Staff Picks
The Deed by Susannah Begbie
Adult fiction
Picked by Maggie
MEET THE EDWARDS FAMILY Tom Edwards is dying, and cranky. He's made his peace with the dying part. But he'd bet his property, the whole ten thousand acres of it, that there'd be no wailing at his funeral. His kids wouldn't be able to chop down a tree, let alone build a coffin to bury him in. Then Tom has an idea. Christine is furious, David ashen-faced, and Sophie distracted. Only Jenny listens carefully as Vince Barton, of Barton & Sons, reads their father's will. Either they build his coffin in four days, or they lose their inheritance. All of it.
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A Canoe Before the Wind by Vitale Lafaele
Adult non-ficton 92 LAF
Picked by Duncan
An extraordinary memoir of an immigrant son's story of a better future. In 1962, a Samoan family journeyed to New Zealand, a country immigrants once called 'the land of milk and honey', in search of a better life. Instead, their eldest son, Vitale, arrived in an era of dawn raids by police and immigration officials, and endless racism and bullying at school. Yet he endured and, against the odds, grew up to become one of a select few civilians to pass New Zealand's elite SAS selection process. After seven years in the army, Vitale scaled impressive heights to become tactical commander of the police special tactics group, commander of the armed offenders squad, head of dignitary and witness protection, and one of New Zealand's most decorated policemen. From high-profile hostage situations to overcoming a career-ending stroke, Soifua Vitale Joseph Fatutoa Lafaele's story is an inspiring one, of overcoming difficulty with values to guide you through life's challenges, ua se va?a tu matagi, like a canoe before the wind.
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Where are the Children Now? by Mary Higgins Clark
Adult fiction
Picked by Glenn
The sequel to Where are the Children tells the story of lawyer turned successful podcaster, Melissa who recently married a man whose first wife died tragically, leaving him and their young daughter, Riley, behind. While Melissa and her brother, Mike, help their mom, Nancy, relocates from Cape Cod to the equally idyllic Hamptons, Melissa's new stepdaughter goes missing. Drawing on the experience of their own abduction, Melissa and Mike race to find Riley to save her from the trauma they still struggle with or worse.
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The Dressmaker and the Hidden Soldier by Doug Gold
Adult fiction
Picked by Tracey
The Dressmaker & the Hidden Soldier is based on the extraordinary true story of Peter Blunden, the New Zealand soldier, and Thalia Christidou, the young Greek dressmaker, and Tasoula Paschilidou the resistance heroine. What follows is an epic love story set in a country under Hitler's oppressive regime. With the Nazis closing in, Peter makes another courageous escape, Thalia is threatened by betrayal, and Tasoula is sent to a concentration camp. Will Tasoula survive? What will become of Peter and Thalia's undeclared love?
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Maths: 100 Ideas in 100 Words
Adult fiction
Picked by Braden
Get to grips with the essential topics in maths today through 100 key ideas, each one explained clearly in 100 words. Maths- 100 Ideas in 100 Words offers the essential facts at your fingertips, satisfying your mathematical curiosity and helping you to understand the biggest concepts in maths in concise, 100-word summaries. Explore 100 key area of maths - such as prime numbers, algebra, probability, algorithms and pure maths - in just 100 words. Perfect for getting your head around big ideas clearly and quickly, or refreshing your memory of the fundamentals of maths.
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