New & Notable Fiction May 2022

A round-up of some of the best fiction out recently.

ESTHER’S CHILDREN Caroline Beecham • Allen & Unwin

Inspired by the extraordinary life of Esther Simpson, Esther’s Children is a powerful novel of love and courage.

Set in Austria, 1936, Esther ‘Tess’ Simpson works for a British organisation that rescues academics from the cruel Fascist and anti-Semitic regimes taking hold in Europe. On a dangerous trip to Vienna to help bring aid to Europe’s threatened Jewish scholars, Esther meets Harry Singer, a young Jewish academic and musician and a love affair follows.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LOVE Caroline Petit • Affirm Press

The Natural History of Love is based upon the true story of 19th century French explorer, naturalist and diplomat the Count de Castelnau and his lover Madame Fonçeca; a sweeping historical narrative set in the wilds of Brazil, salons of Paris and the early days of Melbourne’s settlement.

When Melbourne lawyer Nathan Smithson takes on the case of mad, wealthy Edward Fonçeca’s inheritance trial against his ruthless brother in 1902, he must unearth long-buried family secrets to have any chance of winning.

IN THE BLOOD Jack Carr • Simon & Schuster

Awoman boards a plane in Burkina Faso having just completed an assassination for the state of Israel. Two minutes after take-off her plane explodes.

Six thousand miles to the east, James watches the names and pictures of the victims cross cable news. He remembers the face of a Mossad operative attached to the CIA years earlier in Iraq, a woman with ties to the intelligence services of two nations, a woman Reece thought he would never see again …

In a global pursuit, James will enlist the help of friends to track down her killer.

THE CANDY HOUSE Jennifer Egan • Corsair

The long-awaited sibling novel to Jennifer Egan’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, A Visit from the Goon Squad.

It’s 2010. Brilliant tech entrepreneur Bix Bouton is desperate for a new idea. He’s 40, with four kids and restless, when he stumbles into a conversation with mostly Columbia professors, one of whom is experimenting with downloading or ‘externalizing’ memory. Within a decade, Bix’s new technology, Own Your Unconscious – that allows you access to every memory you’ve ever had, and to share every memory in exchange for access to the memories of others – has seduced multitudes. But not everyone.