Books like The Secret Life of Luke Livingstone

Combining my interest in spiritualism with the psychological aspects of military history, this book written over 100 years ago is still relevant today. Sir Oliver Lodge was an eminent physicist and electrical engineer, also a pioneer of the spiritualist movement in the UK. His youngest son Raymond volunteered for the Army during World War One and his letters home, reproduced in the first part of the book, give a vivid picture of life in the trenches of the Western Front. After Raymond is killed in action his father sets out on a series of anonymous sittings with various mediums, which yield convincing evidence of Raymond’s survival in the afterlife. The last section draws on philosophy, biology, physics and the author’s own theories about consciousness and mind-body-spirit connections. He stresses the importance of keeping an open mind, being willing to revise firmly held beliefs and admit the limitations of current scientific… show more.

Set in Rome, England and France during the late 20th century, this unusual novel is based on the true history of the author’s grandparents. David is a dedicated young Catholic priest, sworn to celibacy. Margaret is an assertive feminist theologian. They meet and fall in love but only after prolonged soul-searching can they bring themselves to acknowledge their feelings. Eventually David leaves the priesthood, they marry and have a child. The story is told partly in flashback, after David has died and Margaret has developed dementia. A slow read, written in elegant prose, highlighting the controversies within the Catholic Church.

I love Jane Harper’s novels. Always a rather lonely man with issues, he investigates a death in the Australian outback. But it is so much more than the usual detective story. To me, as someone with no experience living in the outback, Harper writes convincing pen portraits of characters living in a hostile landscape where everyone has secrets. I could almost feel the heat. By the way, I was torn between recommending this and The Dry, both of which share similar themes, as my second favorite book.

I won’t give the plot away other than to say it’s a great mystery story rather than an action-packed adventure. How did this man die, and why? Harper weaves a well-crafted tale, gripping right up to the end.

This isn't a book I'd usually pick up, but after hearing rave reviews, I decided to give it a go, and I'm so glad I did! It's a slow-burn suspenseful crime novel, which would usually lose my attention as I'm more a fan of fast-paced reads, but Will's writing is so wonderfully rich and vibrant that it just wouldn't put me down! Yes, it had me that gripped. 

The story follows Thanh, a young Vietnamese woman who has been trafficked into the country (England) along with her sister. They get separated, and Thanh is sold off as a 'wife' to a farmer in the Fenns who keeps her there, hidden from the rest of the world.

The story is told in first person, and it gives a pretty stark insight into the domestic horrors of human trafficking and the bleak options she faces. But it's also an incredible story of… show more.

This award-winning novel is brilliantly human, witty and original.

The star of the novel and its narrator is Tama, a young magpie who is rescued as a chick by Marnie, a kind-hearted farmer’s wife. Tama doesn’t know what to make of his new human carer and her husband Rob, a sheep farmer facing hard times, but he settles in and observes the couple’s relationship. He feels deeply protective of Marnie who is abused by her husband and very much alone in the isolated location. Tama can speak and the couple end up putting him on social media, reviving their finances and gaining a whole new fame thanks to the bird’s wit and novelty. When he’s outside, Tama’s family warn him that humans are wicked and not to be trusted. Meanwhile, he observes and worries about Marnie’s increasingly precarious situation. The story’s unexpected and dramatic conclusion is sparked by the community’s… show more.

After breaking up with her boyfriend during a trip to New Zealand, Cassy meets a group of people who invite her to stay with them at their farming collective.

This book perfectly portrays the way someone is drawn into a cult, slowly giving themselves up to the beliefs of the leader; in this case, Justin and his prophecy about the Last Day. When Cassy finally agrees to stay with the group, she is taken further and further into rural New Zealand, eventually ending up on a jetty, where a boat is waiting to take her to the farm.

Through Cassy’s eyes we first see only wild beauty, and happy, content people but that gradually changes and she eventually sees the valley for what it is, a hidden place for Justin to preach to his people and plan for the Last Day, safe from prying eyes. 

I love any book that delves into the psychology of cults. This is a fictional account of a real-life cult that existed not far from where I live, and I have grown up hearing about the victims. The charismatic and highly disturbed female leader was an unusual twist on the standard stories we read about cults that are often led by men. 

Her determination to be the ‘mother’ of every child, have them all look the same (blond hair cut into a bob), and worship her was infuriating and intriguing. Taking vulnerable women, who were also mothers, and luring them into her secret commune, forcing them to make sacrifices, including their own children, deeply affected me as a woman and a mother.

Deliciously evil.