Naumai Welcome
HB Williams Memorial Library

Librarian Recommended Reads
The unselected journals of Emma M. Lion. Vol. 1
by Beth Brower
"'I've arrived in London without incident. There are few triumphs in my recent life, but I count this as one. My existence of the last three years has been nothing but incident.' The year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighbourhood of St. Crispian's. But Emma's plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian's. Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House."—Publisher
Red rising
by Pierce Brown
“Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children. But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow - and Reds like him - are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class. Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity's overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society's ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies ... even if it means he has to become one of them to do so”—Publisher.
The world beneath her feet
by Maggie O’Farrell
“In her late thirties, Maggie Byrd lives a charmed life in London. She works with fossils and gems at the Natural History Museum and shares a home with the two people she loves most: her best friend, Harriet, and her partner, Joe. However, beneath this carefully constructed façade lies a past Maggie buried deep inside herself and resolved never to unearth: the story of a guilt-ridden, heartbroken girl who left Australia in her early twenties and swore never to return. But when she learns that she's inherited her beloved uncle's rewilded land in a lush valley of southeast Queensland, Maggie's London life begins to fracture. In the nineties, this wild, vivid place shaped Maggie when she was an angry, lost teenager. It was her home and sanctuary, where she experienced the intoxicating powers and limitations of friendship, first love, desire and loyalty – until she betrayed everyone she loved there and fled. When the same land that Maggie turned her back on comes into her care, she is forced to face what we all cannot bury, abandon or forget.”—Publisher
A murder in springtime
by Martin Walker with Kate Walker
“Bruno Courrèges, chief of police of the Dordogne town of St Denis, is no stranger to murder. But when he receives a phone call from his friend, Pamela, reporting a fatal attack on her newly arrived lodger, Josette Quirit, he is forced to recuse himself from the investigation due to his close ties to the case. Luckily, he has a project to distract him. For hundreds of years, the market of St. Denis has been the beating heart of the small town. Now, suddenly, customers and stallholders alike have fallen away dramatically. Frustrated with his work - where a new, young detective has been brought in to replace him - Bruno throws himself into breathing new life into his beloved market. But it's not long before Bruno finds himself caught up in the investigation again when it transpires that Josette is not quite the kindly nurse she first appeared to be...”—Publisher