For an entertaining, old-fashioned afternoon tea…

Closed Casket by Sophie Hannah with Agatha Christie

Our crime fiction columnist had some concerns about dipping into Sophie Hannah’s imagining of a brand-new Hercule Poirot mystery – Agatha Christie is a singular voice! – but happily, she was entranced by the tale. In her own words, this witty mystery is ‘just too wonderfully delicious’. And we have a strong suspicion this delicious read would go down extremely well with some delicious scones, jam and cream.

For drinks and feminist debate…

The Love of a Bad Man by Laura Elizabeth Woollett

Our reviewer calls Laura Elizabeth Woollett’s Australian fiction debut: ’refreshing, challenging and utterly unique’. This collection is a riveting exploration of the lengths some women will go to for the men they love: a schoolgirl catches the eye of the future leader of Nazi Germany; a pair of childhood sweethearts reunite to commit rape and murder. We promise these stories will get your whole book club talking.

For paving the way for a difficult conversation…

The Easy Way Out by Steven Amsterdam

Steven Amsterdam’s third novel, The Easy Way Out, imagines what life might be like if euthanasia were legal. This deeply empathetic story follows Evan, a nurse and ‘suicide assistant’ whose own mother is nearing the end of her life. By exploring assisted death through fiction, Amsterdam creates a welcome space for discussing one of the most hotly-contested topics in Australia right now.

For Shakespeare aficionados…

Nutshell by Ian McEwan

Nutshell is possibly Ian McEwan’s strangest novels to date. Trudy has betrayed her husband, John. She’s still in the marital home, but not with John. Instead, she’s with his brother, the profoundly banal Claude, and the two of them have a plan. But neither of them realise that there is a witness to their plot – the inquisitive resident of Trudy’s womb. Think Hamlet, in utero!

For a meeting paired with a screening of Doctor Zhivago…

Lara: The Untold Love Story That Inspired Doctor Zhivago by Anna Pasternak

Boris Pasternak’s 1957 epic novel Doctor Zhivago (and its various adaptations, including an Academy Award-winning film) is one of the great Russian narratives to loom large in the imagination of the Western world. And now Anna Pasternak introduces readers to the woman who inspired the novel: Olga Ivinskaya. Her story is one of unimaginable courage, loyalty, suffering, tragedy, drama and loss.

For a meeting paired with vinos españoles…

The Winterlings by Cristina Sánchez-Andrade (translated by Samuel Rutter)

Cristina Sánchez-Andrade has been described as ‘one of the best writers in Spain’ (El Correo Galleg) and The Winterlings was named a Herralde Novel Prize finalist back in 2013. Now, thanks to Scribe Publications and Melbourne translator Samuel Rutter, we can now read this novel in English. Sánchez-Andrade’s intoxicating tale of two mysterious sisters blends Spanish oral tradition, Latin American magic realism, and the American gothic fiction of Flannery O’Connor and Shirley Jackson.

For a discussion about competitive sport…

Selection Day by Aravind Adiga

If your book club is a little sport-mad (or more specifically, cricket-mad), the new novel from Booker Prize-winning author Aravind Adiga is sure to appeal. Set in Mumbai, this tale of two cricketing brothers and their eccentric bully of a father is a juicy look at the contemporary world of Indian cricket. It’s also an energetic, compelling story of sibling rivalry, friendship, family, gender politics, and more.

For book clubs who read Prize winners…

The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride

An 18-year-old girl, recently arrived in London from Ireland, is enrolled in drama school. The youngest in her class, she is eager to make an impression but when she falls for an older man – who’s haunted by more than a few demons – their tumultuous relationship might be the undoing of them both. The Lesser Bohemians is the second book from Eimear McBride, whose debut novel won the 2014 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction.