An Ethical Guide to Murder, by Jenny Morris

In her mid-20s Thea discovers she can tell how long people have to live, just by touching them. The shocking discovery that her flatmate and best friend has less than a day left triggers a power to transfer life from one person to another. Ruth is a doctor and a thoroughly good person, surely she deserves to live more than most and definitely more than the idiot responsible for the head injury that will cause her death. But where do you draw the line? Thea starts writing an ethical guide to navigate her power; she needs rules, especially when old crush Sam is on a mission to punish the wicked and recruits her as chief executioner. This is a fascinating examination of ethical dilemmas and moral relativism, wrapped up in an entertaining tale with an ending that is inevitable but not at all predictable.

Theory & Practice, by Michelle de Kretser

This oddly-structured tale starts with a novel abandoned for autofiction and ends, abruptly, with an expat anecdote. A writer looks back to her postgraduate thesis on Virginia Woolf at a Melbourne University, while living in pre-gentrification St Kilda of the 1980s. The story touches on themes of class and colonialism, guilty feminism, child sexual abuse and fraught daughter-mother relationships, while skewering the petty politics of academia. There is a lot going on in a slim book that won this year’s Stella prize. Michelle de Kretser writes believable characters with clarity and a beautifully fluid style, but the auto fiction element makes for uncomfortable reading at times.

Conclave (2024), directed by Edward Berger

The Pope has died and the world’s Catholic cardinals are converging on the Vatican to vote for his successor, while myriad nuns are bussed in to feed and water them. The task of organising it all falls to Cardinal Lawrence, who must navigate the various factional interests and power plays to ensure a smooth transition. Ralph Fiennes, as Lawrence, makes great use of his furrowed brow as the cardinals undermine each other and a newcomer puts forward the proposition that Lawrence himself could be a contender. The strong supporting cast includes Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow as rival cardinals and Isabella Rossellini as a quietly influential nun. This timely film gives a fascinating insight into how the conclave possibly operates, using elements of mystery, thriller and humour to leaven the politics. It looks amazing, with clever use of colour; a deeply ironic and highly unlikely twist at the end highlights that this is indeed fiction, not documentary.

Not Another Love Song, by Julie Soto

Gwen is an orphan and a violin prodigy who is working her way up in the Manhattan Pops Orchestra. There she has gone unnoticed by first cello Xander Thorne, who is also part of a superstar classical rock group and a child of privilege. Their romance is enhanced by mad musical chemistry and complicated by major trust issues and family dramas. This is not a sequel to Soto’s previous novel Forget Me Not, although it does feature some of its characters, but it reads as though it was written earlier. It is marred by some very clunky language, particularly in the sex scenes, and plot twists that stretch credulity.

Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory, by Martha Wells

This short Murderbot story fills in a gap between the fourth novella and the first novel, after the SecUnit rescues Preservation Alliance leader Mensah. It is told from Mensah’s point of view, rather than Murderbot’s, and we find out her name is actually Ayda. It gives an insight into the history of Preservation and how it became an egalitarian, progressive society that works against the Corporation Rim that dominates the universe. It also examines the physical and emotional fallout of PTSD, setting the scene for the development of a genuine and respectful relationship between Mensah and the SecUnit.

Sweet As (2022), directed by Jub Clerc

Repeatedly abandoned by her party girl mother, Indigenous teen Murra turns to her cop uncle for help. To provide breathing space he gets her into a week-long photo safari trip in the bush for at-risk kids. Despite a rocky start she bonds with the other troubled teens and the youth workers and discovers a passion and talent for photography that could help her develop a purpose. It’s a bit of a quick fix, but an outstanding cast - featuring Shantae Barnes-Cowan as Murra - help create a good story, well told. The reality of life in a remote Western Australian outback town is not sugar coated; the cinematography is magnificent and the nods to country and culture are credible and meaningful. The soundtrack perfectly suits the action.

System Collapse, by Martha Wells

Following on directly from the Murderbot novel Network Effect, the story continues the alliance of Preservation and the University against the evil corporations. The two sides are in a stand-off over the fate of the population of a failed colony planet – will they be resettled or re-enslaved? Unfortunately the SecUnit has had a breakdown after the events of the previous book so it is uncertain how much use it will be in supporting the good guys. The corporations are starting to eat themselves, so Murderbot needs to get its act together and help exploit the situation. It turns filmmaker and propagandist to beat the-ultra capitalists at their own game and help the colonists choose the right path. What is it to be human? This vastly entertaining series poses the question and strives to provide some answers.