What to read: Bee Miles and memoirs about illness and identity

Bringing her personal passion for throwing in a line, author and historian Anna Clark celebrates the enduring pleasure of fishing. She charts its history, from the first known accounts of Indigenous fishing and early European encounters with Australia's waters, to the latest fishing fads; from the introduction of trout and fly-fishing, to the challenges of balancing the needs of commercial and recreational fishers. Originally published to accompany an exhibition at the National Library of Australia, this book has updated material and new photographs.

Rose Ellis. Allen & Unwin. $34.99.

Bee Miles was a truly larger-than-life character. Born into a wealthy family, she moved in Sydney's literary and artistic circles in the 1920s and 1930s before she took up residence on the streets. She caught the public's imagination with her spectacular acts of defiance - emerging majestically from the surf with a knife strapped to each thigh, stopping a country train in its tracks, hitchhiking across remote Australia and drawing large city crowds with her Shakespeare recitations. She was also repeatedly incarcerated in prisons, confined to mental hospitals and treated brutally by a succession of authority figures, starting with her father. This is the first full biography.

Brendan Watkins. Allen & Unwin. $34.99.

Brendan Watkins was eight years old when his parents told him he was adopted. When he was in his late 20s he started searching for his birth parents and eventually discovered his birth mother was a Catholic nun. And she wanted nothing to do with him. Three decades later, in 2018, he found out his father was a priest. After decades of searching and obstruction from the Catholic church, the whole truth was finally exposed. This memoir reveals the story of that incredible discovery, and explores the questions, anxieties and reflections arising from Watkins' hidden past.

Ben Mckelvey. Hachette Australia. $34.99.

At the age of 27, Mckelvey, a journalist, who was busy, young, and fit, suffered a stroke and disconnected from language and the world. A few years later, he had a heart attack and while recovering, wondered what a good life looked like. In this book, combining autobiography, reportage and science, Mckelvey delves into psychology, physiology and neuropathology, looking at renewal, resilience and our ability to adapt to change. He also asks questions about life, connection, and the attitudes of people who have visited the precarious edge of human experience.

Jack Lutz. Allen & Unwin. $22.99.

This debut novel is a ticking-bomb police case set in near-future London. In 2027, terrorists deploy lethal nerve gas London Black at Waterloo Station, killing 10 per cent of the city's population. Detective Inspector Lucy Stone should have died - but she didn't, all because of something she'll spend the rest of her life atoning for. Two years later, Lucy is kept alive by precious booster shots. Copy-cat strikes plague the city. When London's most important scientist is murdered, Lucy discovers he was working on an antidote. But her booster shots are no longer working well, and time is running out. Will Lucy find the antidote - and catch the killer - before it's too late?

Dennis Glover. Black Inc. $32.99.

This novel moves between the past and present and deals with science and history and in particular the ill-fated Antarctic expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott more than 100 years ago. In the present, glacial archaeologist Missy Simpson is seeking the true cause of the explorers' deaths. Her colleague, Cambridge professor Jim Hunter, is working on his own scientific mysteries - and is willing to risk everything to solve them. In halls of learning and on the icy polar plateau, these risk-takers must grapple with the unfathomable power of the natural world and the dramatically changing weather while navigating their own complicated relationships.

Jane Harrison. HarperCollins. $32.99.

This novel is a reimagining of a crucial moment in Australia's history. On a steamy, hot day in January 1788, seven Aboriginal men, representing the nearby clans, gather at Warrane. Several newly arrived ships have been sighted in the great bay to the south, Kamay. The men meet to discuss their response to these visitors. Should they be welcomed? Or should they be made to leave? The decision of the men must be unanimous - and will have far-reaching implications for all. Throughout the day, the weather is strange, with mammatus clouds, unbearable heat and a pending thunderstorm. Somewhere, trouble is brewing.

James Dunbar. Echo Publishing. $32.99.

In the tiny Tasmanian town of Mole Creek, retired Australian cop and Vietnam veteran Pete McAuslan has retreated to his fishing cabin to write his memoirs. In Sydney, his grandson, journalist and trashy true crime author Xander, learns that his grandfather Pete, a retired cop and Vietnam veteran living in Tasmania, has killed himself, begging for forgiveness in a suicide note. Xander discovers that his grandfather's laptop is missing and begins to suspect something is wrong. As he investigates, he discovers long-buried secrets from Pete's past and puts himself in danger.

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