Explore our books of the month for April!
Each of the below titles has been read and recommended by our booksellers before being selected as our book of the month for its category.
Fiction Book of the Month
Griefdogg
Michael Winkler
Following the cult success of Grimmish, which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award, Michael Winkler returns with Griefdogg, a novel less concerned with answers than with questions about the limits of autonomy and personal responsibility when faced with a sudden absence of certainty.
Griefdogg centres on Jeffrey Watson-Johnson, a pedantic, community-minded, go-getting hydrologist who inherits a modest fortune after the death of a relatively unknown aunt. Suddenly freed from the economic pressures determining his life as a husband and father, Jeffrey tells his family that he wishes to live as if he were the household pet; that is, without obligation or control. What seems superficially an absurd request is the novel’s philosophical engine, attempting to question the limits of choice: Is opting out of the world possible, or merely another configuration of participation? Jeffrey feels enmeshed in the world around him; in a life that has happened to him, rather than one of any ecstatic choice, and is now hardened into obligation. He is all too aware that to withdraw will inevitably hurt the people he loves. In his new pet form, facetiously named Hubert by his wife, Jeffrey-Hubert develops a sixth sense: the ability to discern grief in others.
Griefdogg is a mediation on grief, universal and immediate, but also attachment and detachment. Jeffrey dreams of becoming someone who cares about nothing. His quest is founded on a desire perhaps unachievable to the common man, or common dog.
Winkler writes with a casual intellect, reminding me of a parent giving succinct, seemingly obvious advice that nags at your edges until you suddenly find the heart of their counsel already seated within you. The issue is not fixed but quietened; human simplicity can exist within the most complex issues and the comfort of a non-answer can, momentarily, be enough – because it’s all we have.
Reviewed by Clem Larkins.
Crime Book of the Month
Sound Mind Dead Body
Dave Warner
The wealthy Sir Thomas Pedhurst is dead. The Pedhurst and de Reve families arrive at Harcroft Manor in Devon for the reading of the will. Alongside them is Fred Willets, an Australian Second World War aviator, police officer, and old friend of Thomas’s from the war, who has also come as a beneficiary of the will. Old feuds and secrecy make this family less loving than most, setting an anxious scene full of foreboding in the lead up to the reading. First, a shocking burglary sets the families on edge. Then, Thomas’s widow, Julia, is found mysteriously dead, with no signs of foul play, sowing distrust and suspicion. As another murder takes place, more brutal than the last, it’s up to Detective Willets and local pharmacist Prudence Meadows to unmask the killer.
Unlike most of Dave Warner’s previous gritty crime noirs set in Perth, Sound Mind Dead Body takes place in the serenity of the English countryside, in stark contrast against the violence and hatred brewing in this family. As is fitting for this new scenery, and drawing on his personal love for Agatha Christie novels, Warner has written a classic, cosy whodunnit, with a cast of suspicious characters and an atmospheric crime scene set in 1929, between the two World Wars, reflecting the tension and increasing rivalry that divides this family.
However, it wouldn’t be a Dave Warner novel without a connection to Australia, which manifests in our protagonist Fred, a police officer from the Gold Stealing Detection Squad, based in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Fred is someone we can connect with and relate to, somebody familiar among the eclectic cast of suspects. Sound Mind Dead Body is a clever and entertaining murder mystery with Fred as our trustworthy detective upon whom we can rely to solve the murder – a true-blue Poirot, if you will!
Reviewed by Aurelia Orr.
Nonfiction Book of the Month
Light and Thread
Han Kang, translated by Maya West, e. yaewon & Paige Aniyah Morris
In her first book written since being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2024, Han Kang returns with her first work of nonfiction to be translated into English, jointly translated by Maya West, e. yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris. The book opens with her 2024 Nobel Lecture, where readers both familiar with and curious about her past works are treated to an inside look at Han’s writing process for each book, and the questions that she would ‘endure… [and] live inside’ while writing them. For The Vegetarian these included: ‘Can a person ever be completely innocent? To what depths can we reject violence?’, and for her latest novel, We Do Not Part: ‘To what degree must we love in order to remain human in the end?’
She then goes further, following the thread of questions back in time to a poem she wrote at eight years old, when she asked, ‘Where is love? What is love?’, and then, at age 12, upon finding photographs of the residents of her native Gwangju killed in the 1980 military crackdown on pro-democracy protests (which would later become the focus of Human Acts): ‘Is this the act of one human towards another?’
In order to reconcile the horrors of what we know about the world with what we love about it, Han’s way of moving forward is by believing that we are connected, and, through her writing, pursuing this connection ‘as if [she is] sending out an electric current’. Anyone who has read Han before will understand that her unique, visceral precision is the result of this pursuit.
