Book picks similar to
Serpent's Delight by Ruth Park


australia
fiction
drama
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God's Coffin (Wade Garrison Book 2)


Richard Greene - 2011
    Now, six years later, his old friend, Sheriff Seth Bowlen, in Sisters, Colorado is in trouble and needs help. Sheriff Bowlen sends a wire to United States Marshal Billy French in Santa Fe who in turn sends Deputy Marshal Wade Garrison to help their old friend. Innocently, Wade decides to take his wife, Sarah, and son, Emmett, with him so they can visit her family in Harper, a small town northeast of Sisters. As he and his family board the train in Santa Fe, he could not have known that a terrible storm of violence was already brewing and this fateful decision could destroy his wife and child.

Room at the Top (Pacific Avenue #1)


Kristin Billerbeck - 2020
    She’s always told herself her father can keep his wealth and his acknowledgement of her and her twin sister. She’s surrounded by her noisy but lovable Italian family, and that’s all she needs.When she and Gia receive the news their fraternal grandfather has left them something in his will, they meet their three half-sisters for the first time—and receive the astounding news of a massive inheritance. But Sophia can’t celebrate yet, not when she and her sisters hear the conditions attached to the money. The “real” daughters loathe Sophia and Gia on sight—and the feeling is mutual. But they have to work together if any of them hope to inherit the obscene amount of money left to them. They must live together and restore the large mansion in Pacific Heights for an entire year. Otherwise the entire estate will go to charity.Gia tries to convince Sophia they have to walk away, but Sophia isn’t so sure. For once, their mother might get a chance to rest instead of working every minute. She could help a lot of families in her job as a social worker too. It’s tempting. And once she catches sight of Joel Edgerton, she can’t resist the temptation to get involved in her unwanted family.The path to happily-ever-after is fraught with missteps and the treacherous waters of sisterly undercurrents. Can Sophia persevere when everyone seems to be against her, even her own twin?

Everything Else in the World: Poems


Stephen Dunn - 2006
    In his fourteenth collection of poems, Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Dunn reveals his concerns, ranging from meditations on salvation and time to the difficulties and pleasures of loving in this "already brutal century." In language that Gerald Stern has called "unbearably fearless and beautiful," Dunn continues to probe the elusive in the lives we live.

Music And Freedom


Zoë Morrison - 2016
    But other ideas like that,kindness, for example, I think that is fundamental. Resurrection;I like that too. And love, of course, love, love, love. Alice Murray learns to play the piano aged three on an orange orchard in rural Australia. Recognising her daughter's gift, her mother sends Alice to boarding school in the bleak north of England, and there Alice stays for the rest of her childhood. Then she's offered a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London, and on a summer school in Oxford she meets Edward, an economics professor who sweeps her off her feet.Alice soon finds that Edwards is damaged, and she's trapped. She clings to her playing and to her dream of becoming a concert pianist, until disaster strikes. Increasingly isolated as the years unravel, eventually Alice can't find it in herself to carry on. Then she hears the most beautiful music from the walls of her house … This novel's love story is that of a woman who must embrace life again if she is to survive. Inspiring and compelling, it explores the dark terrain of violence and the transformative powers of music and love.

Stones (One True Child #5)


L.C. Conn - 2019
    Hidden just beneath the surface are the STONES - green and still polished smooth - placed long ago by the Guardians. Still pulsating with power, they are about to bear witness to a great battle between light and darkness. Claire Drummond is in danger, her very life depends on the actions and help of her husband and family, as well as the man she thought had left her life for good, Tony Benning. Caught up once more in the heavy turmoil of good vs evil, Claire has much more to fight for than just a cluster of stones in the highlands of Scotland. This time it’s personal. This time Marcus Ryder has her daughter.

Meet Me Halfway


Javan - 1981
    For those who are searching, reaching, holding, and especially for those who are remembering, Javan presents not simply poetry, but a journey through the experience of being human in "Meet Me Halfway." 0-935906-01-0$5.00 / Javan Press

Fly Away Peter


David Malouf - 1982
    In another hemisphere civilization rushes headlong into a brutal conflict. Life there is lived from moment to moment.Inevitably, the two young men - sanctuary owner and employee - are drawn to the war, and into the mud and horror of the trenches of Armentieres. Alone on the beach, their friend Imogen, the middle-aged wildlife photographer, must acknowledge for all three of them that the past cannot be held.

Paul Auster: Moon Palace


Wolfgang Hallet - 2008
    In an exemplary interpretation of the novel, this volume integrates theoretical concepts from narrotology, visual culture and cultural history into a close reading of the aesthetic and structural features of the novel. Interpretative insight into a postmodern novel is thus combined with the provision of transferable conceptual knowledge.

Revolutionary Road


Richard Yates - 1961
    Perhaps they married too young and started a family too early. Maybe Frank's job is dull. And April never saw herself as a housewife. Yet they have always lived on the assumption that greatness is only just around the corner. But now that certainty is now about to crumble. With heartbreaking compassion and remorseless clarity, Richard Yates shows how Frank and April mortgage their spiritual birthright, betraying not only each other, but their best selves.

Lolita


Vladimir Nabokov - 1955
    Reluctantly agreeing to marry Mrs Haze just to be close to Lolita, Humbert suffers greatly in the pursuit of romance; but when Lo herself starts looking for attention elsewhere, he will carry her off on a desperate cross-country misadventure, all in the name of Love. Hilarious, flamboyant, heart-breaking and full of ingenious word play, Lolita is an immaculate, unforgettable masterpiece of obsession, delusion and lust.

