About the Book: Florence, the 1560s. Lucrezia, third daughter of Cosimo de' Medici, is free to wander the palazzo at will, wondering at its treasures and observing its clandestine workings. But when her older sister dies on the eve of marriage to Alfonso d'Este, ruler of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, Lucrezia is thrust unwittingly into … Continue reading Book Review: The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
Suspense
Book Review: The Night Ship by Jess Kidd
About the Book: ONE SHIPWRECK. TWO MISFITS. THREE CENTURIES APART. 1629. Embarking on a journey in search of her father, a young girl called Mayken boards the Batavia, the most impressive sea vessel of the age. During the long voyage, this curious and resourceful child must find her place in the ship’s stratified world. She … Continue reading Book Review: The Night Ship by Jess Kidd
Book Review: The Dictator’s Wife by Freya Berry
About the Book: A dictator's wife, overthrown and awaiting trial, pleads her case to a young female lawyer, while also drawing her into a tangled web of lies and dark, dangerous secrets. This dazzling and devastating debut is a Lead Launch for Headline Review for Spring 2021. WOMAN I learned early in life how to … Continue reading Book Review: The Dictator’s Wife by Freya Berry
Book Review: Loveland by Robert Lukins
About the Book: Two women stand in the shallows, a man dead at their feet, while around them buildings burn. Amid the ruins of a fire-ravaged amusement park and destroyed waterfront dwellings, one boarded-up building still stands. May has come from Australia to Loveland, Nebraska, to claim the house on the poisoned lake as part … Continue reading Book Review: Loveland by Robert Lukins
Book Review: Canticle Creek by Adrian Hyland
About the Book: Two bodies. One long hot summer. A town that will never be the same. When Adam Lawson’s wrecked car is found a kilometre from Daisy Baker’s body, the whole town assumes it’s an open and shut case. But Jesse Redpath isn’t from Canticle Creek. Where she comes from, the truth often hides … Continue reading Book Review: Canticle Creek by Adrian Hyland
Book Review: The Fields by Erin Young
About the Book: IT STARTS WITH A BODY-a young woman found dead in an Iowa cornfield, on one of the few family farms still managing to compete with the giants of Big Agriculture. For Sergeant Riley Fisher, newly promoted to head of investigations at the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office, an already horrific crime takes … Continue reading Book Review: The Fields by Erin Young
Book Review: The Hush by Sara Foster
About the Book: Lainey's friend Ellis is missing. And she's not the only one. In the six months since the first case of a terrifying new epidemic - when a healthy baby wouldn't take a breath at birth - the country has been thrown into turmoil. The government has passed sweeping new laws to monitor … Continue reading Book Review: The Hush by Sara Foster
Book Review: Wild Abandon by Emily Bitto
About the Book: In the fall of 2011, a heartbroken young man flees Australia for the USA. Landing in the excessive, uncanny-familiar glamour and plenitude of New York City, Will makes a vow to say yes to everything that comes his way. By fate or random chance, Will's journey takes him deep into the American … Continue reading Book Review: Wild Abandon by Emily Bitto
Book Review: The Housemate by Sarah Bailey
About the Book: Three housemates. One dead, one missing and one accused of murder. Dubbed the Housemate Homicide, it's a mystery that has baffled Australians for almost a decade. Melbourne-based journalist Olive Groves worked on the story as a junior reporter and became obsessed by the case. Now, nine years later, the missing housemate turns … Continue reading Book Review: The Housemate by Sarah Bailey
Book Review: People Like Them by Samira Sedira (trans. Lara Vergnaud)
About the Book: Winner of the Prix Eugène Dabit There are no monsters. Only humans. Anna and Constant Guillot and their two daughters live in the peaceful, remote mountain village of Carmac. Everyone in Carmac knows each other, leading simple lives mostly unaffected by the outside world – that is until Bakary and Sylvia Langlois … Continue reading Book Review: People Like Them by Samira Sedira (trans. Lara Vergnaud)
Theresa Smith Writes 