Excitement at the post office

Three individual parcels in the mail, each containing a book, all special books:

LETTERS OF FRANK SARGESON
Selected and edited by Sarah Shieff
Vintage 
Hardback - $49.99
Enthusiastically reviewed by Patrick Evans in the Sunday Star Times yesterday so far I have only dipped into it but I must say what I have read I have found riveting.






PHANTOM
Jo Nesbo
Harvill Secker - $37.99
Hey hey hey, yes, being published in NZ on 3 February (nearly 6 weeks ahead of the UK publication) the much anticipated new Jo Nesbo thriller featuring Harry Hole. Can't wait to get into this so it is promoted to number three in the bedside pile!

THE DAY SHE CRADLED ME
Sacha de Bazin
Black Swan - $37.99
A debut novel from this Nelson-based author. An historical novel, which the publishers say has been exhaustively researched, featuring the life of Millie Dean, the only NZ woman ever to be hanged, and a legendary figure in Southland.

Accused of infanticide and awaiting trial and then sentence, Minnie confides in the Reverend Lindsay. Alternating between these two contrasting personalities, the novel tells Minnie's version of events. From her oppressive upbringing in Victorian Scotland to adulthood in Southland, Minnie battles her own nature and the hardships of colonial life and social hypocrisy. Once Minnie is tried, she has to face her impending execution, while the Reverend Lindsay, who has become her unlikely ally, fights to prevent her paying the ultimate price for society's sins.
This book is going to attract a lot of attention.

About the author:

Sacha de Bazin (right) is a 38 year old mother of 5 children, who range in ages from 12 down to 2. Previously she was a primary school teacher, with a BA in English. She grew up in Tokoroa, studied in Auckland, raised children in Canterbury and recently moved to Nelson. This is her first novel.