Reading!

What a month of reading it’s been! I’ve devoured some absolute gems recently, and it was hard to pick just a couple to share with you. But here are two brand-new releases by brilliant Australian women writers that completely swept me away:

‘Wild Dark Shore’ by Charlotte McConaghy

I’ll read anything Charlotte writes — Migrations is one of my all-time favourites — so the second I heard about Wild Dark Shore, I was all in. Set in a near-future world on a remote sub-Antarctic island, the story follows a father and his three children, the island’s only inhabitants, whose lives are upended when a mysterious woman washes ashore after a shipwreck. Like Migrations, it weaves stark wilderness, climate grief, and edge-of-your-seat suspense into something utterly haunting and unforgettable. I know this one will stay with me for a long, long time.

‘Mother Tongue’ by Naima Brown

Naima Brown’s second novel, Mother Tongue, is wildly original and completely addictive. After loving her first book, The Shot, I couldn’t wait to dive into this — and it didn’t disappoint. The premise is irresistible: Brynn wakes from a coma speaking fluent French (yes, Foreign Language Syndrome is a real thing!), and it sets her on a path of radical transformation. Dark, funny, feminist, and full of sharp insights into motherhood and identity, this book is unpredictable in all the best ways. Highly recommend if you want something that’ll keep you thinking long after you turn the last page.

Watching!

White Lotus – Season Three

Like seemingly everyone else on the planet, I got swept up in the latest season of White Lotus. Watching a group of rich narcissists ruin each other’s lives on holiday? Apparently, that’s my perfect comfort viewing. The performances were stellar, the writing sharp, and I spent way too much time guessing who the murder victim would be. Rumour has it that Season Four is heading to Morocco, and I can’t wait.

Midsommar

Ok, so Midsommar isn’t exactly new (it came out in 2019), but I finally gathered the courage to watch it. Horror isn’t usually my thing, but Swedish paganism? Very much my thing. Plus, Florence Pugh is extraordinary. I’ll admit: there were quite a few moments where I had to close my eyes, but the lush Scandinavian setting, the maypole dancing, the deeply unsettling cult — it all combined into something hypnotic and unforgettable. Worth the nightmares!

Writing!

And now for some exciting news…

My debut psychological suspense novel, The Pact, will be published by HQ (HarperCollins) in the UK and Australia in January 2026!

The Pact is a “dark academia meets hiking” story set partly in the UK and partly along the Spanish Camino de Santiago. It follows a dysfunctional writing group (Nothing like my own lovely group!) on a 30-day hike. This story has been quietly growing in my mind ever since I walked the Camino in 2016 — so it’s been almost a decade from the first spark of an idea to the finish line.

On the Camino in 2016

I’m also deep into the next novel, due out in 2027 — hoping to speed things up this time around!

I hope you’ve had a happy and productive month. Thank you for reading!

Lisa x