Killing Adonis

Australian author Donellan (A Beginner’s Guide to Dying in India) makes his U.S. debut with this delicious romp, which includes a bit of social consciousness. In a Brisbane bar, with a Moscow Mule in hand, nurse Freya Miller, who has always dreamed of becoming the Florence Nightingale of East Timor, is reconsidering her future. A friend shows her an ad for a private nurse that reads: “Light duties. Large pay. No questions asked or answered.” In an alcoholic haze, Freya sends off her résumé and is shocked into sobriety when she’s invited to come for an interview at the home of one of the world’s most powerful families. So begins this racy, well-paced, action-packed, and funny tale of twisted love, gruesome death, steadfast friendship, awesome greed, and familial madness—not to mention penguins in sweaters. Donellan has a gift for witty turns of phrase and dialogue that jumps off the page and makes you smile. (Dec.)