My absolute favorite read of 2024 would have to be “Perfume” by Patrick Süskind. I can’t state enough how innovative and original this novel felt, from every perspective. The story follows Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a man born with a remarkable sense of smell, who grows obsessed with capturing “the perfect fragrance”. Jean-Baptiste aims to acquire this perfect scent by way of murder, especially the murder of young women. I found Süskind’s portrayal of his protagonist both chilling and fascinating, somewhere between morbid and grotesque.
Despite the story’s dark premise, I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the writing. Süskind’s writing style is evocative, almost poetic, bringing the settings of 18th century France to life in a beautiful tapestry of scent, color and texture. As an author born with synesthesia – a condition that makes my brain mix signals between the five senses – I was blown away by Süskind’s multi-sensory language and his ability to evoke the senses.
His descriptions of rare flowers, silky fabrics and damp cellars were not just immersive from a literary perspective, but personally relevant to me, as a person. It made me wonder whether the author might have had a touch of synesthesia as well.
An erotic masterpiece of twentieth century fiction - a tale of sensual obsession and bloodlust in eighteenth century Paris
'An astonishing tour de force both in concept and execution' Guardian
In eighteenth-century France there lived a man who was one of the most gifted and abominable personages in an era that knew no lack of gifted and abominable personages. His name was Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, and if his name has been forgotten today.
It is certainly not because Grenouille fell short of those more famous blackguards when it came to arrogance, misanthropy, immorality, or, more succinctly, wickedness, but because his gifts…
When I first picked up “Haunted” by Chuck Palahniuk, I wasn’t ready to have my boundaries pushed as a reader. The book is a Chinese Boxes type of narrative, with several short stories taking place inside a larger meta-narrative. The plot follows a group of authors trapped together inside a creative retreat, where they agree to tell stories to pass the time.
Each short story reflects a twisted, often disturbing exploration of “the quest for fame”, and what each author is willing to do to be remembered. Themes like vanity, corruption, legacy and exploitation made me look inward and challenge my own assumptions about fame and pride.
Palahniuk spares no detail in using graphic language to shock you. More than once, I found myself inspired to confront the darker aspects of being an author, particularly my own tendency to self-destruct in pursuit of “the perfect story”. This novel isn’t for the faint-hearted, but its brutal honesty was a breath of fresh air.
"Haunted" is a novel made up of stories: twenty-three of them to be precise. Twenty-three of the most horrifying, hilarious, mind-blowing, stomach-churning tales you'll ever encounter - sometimes all at once. They are told by the people who have all answered the ad headlined 'Artists Retreat: Abandon your life for three months'. They are led to believe that here they will leave behind all the distractions of 'real life' that are keeping them from creating the masterpiece that is in them. But 'here' turns out to be a cavernous and ornate old theatre where they are utterly isolated from the…
“Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect” by Benjamin Stevenson was the coolest whodunit I’ve read in 2024. Right from the start, I was hooked by the confined setting (a moving train) and its quirky ensemble of passengers, where each traveler harbors a deep-guarded secret. The story was outrageously funny and suspenseful at times, and each new clue forced me to reevaluate who could be responsible. Its fast-paced narrative kept me guessing right up to its satisfying conclusion. “Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect” was as fun as it was exhilarating: a witty page-turner that mixes comedy and crime in a way that’s completely new and refreshing.
From the bestselling author of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, a fiendishly fun locked room (train) murder mystery that "offers a tip of the hat to the great Agatha Christie novel while at the same time being a modern reinvention of it" (Nita Prose) -- perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Anthony Horowitz
When the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each…
Prepare to lose yourself in a new fantasy series, where the thoughts of today become the events of tomorrow. In a world in which reality can be altered and history can be rewritten, a young hero discovers her powers to "imagine things true" stand between cosmic order and chaos.
Vivian Amberville® is a bestselling fantasy book series about a girl whose imagination can reshape reality. The first book in the series, The Weaver of Odds introduces 13-year old Vivian to her unique if dangerous power of altering odds, outcomes, and the very substance of reality. Fantasy like never told before: a mythical fiction of friendship and acceptance; of fate and free will; of destiny and despair; of extraordinary ordinary heroes and their reality-changing journeys.
