Peter Rose, long time editor of ABR, talks about the recent edition '2024 Books of the Year', with over 40 contributors. David, Lisa and Jan add the books that resonated with them over the year on Published or not, and we alll discuss different aspects of reading, writing and reviewing.

'Thoroughly Disenchanted' is Alexandra Almond's take on a fictional world where magic casts a spell on us all and keeps us in thrall without us even knowing.'The Lost Book of Magic' is the last in a fantasy trilogy for middle grade readers by Amelia Mellor.

The subtitle says it all – ‘A celebration of joyful rebellion, glorious women and cats’, it is also factually interesting and beautifully illustrated. The author is Anna Go-Go and the title is ‘Cat Lady Manifesto’.Iain Ryan's latest novel,’ The Dream’, is a dark noir thriller set against the backdrop of corruption and dysfunction that was prevalent in Queensland before the Firzgerald Inquiry.

A rabbit and a grandmother come to stay during lockdown. Will this help a grieving family heal in Melanie Cheng’s ‘The Burrow’.Ginny Dilboong has a unique way of publishing her poetry. She plants her compositions in the earth and by so doing affirms her indigenous ties to the landscape in Nardi Simpson’s book ‘TheBelburd’.

‘Six Summers of Tash and Leopold’ by Danielle Binks is a beautiful middle-grade novel for contemporary tmes.Zoe’s Elevator Pitch to her agent says it all…….“A thriller writer who starts dating a celebrity has to deal with a psycho fan who uses everything in her first book against her. The police can’t help her, nobody can help her…except maybe the man she loves “ or can he? in Pip Drysdale’s crime novel ‘The Close-Up’.

Darren Rix and Craig Cormick have co-authored ‘Warra Warra Wai’. It is a richly researched book telling of Captain Cook’s Endeavour visit and what happened then, from both historical records and indigenous story telling. Writers block can be a very debilitating condition made all the more problematic when stranded on a remote island where the mythology of the landscape and fellow attendees with suspicious pasts make knowing who to trust a challenging exercise. This is the world into which Brooke Hardwick takes us in 'The Fog'.

'Little Puggle's Christmas' is a beautiful Christmas book by Vikki Conley with an Australian setting.The 70's were a time of social revolution and one of the epicentres of the ferment was London where Grace has travelled. Her meeting with Marigold is pivotal to her journey of self discovery which is all revealed in Mira Robertson's novel, 'Grace and Marigold'.

Rosalie Ham completes her trilogy of The Dressmaker with ‘Molly’, the mother who challenged society’s norms in wanting changes, fairness for women in the work place and sensible underwear. A humorous and well-crafted story which explains how her daughter, Tilly Dunnage, grew up in Dungatar.Yannick Thoraval’s book ‘The Marriage Gap’ challenges the conventional notions of marriage and prompts reads to question what truly makes a relationship successful and fulfilling.

As ‘The 113th Assistant Librarian’ Oliver’s life now has seven cats, hundreds of deadly books and he has to learn how to stop people dying in the library.  Stuart Wilson has written a magical tome for parents to enjoy reading to their primary aged kids and remember books can be dangerous!  After reading Gabriel Bermoser's novel, The Hitchhiker, you will forever reconsider assisting strangers waiting by the roadside. With everyone having a secret and individual's having macabre agendas, you never know who will be sitting in the seat beside you.

Managing a boutique hotel overlooking a surf beach in Sri Lanka sounds like paradise. Dasha Ross writes about the joy and disasters of trying to do this with her husband John Pinder in ‘Big Trouble Coming’. Tigest Girma creates a world where mortals and vampires coexist in 'Immortal Dark' where betrayal, violence and romance are intertwined and life is tenuous.