely rural French colour, food and quirky characters.

Heaven Sent by Alan Carter is number four in the series featuring DS Cato Kwong in Fremantle where the city is struggling to manage the problem of homelessness. Things escalate when a series of brutal murders takes place targeting rough sleepers. This is a perplexing case for Cato which threatens to become personal. A good if gritty read.

All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker was particularly note-worthy, a mystery that follows teenager Patch Macauley, abducted and held in a pitch-black room, and left alone. Then suddenly there’s Grace another abductee, the two forming a bond. When Patch escapes he vows to find Grace, while his best friend Saint Brown misses the old Patch she used to know. This was a brilliant read deserving the full five stars from our reader.

Another reader thoroughly recommends anything by Greg Hurwitz so was delighted to pick up number 11 in his Orphan X series: Antihero. Something of a Jack Reacher character, Evan Smoak (Orphan X) is a former black-ops assassin for the government, here helping to find a young woman abducted from the New York subway. Another enjoyable outing in this must-read series.

Taking us to New York, Kill for Me, Kill for You by Steve Cavanagh is one of those "Strangers on a Train" type stories. In this case Amanda and Wendy meet over drinks and find they share the same problems - loneliness and a desire for revenge. A third of the way in, things go pear-shaped in what becomes a twisty and very entertaining thriller.

A fascinating read said one reader of Leave the Girls Behind by Jacqueline Bublitz. The story follows Ruth-Ann whose childhood best friend was murdered, her killer convicted. Ruth-Ann has always believed the killer murdered others, and sets out to prove it in this taut suspense novel which also describes the grief of those left behind after violent death.

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