Book Club – this month’s reads
Looking for your next great group read? Our monthly Book Club rounds up new release titles perfect for sparking conversation and perhaps even some debate. From compelling fiction to thought-provoking nonfiction, these are some of the books releasing this month that are worth stocking and recommending to readers.
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The Informant Christine Gregory Ultimo Press ISBN: 9781761154522 RRP: $34.99 |
| Why book clubs will love it: “The Informant is a thrilling mystery that tackles current-day topics such as bikie gangs and organised crime. This is perfect for crime book club readers who are fans of Christian White, Candice Fox and Sarah Bailey, as well as true crime readers.” – Zoë Victoria, publicist, Ultimo Press | |
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LIT Anna Woods Echo Publishing ISBN: 9781786588265 RRP: $34.99 |
| Why book clubs will love it: “This twisty psychological suspense novel is narrated by Gin, a working-class outsider made good. She is an architect who shares her Auckland-based firm with her beautiful, emotionally fragile girlfriend, Clary, who was raised in wealth and privilege – a world Gin has never truly felt a part of. The business and Gin’s relationship have been struggling since LIT’s third business partner, Billy, mysteriously vanished years before, presumed dead.
“When Gin starts to be haunted by glimpses of Billy, she blames it on stress, until a journalist begins digging into her firm’s past, and her carefully constructed life threatens to collapse. As Gin fights to keep her relationship, career and sanity intact, shifting loyalties and quiet manipulations twist the truth at every turn. “At its heart, LIT is a dark, obsessive love story about control, gaslighting and the lies we tell to survive. Beyond its delectable twists and turns, LIT will make a perfect book club choice, sparking discussion about the systems of control within which we live, and how power, beauty and class can be weaponised.” – Diana Hill, publisher, Echo Publishing |
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Night Swimming Sharon Kernot Text Publishing ISBN: 9781923058859 RRP $34.99 |
| Why book clubs will love it: “Night Swimming is a fast-paced psychological thriller that draws readers in by its rhythm. January Clare Colson is a woman on the brink. She’s barely sleeping, wrestling to keep her job, and when a man from her past walks back into her life, she strays toward obsessive desire – seeking vengeance. Night Swimming blurs the line between victim and aggressor, attraction and obsession, and will trigger book club readers to consider the makeup of a villain, and the repercussions of trauma.” – Aideen Gallagher, publicist, Text Publishing | |
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No God but Us Bobuq Sayed Ultimo Press ISBN: 9781761154096 RRP: $34.99 |
| Why book clubs will love it: “No God but Us is an incredible, timely novel, considering our sociopolitical environment, renewed xenophobia for immigrants and pushes to remove rights from queer people. This is perfect for book club readers who are lovers of Bryan Washington, Douglas Stuart, Brandon Taylor and Garth Greenwell.” – Zoë Victoria, publicist, Ultimo Press | |
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The Palace of Lost Virtue Anthea Hodgson Penguin ISBN: 9781761356063 RRP: $34.99 Book club notes |
| Why book clubs will love it: “By the bestselling author of the highly acclaimed 2023 novel based on the Bangka Island Massacre, The War Nurses, comes an unforgettable new novel set in the West Australian goldrush era.
“Inspired by real characters and a shocking true crime, this is a beautifully written book of friendship, murder and gold, ideal for fans of Pip Williams and Holly Ringland. Anthea Hodgson has a unique gift for blending important Australian historical events into lively and engaging works of fiction, rewriting the past to bring to light stories of the forgotten women of Australian history. “The Palace of Lost Virtue is ideal for book clubs because it asks rich moral questions about friendship, class, forgiveness, women’s choices, justice and survival.” – Ali Watts, publisher, Penguin Random House Australia |
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I Remember Everything Fiona Wilkes Fremantle Press ISBN: 9781760996413 RRP: $34.99 Book club notes |
| Why book clubs will love it: “A wonderful evocation of the power of friendship: this novel will plunge book clubs into the 1980s – a time when being queer meant forging joy, building a chosen family who held you up when your own could not. And it draws you into the eye of a gathering storm, where love and survival are never guaranteed, and no one knows who will still be standing when it passes. Book clubs will find plenty to discuss in its nuanced portrayal of community in the face of uncertainty.” – Georgia Richter, publisher, Fremantle Press |
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The Shortest History of Egypt Maria Golia Black Inc. ISBN: 9781760644925 RRP: $27.99 |
| Why book clubs will love it: “Book clubs will love The Shortest History of Egypt because it takes the reader beyond the obvious – pyramids, pharaohs, tomb raiders and deserts – to the lesser-known figures, facts and moments that make up Egypt’s history, from the Neolithic times to the present day. Fun, feisty and opinionated – this is a Shortest History with a fresh contemporary twist.” – Sophy Williams, publisher, Black Inc. | |
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The Yacht Kayte Nunn HarperCollins ISBN: 9781460767054 RRP: $34.99 |
| Why book clubs will love it: “We’re all fascinated to peek behind the glamorous facade of the uber-rich, and in The Yacht there is plenty of juicy fodder for book clubs to dig into. With deliciously messy family dynamics (think Succession), a revenge plot, dark crimes and secrets revealed – all set aboard a superyacht cruising around the Mediterranean island of Mallorca – readers can debate the merits of the dutiful eldest daughter versus the trophy wife, the haves versus the have-nots, the delights and damage of privilege, and so much more. All aboard!” – Anna Valdinger, publisher, HarperCollins | |
Category: Book Club Friday newsletter
