A Haunting at Venus Bay

 A Haunting at Venus Bay

Julie Brooks

Reviewed by Helen

2025 Cass Shaw has decided that it is time to leave London and her heartbreak of a broken relationship behind and move to Australia, her brother Liam and his family live in Melbourne and she has purchased a house sight unseen on the coast of Victoria, a place that she spent many a holiday in her teenage years, as an interior designer Cass has plans to make this old house into a beautiful beachside home, but when she arrives and spends her first night there Cass is already having second thoughts there are so many strange things happening, but Cass is determined to make this place her home.

1953 Minna Topp and her mother had arrived in Australia from Germany after the war and have been travelling the East Coast of Australia from one fairground to another, when Minna meets wood-chopper Albert Adams she is soon whisked away from her mother and the life she knows to become Albert’s wife on a dairy farm near Venus Bay, it is not long before Minna realises that Albert just wanted a worker for the farm not a true wife and her life is nothing like she expected it to be.

Cass meets the local police officer Josh and they are becoming friends and soon she learns that both Albert and Minna disappeared twenty years apart never to be found and with a strange mirror in the house that seems to have shadows following her and a kewpie doll that moves by itself Cass wants to know more and while clearing the house she finds an exercise book that seems to have Minna’s story in it and the story unfolds.

This is a fabulous duel time story, the characters are fabulous and the setting just right for the atmospheric story, MS. Brooks pulled me into the story from the start and I felt like I was on the coast with all of the characters, no fault of the author but the formatting was terrible, but I loved the story and I do highly recommend this one.

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

5 stars

January 8, 2026 by Review

The Funeral Crashers

 The Funeral Crashers

Joanna Nell

Reviewed by Helen

WOW another totally awesome read from Joanna Nell, I fell into this one from page one and did not want to put it down, come along for a funny, emotional and moving story about an older couple who meet at a funeral that will change their lives.

Martin Pottinger is a retired academic, he has never married although it is something that he had planned in his younger days at Oxford but those days are long gone and he is back in Australia and now his mother Edwina and her cat Shirley Temple are living with him and she can be demanding, he does however have romantic hope for his former head of the Archeology department Mary Blake.

Grace Cavendish is a retired primary school teacher, she is still grieving the loss of her dear daughter a few years ago and spends her days not only weeding the local walkway but loves to help out at her church All Souls, sadly the minister, Hot Rod as he is known has the worst singing voice and Grace does what she can to drown him out, she meets a young local boy Hudson and soon his mother as well physic Rhondda does she really believe that Rhondda can speak to her beloved daughter?

When Martin and Grace meet at a funeral at All Souls after Martin takes Edwina along to, their singing brings them together and before long they are meeting at funerals of strangers becoming funeral crashers and using their voices to bring joy not only to themselves but everyone else, this ends up being life changing for them both, with many fabulous characters to meet along the way, their lives are changing fast there are a few ups and downs along the way that will make you laugh and cry.

This is a brilliant story so very well written with awesome characters, who would have thought that becoming funeral crashers would open up a whole new world for Martin and Grace, truly I laughed, I cried and I smiled throughout this one, I loved the cat, Shirley Temple, I loved Edwina and Hudson they are the best. I do highly recommend this one, it was not put downable a must read, heartwarming and fabulous.

5 stars

October 28, 2025 by Hachette Australia & New Zealand

Where the Birds Call Her Name

 Where the Birds Call Her Name

Claire van Ryn

Reviewed by Helen

Broome 2023 we meet Saskia she is married with a nine year old daughter Anouk, she is a teacher she has two younger siblings Violet and Lennon, she has just lost her mother Kiki free spirited and loved but when the will is read Kiki leaves Saskia her beloved caravan no one understands why, but while cleaning the van out Saskia finds a ticket for the ferry that crosses Bass Strait to Tasmania and her journal, soon Saskia and Anouk are taking a road trip towards Tasmania to uncover her mother’s mysterious past, not knowing what she will uncover.

Stanley, Tasmania 1968 Greta De Winter is sixteen years old her mother is a taxidermist and her father a local councillor Greta is drawn to what she and locals call the swamp but is the wetlands that creates the perfect environment for the animal life particularly the birds and Greta holds a passion for them. Her mother works on a diorama for the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, but inside the home of the De Winter family things are not what is seems. Things change dramatically when Greta does her best to save the wetlands.

When Saskia and Anouk arrive in Stanley they search for anything that will uncover her mother’s past and what they find makes Saskia think more about not only her parents but also herself is this the trip that she needed to find herself?

What a gorgeous story this one was the beautiful setting the wonderful characters and the wildlife that is bought to life on the pages, long held secrets are uncovered as the author takes her readers on this beautiful journey told in two timelines, it is a story that is evocative and haunting and one that I would highly recommend.

My thanks to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

5 stars

March 4, 2025 by Penguin Random House Australia

The Lucky Sisters

 The Lucky Sisters

Rebecca Johns

Reviewed by Helen

WOW what a story, Rachael Johns you again have given your readers a story that is filled with emotion and so much else and I felt every one of them while reading this one, it was a hard book to put down as I got to know Nora and Stevie Lucky as well as Cherry, Santi and Felix and the other awesome characters that are so important in this story it is a must read.

Nora and Stevie are just about to celebrate the festival of fifty as they get closer to their fiftieth birthday, they were adopted at birth and they have had the best life with their adoptive parents Lillian and John, they have always been very close even if they are two very different people, but now that they have lost both of them Nora dearly wants to find their biological parents Stevie not so keen to do so but in the end she agrees and what they discover rocks their world.

