Bird Life by Anna Smaill

In Ueno Park, Toyko, as workers and tourists gather for lunch, the pollen blows, a fountain erupts, pigeons scatter, and two women meet, changing the course of one another's lives.  As these two women deal with their individual traumas, they form an unlikely friendship in which each will help the other to see a different possible world. 

The Paris Cooking School by Sophie Beaumont

There's nothing quite so beautiful as Paris in the Spring; and when you add in the chance to learn the French way of food, in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, who can resist? Not Gabi Picabea or Kate Evans who have come from Australia to Sylvie Morel's Paris Cooking School. Both are at a crossroads, and learning to cook the French way in Paris, far away from all their troubles, seems like the perfect escape. 

Water by John Boyne

The first thing Vanessa Carvin does when she arrives on the island is change her name. To the locals, she is Willow Hale, a solitary outsider escaping Dublin to live a hermetic existence in a small cottage, not a notorious woman on the run from her past. But scandals follow like hunting dogs. 

The Talented Mrs Greenway by Tea Cooper

1814 Sydney. When Mary Greenway, freshly arrived from the old country, steps into the maelstrom of Sydney Town with three children at her skirts, she has high hopes of a new beginning, despite having little money and a husband in irons. After all, the sudden death of her sadistic first husband has meant freedom from her gilded cage and Francis Greenway is an architect of some promise, under the protection of Admiral Phillip himself. 

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

Maine, 1789. As the local midwife and healer, Martha Ballard is good at keeping secrets. Her diary is a record of every birth, death and debacle that unfolds in the town of Hallowell. In that diary she has also documented the details of an alleged rape committed by one of the town's most esteemed gentlemen – the same man who has now been found dead in the ice. 

Days of Innocence and Wonder by Lucy Treloar

All her life, Till has lived in the shadow of the abduction of a childhood friend and her tormented wondering about whether she could have stopped it. When Till, now twenty-three, senses danger approaching again, she flees her past and the hovering presence of her fearful parents. 

A Woman of Courage by Tania Blanchard

1890, Northern England. Hannah Todd dreams of a future where women have the right to vote. Fresh from her teaching studies in Durham, the university city, she joins her parents in a rural village, brimming with newly found passion and the groundswell towards women's suffrage unfolding in London. 

The Wonder of it All by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Book 3 in The House of Falconer series.

James Falconer--a tycoon and a self-made man--seems to have the world in the palm of his hand. But the Great War looms, and James decides to fight for king and country. 

Talk to the Heart by Rachael Johns

After the discovery of a shocking family secret, Adeline Walsh feels called to a life of poverty, chastity and obedience. Life at the Smallton convent is nothing like Adeline expected. The other sisters quickly become like family and Adeline feels like she's found her place in the world. Until she meets Holden Campbell, a man as tempting as the devil himself. 

Tackle! by Jilly Cooper

Rupert Campbell-Black, all-conquering racehorse owner-trainer and handsomest man in England, is in the darkest of places. His adored wife, Taggie, is about to undergo chemotherapy. His beloved leading stallion has been assassinated. Now his daughter Bianca is badgering him to buy into a failing local football club, Searston Rovers.

Our Place on the Island by Erika Montgomery

For decades, the Campbell women have reunited at the family's rambling seaside cottage known as Beech House to celebrate life's many occasions. But this year, they will be called back to Martha's Vineyard for a celebration of a different sort: their beloved matriarch Cora is getting remarried. And all the town gossips are calling him the one who got away, years ago

The Misper by Kate London

When Ryan Kennedy is imprisoned after killing a police officer, he knows what he has to do. Keep his mouth shut about who he was working for, keep his head down, and rely on his youth to keep his sentence short. When he gets out, he'll be looked after. 

Unnatural Death by Patricia Cornwell

Book 27 in the  Scarpetta series

Chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta finds herself in a Northern Virginia wilderness examining the remains of two campers wanted by federal law enforcement. The victims have been savaged beyond recognition, and other evidence is terrifying and baffling, including a larger-than-life footprint. After one of the most frightening body retrievals of her career, Scarpetta must discover who would commit murders this savage, and why.

Eye for an Eye by M. J. Arlidge

'Emily' is a devoted single mother. 'Jack' starts a new job in a new town. 'Russell' may be falling in love. They all share the same secret: none of them are who they say they are. They are among only nine criminals in the UK who have been granted lifelong anonymity, for their own safety, because of their terrible crimes. But what if someone exposed their true identities to the families of their victims, who are desperate for revenge? 