In the midst of writing We Do Not Part, Han picks up gardening, tending to her house’s small courtyard, recording the incremental changes her plants go through over the years, and their subsequent effect on her own sense of self. There’s a beautiful humility and gentleness to this book, qualities I think readers will find much solace in, as they share in Han’s simultaneous wonder and terror at the state of our world.
Reviewed by Tracy Hwang.
Young Adult Book of the Month
The Escape Game
Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss
Marissa Meyer, the American author of The Lunar Chronicles – a series I absolutely love – has teamed up with one of Australia’s own, Tamara Moss! Together they have created an absolutely thrilling murder mystery that’s impossible to put down.
The Escape Game is a reality game show where groups of teenagers have to work together to solve clues and escape the fastest for a chance to win a share of one million dollars in prize money! Sounds like harmless fun, right? It was, until season four ended in horror when contestant Alicia Angelos was found murdered on set. The number one suspect? Her sister, and game show rival, Sierra. But the investigation is ongoing.
Now Sierra is back for season five, seeking justice! Along with a new team, including: Adi, a beautiful cryptographer; Carter, influencer and maths whiz; and Beck, the wannabe game master. Each teammate has their own motives for wanting to win, and they go far beyond the money. When they enter the escape rooms, they uncover clues that aren’t part of the game. Clues that point to who killed Alicia. And suddenly winning the competition is the least of their worries.
This book is so much fun. It’s fast-paced and full of quirky characters, all with their own dark secrets. There’s a whole lot of drama, sabotage, a little romance and a few more murders! It ends with a ‘to be continued’! I need the next one now! I highly recommend it for anyone aged 14+ who loves escape rooms, reality TV, or a solid murder mystery!
Reviewed by Lucie Dess.
Kids Book of the Month
Myra in the Middle
Seetha Dodd, illustrated by Peter Cheong
A delightful debut from Seetha Dodd with dynamic illustrations by Peter Cheong, Myra in the Middle is the story of seven-year-old, soon-to-be-middle-child Myra. Whether it’s looking at her life through maths problems, trying to decide how to confront her teacher (who always confuses her for the only other girl in her class who looks like her), or preparing for the arrival of a new sibling alongside her ever-bossier big sister Anya, Myra approaches the world with kindness and curiosity.
Myra wants to join the new soccer team, but will her family have time to take her to practice with a new baby? Myra’s Muthashi (grandmother) encourages her – after all, Muthashi used to play too! – but when Myra is assigned a midfield position, will she ever be able to shine when she feels invisible and unneeded?
A heartfelt story for readers aged 5 to 8 about speaking up for yourself (and others!) and standing out – not by being the loudest, but by being yourself.
Reviewed by Tamuz Ellazam.
Picture Book of the Month
The Future Book
Mac Barnett, illustrated by Shawn Harris
A power duo of creators has teamed up for The Future Book, a surreal and hilarious picture book that delivers reports from the future, where the sun is called the moon, the moon is called the sun, and cows are called ‘mooing life forms’. Readers are informed, ‘This might seem weird to you but in the future it is normal.’
Shawn Harris, known for the stunning Have You Ever Seen a Flower?, has a uniquely energetic illustration style. He uses colour to dazzling effect. Mac Barnett’s sense of humour will be familiar to many; his picture books, including The Shapes Trilogy, are enduring favourites. The text of The Future Book is written in a deadpan tone. It makes increasingly absurd statements as the book progresses and is cleverly designed to spark audience reaction, making this an extraordinarily fun and spirited read-aloud.
In the future, this book is a big hit and people read it again, and again, and again! This is a standout picture book for anyone aged 3+.
Reviewed by Kim Gruschow.
Kids Classic of the Month
Under the Mountain
Maurice Gee
Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) is built on an active field of 53 volcanoes and Maurice Gee used this as inspiration for his unique 1979 sci-fi novel, Under the Mountain. Twins Theo and Rachel are visiting family in Auckland and immediately sense something is off. Exploring a crater lake by canoe they smell something strange and encounter the Wilberforces, a peculiar couple who soon become truly menacing presences.
The Wilberforces begin to change their appearance – sometimes they appear as huge slug creatures – and to chase the twins. For protection, Mr Jones, another neighbour, teaches the twins telepathy. They discover a massive network of underground tunnels, and in one huge chamber there is a globe: cold, entirely grey, and muddy. It’s a grim forecast.
This is a book of vivid images, action, and palpable dread. Through symbiosis, the Wilberforces are joining with colossal worms deep under Auckland’s volcanoes, wiring them for total environmental destruction. Mr Jones, an alien, has been trying to stop them for hundreds of years. The unflinching muddying of the world feels akin to the damage we know from industry, mining, and war, and from granting amoral corporations more power than people and place. Under the Mountain ends with an understanding that efforts to save the world were worth it, despite some tragedy and an imperfect outcome. It remains an utterly enthralling tale for readers aged 9+.
Reviewed by Kim Gruschow.
