A difficult book to read as it was very sad in places. About lost opportunities and the pressures on people to mould to what they think is society's norms.

It's interesting that the white American woman we met is Mrs Richardson and that's who she stays. She thinks she's done everything right to conform to the ideal American dream but her family is fractured, her children damaged or selfish.

Who doesn’t love an Australian author? If you are a fan of family trials and tribulations this is a great story. It is also, as it says on the cover, a must read for every woman who’s had their life take an unexpected turn. “It was seven o’clock in the morning and I was cutting oranges for Payton’s soccer game when Adrian casually asked if I’d heard of nest parenting.”

The book covers the period from the end of World War 2 to 1970s. The author wrote it in 2021 at a time when she saw overriding uncertainty & division in societies world-wide. Her aim with this book is to tell a story full of joy (despite any hardships) and which is a testament to the power of friendships and close community.

Set in Nigeria 2014

Our main character 14-year-old Adunni’s fortunes change when her mother dies. This change is not for the better and not what her mother wanted.She is taken from school and “sold” to be the 3rd wife of an old man in exchange for rent.

After tragedy occurs Adunni runs away as she tries to get away from events that transpire to overtake her and is secretly sold as a house servant.

A story of mix-ups, mess-ups and making the most of second chances.

Nisha, 45, lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband inexplicably cuts her off entirely. She doesn’t even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in.

That’s because Sam has accidentally taken Nisha’s gym bag. She is struggling to keep her family afloat. Walking in the six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes gives Sam’s career an unexpected boost.

Three women - Anne, Eliza and Penny. It starts as a simple book club meeting. By the end of the night a husband is dead. But we retrace our steps to 9 months before.

Anne is married to Mark and the mother to his four children. Life is difficult looking after the family and not necessarily looking after herself. She also has suspicions about her husband.

Charlie is a professional tennis player in her mid 20s. She hasn't reached the heights she may have in the game just yet and hasn't made it higher than the 20s in the rankings.

An injury at Wimbledon (caused partly by the lack of attention of her coach to her footwear) has her reassessing where to next.

Charlotte and Nicole were once the best of friends, spending summers together in Nicole's island house off of Maine. But many years, and many secrets, have kept the women apart.

A successful travel writer, single Charlotte lives on the road, while Nicole, a food blogger, keeps house in Philadelphia with her surgeon-husband, Julian.

This is the much talked about novel by coauthors Dolly Parton and James Patterson.

I really liked this book in terms of the way it was written and the storyline, but to my mind it doesn't have as much suspense as perhaps it's claimed to.

I originally picked this up for another member of our household, but ended up reading it myself.

Both the cover and title, screamed 'Da Vinci Code' so having loved the movie, I decided to give it a go.

It's enticing from the get go. Professor Thomas Lourdes has been invited to Istanbul by fellow Professor (and flame) Olympia, but he ends up getting kidnapped at the airport. Though the kidnapper seems to be the least of his worries, as he is also being targeted by the US Government (but we're not sure why just yet).

First published in 1915, this was a big success in its day but I would have to concede that Buchan is now out of fashion, for a number of reasons that are easy to understand – but there may be a revival – who knows?

A modern reader would be struck by the ‘cast’ of this performance ...

The Sun Down Motel is told from two different perspectives, and moves back and forth between two time periods. The first is told by Viv Delaney, an aspiring actress who disappeared from the Sun Down Motel in Fell, New York in 1982. The second is Carly Kirk, a student and true crime fanatic, who heads to Fell in 2017 to investigate the mysterious and unsolved disappearance of her Aunt Viv.

First Impressions is a modern retelling of Pride And Prejudice, set in America in the suburb of 'London' Texas.

A group decide to do a stage play 'Pride and Prejudice' - not only are there links through the play but also through the main characters and their storylines.

When rural banker Richard Harper from the Manawatu goes missing it is up to local police to figure out what happened.

Taking place in New Zealand, this is a detective fiction following our main character Detective Senior Sergeant John Baldrick 'Archie' and Detective Constable Ben Travers as they try to figure out whether Richard is actually a missing person, on the run, or has something much worse happened to him?

It’s hard to look past this cover. It’s stunning. But can you judge a book by its cover?

Sarah (in her mid 30s) has returned from 10 days in the sun in Greece. While Sydney is her home, she’s stopped in to see her sister in London before she departs. Hard to believe after booking the trip in response to a horror break up, she had returned with not one, but two handsome men wanting her attention.

This is the twenty-first book in the delightful series of No.1 Ladies Detective Agency.

It is set in Botswana, but the characters will feel familiar to us all. McCall Smith has a gift for putting his finger on the quirks of human nature and it is laugh-out-loud funny in places.

An as yet unidentified woman is flying down the stairs towards the platform at the station. She is dishevelled and has her sights set on a man. He’s paying no attention and when she shoves him in the back with all of her strength, he falls in front of the train.

