New Releases in April

2017 has already proven itself as a ferocious year for new releases, and if you thought April would give you a chance to read through some your TBR list: think again! This month, there is something for everyone, including crime thriller buffs, romance lovers, and literary bookworms. Plenty of new Australian authors coming out swinging with debut novels that have seized readers and critics alike, not to mention a whole range of cookbooks that offer fantastic, easy-to-follow, and delicious recipes. Check out the wonderful new titles in the Better Reading list below: 

See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt: When her father and stepmother are found brutally murdered on a summer morning in 1892, Lizzie Borden – thirty-two years old and still living at home – immediately becomes a suspect . . .

The Girl Who Was Taken by Charlie Donlea: Megan McDonald is a high school senior when she disappears from the small town of Emerson Bay. Miraculously, after two weeks held captive, she escapes from a bunker hidden deep in the woods. But there was a second girl who was taken. Her classmate Nicole Cutty.

Storyland by Catherine McKinnon: In the spirit of David Mitchell’s , Cloud Atlas, Storyland unfurls a narrative of five very different people – a cabin boy, a young girl on a rafting adventure, a self-reliant woman running a dairy farm, a woman whose memories hold the key to a climate catastrophe, a desperate ex-convict – each connected by the land and water they inhabit, as well as tendrils of blood.

The Hidden Hours by Sara Foster: Arabella Lane, senior executive at a children’s publisher, is found dead in the Thames on a frosty winter’s morning after the office Christmas party. No one is sure whether she jumped or was pushed. The one person who may know the truth is the newest employee at Parker & Lane – the office temp, Eleanor.

The Zero and the One by Ryan Ruby: A gripping and wildly original gothic twist on the classic tale of innocents abroad, the seductions of friendship, and the power of dangerous ideas, The Zero and the One is impossible to put down.

The Scent of You by Maggie Alderson: Polly’s life is great. Her children are away at uni, her glamorous mother – still modelling at eighty-five – is happily settled in a retirement village, and her perfume blog is taking off. Then her husband announces he needs some space and promptly vanishes.

It’s Always About the Food by Monday Morning Cooking Club: Two bestselling books later, and now a group of five women, the Monday Morning Cooking Club returns with a stunning third book which is the result of a two year search for recipes from the global Jewish diaspora – those much-loved dishes that have nurtured a community and have been feeding family and friends for years.

My Kind of Food by Valli Little: She is a superstar in the Australian cooking world. Valli Little has a reputation for easy-to-follow, imaginative, and delicious recipes. Whether you want to prepare a memorable meal for a special occasion, have some friends over for a leisurely weekend lunch, or quickly whip up something yummy for your hungry family at the end of a busy day, My Kind Of Food is the closest thing to having Valli cook for you at home.

The Other Mother by Kelly Chandler: In this brilliantly funny, deeply insightful and moving memoir, Kelly tells of how her whole world changed when she became a stepdaughter, how it changed again when she became a stepmum, and how blended families rock her world.

Masterchef Street Food by Genevieve Taylor: This exciting new book takes inspiration from the hugely successful pop up restaurants that continue to delight in their sheer theatre, as well as the street food vans and street food festivals that proliferate worldwide. From burritos, churros and pretzels to shrimp po’boy, Pad Thai or aromatic buns, it is estimated that 2.5 billion people per day eat street food across the world a staggering figure

Vicious Circle by C.J. Box: Two years ago, Joe Pickett’s daughter was beaten and dumped by the side of a country road. Joe’s determination to avenge her forced him into a catastrophic confrontation . . .

Congo Dawn by Katherine Scholes: Inspired by real events, Congo Dawn combines epic drama with an intimate journey into the heart of a fractured family, as two characters, in search of people they lost, at last find a way to come home. It is a landmark novel about good and evil, and the inexhaustible power of love.

One Italian Summer by Pip Williams: One Italian Summer is a warm, funny and often poignant story of a family’s search for a better way of living in the homes and on the farms of strangers. Pip sleeps in a woodshed, feasts under a Tuscan sun, works like a tractor in Calabria and, eventually, finds her dream – though it’s not at all the one she expected.

Troubadour by Isolde Martyn: Can an unlikely alliance between maidservant and a powerful lord save a city from destruction?

Letters of Love, presented by Allanah & Madeline Foundation: Letters of Love was created by the Foundation with the aim of sending messages of love and support back into the community. Featuring more than 50 celebrities and public figures writing about love in all its shapes and sizes – from romance to platonic love, familial love to a love of music, nature or social media – Letters of Love is a delightful and life-affirming testament to the power of the human spirit.

Domina by L.S Hilton: This book is the sequel to L.S Hilton’s erotic thriller Maestra. Someone knows what Judith has done. Judith can only save herself by finding a priceless picture – unfortunately one she’s convinced doesn’t exist… And she isn’t the only one seeking it.

No Place to Lay One’s Head by Fancoise Frenkel and translated by Stephanie Smee: Frenkel’s book, written with piercing clarity and sensibility in the immediate aftermath of her escape to Switzerland, was originally published in 1945 in Geneva. But only recently was a copy of this forgotten work discovered and a decision made at French publisher Gallimard to republish it, seventy years later.

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova: From Elizabeth Kostova, the New York Times bestselling author of The Historian, comes a tale off immense scope – suspenseful and beautifully written – that explores the power of stories, and the meaning that can sometimes be found in the aftermath of loss.

The Burial Hour by Jeffrey Deaver: The only proof that a man was snatched in broad daylight is the account of an eight-year-old girl, and the miniature noose left lying on the street. Then a recording surfaces of the victim being strangled. A crime scene this puzzling demands forensic expertise of the highest order. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are called in to investigate.

Down the Hume by Peter Polites: How did Bucky get here? A series of accidents. A tragic love for a violent man. An addiction to painkillers he can’t seem to kick. An unlikely friendship with an ageing patient. Drugs, memories and the objects of his desire are colluding against Bucky. And when it hits him. Bam. A ton of bricks. . . No streetlight can illuminate the shadowy corners of Western Sydney like obsession. A novel of addiction, secrets and misplaced love, this is an Australian debut not to be missed.