AustLit

''A Sandie Docker book is like a cup of tea and a biscuit. It's warm on the inside, snuggly, sweet and lots of fun. It touches the heart, and stimulates the brain.' Happy Valley Books Read

'Sisters Eleanor and Maggie have been running the Lyrebird Lake Ladies' Choir for years. The choir means so much to the women who have found their home in the stately federation house by the lake. Eleanor decides to enter the choir in the All Voices Championship, not just for the prize money or the chance to prove how special the choir is, but also as a chance to make up for lost dreams.

'When single mum Hannah moves to the Lyrebird Lake's caravan park, homeless after being widowed, she and her son have the opportunity to start over. With her angelic voice, Hannah may be just what the choir needs to give them a winning edge. But when Eleanor hears her singing a long-forgotten lullaby, Eleanor is thrust back into a past full of pain and regret.

'In 1973, Eleanor and her sister Maggie are banished from their Irish village to Australia, after Maggie becomes pregnant, unwed. Starting a new life thousands of miles away is never easy, but when Eleanor is forced to make impossible decisions that alter the course of both their lives, it leaves her with memories she's not sure she can trust.

'Will Hannah's arrival in Lyrebird Lake mend old wounds, or will the secret from the past she unknowingly carries tear the sisters apart?' (Publication summary)

'HOPE
Single mother Sarah is guilt-ridden when an accident leaves her young daughter Melody seriously injured and their once music-filled lives silent. When she discovers her grandmother Rosalie’s war correspondence, she thinks she might have found a way to save her family, but it will require a leap of faith …

'HEARTACHE
In 1945 Rosalie is desperate to forge a career as a journalist, and taking photos for soldiers serving in the war might just lead to the job of her dreams. But when two brothers she’s been corresponding with come home to Redgum River, her life is turned upside down, and she flees, vowing to never return.

'HEALING
Decades on, the hope that a music retreat can help Melody lures the three generations of women to Redgum River, where Sarah draws together the threads of Rosalie’s past. A heartbreaking family mystery comes to light, and they discover that the ghosts of the past can lead them to their future, and they might all be more in tune than they first thought.

'Welcome to the Redgum River Retreat, where harmony is found when hope is lost.' (Publication summary)

'A moving and heartwarming story about taking risks and finding a new lease on life, by the bestselling author of The Banksia Bay Beach Shack.

'Is it ever too late to rewrite your own story?'

'COURAGE

In 1950, teenager Anne flees Wattle Island for the big city, where she learns that establishing the life she's always dreamed of isn’t as easy as she thought. When a secret she’s been keeping is discovered, she has no choice but to retreat home and live a quiet life. But when tragedy strikes, establishing the Wattle Island book club is the only thing that offers her solace.

'PASSION

Spirited librarian Grace has been writing bucket lists since she was a child, and is ticking off as many challenges as she can now that life has handed her a hefty dose of perspective. Heading to Wattle Island on one of her adventures, she is determined to uncover a long-held mystery surrounding the town’s historic book club, unlocking a buried truth that has been trapped between the dusty pages of secrecy for years.

'HOPE

All too aware of how fragile life is, Anne and Grace must come together to help the residents of Wattle Island find the bravery to move beyond the trauma that tore the book club apart. Budding relationships offer new hope, along with a library project for the town’s future – but it will take more than a few lively literary debates to break the silence and heal the past.

'Welcome to the Wattle Island Book Club, where new chapters begin and end, and not everyone is telling the full story.' (Publication summary)

'A year is a long time in the memory of a small town. Stories get twisted, truths become warped, history is rewritten.

'MYSTERIES

'When Laura discovers an old photo of her grandmother, Lillian, with an intriguing inscription on the back, she heads to the sleepy seaside town of Banksia Bay to learn the truth of Lillian’s past. But when she arrives, Laura finds a community where everyone seems to be hiding something.

'SECRETS

'Virginia, owner of the iconic Beach Shack café, has kept her past buried for sixty years. As Laura slowly uncovers the tragic fragments of that summer so long ago, Virginia must decide whether to hold on to her secrets or set the truth free.

'LIES

'Young Gigi and Lily come from different worlds but forge an unbreakable bond – the ‘Sisters of Summer’. But in 1961 a chain of events is set off that reaches far into the future. One lie told. One lie to set someone free. One lie that changes the course of so many lives.

'Welcome to the Banksia Bay Beach Shack, where first love is found and last chances are taken.

'A moving and heartfelt story by the bestselling author of The Kookaburra Creek Café and The Cottage At Rosella Cove.' (Publication summary)

'Why had the house stayed empty so long? Why had it never been sold?

'LOST

'Nicole has left her city life for the sleepy town of Rosella Cove, renting the old cottage by the water. She plans to keep to herself – but when she uncovers a hidden box of wartime love letters, she realises she’s not the first person living in this cottage to hide secrets and pain.

'FOUND

'Ivy’s quiet life in Rosella Cove is tainted by the events of World War II, with ramifications felt for many years to come. But one night a drifter appears and changes everything. Perhaps his is the soul she’s meant to save.

'FORGOTTEN

'Charlie is too afraid of his past to form any lasting ties in the cove. He knows he must make amends for his tragic deeds long ago, but he can’t do it alone. Maybe the new tenant in the cottage will help him fulfil a promise and find the redemption he isn’t sure he deserves.

'Welcome to the cottage at Rosella Cove, where three damaged souls meet and have the chance to rewrite their futures.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'THE PAST

For Hattie, the cafe has been her refuge for the last fifty years - her second chance at a happy ending after her dreams of being a star were shattered. But will the ghosts of her past succeed in destroying everything she's worked so hard to build? 

'THE PRESENT

For Alice, the cafe is her livelihood. After Hattie took her in as a teenager, Alice has slowly forged a quiet life as the cafe's manager (and chief cupcake baker). But with so many tragedies behind her, is it too late for Alice's story to have a happy ending?

'THE FUTURE

For Becca, a teenager in trouble, the cafe could be the new start she yearns for. That is, if she can be persuaded to stop running from her secrets. Can Becca find a way to believe in the kindness of strangers, and accept that this small town could be the place where she finally belongs? ' (Publication summary)