Go back a month and the story begins.

Set in Melbourne, psychologist Margot Scott has what appears to be the perfect, the house, the husband and a successful career. She’s living the Aussie dream.

A light read set in a village in the Cotswolds in spring.

This story is about Gilly and her daughter who are close and have busy lives. Gilly runs a B & B, Helena is a weaver. Life is about to become interesting for both of them! This is more than a romance.

Rachel Mast has returned to Stone Mill to manage a local Bed & Breakfast. She used to be Amish but decided not to get baptized and joined the so-called 'Englishers'. She is now in her early 30s and her mother hasn't spoken to her since she was a teenager. Her best friend is her cousin Mary Aaron who is Amish.

On a trip to the local swimming hole at the quarry with a few friends they discover the body of an Amish girl floating face down in the water. She is dead and the police are called. The local police officer Evan has a liking for Rachel but we're not sure whether it is returned or not.

With a gift voucher burning a hole in my pocket and two half-read tomes on my bedside table, I was on the hunt for something light and fantastical - this was it! A dream-like story that takes it's time, though at times, too much.

By Cambridge’s own Nikki Crutchley

It all starts with a carefully planned murder. It’s almost Christmas and the killer wants the country folk to feel unsafe in their houses. His plan is to be bigger than Santa this year!

Miller is a journalist. When she first receives an anonymous cryptic note hand delivered to her house she ignores it as it doesn’t make a lot of sense.

But then the body of the woman turns up and she realises she needs to pay attention.

Mickey Haller the Lincoln Lawyer is back.

But from the get go, Mickey is in trouble. Pulled over by a single traffic officer for no apparent reason, the overly officious officer asks Mickey to open the trunk after blood is seen dripping on to the road.

Mickey knows it's going to be bad and that for some reason he has been set up.

Berlin 1943

Susie’s adopted family and the man that she loves, Leo, are at risk. They are torn apart but Susie is determined that one day she and Leo will be together again.

To help them she enlists the help of Julius, a Nazi officer (somewhat of a friend of the family), but it could mean there will no longer be a future with Leo and it will require a level of deception as to their relationship.

Natasha leads a simple life back in Brokenridge with her daughter.

Years earlier she was living in the bright lights of Melbourne having left Brokenridge to study nursing. But she returned after she’d made the decision to break up with musician Kody the father of her then unborn child. Except that she told him she wasn’t keeping it. She drove him away so he would fulfil his dreams.

This is DI Thorne's first case and prequel to Sleephead.

Two friends are in the playground with their children who are the best of friends. They go off to play hide and seek, with Maria set to watch them. Maria takes a moment to catch her breath and a cigarette and takes her eye off them.

She hears a scream, Cat (Kieron's mum) comes running and Maria's son Josh reappears but not Cat's son. He is nowhere to be found.

DI Tom Thorne teams up with Russel Brigstock in this, one of his first, cases. We are also introduced to the likeable larrakin pathologist Phil Hendricks.

Stone Barrington is a former NYPD police detective who was forced out of police work. He is also an attorney by profession. He has a house in New York and a house in England. He is living a life of luxury.

Stone by chance finds himself in MI-6 training in Scotland with the promise of being able to return by driving an Aston Martin back to England. But after a week things don’t go to plan and Stone is in a high speed accident.

Naomi Pine is missing. It's the second time in as many weeks. She is an unpopular high school student and the subject of needless bullying by the 'cool kids'.

Matthew is Hester Crimstein's nephew and when she first disappears he goes to Wilde, the so-called 'boy from the woods', but he is no longer a boy, but the sometimes partner of Matthew's mother.

Hester, the infamous Attorney from a number of Coben's previous books has a large role to play in this novel, even going so far as to delve into her private life.

Eleanor leads a simple life. Wears the same clothes to work, eats the same meal deal for lunch, buys two bottles of vodka for the weekend. She's happy. But what's missing?

Gradually little pieces of her past are revealed.

Set in the Victorian era, Shakespeare's time, and the 90's.

This book focuses on Bookseller Peter and his wife Amanda. Peter struggles with even the easiest of human interactions. Amanda draws him out and into the world. But when his wife dies, his life is shattered.

This book is about two couples and a child going away for Christmas together. 

The parents of the child take their new partners away with them and its a bit stressful even though they try not to let it show. 

You don't own me is an easy going mystery.

It is the final book in the a series of six books, 'Under Suspicion'.

I loved the characters in the book and you really get to know them over the six books.

The numbers game is about three generations of women. But interestingly enough, it’s not quite the impression you get once you starting reading if you haven't read the synopsis.

Without having read this before choosing 'Borrow', I was intrigued as to where this novel would lead and how all the characters would tie in together in the end.

It’s 1917, Devon.

