Barry Soper's memoir One Last Question, Prime Minister is in the top spot on the week's local bestsellers. Images / Supplied
1. (NEW) One Last Question, Prime Minister by Barry Soper (HarperCollins)
Barry Soper’s memoir-through-Parliament is like its author: feisty, honest, no-nonsense. Soper signed up for the police aged 17, but within six months realised its hierarchy and requirement to bend to authority weren’t for him. Back in Gore, he ran into a writer for the Southland Times and the rest is history. It’s a very readable account, Soper’s views are refreshingly independent-minded, and his memory of people and events is elephantine. After a brisk personal account of his life, he jumps into what he thinks of 12 PMs from Muldoon to Luxon. Helen Clark he rates the highest; John Key comes not far behind. Jacinda Ardern he rates the weakest, due to her government being ineffective despite a huge majority. As for Hipkins and Luxon, for him the jury is still out.
2. (NEW) Malachite (Valmora Academy) by Ashley Andersen (Moa Press)
The first in a planned dark academy romantasy series – written by a Kiwi!
From the publisher: “Malachite. Opal. Agate. Three stones, three powers, three magical units. Choose your unit ... and hope that it chooses you back.
“Arianell Nocthare has been waiting her whole life to enter the prestigious Valmora Academy, where students prepare for war by honing their elemental magic in one of three units. But there are two problems facing Aria on the night of her initiation ceremony. First, her family has been cast into disgrace after her brother was executed for allegedly killing four students in an attempt at dark magic. Second, so far Aria has been unable to summon any magic – and being magic-less in an academy where everyone wants to spill your blood is a dangerous game. How will she enter the unit of her choosing and survive without a scrap of power?
“Facing blatant scorn from every angle, especially from her brother’s best friend (the tall, dark and lethally handsome Sebastian), Aria is determined to clear her brother’s name and seek justice for his death. Forging a tentative and fraught relationship with Sebastian, she begins to uncover some terrifying truths about the academy. And a revelation about Aria’s power throws her world into chaos …”
3. (1) A Year at Awakino Station by Jaz Mathisen (Allen & Unwin)
New memoir-cookbook from longtime farmer taps into the endless Kiwi fascination with country life.
From the publisher: “Set amongst the breathtaking landscape of North Otago, A Year At Awakino Station encourages you to slow down, live alongside the land and embrace the seasons. Join Jaz Mathisen, her partner Dan Devine and their three young daughters as they farm Awakino Station – the third generation to do so.