A Quality of Light
An elderly fortune-teller, Vera Sculthorpe, works in city tearooms. When one of her regular customers is stalked by a young man, Vera has the misfortune of “seeing” his deeds before he commits them. Whom can she tell? In another part of Brisbane, police photographer, Senior Constable Kerry Harmer, attends an incident, possibly an accident or suicide. A strange clue appears in her investigations and someone she loves dearly is at risk. Having no taste for clerical work, bank teller Rod Norris prefers life’s little luxuries: silk underwear against his skin, high-heeled shoes that would have wowed them at Cloudlands, and smart young people who share his own impeccable fashion sense. He collects them all. Temperatures rise in River City high summer, tropical blossoms making the moist, night air heavy with their perfumes. And people go missing . . . This award-winning novel by Cheryl Jorgensen is in its third edition.
Teenage runaway, Morag Bane, takes refuge in a squat in inner-city Brisbane. Here she meets the predatory Mearesey, the tragic Tash, and Brian, a cheeky, street-wise kid who seems so much older than his years. A student of the violin in her other life, Morag decides to busk in the city streets to keep body and soul together. It is here that she will encounter the very best kinds of people . . . and the very worst. Morag must quickly learn that she will have to live up to the meaning of her name, merely to survive. Then there’s the mysterious Finn, to whom Morag feels almost irresistibly drawn, and a house full of secrets. Set mainly in inner-city Brisbane, this story will appeal to music lovers, and to teenagers — and romantics of any age. Award-winning novel, Morag Bane, was first published by Blake Publications and won the 2004 FAST BOOKS award for best Young Adult Fiction.
Tom Tiddler’s Ground started as a kids’ game where the players take land and portable property from someone else. But in the 1970s, in Brisbane, some adults are playing it for real. Tony Ridgeway, head of a powerful corporation which buys up prime land on the coast and the Brisbane River, is hurting, having lost something valuable from his own portfolio. He employs notorious ex-cop, “Arsehole” Harris, to find it for him. Harris enlists the aid of feisty Sydney journalist, Karen Delaney, against her better judgement, for Karen is battling demons of her own. Their investigation uncovers a scam so shocking, the fate of not just the state of Queensland, but of the whole of Australia, hangs in the balance. Corrupt politicians, crooked cops and less-than-wholesome business leaders up the ante, until Harris and Delaney are fighting not only for what they hold dearest, but for their very lives. Tom Tiddler’s Ground was a runner-up in the National Book Prize in 1996.
What is it that so disturbs tough, cynical Detective Hal Jarrad about the death of Julie Stanton? Is it because the girl seems so young and innocent — a collector of teddybears, no less! Jarrad’s gut feeling that something calculatingly evil is afoot, could well be on the money. But are the big, righteous copper’s nerves up to what follows him and his family through Sydney and into the lush reaches of the Pittwater? “The Teddybear Kill” won Radio 4BC and Dymocks Booksellers Writers’ Award for 1995.
At age 17, Ray “Poss” Ide was convicted for a horrifying crime he claims he did not commit: the rape of a 14-year-old girl. The Taint portrays Ide’s early life, including years in Westbrook Boys’ Reformatory and Boggo Road, and time served in NSW gaols. After prison, Poss was recruited by Parramatta Eels football team. On the point of becoming celebrated for his sporting prowess, his rape conviction became known. Humiliated, he left the team. In Queensland via Grafton, NSW (where he met and married the Jacaranda Queen) he continued his sporting career, only never again in the Big League. A cautionary tale for young men, The Taint depicts social change: the sexual revolution of the 1960s and violence between police and trade unionists in the streets of Brisbane. It tells what really went on behind closed doors in institutions where vulnerable children were preyed upon, and gaols where men were expected to become beasts. The taint of rape affected the rest of Poss Ide’s life.
Cheryl reviews ‘Time’s Long Ruin’ by Stephen Orr
Cheryl reviews ‘The Sinkings’ by Amanda Curtin
Cheryl reviews ‘The Sense of an Ending’ by Julian Barnes
by Stephanie Bennett
Cheryl reviews ‘Radical Gratitude’ by Andrew Bienkowski and Mary Akers