The Cat Who Solved Three Murders by L. T. Shearer

Book 2 in the Conrad the cat mystery series 

Retired police detective Lulu Lewis's life changed forever when she met a street cat named Conrad. There's something very special about Conrad, but it's a secret she has to keep to herself. When Lulu takes her narrowboat to Oxford, she is planning nothing more stressful than attending a friend's birthday party. But a brutal murder and a daring art theft means her plans are shattered - instead she and Conrad find themselves on the trail of a killer.

His Favourite Graves by Paul Cleave

A case of bullying sees Ben Connor stuffed into a locker at the end of the school day, and soon there is nobody left to help him. Nobody, that is, until the high school janitor hears him calling for help. Only Ben would have been better off staying in that locker, because the janitor has a secret - and it's one that might get Ben killed. 

The Edge by David Baldacci

Retired from the Army's most prestigious special ops force, Travis Devine is now part of an elite undercover team in Homeland Security. But when he's brought in by DC Emerson Campbell to investigate the murder of a young woman, he quickly learns that this case is more personal than most. 

Sharpe's Command by Bernard Cornwell

Book 23 in the Richard Sharpe series

If any man can do the impossible it's Richard Sharpe. And the impossible is exactly what the formidable Major Sharpe is asked to do when he's dispatched on an undercover mission behind enemy lines, deep in the Spanish countryside. For a remote village is about to become the centre of a battle for the future of Europe. 

Command and Control by Tom Clancy

Book 23  in the  Jack Ryan series

President Jack Ryan travels to Colombia to support the president who is facing a challenge from autocratic forces. What seems like an ordinary opportunity to preach the values of democracy quickly turns into a nightmare when a full-blown military coup erupts. 

Clive Cussler's The Corsican Shadow by Dirk Cussler

France, May 1940. As the German army blitzes Europe, a curator must take a mysterious cargo out of the country. When his intended ship sinks, his cargo's uncertain fate rests on a decrepit steamer, sailing under German fire. Decades later, a diving expedition leads Dirk Pitt to a shipwreck's cache of uncut diamonds. 

Furious Heaven by Kate Elliott

Book 2 of the Sun Chronicles series.

The Republic of Chaonia fleets, under the joint command of Princess Sun and her formidable mother, Queen-Marshal Eirene, have defeated and driven out an invading fleet of the Phene Empire, though not without heavy losses. But the Empire remains undeterred. 

The Crewe Murders by Kirsty Johnson

The unsolved mystery of who killed Jeanette and Harvey Crewe in their Pukekawa farmhouse in 1970 continues to fascinate. It remains one of the most controversial cases in New Zealand legal history. The murders spawned two trials, two appeals, several books, a royal commission, a film, and - eventually - official findings of police corruption that shocked New Zealanders. Combining gripping narrative, detailed research and new insights from key players, this book tells the complete story of the case for the first time.

Excommunicated by Craig Hoyle

After coming out as gay, Craig Hoyle was excommunicated from the New Zealand Exclusive Brethren and forced to say goodbye to his family forever. The conservative sect was everything he'd ever known - a childhood where television, pop music, sports and even pets were against the rules. Joining public society - the 'worldlies' - for the first time, Craig sets out to meet his grandfather who was excommunicated in the 1980s and, using his diaries and letters, uncovers two centuries and seven generations of the family's tangled and often cruel relationship with the Brethren. 

Days of Darkness by Hazel Riseborough

The narrative of the Parihaka community sheds light on a critical period in Aotearoa's colonial past. As the government seized their land, Maori communities across the region engaged in non-violent resistance, with Parihaka emerging as a powerful symbol of defiance under the leadership of Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi. Rather than a history of Parihaka itself, Hazel Riseborough's compelling account delves into the government's systematic efforts to dismantle Maori rights and self-determination. First published in 1989, Days of Darkness is published now in a new edition which includes opening words contributed by the Parihaka community.

A Brilliant Life by Rachelle Unreich

A Brilliant Life weaves together the past and the present to capture the powerful connection between a mother and child. Over seventy years had passed since Mira Unreich was freed from a concentration camp in Germany. When Mira's journalist daughter Rachelle realised time was running out for Mira, who was ill with cancer, she resolved to ask her mother questions. It would be the most important interview of her life: a chance to discover the secrets to her mother's joy, and an opportunity to fit together the jigsaw puzzle pieces of her own life. 

