May book reviews with Torquay Books

‘Rodham

Curtis Sittenfeld

In 1971, Hillary Rodham is a young woman full of promise: she’s attending Yale Law School and she’s on the forefront of student activism and the women’s rights movement. And then she meets Bill Clinton. A handsome, charismatic southerner and fellow law student, Bill is already planning his political career. In each other, the two find a profound intellectual, emotional, and physical connection that neither has previously experienced.

We know Hillary eventually followed Bill to Arkansas, but this novel poses the question: what if she didn’t? Over the next four decades she blazes her own trail and explores  the loneliness, moral ambivalence and iron determination that characterises the quest for political power.

Brilliant weaving a fictional tale with actual historical events, Sittenfeld delivers an uncanny and witty story for our times. In exploring the loneliness, moral ambivalence, and iron determination that characterise the quest for political power, as well as both the exhilaration and painful compromises demanded of female ambition in a world still run mostly by men, Rodham is a singular and unforgettable novel.

Random House Australia $32.99

Fair Warning – Jack McEvoy #3

Michael Connelly

Jack McEvoy, the journalist who never backs down, tracks a serial killer who has been operating completely under the radar – until now. Veteran reporter Jack McEvoy has taken down killers before, but when a woman he had a one-night stand with is murdered in a particularly brutal way, McEvoy realises he might be facing a criminal mind unlike any he’s ever encountered.

McEvoy investigates – against the warnings of the police and his own editor – and makes a shocking discovery that connects the crime to other mysterious deaths across the country. But his inquiry hits a snag when he himself becomes a suspect. As he races to clear his name, McEvoy’s findings point to a serial killer working under the radar of law enforcement for years, and using personal data shared by the victims themselves to select and hunt his targets.

Michael Connelly once again delivers an unputdownable thriller that reveals a predator operating from the darkest corners of human nature – and one man courageous and determined enough to stand in his way.

Allen & Unwin $32.99

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