Australia-based Lola is One for the Books

‘Lola in the Mirror’

Brisbane is the setting in Trent Dalton’s Lola in the Mirror. Our hero is a 17-year-old “houseless” girl living in a broken car with her mother, who has never told the teen her real name. She promises to reveal the name when she turns 18. When tragedy strikes before her birthday, the girl is on her own. She takes over her mother’s drug routes, dodging some seedy characters, all while trying to discover who she is and asking herself, “What if I chose wonder? What if I chose daring? Wouldn’t it make for a better story, would it not be more artful, if I cartwheeled all the way instead?” There is love and hope, and hopelessness and tragedy and the question of who we are threaded throughout this magical, magnificent story, one of my favorite reads this year so far.

‘Death at the Sanatorium’

Ragnar Jonasson is back with another Agatha Christie-style mystery. Death at the Sanatorium takes place over dueling timelines, the 1980s and 2012 in Iceland. When the death of an old nurse takes place at a former sanatorium, there quickly evolves a cast of suspicious characters with plenty of motive and means. Helga, a young police officer, is writing a dissertation on two deaths that occurred decades earlier. When he questions those involved at the time, he stirs up someone’s fear and another murder occurs. Coincidence? Helga doesn’t think so. There is a juicy plot twist, even though everyone is a suspect in this excellent mystery.

‘A Very Bad Thing’

For an action-packed thriller you won’t go wrong with A Very Bad Thing by J.T. Ellison.  When a bestselling author is found murdered, hints of her past – a past where she might have done some very bad things – is uncovered shedding a whole new light on a beloved author’s reputation. It turns out, there are many who might want her dead. Again, this has plenty of plot twists and will keep you turning the pages.

‘Katharine, the Wright Sister’

Tracey Enerson Wood brings us the untold tale of a woman left out of the history books in Katharine, the Wright Sister. It seems the Wright Brothers owe much of their success to Katharine, the “mastermind behind the scenes of their inventions.” Katharine sacrifices much so the boys can concentrate on building a flying machine. Fascinating history here.

‘We Need No Wings’

Tere Sánchez questions her own sanity when she suddenly begins levitating. She is a well-respected professor, on leave after the death of her beloved husband, and a woman of a certain age. At a crossroads in life, Tere travels to Spain to solve the mystery of her levitating. Ann Davila Cardinal has crafted a mystical, profound story in We Need No Wings, which might have you questioning what matters in the latter part of your life.

‘One Day I’ll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman’

One Day I’ll Grow up and be a Beautiful Woman is a must-read memoir by Abi Maxwell. When Abi discovers her daughter is autistic, she finds herself swimming through rampant small-town prejudices just to obtain the help and support her daughter desperately needs. This is a big, heartfelt, emotional story for absolutely everyone who has ever felt themselves an outsider or the caretaker of someone “different.”

‘I’m Still Here’

What is a dog’s purpose? Pet lovers will be inspired by Cathryn Michon’s I’m Still Here: A Dog’s Purpose Forever. It is an illustrated love story about the power of pets – dogs in this case. The story is told from the point of view of a dog who has crossed the rainbow bridge. The story originated when the author and her husband, Bruce, stopped in Santa Barbara and Cathryn said, “I will never have another dog.” Bruce convinces her otherwise, and I admit that I found myself tearing up over this one.