9 Books to Unwind With This Holiday Season

A caravan holiday goes wrong in the latest novel from bestselling Australian author, Tricia Stringer. Sharyn Tregonning wanted a holiday somewhere glamorous for her 60th birthday but her husband Barry organises a road trip from Adelaide to Broome. Along for the ride are his annoying friend Ray, and Ray’s reclusive frump of a sister. Mishaps and disagreements test the group’s boundaries, and when a body surfaces at one of their stops their grudges and past hurts are forced into the open.

How well do we really know our best friends? Is the question posed by author Jo Dixon in her latest psychological suspense thriller set in Tasmania. Four friends get together in a secluded holiday home to catch up, drink champagne and reminisce. Before long old secrets and resentments bubble up, then one of them goes missing. This is a taut and twisty mystery which will keep you hooked to the very end.

For fans of the TV show Outlander, Karen Brooks’ latest book is a rollicking story set in 1780s Scottish Highlands. When Greer MacAlister’s despised husband dies she’s finds herself involved with the whisky smuggling community and will do whatever it takes to survive. The British excise officers are out for revenge and Greer and Fen find themselves in the middle of an adventure across the Highlands. You can almost taste the whisky coming off the pages. Another standout story if you enjoyed Karen’s bestselling The Good Wife of Bath.

When Viola Oswald’s beloved brother Sebastian dies of a hereditary blood disease, Viola suspects her stepfather, a prestigious surgeon, has used Sebastian’s illness to enhance his reputation. Determined to find proof, Viola embarks on a journey to the country town of Maitland to find a homeless boy who suffered at her stepfather’s hands and can provide the proof she needs. Tea Cooper has deftly woven another historical mystery filled with intrigue and a couple of recognisable characters for long-time fans of her work.

Set across two timelines, Slashed Beauties is the gothic and warped lovechild of Madame Tussauds and Jack the Ripper. A fascinating tale of self-reclamation and body autonomy, inspired by the very real Anatomical Venuses the author observed in a European museum. We follow Alys an antiques dealer in the present, and the young and inexperienced Elizabeth in 1769, as they unravel dark and dangerous secrets that span centuries and that will reveal unearthly horrors not of this world.

This hilarious story is about coming to terms with the fact that sometimes life doesn’t go how you’d imagined it. Eva Moore wakes up on her fiftieth birthday with her life unravelling. She loses her job, her husband is having an affair and then her parents go missing in India. Cue Eva embarking on a journey to track them down and discovering more about herself than she thought possible. The perfect story for those who worry their best days are behind them.

When a TV morning show doctor accused of malpractice turns up dead in a North Sydney park all eyes are on the long list of people he wronged. His neighbour, Liv Elliot, is sure her daughter didn’t have anything to do with it, but when evidence points towards her, Liv takes steps to shield them from the growing investigation and media circus in their quiet cul-de-sac. Multiple twists and clever misdirects will leave you guessing until the last page.

Aboriginal detective, Renee Taylor, returns to her outback hometown to care for her ailing mother and is drawn into a murder mystery when a young woman turns up dead. Connected to the disappearance of two girls in the 1960s this is a gritty mystery that shines a light on the town’s dark past. As Renee digs for the truth someone doesn’t want her to uncover what happened and her own life is put in danger in her quest for justice.

Number One bestseller Adele Parks returns with an explosive and deeply emotional family drama which explores the lengths a parent will go to protect a child; for there’s nothing stronger than a woman whose family is under threat. Connie’s daughters are all back home for the holidays, including Fran and her university boyfriend, Zac. Connie’s unease about Zac deepens when Fran announces she’s pregnant. Someone in the house is harbouring a secret that endangers them all, with one of them paying the ultimate price.