by Susan Barnes | 6 Jul 2026 | Book Reviews>Recent Reads
A Beautiful Death evokes a strong emotional connection with the story’s main character, concert pianist Cassie Brennan, whose career comes to an abrupt end when a younger-onset dementia diagnosis forces her admission to a nursing home in her hometown. A recently...
by Susan Barnes | 19 Sep 2025 | Book Reviews
Here One Moment is the story of Cherry Lockwood’s life. Starting with a dramatic scene on a plane flight from Hobart to Sydney, where she predicts the age and cause of death of nearly all of the passengers on board. Cherry’s life is then told in a series of...
by Susan Barnes | 23 Sep 2024 | Book Reviews
Grace is a non-conformist who is finding school and life a struggle. She is 11 years old and wants to be many things when she grows up, including a magician. Then she can call herself, Grace the Amazing. Grace’s Dad is often away with his job and her mother works at a...
by Susan Barnes | 12 Aug 2024 | Book Reviews
The Fifth Letter by Nicola Moriarty has an engaging and interesting premise. However, towards the end, the story becomes unnecessarily dramatic. I’m not keen on loud arguments, even in books! The story concerns four women who become friends when they start high...
by Susan Barnes | 15 Apr 2024 | Book Reviews
Meg and Beatrix have been best friends since kindergarten but Meg doesn’t always like Beatrix. She can be intolerant, bossy and selfish. She ignores Meg’s interest in science and insists she takes dance classes, even though Meg has no aptitude for it. Meg is...
by Susan Barnes | 19 May 2023 | Book Reviews
The Man Who Died Twice is the second book in the Thursday Murder Club Mystery series. The story begins with Elizabeth receiving a mysterious letter, which she later shares with the other members of the Murder Club: Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron who are all in their seventies...
by Susan Barnes | 12 May 2023 | Book Reviews
Leila and the Blue Fox begins with Leila, a young teenager, catching a plane by herself to Tromso, Norway. Leila is going to see her mother, Amani, who she hasn’t seen for six years. Amani is unable to meet her at the airport due to her work commitments and sends her...
by Susan Barnes | 28 Apr 2023 | Book Reviews
Tumbleglass is one of many modern books that I have come across in my job as a librarian where it’s difficult to define the target audience. The main character is Rowan who is thirteen years old. Therefore you’d expect the audience to be 11 to 13-year-olds. However,...
