John's April Staff Picks

April was a busy month for me. I read even more than I usually do but sadly not all of the books warranted a review. I also reread a couple of classics which was naughty for as a bookseller I have an obligation to read only contemporary writers. But who can resist E.M. Forster and Jane Austen?

The best contemporary book I read in April? There's a hint in one of my reviews.

If you’re looking for a thriller that grabs you by the throat on page one and doesn’t let go, then Dervla McTiernan’s Three Reasons for Revenge is the book for you. Highly intelligent, involving and so, so gripping. A stunner.

I wasn’t prepared for the layers in Fleur McDonald's third Kalgoorlie crime novel, The Witness. Sure I expected a tight plot and urgent pace, but McDonald also makes time for adept character studies and hard-won wisdom. In short, The Witness offers thrills but also packs an emotional punch. Oof!

Chateau Marmont is a very famous hotel in Hollywood, frequented by some of the biggest names in film, television and music. And it is the setting of Natasha Lester's engrossing Jane Eyre inspired novel, The Chateau on Sunset, where Mr Rochester is a rock god and Jane gets to live life on her own terms.

Remember Sorrow and Bliss? Well, Meg Mason is back with Sophie, Standing There. The opening scenes are set behind the stage at a literary festival and some very big names in literature get a playful slap in the first few pages. What follows is thoroughly engaging tale of obsession, literature and rebirth. Mason's writing draws you in close and makes you experience Sophie's story, so that by the end, what happens to Sophie, happens to you. A wonderful achievement.

What to say about Elizabeth Strout’s new book, The Things We Never Say? Quiet, devastating, uplifting and damning. The novel opens in America before Trump’s second election win and ends before the end of his second term. So we’re in very contemporary fiction territory. Almost as immediate as Ali Smith's work and just as brilliant but in a very different way. Artie Dam is a brand new character for Strout and the equal of her best, Olive Kitteridge, Bob Burgess and Lucy Barton. Artie is unhappy and wants to get off the world. The way Strout explores this heavy theme is something akin to magic. Her simple, direct and straight-forward prose produces a depth of emotion and intelligence that confounds critics and readers alike. Maybe the best book I'll read all year. Just get a copy.