Friday Update: The Reading Queue (7th August)

The first in a mystery series from the much-loved Irish actor, writer and comedian, for readers who enjoy the warmth of Graham Norton and the mystery of Death in Paradise , all wrapped up in one small Irish town.

When beloved celebrity gardener Finn O’Leary returns to his hometown of Abbeyford in Ireland to care for his aging mother, he is naturally roped into the Tidy Towns committee.

The Tidy Towns is a competition fanatically fought over by every town and village in the land. And for his best friend’s sister, Aoife, it’s a competition she’s determined to win. With everyone’s favourite gardener on board, she is sure that this year Abbeyford will take home the prize. But Finn’s not been back long when an alto-baritone at his mother’s choir practice drops dead during a rendition of ‘What the World Needs Now’.

With more at stake than just winning Tidy Towns, Finn soon finds himself trying to solve a murder – or two. For one of his many qualities is that people tend to confide in him…

With his mother, her carer and Aoife in tow, Finn sets out to discover just who has brought murder to Abbeyford.
 

BDTH! The Foveaux Fisherman Facebook page posts this acronym to advise Rakiura Stewart Islanders to ‘batten down the hatches’ before severe weather events. 

New Zealand’s southernmost librarian Maudie Sanderson reckons this warning could be applied to her life in general these days.

Haunted by a parrot and falsely accused of soliciting d**k pics, Maudie navigates a minefield of rabbit holes and mental health crises as she struggles to be a fit and proper person in a pandemic-hungover world. Sidelined by buggered knees, the avid runner needs projects to maintain sanity.

Island life keeps her busy. Maudie is drawn into an axe cult, scraps with the preschool teacher, discusses The Epic of Gilgamesh in a jailhouse book club, and mis-manages a community astronomy course. When a shocking crime wreaks havoc on her family, she dons her deerstalker cap and dives into the investigation.

All the while, Maudie feels a growing kinship with the ancient desert king Gilgamesh, as the words from 5,000-year-old clay tablets guide her through life’s myriad of mysteries.

Mark Wolfe was the greatest spy of his generation. Now he's been put out to pasture. Gone are the days of dead-drops beneath railway station clocks in foreign lands that no longer exist - of dry-cleaning, double agents and triple crosses. Now Mark's stuck behind a desk in Vauxhall Cross in charge of recruiting the next wave of spooks, his only excitement fending off advances from deep-pocketed private security companies. Yet his discontent is just another secret to add to the pile.

As far as his wife and children are concerned, Mark is a quiet, affable civil servant who has no idea how to use the TV remote. So when he discovers his daughter, Jody, has an unhealthy obsession with joining MI6, Mark is caught off guard. The Service is keeping her recruitment a secret from him - but why? Then Jody disappears during a mission. And with MI6 washing their hands of her, Mark is thrust back into a terrifying new world of modern espionage.

A Spy in the Blood takes you from modern day London to Afghanistan as a once-legendary spy confronts the complex horrors of modern tradecraft.

Deep in the mountains, secrets grow deadly . . .

Detective Constable Sally White knows how easily hikers can go missing in Victoria’s high country. But there’s something about the disappearance of Louis Taylor, a young man lost up Mount Viking, that’s not sitting right with her.

Louis was an aspiring journalist, researching the illegal tobacco trade – also known as chop chop – that was once so prevalent in the area. And the last person he interviewed before his hike has just met a gruesome end . . .

But with no other leads, and with the search winding down, Sally is forced to accept the young man died in a tragic accident.

Until she learns of another missing person case that bears striking similarities. Astrid Marlowe, a young lawyer, vanished in the same mountains two years before.

Were Louis and Astrid simply unlucky hikers lost in the treacherous terrain? Or did they both stumble into something – or someone – they shouldn’t?

Sam thought the worst part of living alone was the loneliness. She was wrong.

When a hunted man arrives on her doorstep late one night and asks for sanctuary, she agrees to hide him and to not call the police. The mention of a cabal of corruption is enough to convince her to do what he asks.

A decision based on compassion, which will soon change her life, force her to abandon everything and flee to avoid being killed.
But hiding and leading a lonely, anonymous life locks Sam into a situation she cannot resolve.

