New Titles and Recommendations October 2025

Mystery 
See No Evil | D S Butler
Mystery 
Two Kinds of Strangers | Steve Cavanagh
Mystery 
The Whispering Girls | Jennifer Chase
Mystery 
Kiss Her Goodbye | Lisa Gardner
Mystery 
Murder by Mistletoe | Jack Gatland
Mystery 
Ashes of Betrayal | David J Gatward
Mystery 
The Hallmarked Man | Robert Galbraith
Mystery 
The Girl Who Lied | Shannon Hollinger
Mystery 
Their Haunted Hearts | D K Hood
Mystery 
Her Silent Bones | Pamela Fagan Hutchins
Mystery 
A Rock and a Hard Place | J D Kirk
Mystery 
The Scene of the Crime | Lynda La Plante
Mystery 
Last Chance | Stephen Leather
Mystery 
Little Children | Angela Marsons
Mystery 
The Couple's Secret | Lisa Regan
Mystery 
Framed in Death | J D Robb
Aust Mystery 
High Rise | Gabriel Bergmoser
Aust Mystery 
Provocation | Geoff Davis
Aust Mystery 
Five Found Dead | Sulari Gentill
Aust Mystery 
Don't Say His Name | Rachel Givney
Aust Mystery 
The Stolen | Vikki Petraitis
Hist Fiction
Before the Crown | Flora Harding
Hist Fiction
The Lost Baker of Vienna | Sharon Kurzman
Hist Fiction
The Secret Book Society | Madeline Martin
Hist Fiction
The Midnight Secret | Karen Swan
Aust Historical
Tenderfoot | Toni Jordan
Aust Historical
Daughters of Batavia | Stefanie Keoens
Aust Historical
The Stowaway | Mary-Anne O'Connor
Psychological
A Neighbours Guide to Murder | Lousie Candlish
Psychological
The Liar I Married | D K Hood
Scandinavian
The Quiet Mother | Arnaldur Indriðason
Scandinavian
The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer | Ragnar Jónasson
Scandinavian
Mirage | Camilla Läckberg/Henrik Fexeus
Scandinavian
Wolf Hour | Jo Nesbo
Non-Fiction
The Last Lighthouse Keeper | John Cook/Jon Bauer
Non-Fiction
Saving Dragons: The Life and Times of Russell Goldfield (Louey Yeung Man) Jack | Dianne Dempsey
Non-Fiction
The Eye of the Dragonfly | Tracey Lee Holmes
Non-Fiction
Survival in Singapore | Tom Trumble

Rosemary's Newsletter

Author of the Month

Rozzi Bazzani

Rozzi is an award winning author who has written fiction and non fiction, scripts,libretti and songs for theatre including two stage musicals together with a wide range of articles about music, theatre and performance for publication. She has been a regular contributor to the Arts pages of the highest circulation newspaper in Australia.

Rozzi and Judith Masters will be in-conversation at the BMI in October, find out more via our talks webpage or get tickets below

Judith Masters

Book of the Month

The Last Lighthouse Keeper

John Cook with Jon Bauer.

In Tasmania, John Cook is known as ‘The Keeper of the Flame’. As one of Australia’s longest-serving lighthouse keepers, John spent 26 years tending Tasmania’s well-known kerosene ‘lights’ at Tasman Island, Maatsuyker Island and Bruny Island.

Evocatively told, The Last Lighthouse Keeper is a love story between a man and a dying way of life as well as a celebration of wilderness and solitude.

Recommeded Reads

The Midnight Secret.

Karen Swan.

Jane is married to the most handsome man on the isle of St Kilda – but he’s a bully. She inherited her mother’s gift of second sight, but only ever forsees her fellow islander’s deaths.

When death strikes at the heart of Jayne’s home, her marriage goes from bad to worse and she finds an unlikely friend. Glimmers of happiness tantalize her, though there’s no possibility of anything more.

But as the day draws near, tensions on the island rise. Secrets are being forced to the surface, passions and enmities erupting with equal violence. A man is killed, as Jayne knew he would be, and her
closest friends Effie, Mhairi and Flora are each
implicated…

The Liar I Married.

D. K. Hood.

When I met my husband John for the first time, he swept me off my feet. Now I lie in a hospital bed recovering from a car crash, and John refuses to tell me what happened.

In a marriage full of secrets,there are always two sides to the story. But who is the liar and who is telling the truth?

Tenderfoot.

Toni Jordan.

Brisbane, 1975: Andie Tanner’s world is small ut whole. Her mum is complicated, but she adores her dad and the kennel of racing grey hounds that live under their house.

Andie is a serious girl with plans: finish school with her friends, then apprentice to her father until she can become a greyhound trainer with dogs of her very own. 

But real life rarely goes to plan, and the world is bigger and more complex than Andie could imagine. When she loses everything she cares about-her family, her friends, the dogs- it’s up to Andie to reclaim her future. She willl need all her wits to survive this new reality of secrets and half-truths, addictions and crime.

Stay informed of our new releases

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Fundraiser for Ballarat RSL & BMI

$33 per person

Minerva's Secrets Night Tours

Tue 19 May with special visit to Lantern Vaults

Tour 1 at 7pm – Tour 2 at 9pm. 

BMI Fundraising Events book donation promotional image

Calling for Pre-loved books

These donation assist in our Library Fundraising Activities

We can take delivery during regular Library operating hours. See website footer.

Spring Season, History Talks:

Ballarat's Henry Lawson - The Dragon's Den - Gold! Gold! Gold!

Wed 3, 17 & 24 September, 5.30pm. 

Christmas Holiday Closures | Library

Monday 23 December – Sunday 5 January

Vintage Fashion Parade

Bubbly on arrival featuring quality items from our Vintage Shop

Sunday 6 September at 2pm - Cost $65

The Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute 2026 Calendar

Featuring illustrations from our Heritage Book Collection $40

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Your gift will be tax-deductible this financial year if you make it before June 30.

We need
your help.

2024 End of Financial Year Appeal 

Or alternatively go to our Donations web page.

Our Challenge

Like many organisations the BMI faces significant funding challenges. 

We thank you for your support.