Dirty Aces MC Complete Series


Lane Hart - 2021
    Covered in tattoos and leather, he’s a smoking hot biker and nothing but trouble.As the president of the Dirty Aces MC, Malcolm is known for being cold and calculating. One bad decision – getting into business with the wrong person – is all it takes to bring down the entire MC. It’s happened before to his predecessor, which is why Malcolm refuses to let it happen again on his watch. He doesn’t trust anyone except for the few men who wear the same ace of spades patch on their back.And that’s exactly why he doesn’t ever take his eyes off of me – the new girl. I never intended to make an enemy out of Malcolm or the MC when I was sent to steal everything I could from them.~ DEVLIN ~As one of the enforcers for the Dirty Aces, sometimes I have to hurt people. Using my fists to get results is not something I enjoy – it’s just part of the job. My loyalty will always be to the MC and no one else.So just because Jetta James is a hot as hell girl I once hooked up with at a rock concert, it doesn’t mean I can give her brother a break on the gambling debt he owes to the Aces.When Jetta finds out I’m a member of the MC, she thinks I’m bad news; but her brother Sean is the one drowning in his bad decisions.~ NASH ~Whenever Nash Kincaid looks in the mirror, he only sees a monster who ruins lives. Thanks to his involvement with the Dirty Aces MC, there’s so much blood on his hands he’ll never wash them clean again. Violence is just part of the outlaw lifestyle. That’s why he’s not all that surprised when he’s hit with divorce papers three years after his wife walked out on him.The last thing Nash needs right now is a nosy new neighbor who refuses to leave him alone. If Lucy knew Nash’s dark secrets, he’s certain that she would run the other way rather than try her best to get into his bed. Thanks to a failed marriage, he knows he can never be the man Lucy needs him to be, not while he’s a member of the MC with a life sentence hanging over his head.~ SILAS ~A late-night attack at her home convinces Cora that leaving Carolina Beach behind to start over in witness protection is her only choice.What Cora doesn’t know is that the tough, no-nonsense FBI agent who swoops in to protect her is not who he says he is.In fact, he’s the last man she should ever trust.~ WIRTH ~After a patch-over party turns into a near-fatal shootout that injures several members, the Dirty Aces MC is left reeling.Wirth feels especially guilty since he wasn’t at the bar when his brothers needed him the most. Instead, he had left with a beautiful, mysterious woman, making some of the new members question his loyalty to the club.Needing to clear his own name, Wirth intends to find out who the rat is within the MC. Suspicious of the new girl, Maeve, he decides to try and get closer to her to determine where her true loyalties lie.~ FIASCO ~When he takes two bullets during a shooting, Fiasco nearly loses his life. And in a way, dying may have been the easy way out.But once he saw Joanna’s face, the angelic nurse doing everything she could to save his life, he wanted nothing more than to live.Overcoming his injuries is just the first obstacle Fiasco will have to face. If he can’t get back to his construction job soon, he’ll lose everything he’s worked so hard to have, along with all the people who depend on him.WARNING: THIS BOX SET CONTAINS SEXUALLY AND PHYSICALLY VIOLENT SCENES THAT MAY BE A TRIGGER FOR SOME INDIVIDUALS.

The Potato Factory


Bryce Courtenay - 1995
    Ikey's partner in crime is his mistress, the forthright Mary Abacus, until misfortune befalls them. They are parted and each must make the harsh journey from 19th century London to Van Diemens Land. In the backstreets and dives of Hobart Town, Mary learns the art of brewing and builds The Potato Factory, where she plans a new future. But her ambitions are threatened by Ikey's wife, Hannah, her old enemy. The two women raise their separate families. As each woman sets out to destroy the other, the families are brought to the edge of disaster.

Bingo Queens of Paradise: A Novel


June Park - 1999
    But as she plans her escape to New York City, turmoil erupts and the demands of family stand between her and her suitcase. Darla must, for the first time in her life, cast an unflinching eye on the hard-to-accept truths regarding love, responsibility, and survival. The Bingo Queens of Paradise lyrically blends a powerful comic voice with a poignant tale of a woman who longs to pursue her dreams.

Dust of the Land


J.H. Fletcher - 2014
    Bella Tucker has come a long way. Born illegitimate and banished to the London slums by her vindictive stepmother, at six Bella is rescued by her grandfather and brought up as a member of the aristocratic Richmond family. Her future seems assured when shefalls passionately in love with Charles Hardy, heir to the wealthy Hardy estate — until her grandfather’s death changes everything…Heartbroken and headstrong, Bella flees to Australia, where she is offered a job by the charismatic Garth Tucker, owner - of Miranda Downs, a vast cattle station in the stunning and remote Pilbara region. After several near disasters, she finds herself falling in love with Garth amidst the dust, heat and the endless expanse of bush.Together, Bella and Garth become major players in the new mining industry, allowing Bella to build her dream home, the sprawling homestead, ‘Desire’. But after Garth’s unfortunate death, Bella is forced to deal with circumstances that bring the family close to ruin… and the business Bella and Garth have built to the brink of collapse.Can Bella untangle the lies and save the business and her family home? And will she ever lay eyes again on the man she never ceased to love, Charles Hardy?

Ships that Pass in the Night


Beatrice Harraden - 1895
    Arguably one of the best-known Suffragette writers, Beatrice Harraden was a popular novelist who was heavily involved in the Suffragette tax resistance campaign. Her best-selling sentimental romance, Ships that Pass in the Night tells of a doomed love-affair between two patients in a tuberculosis sanitarium. This story caught the public's imagination, and the title became a byword for a fleeting or doomed love affair. The title was inspired by lines in Longfellow's Tales of a Wayside Inn, Third Evening, Theologian's Second Tale (Elizabeth), Fourth Part.