Normal Women by Philippa Gregory

Philippa Gregory tells us stories of the soldiers, guild widows, highwaywomen, pirates, miners and ship owners, international traders, theatre runners, social campaigners and 'female husbands' who did much to build the fabric of our society and in ways as diverse and varied as the women themselves. The 'normal women' you meet in these pages rode in jousts, flew Spitfires, issued their own currency and built ships, corn mills and houses as part of their daily lives. They went to war, tilled the fields, campaigned, wrote and loved. 

The Secret Life of John le Carré

Secrecy came naturally to John le Carré, and there were some secrets that he fought fiercely to keep. Adam Sisman's definitive biography, published in 2015, provided a revealing portrait of this fascinating man; yet some aspects of his subject remained hidden. While John le Carré could control what Sisman wrote about him in his lifetime, he accepted that the truth would eventually become known. Following his death in 2020, The Secret Life of John le Carré reveals a hitherto-hidden perspective on the life and work of the spy-turned-author and a fascinating meditation on the complex relationship between biographer and subject. 'Now that he is dead,' Sisman writes, 'we can know him better.'

The Shape of Dust by Lamisse Hamouda

In 2018, on his way to a family holiday in Cairo, Australian-Egyptian citizen Hazem Hamouda disappears without warning, going missing somewhere between landing and customs. His eldest daughter, Lamisse, has recently moved to Egypt armed with a scholarship to the American University of Cairo, and overnight her world is turned upside down. With little Arabic and even less legal knowledge, she finds out her father has been arbitrarily arrested. Going up against the notoriously corrupt Egyptian prison system, Lamisse discovers that the Australian embassy also provides shockingly little support to dual citizens arrested abroad.

Kindred by Maria Konecsny

Sisters Maria and Eva Konecsny, founders of the beloved Gewurzhaus spice stores, know that spices have the power to transform our everyday cooking. They also believe that cooking to feed our kin - whether it's chocolate semolina porridge, salted orange marmalade, spiked brown cherry cake or a tray of spiced Christmas cookies - can be a deeply nourishing and connective force in our lives. In Kindred, Maria and Eva take you into their homes to share the spices, seasonal rituals, traditions and recipes from their German heritage that bring their families around the table.

Bright Shining by Julia Baird

From award-winning journalist Julia Baird, author of the acclaimed bestseller Phosphorescence, comes Bright Shining, a luminously beautiful, deeply insightful and most timely exploration of grace. Grace is both mysterious and hard to define. It can be found when we create ways to find meaning and dignity in connection with each other, building on our shared humanity, being kinder, bigger, better with each other. So, what does grace look like in our world, and how do we recognise it, nurture it in ourselves and express it, even in the darkest of times? 

Stand Up Ferran Burke by Steven Camden

In his mind, Ferran Burke is many things But to everyone else he is just one, Emile Burke's little brother and Emile is all about himself. Now Ferran is stepping into the new world of high school alone and needs to learn quickly how to survive. New allies. New enemies. New feelings. New passions. A time capsule coming-of-age story spanning five years of one boy's life as he navigates the chaos trying to find himself. “Playing with form and visuals throughout, Stand Up Ferran Burke is a verse novel as unique as the boy at its heart.”

The Infinity Particle by Wendy Xu

Graphic Novel.
Where is the line between AI and human? Clementine Chang moves from Earth to Mars for a new start and is lucky enough to land her dream job with Dr. Marcella Lin, an Artificial Intelligence pioneer. On her first day of work, Clem meets Dr. Lin's assistant, a humanoid AI named Kye. When Clem and Kye begin to collaborate, their chemistry sets off sparks. Their relationship throws into question everything Clem thought she knew about AI. If Kye is sentient enough to have feelings, shouldn't he be able to control his own actions? 

Gone Wolf by Amber McBride

In the future, a Black girl known only as Inmate Eleven is kept confined - to be used as a biological match for the president's son, should he fall ill. She is called a Blue - the color of sadness. She lives in a small-small room with her dog, who is going wolf more often…Inmate Eleven wants to go wolf too, she wants to know why she feels so Blue and what is beyond her small-small room. In the present, Imogen lives outside of Washington DC. She has intense phobias and nightmares of confinement. Her two older brothers used to help her, but now she's on her own, until a college student helps her see the difference between being Blue and sad, and Black and empowered.