Category Archives: Mystery & Crime

Thrillers to Curl Up with!

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This July, I am going to be exploring some of the thriller titles I have been steadily adding to my TBR pile over the last few months.

I don’t tend to read thriller books all the time, rather I have spurts when I read a few, then don’t pick up another one for six months. Coincidently it always seems like it is around the middle of the year, maybe it is the colder weather!

By no means do I consider myself an expert in recommending thriller titles, so while I have listed some titles I am looking forward to reading. I also enlisted the help of some of our Library’s resident ‘thriller’ aficionados! who have kindly contributed some of their all-time-favourite titles.

I am sure there will be something for everyone to read, from first timers to hard-core fans!

Happy Reading!

Jody

On the Lighter Side – A Good Starting Point!

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July Picks, Parra Reads Online Book Club

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With eBooks & eAudiobooks there are so many reading options available to book lovers. Making it even easier to join in and ‘Read Together’ as part of our Parra Reads Online Book Club.

The titles we have chosen to read in July are, author Barry Maitland’s newest ‘Brock & Kolla’ mystery, ‘The Promised Land‘ and ARIA Award-winning singer and actress Clare Bowditch’s no-holds-barred memoir, ‘Your Own Kind of Girl‘.

Something a little different to last month’s, ‘Bruny‘ by Heather Rose and ‘The Beekeeper of Aleppo‘ by Christy Lefteri. Both amazing books that we all enjoyed reading and would highly recommend. In fact my colleague Anne can’t seem to stop raving about ‘Bruny’, she even convinced her book club to read along too!

I hope you enjoy reading this months picks!

Happy Reading!

Jody

‘The Promised Land‘ By Barry Maitland

Available in eBook from our rbDigital library. Download the FREE rbDigital Library App from the App Store or Google Play and start reading!

Published by Allen & Unwin (2019)

Newly promoted Detective Chief Inspector Kathy Kolla investigates a series of brutal murders on Hampstead Heath. Under intense pressure to find answers, she arrests the unlikely figure of Charles Pettigrew, a failing London publisher who lives alone on the edge of the Heath.

Pettigrew’s lawyer calls on recently retired David Brock for advice, and soon, unable to resist the pull of investigation, the old colleagues, Brock and Kolla, are at loggerheads.

At the heart of the gripping mystery of the Hampstead murders lies a manuscript of an unknown novel by one of the greatest literary figures of the twentieth century. Brock believes that its story will unlock the puzzle, but how?

‘Your Own Kind of Girl‘ by Clare Bowditch

Available in eBook from our rbDigital library. Download the FREE rbDigital Library App from the App Store or Google Play and start reading!

Published by Allen & Unwin (2019)

This is the story I promised myself, aged twenty-one, that I would one day be brave enough – and well enough – to write.
Clare Bowditch has always had a knack for telling stories. Through her music and performing, this beloved Australian artist has touched hundreds of thousands of lives. But what of the stories she used to tell herself? That ‘real life’ only begins once you’re thin or beautiful, that good things only happen to other people.

YOUR OWN KIND OF GIRL reveals a childhood punctuated by grief, anxiety and compulsion, and tells how these forces shaped Clare’s life for better and for worse. This is a heartbreaking, wise and at times playful memoir. Clare’s own story told raw and as it happened. A reminder that even on the darkest of nights, victory is closer than it seems.

With startling candour, Clare lays bare her truth in the hope that doing so will inspire anyone who’s ever done battle with their inner critic. This is the work of a woman who has found her true power – and wants to pass it on. Happiness, we discover, is only possible when we take charge of the stories we tell ourselves.

“Punny” Mysteries to Explore!

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One of the best things about working in a library is, obviously, the books. More so, some of the titles that accompany them. 

I absolutely needed to share some of these quirky, punny, and downright terrible mystery book titles I’ve discovered that guarantee a good giggle! 

If you haven’t read any of them yet, I recommend you do for a wonderful read.

Happy Reading!

