Checking in with Wine, Books & More

09 July 2026

The group at Wine, Books and More had an awesome reading month, many books garnering four or five stars, across a variety of genres. Not surprisingly Turn Up the Heat, the libraries' winter reading challenge, was right up their alley.

Described as a really cute, four-star read, The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate is a story about making connections in the community. Tandi Jo is the struggling young mother tasked with the job of clearing out the house of her recently deceased elderly landlady. Little does she expect to find the old lady’s life story revealed in the prayers written on scraps of paper and stored in carefully decorated boxes.

The Will of the Many by James Islington is a very fast paced novel after a slow start. This fantasy novel has a similar vibe as Fourth Wing (Rebecca Yarros), with its competition set at an elite academy. This story about politics, murder, mystery and magic had a weird epilogue – perhaps everything will be explained in book two of the series. Nevertheless, our reader enjoyed the book, awarding it four and a half stars.

A Dim Prognosis by Dr Ivor Popovich documents the author’s view of the crisis of New Zealand’s health system with suggestions of how to make it better. The book describes a bullying culture, under-staffing and mismanaged priorities, but has some constructive solutions. Dr Popovich is based in Christchurch. While it’s a very scary diagnosis it’s well-written and a four-star read.

Will Dean writes a gripping thriller in the world of deep sea exploration with The Chamber. From a boat in the North Sea, six divers are lowered each day inside a diving bell to the sea bed, taking tunrs to repair oil pipes. When one is found dead in his bunk, it will take four days of decompression before the hatch can be opened. And anything can happen in four days. A solid four-star read.

Another locked-room mystery, Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates follows Christa who is with a small party of hikers in the Rocky Mountains when a snowstorm descends. She and her group shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin. Then their tour guide is brutally murdered. More murders happen leaving the survivors to discover the killer. This atmospheric thriller felt like it could make a good movie.  

Psychological thriller, The Nurse by  J A Corrigan scored a glowing five stars and which our reader whipped through in two days. The story is about true-crime author Theo, who visits Rose Marlowe in prison. Could this loving wife and hard-working nurse have really become a murderer? The story dips back to the 1990s to build connections that describe Rose’s heart-breaking past until a terrific but sickening twist.

Also very much enjoyed was Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See. This historical novel based on real events follows Tan Yunxian who learns Chinese medicine from her grandmother with a particular focus on women’s health. But when she marries, she is forbidden to carry on her craft, focussing on being a good wife, and staying within the walls of the family compound. A fascinating dip into the Ming Dynasty er of Chinese history.

Continuing with historical fiction was The House of Shadows by Nicola Cornick which is written across three separate timelines – 1662, 1801 and today and explores how a mirror effects three women. It took an interesting route and intertwined the endings of the three women really well.  This was a light but satisfying five star read that would suit fans of books by Barbara Erskine and Kate Morton.

The Secret Society of Librarians by Kate Thompson is set during London’s Blitz during WWII. The story focuses on two librarians became friends before the war and follows their lives as the war develops. As more buildings are bombed, the women take their library underground. Events take a dark turn in this story of friendship, courage and the power of books, Inspired by true events, our reader couldn’t recommend the book enough.

Another book-themed story, The Bookshop of Buried Pasts by Sarah Clutton is set in the Southern Highlands outside Sidney. Phyllida runs an antiquarian bookshop that is the hub of her small community. When she dies, she leaves her granddaughter Lottie a letter telling her to “find Francis”. The quest will take Lottie back fifty years, and on to another bookshop in England that is oddly similar to her own. A lovely heart-warming story about secrets, books and family.

Still in Australia, we’re in Sydney in 2001 for Margaret Are You Leaving by Dianne Yarwood. The death of her adopted mother sparks Maggie to trace her birth mother. This book is beautiful exploration of grief and identity, the mother and daughter relationship and the messiness of family life.

Among the TUTH reads, several books suited the Book with a One-Word Title challenge. One recommendation was Gunnawah by Ronni Salt in which a routine assignment covering an irrigation project turns into a much bigger story for cadet reporter Adelaide Hoffman. This is classic Aussie Noir, set in the seventies and describes the lies woven around shady deals and vested interests. Our reader is hoping for more from this author.

There’s been a lot of hype around Caro Claire Burke’s novel Yesteryear, in which an influencer specialising in old-time rural skills wakes up in the 1800s and has to do it all for real. Our reader had high hopes because of the interesting concept but didn’t love the story or the characters. An OK read but not deserving of more than three stars was the conclusion.

Ironwood is the second book in the Catalina series by popular mystery author Michael Connelly. The series is named for the island off the Los Angeles coast where DS Stilwell is posted but things aren’t as idyllic as they might be. An investigation into the delivery of drugs goes wrong and an internal inquiry follows. Stuck at the sheriff’s substation, Stilwell looks into the disappearance of a hiker four years ago. A good story, Ironwood includes crossover with some characters from other Connelly books.

Book awards nominee Flashlight by Susan Choi is a complex read following a family’s history and the story of their father from the Korean war to now. This book isn’t for the faint-hearted as the story is quite intense and the characters not particularly likeable. Our reader found it took two months to finish. The writer is very skilled writer, however, an accomplished wordsmith so you can see why the book received such accolades.

Suited to the challenge, “the first book in a series”, The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman was not one reader’s normal genre but was still a good read. They felt that the movie and the book were really similar. As you might know, the book follows a group of retirement village residents who enjoy examining the cold case files of one of their friends. When a real murder takes place, they are ready to swing into action.

One of the great things about reading challenges like Turn Up the Heat, is the opportunity to try new genres and discover new authors. Lovely to see this book group giving it a go. Well done, team!

Posted by Mya

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