It’s summertime and the living is easy. What better way to relax than to kick back with a new book. Country Life is here to help, with one lucky reader winning a pack of three very different books — you can enjoy the different genres yourself, or share them with loved ones.
The Broken Wave by Matthew Ryan Davies
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Melbourne-based author Matthew Ryan Davies has written a compelling psychological thriller.
In the small seaside town of Queenscliff, two boys from opposite sides of the world forge a friendship over a summer of sun, adventure and brotherhood. Until a catastrophic event shatters their idyllic childhoods.
Two lives are lost. A lie is told.
Years later, when Tom dies in suspicious circumstances, Drew flies from the United States back to Australia for his friend’s funeral.
Still haunted by that night in 1992, he’s about to find out if Tom ever told anyone the truth, if the two events are connected, and if their friendship was worth the price they paid.
The Broken Wave is a compelling mystery about the long tentacles of childhood trauma, finding connection in the least expected places and the unbreakable bond of friendship.
The Broken Wave by Matthew Ryan Davies is published by Macmillan Australia, RRP $34.99.
Worthy Opponents by Danielle Steel
Worthy Opponents is a riveting and dynamic tale of family, wealth and success from billion-copy bestselling author Danielle Steel.
Spencer Brooke grew up knowing that one day she would inherit and run Brooke’s, one of New York’s most respected luxury department stores. Established by Spencer’s grandfather, it is in her blood to navigate its successful passage through 21st century competition.
But when the death of her grandfather comes, it leaves a terrible void in Spencer’s life. She strives to be a devoted wife and mother, as well as a successful CEO, but the pressure leads to the breakdown of her marriage.
Devoting herself to her twin sons and her career, Spencer has little time for a social life. But when successful entrepreneur Mike Weston enters her life, offering investment at a time when the store most needs it, she knows she must take his offer seriously.
Spencer faces a dilemma: can Mike Weston be who or what she needs, and can she trust him? Or should she remain independent, but risk the security of her inheritance?
Worthy Opponents by Danielle Steel is published by Pan, RRP $21.99.
Shadowline: The Dunera Diaries of Uwe Radok, edited by Jacquie Houlden and Seumas Spark
In September 1939, Britain declared war on Germany, and the life of Uwe Radok, a young German-born engineer working in Scotland, changed forever.
Classified as an ‘enemy alien’, Uwe was deported to Canada on the Arandora Star. When the ship was torpedoed, drowning more than 800, Uwe and his brothers survived — only to be marched onto the infamous Dunera, bound for Australia.
From 1940 to 1943 Uwe kept a series of diaries. Their pages offer a remarkable account of the effects of displacement.
The harrowing voyage and the tedium of indefinite detainment are rendered with clarity. Over time, this gives way to an exploration of the contours of love, as Uwe formed a sustaining connection with another male internee.
Edited by Uwe’s daughter Jacquie Houlden and historian Seumas Spark, the diaries offer a fascinating insight into life in wartime internment.
In depicting the barriers to homosexual and bisexual love in the 1940s, they reveal a new element to the Dunera story that has gone unexplored.
Vivid and poignant, Shadowline is a powerful portrait of a man torn between his feelings and society’s expectations.
Shadowline: The Dunera Diaries of Uwe Radok, edited by Jacquie Houlden and Seumas Spark, is published by Monash University Publishing, RRP $34.99.
GIVEAWAY
For a chance to win this set of three books, send your name, address, daytime phone number and the answer to this question: What is the headline on today’s Country News front page? by Thursday, January 11 via either post to: Country Life ‘Three Books’ Competition, PO Box 8000, Shepparton, 3632; or email to: competition@countrynews.com.au — please include the words ‘Three Books’ in the subject line.
