Macmillan Australia

Book title: The Golden Sister by Suzanne Do

Reviewer: Elizabeth Blackwood

From its opening, The Golden Sister launches the reader into a swirling narrative of grief, mystery, and redemption. Suzanne Do’s debut novel follows Lili Berry, an aspiring realtor and self-professed black sheep of her family, whose life is turned upside down with the death of her twin sister, Honey. Whilst police insist that the death was an unfortunate overdose, Lili is convinced that there is more to the story and won’t stop until she gets to the truth.

Lili’s life has always been one of comparison against her golden sister, while an unsympathetic mother and toxic work colleagues have driven her into a life on autopilot. An outsider in both her home and work life, Lili finds direction in the pursuit of the truth about her sister’s death. Here she runs into Pete, another outsider who lives on the fringes since the disappearance of his son fifteen years ago. As Pete was the one who found Honey, an uneasy alliance is formed. Together they work to find peace and truth amongst the lies and gossip of their town.

Do’s narrative style is unpretentious and dialogue-driven; she lets character and plot carry the emotional weight of the themes. One of the novel’s greatest strengths is its characters. Lili’s internal conflict, self-doubt, grief and desperation to matter are well-crafted, intimate, and familiar. Pete’s wise and unstable nature, combined with his backstory, offer a welcome counterpoint to Lili’s own quest. It is their relationship that holds the novel together and provides many of the moments that will stay with you long after you read it.

The Golden Sister uses crime and mystery to explore grief, identity and family. The novel offers both tension and catharsis, and demonstrates the importance of finding closure on unanswered questions. It is a deeply affecting read and will appeal to any who enjoy mysteries with emotional stakes, small town settings, and characters haunted by their pasts.

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Reviewer’s bio:

Elizabeth Blackwood is a writer whose work explores motherhood, myth and the uncanny. She has published fiction, essays and criticism on creative arts pedagogy, and is completing a PhD in Creative Writing that examines matrescence through magical realism. Elizabeth’s creative projects span page and screen as she has written and produced award-winning short films and is developing both a gothic horror comedy and a literary novel of magical realism. With a decade’s experience in creative and performing arts, she brings a multidisciplinary and psychology-informed approach to storytelling. She lives in Sydney, where she divides her professional time between writing, teaching and researching.

Book title: The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves

Reviewer: Cathy Stirling

Ann Cleeves knows how to draw you in, not just to the mystery of murder, but into the lives tangled up in it. From the first pages, the setting becomes a living thing: wild wind, restless sea, and the tight weave of small-town life. Archaeological digs and island secrets add to the tension.

The story begins with Detective Jimmy Perez rushing to Westray to search for his missing best friend. This is more than work for him; it’s service to his community, “Somebody has to pick up the pieces when things fall apart,” he says. But when his search turns into a murder investigation, Jimmy is pushed to his limits, personally and professionally.

Willow, his partner and superior, joins the case, juggling pregnancy and the demands of caring for their young son together. Their relationship adds tenderness and strain, and you feel the weight of what’s unspoken between them.

Cleeves writes people the way they really are, loyal, flawed, sometimes blind to what’s right in front of them. The novel explores what we choose not to see, and how hidden truths eventually surface. The Killing Stones will pull you into the storm of the islands and keep you there until the last page.

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Reviewer’s bio:

Cathy Stirling is an emerging writer who believes in storytelling as a force for social change. Her work explores what’s often left unsaid. Cathy’s stories are honest, messy and rarely follow the hero’s arc.

Book title: The Skin I’m in by Steph Tisdell

Reviewer: Sarah Cupitt 

The Skin I’m In. A necessary and rage-inducing masterpiece.

The Skin I’m In is the best debut novel I’ve read in years. This is a powerful and deeply relevant story told through the unfiltered perspective of an Aboriginal teenage girl, Layla.

This is the kind of book I want to put into the hands of anyone who is or has ever been a confused teenager, questioning their sense of self and their place in the world. Tisdell perfectly captures the quintessential, manic teen experience while layering it with critical questions of culture and identity.

Layla begins her final year of school as the poster child praised for achieving perfect grades, having good friends, aiming for uni, and doing everything ‘right’. Yet, the emotional core of her story lies in the angst and rage that build as her carefully constructed life unravels in a single, chaotic year.

The betrayal by her favourite teacher fractures her faith in the school system, and she comes to realise how fragile and conditional relationships can be. Everything Layla had been commended for begins to crumble. This sense of injustice is compounded by the treatment of her cousin, Marley, who, despite his own complex trauma and issues, appears to face fewer consequences, reinforcing the double standards of Layla being a self-managed, non-rebellious 'good girl’.

The novel excels in exploring Layla’s tumultuous relationship with her own identity and her family, and while she is fiercely proud of her Aboriginal culture and is desperate to be part of it, she has been raised separately from the community and knows the history but has no personal connection or stories of her own.

Her mother and Marley, both from black fella country, code-switch and speak differently when at home and because Layla cannot connect or communicate with them in this way, she is instantly disconnected. She begins to feel like an outsider everywhere, in her family, her school, and her friendships, fuelling a complex, painful mother-daughter relationship where Layla craves her mum's approval yet blames her for the cultural distance and being raised to be ‘white’.

The book is an honest, raw portrait of modern Australia that deals with peer pressure, drugs, social media, attempted suicide, intergenerational trauma, and systemic disadvantage without ever sensationalising them. It captures the psychological exhaustion of having to constantly fight for acceptance.

Identity is an evolving concept. We don’t need to be sure of who we are, but we need to be sure of what we want and what we want to achieve as an extension of that. Layla is 'bright' and articulate enough to write and eventually turn her journals into a story, sharing the devastation in her world; however, we hear little of Marley's side of the story (who never learnt to read), highlighting the systemic truth that some voices are granted space to be heard, while others are not.

Her story reinforces the truth that being seen is not enough when people can pretend (or prefer) not to see the totality of others’ experiences. The ending initially left me feeling unbalanced and frustrated, but I’ve realised that uncertainty is one of the book's core strengths. It’s raw, it’s realistic, and it forces us to confront so much about ourselves, others, and Australian society.

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Reviewer’s bio:

Sarah Cupitt is a poet and writer passionate about storytelling, heartfelt community projects, and the written word. Her work has earned her prestigious awards and over 50 published pieces. She can be found at local cafes plotting her debut romance thriller and devouring her next read to tick off her never-ending GoodReads TBR list. As an alumnus of the WestWords Academy, Sarah’s writing has been featured in publications such as The Fiji Times, The Junction, the NSW State Library, and ABC Radio Sydney’s The Diary Files. She frequently edits others' work, participates in writing competitions, and judges high school debates, as well as the Tournament of Minds.