After Betty’s husband Martin comes back from the war broken and haunted she finds herself living with Martin’s mother and grandfather.

After wanting an ordinary life in the small village all she now wants is escape. As the storm starts to devastate the village it gives Betty her route of escape. She leaves for Bristol and changes her name seeking a new life.

She is Seth’s legal wife, but he has two others – in the beginning referred to as Monday and Tuesday. Her day is Thursday. He is gone for the other 5 days of the week.

From the get go you want to know more. Why he has so many wives and how they all carry on knowing there are others.

She starts to wonder too.

Sunnie lives on Goat Island. She used to be a cop but there was an incident and a man died. That was 6 years ago.

Beau, also on the force, thinks she’s hiding herself away, but he has a case for her. The case of a missing girl, whose parents had been slaughtered and whose grandmother is happy to pay for her to be found.

An historical novel set in 1399, based on real characters of the time. Lady Despenser is part of the House of York.

It’s a dysfunctional family and she’s surrounded by power hungry men including her husband and brothers.

Set in Lake Kissel, Virginia, Terri is the daughter of the owner of a resort.

While the unspoken rule is that employees aren’t allowed to date visitors to the lake, the man exiting the water in front of her peaks her interest. Even more so when she sees him entering her house.

By acclaimed Te Awamutu Author, Heather Morris.

This is Heather's follow up novel to the The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Cilka is just 16 when she was taken to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1942.

With long beautiful hair Cilka stood out from the other women and was noticed by the commandant who separated her from the other women prisoners.

Starts in Western Australia in 1960, which is full of wonderful detailed descriptions of outback Australia.

It then skips to London in 2005.

Andy Larkham is our main character.

He is late for a funeral - his favourite teacher, Mr Furnivall. His death had shocked Andy and he is even more surprised to turn up to find almost nobody there until he realises he is in the wrong chapel. But he is asked to sign the attendance book which he duly does.

From one of Australia’s favourite authors and one of our libraries’ most popular authors too!

Her latest novel starts with Grace. To begin with she had the perfect life – job, family.

But then one night it all falls apart and they lose seemingly everything in a fire. Grace realises how little control she has had over anything to do with their life including their finances, possessions and property. In the midst of it all Lawrence has her inheritance property listed with asking her.

From famed author of Gorky Park, this novel is also set in Russia.

Arkady Renko works for the prosecutor's office under Zurin, his boss who dislikes him and asks him to travel to Siberia to bring charges against Aba who his boss claims tried to kill him.

Meantime he is also on the lookout for his part-time girlfriend Tatiana who hasn't returned from her latest journalistic assignment, though this is a common occurrence.

This is a debut novel by Delia Owens however as a retired wildlife biologist her background enables her to write with exquisite detail of the birdlife, sea life and marshes which are the fabric of this novel set in the Northern Carolina swampland.

The main character is Kya Clark called by the locals ‘Marsh Girl’ and she lives a solitary life but a rich life with the wildlife around her providing the essentials for food and nourishment.

This is a story about a Father’s quest to rescue his daughter from a downward spiral into drugs and other outside influences.

His daughter Paige had left home 6 months prior after being asked to leave. Simon had been on the hunt for her since without his wife’s knowledge.

There was Paige before she had met Aaron and Paige now.

Also published as 'The love letter'.

Lucinda Riley started this novel in 1998 at a time when the monarchy was at an all time low following the death of Diana and then when it was due for release promotions and orders of what was then titled Seeing Double were cancelled.

Riley and her publisher decided on republishing following her recent success and changed the name. She stresses in her opening that it is a work of fiction.

Growing up Zoe is affected by the early death of her younger sister Rose which also tears her family apart.

Zoe moves on, does well at school, marries and then has a child of her own. But how will her childhood affect how she raises her child and what troubles will she face?

It's a year after her husband Leo's death and Daisy decides to invite her three adult children to Venice (Leo's home town) for a holiday.

All the children are trying to put on a brave face but they are all hiding the true state of affairs.

Life long friends, Maggie, Fran and Rose are turning 60 and want to retrace the steps they took forty years before while backpacking through Europe.

Set in Cornwall. The village is saying goodbye to its parish vicar and his wife.
Newcomer, Reverend Angela Whitehorn wants to make a difference and with her husband wants to shake things up a bit.

Set in Cornwall. Flora is our main character. She is a single mother, divorced for 17 years but is still madly in love with her ex-husband, even though he has been happily married to his second wife for 15 years.

This is about the lives of three women from different continents and how their lives end up influencing each others in the most remarkable and unexpected of ways.

This is a debut novel from American author Juliet Grames. Stella’s name means lucky star, but her life story is anything but!

It’s the early 80s in Australia. This is the story of discovery for four women who soon become friends.

Sometimes a second chance is your only hope. This is the second novel in the End of Forever saga – the first being The Tiger Catcher.
This is the story of Julian and Josephine.