Nora has been married for many years to Santi and they own and run a very popular restaurant in Perth called The Lucky Spaniard but now with her news Nora decides to change everything in her life from the perfect in everything to making sure she lives for herself. With Stevie who has just started a new relationship with Felix she is fun loving and a chocolate fiend she too changes how she does things but will it all be worth it for both of them?

For the first time ever the twins are drifting apart until an accident makes everyone re-think again.
This story had me yelling and cheering them on throughout as I felt every emotion, it takes in so much with totally awesome characters, I know when I pick up a Rachael Johns book that I am going to love it and I think this one might be her best yet, wow what a story, I absolutely loved it from page one and cannot recommend it enough, thank you MS Johns for a fabulous story.

My thanks to Penguin AU and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

5 stars

October 21, 2025 by Penguin eBooks

The Road Trip

 The Road Trip

Tricia Stringer

Reviewed by Helen

This one had me turning the pages from start to finish, I have never travelled in a caravan but I enjoyed this trip ups and downs included, two caravans a married couple and a brother and sister start out on a trip of a lifetime but maybe not according to the females on board, how will it all turn out as they leave Adelaide for Broome stopping at many places along the way.

Sharyn Tregonning is just about to turn sixty and celebrate her thirty five wedding anniversary to Barry, she is dreaming of an overseas trip to somewhere fabulous, but with constant reminders about how bad Barry is organizing surprises she is worried and then totally shocked and disappointed when he surprises her with a caravan, bought at a good price for their six week trip and then to make things worse at their first stop they meet up with travelling companions Barry’s mate Ray and his mousy sister Kathleen.

Kathleen Allenby seems to have become a recluse these days after caring for three end of life family members she hasn’t got a job and is having problems with her neighbours, her brother Ray arrives to save the day and take her back to his house and then convinces her to come on a trip in his caravan with him and then knowing that they are meeting up with Barry and Sharyn makes things worse because Sharyn with her not very nice friends has never liked her, but off she goes on this trip wondering how it will all turn out.

What a trip it turns out to be, mystery, trust issues, mishaps and problems with toilets sets everyone on edge at different times and tempers are flaring but soon Kathleen and Sharyn are sharing a bottle of gin and making cocktails and they are talking and opening up about their lives and making friends, girl power, learning so much about the beautiful places they are visiting along the way and then one surprise will make them all smile until a body is found in the water and Kathleen lets go with her brother and soon Sharyn and Kathleen see that they might need to see the guys way a bit more than they are and enjoy.

This really is a fabulous book, I smiled and cheered them on as I travelled with them to some beautiful places, it is heart-warming, witty, and funny and tells a story of what friendship is all about and how families come together and work problems out when they are in close confines. I would highly recommend this one MS Stringer knows how to tell a story and leave the reader happy a fabulous story.

My thanks to HQ Fiction and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

5 stars

September 30, 2025 by HQ Fiction

Love Lessons at the Seaside Salon

 Love Lessons at the Seaside Salon

Sophie Green

Reviewed by Helen

Set in the 1980’s in the small seaside town of Terrigal on the Central Coast of NSW, Sophie Green brings to life four woman working at or connected to The Seaside Salon all different ages and all in different stages of their lives, come along to meet them all and journey through four months of their lives, will they find what they want?

Trudy is 57 and she owns the salon and has done for years, she is a beautiful person and has a knack of making people feel loved and beautiful but for Trudy she feels down at times since the loss of her husband Laurie he was the love of her life and is struggling at times without him.

Anna is 42 married to Gary and they have two young children, Troy and Renee, she is a stay at home mum who takes in sewing and also spends time with her mother Ingrid, Gary is a solicitor and has his own firm and he works long, long hours and is hardly ever home so she kicks him out, is it time to start looking after herself instead of putting everyone else first, maybe a visit to the Seaside Salon with her mother might help.

Evie is 33, a single mum to young Billy and one of the hairdressers at the salon, although she has a son and is friends with his father she has never felt that buzz of real love and when a new hairdresser Sam starts at the salon, Evie feels that he is the one that starts the buzzing for her he is so lovely and good to her but is there a chance of a relationship with Sam?

Josie is 19 and starts as an apprentice at the salon, her mother is very controlling and Evie wants so much to become independent with her own car now and the job this is her first step and then when she meets a young man Brett who loves surfing and he seems very interested in her as she is in him but she knows her parents will not be happy, is there a chance for Evie and Brett?

This is another beautiful story from MS Green, it is moving and emotional and will pull you in as you get to know these woman, feel their emotions, the setting is fabulous not too far from me and it is one that I highly recommend to any lover of a good heart-warming story.

4 stars

July 30, 2025 by Hachette Australia

The Midnight Estate

 The Midnight Estate

Kelly Rimmer

Reviewed by Helen

In 2010 Fiona Winslow an historical architect has just purchased the house she grew up in from her cousin Jon she is hoping that this will help her get over the past year which really hasn’t been a good one but moving back to Forbes and Wurimbirra House built in 1860 is well known to be haunted might just open up a lot more than she was thinking.

Cleaning the house is going to be hard it has been locked up since the wake ten years ago of her beloved Uncle Tad a well-known writer, she finds a box of books that have been there since the wake unopened, curious she opens it and finds twelve copies of a book called The Midnight Estate by Charity Wilkes she has never heard of this author but thinks she might be a friend of her uncles she starts to read it and what she discovers is a mystery story that seems to be set around Wurimbirra has she uncovered a past that her family has kept secret since 1960 is it really about her family?

This story had me captivated with the book within the book, it is such a well told story and takes in three timelines across two countries so many wonderful characters and not so nice character, the relationship between Fiona and her mother is a very strained one and gets worse but will it finally be what they both want when the secrets are uncovered?

I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I highly recommend it, another fabulous read from Kelly Rimmer

5 stars

July 30, 2025 by Hachette Australia & New Zealand