Thomas, searching for his long lost sister, finds a fugitive living alone in the mountains. Two stubborn people surrounded by danger and distrust, in a situation where one misstep will get them killed.

Who can you turn to if even police can’t be trusted? And who is the man called Box?

Gordon and Sarah Rutherford are normal, happy people with rich, fulfilling lives. They have a son they adore, a house on the beach and a safe, friendly community in a picture-postcard town.

Until, one day, Bonnie the labrador comes in from the beach alone. Their son, Rory, has gone - the only trace left behind is a single black sandal.

Their lives don't fall apart immediately. While there's still hope, they dig deep and try to carry on.

But as desperation mounts, arms around shoulders become fingers pointed - at friends, family, strangers, each other. Without any answers, only questions remain. Who can they trust? How far will they go to find out what happened to Rory?

And the deadliest question of what could be worse than your child disappearing?

When the truth begins to emerge, they find themselves in a world they could barely have imagined.

One brief but tragic moment out on a frozen Reykjavík lake changes Sóley’s life forever. Now, looking back on the last twenty-three years of her life, she attempts to make sense of it all. The tears, the pain and the lives lost along the way. 

No one ever told her bringing up a son all on her own would be easy but not in her wildest dreams did she imagine it might be so hard. 

Together Jakob and her have walked alone through the worst that Iceland could throw at them and now she’s here to tell you her tale. 

What would you do if someone you knew came back from the dead?

Gin is an architect on the brink. LIT, the Auckland-based practice she shares with her girlfriend, Clary, has been precarious since their third partner – Clary’s ex, Billy – disappeared, presumed dead. 

Now, several years later, LIT’s financial problems and Gin’s personal debts are snowballing. Clary – emotionally fragile since the disappearance – is growing increasingly remote and elusive. When Gin begins to be haunted by glimpses of Billy, she blames stress and guilt. But could he be back, threatening to expose the past? 

Trapped in a web of secrecy and betrayal, Gin’s downward spiral gathers force as she begins to suspect her paranoia hides an even more shocking truth – one that will send her whole life up in flames. 

This stunning debut literary-suspense novel from award-winning writer Anna Woods explores the insidious charm of those who gaslight us, and examines the blurry line between love and control.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing ...

The town of Hopeville is thrown into chaos when the body of Silas Ziccone, president of the notorious bikie gang the Outcasts,is found next to his abandoned car on a dirt road. Evidence suggests Silas was not alone when he was murdered, but there are no witnesses and the locals aren’t talking. When Silas’s son Anton steps into his role determined to get revenge on those responsible police fear an all-out bikie war.

Journalist Lars Nilsson is writing a book on outlaw motorcycle clubs and is sent by his former editor to cover the story. Police warn Lars to stay away, but undeterred he pursues a lead that takes him into the centre of the gang rivalry. 

With debts to pay and a teenage son to raise alone, all Silas’s girlfriend Ashley wants is to escape to Western Australia and start afresh but Anton is keeping her close. There’s one person who may be able to help her get out but when your whole life’s a lie, how do you know who’s telling the truth? 

The Informant is a simmering crime thriller that gives a window into the world of outlaw motorcycle gangs, organised crime and police corruption that will keep readers gripped until the heart-stopping end.

Theft. Extortion. Dinner with Dad.

Lola McKenzie never wanted to steal from her dodgy boss.  

But she also never wanted to be stuck in a dead-end job, paying off her dad’s debts. 

So when she sees a bag of cash sitting around unattended at work, she figures it’s time to make life a little easier. Only, the next day her boss is missing, presumed dead – and it won’t take a genius to figure out Lola is involved.  

Turns out that Lola’s pinched more than a bag of cash … nestled at the bottom of the bag was a USB drive that could be either a curse or an opportunity.  

Lola doesn’t know what’s on it, only that it’s important enough for the local cops and the local crooks to come looking for it.   

Is it a magnet for trouble? Or her ticket out of the hard life? All she has to do is figure out a way to sell it to the highest bidder without revealing her identity.  

Should be easy, right?