Sharni

Ghouls Just Haunt to Have Fun by Victoria Laurie

The Treacherous Teddy by John J. Lamb

Night of the Living Dandelion: a Flower Shop Mystery by Kate Collins

A stitch in Crime by Betty Hechtman

Hula done it?: a Passport to Peril Mystery by Maddy Hunter

One book in the Grave by Kate Carlisle

The Wurst is Yet to Come by Mary Daheim

Fatally Frosted by Jessica Beck

Corpse on the Cob by Sue Ann Jaffarian

Ghost à la Mode by Sue Ann Jaffarian

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death by MC Beaton

A Sheetcake Named Desire by Jacklyn Brady

The More the Terrier by Linda O. Johnston

Some Like it Hawk by Donna Andrews

Thread and Gone by Lea Wait

The Persian Always Meows Twice by Eileen Watkins 

Lost and Fondue by Avery Aames

Murder with Cucumber Sandwiches by Karen Rose Smith

Tulle Death Do Us Part by Annette Blair

I’m Reading Again!

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Earlier this month I shared my frustrations will you all regarding how difficult I was finding it lately to actually concentrate and finish a book. (If you missed the post you can catch up HERE).

It turns out all I needed was to pick up the right book, a book I had been wanting to read for a while; ‘The Nowhere Child‘ by Christian White.

I listed ‘The Nowhere Child’ on my wish list because since it’s publication by Affirm Press in 2018 continues to be a book everyone recommends as a ‘must read’. That, plus the fact Christian White is an Australian Author made it an automatic choice for me. Not to mention it was chosen as one of our May, Parra Reads Book Club Titles.

My verdict after finishing ‘The Nowhere Child’ is “I loved it!” I literally couldn’t put it down, and I am not just saying that. I picked it up one Saturday morning and didn’t stop until I finished it at 9.30pm that night. It wasn’t one of those book that you just have to keep reading because the suspense of finding out ‘what happens’ is just so intense. It was, more ‘I am invested in these characters and need to know how their story ends.’

I enjoyed Christian White’s writing style so much, I also read his second book ‘The Wife and the Widow’. Funny isn’t it, I went to reading nothing to reading two books in quick session. Just proves you can get out of your reading slump if you find the write book and author.

My tale doesn’t end there! Now I’m reading again I have renewed sense of wanting to talk about books.

Some of the books I have read and thoroughly enjoyed over the last few weeks are:

The White Girl by Tony Birch – This made me cry! In a good way. I was totally invested in Odette and Sissy’s story. If I am honest I would have read another two hundred pages.

The Maker’s Curse by Trudi Canavan – ‘The Maker’s Curse’ in the last book in Trudi Canavan’s ‘Millennium’s Rule Series’. The last time I was in a reading slump, my good friend and colleague Amanda recommended I try Trudi Canavan’s ‘Thief’s Magic’. She guaranteed me the book wouldn’t fail to get me reading again, and it worked! I read my way through all three books in the series then sat back and eagerly awaited the release of the fourth and final book ‘The Maker’s Curse’. If you enjoy reading fantasy novels with amazing world building you should read ‘The Millennium’s Rule Series‘.

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi – I came across this title while browsing through the new eBook releases. An incredible story! With rich and colorful descriptions of the sights and sounds of India.

Until next time, I hope you enjoyed the post and find another couple of books to add to your TBR pile!

Happy Reading

Jody

Introducing Click & Read

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City of Parramatta Libraries are proud to introduce a new series of promotional material to help our community connect with books 24/7, especially while we are closed. We have been very busy behind the scenes producing online content and purchasing additional Online Library items. Our ever popular eBooks, eAudio & eMagazines have been getting a real workout.

‘Click & Read’ postcards are an alternative to our in-library bookmarks and are designed to make it a little easier to find authors in your favourite genre. Each postcard lists a number of great authors who write eBooks/eAudio in popular genres or subjects. Simply click on the author name to display a listing of available titles via our library catalogue, choose a title you wish to read and borrow it via our Wheelers ePlatform or Bolinda BorrowBox apps.
Why not download the first set of ‘Click & Read’ postcards by clicking on a genre now?

  • Click and Read Thrillers
  • Click and Read Crime
  • Click and Read Legal Thrillers
  • Click and Read Romance
  • Click and Read Rural Romance
  • Click and Read Historical Romance