Letters to my Daughter’s Killer, by Cath Staincliffe (Murdoch Books, RRP $37): When Ruth Sutton receives a text from her daughter Lizzie asking her to babysit the following weekend, she takes a moment to reflect on the happiness she finds in…
Author: Jillian Allison-Aitken
Fresh feline perspective
Molly and the Cat Cafe, by Melissa Daley (Macmillan Publishers, RRP $25) Cutsie animal stories are nothing new, but this little tale of love, loss and new beginnings is told from the point of view of the cutsie animal concerned,…
True story is gripping reading
Hanns and Rudolf, by Thomas Harding (Random House, RRP $38): Subtitled “the extraordinary true story of the Jewish investigator who pursued and captured one of Nazi Germany’s most notorious war criminals”, Hanns and Rudolf shows that a true story can…
■ REVIEW
Mindful Learning
In these busy times we have a tendency to do things with a lot of thought, often resulting in a lack of connection and a lack of interest. Clinical psychologist Dr Richard Chambers and Dr Craig Hassed understand that “mindfulness”…
Beckett thriller hits the ground running
Stone Bruises, by Simon Beckett (Bantam Press, RRP $38): With the mystery and intrigue kicking off from the very first page, we meet the book’s main character Sean as he is on the run, but with no indication of why…
No surprises policy not so good in book
Before We Met, by Lucie Whitehouse (Bloomsbury, RRP $35): With the short but not-so- sweet blurb on the back of this book telling us that Hannah Reilly had a perfectly happy life until the day her husband failed to come…
Dawkins opens up on fascinating life
An Appetite for Wonder: The Making of a Scientist, by Richard Dawkins (Bantam Press, RRP $40): I’m no science geek, in fact I happily admit to still being quite impressed by the magical ability of my fridge to spit out…
What do rats dream about?
The Wandering Mind: What the Brain Does When You’re Not Looking, by Michael C Corballis (Auckland University Press, RRP $35): As often as I stop to think, then forget to start again, I am also plagued by bouts of my…
On the bookshelves: April 2016
New releases coming in April. FICTION This Change in the Light: a collection of poems, by Fiona Kidman: A superb collection of poetry from one of New Zealand’s top writers (Godwit, RRP $37). An Isolated Incident, by Emily Maguire: When Bella Michaels is…
April highlights from New Holland
Coming up over the next month from New Holland publishers: FOR THE FOODIES Superfoods for Kids by “superfood expert” Rena Patten, who reckons she has found a way not only to get kids to eat superfoods (think quinoa and kale).…