Join our host Fiona Taylor for the final RBC Book Club episode for 2025.

December’s @readingby.candlelight Crime/Thriller Book Box features the brilliant Matthew Spencer and his gripping new novel BROKE ROAD.

Broke Road is the second instalment in Spencer’s acclaimed Rose Riley series, and it’s an absolute masterclass in crime writing. When a woman is found dead in the Hunter Valley, Detective Sergeant Rose Riley is pulled back into the landscape of her childhood, where vineyards and luxury resorts sit uneasily beside prisons, drug dens, and long-held grudges.

As media pressure builds and old wounds resurface, Rose must navigate local secrets, small-town tensions, and the shadows of her own past… while true-crime author Adam Bowman is never far from the story. Taut, atmospheric, and compulsively readable, this is crime fiction at its finest.

If you loved Black River, you are in for an absolute treat, BUT this can also be a stand-alone story, complete in itself.

In this 30 minute chat, Matthew shares what inspired this story, how he gets police procedures SO RIGHT and what's next for Rose Riley ✨

'Reading by Candlelight' is a book subscription that celebrates up-and-coming Australian authors, delicious beverages, and incredible creations. Each month features a different novel paired with a handmade scented candle, a seed paper bookmark, a beverage (choice of alcoholic/nonalcoholic), a surprise, and an invitation to join the RBC Facebook Community.

December’s @readingby.candlelight Historical Fiction Book Box features the incredibly talented Emily Paull and her debut novel THE DISTANCE BETWEEN DREAMS — and our interview is now live!

The Distance Between Dreams is a sweeping dual-timeline love story spanning continents and generations. A long-buried family secret links two families from opposite sides of the tracks, and when their children fall in love decades later, that secret threatens to tear them apart.

Set against the backdrop of both World Wars — from Fremantle, WA to the horror of the Thai–Burma Railway — it’s a powerful read for fans of Natasha Lester and Kate Morton ✨

'Reading by Candlelight' is a book subscription that celebrates up-and-coming Australian authors, delicious beverages, and incredible creations. Each month features a different novel paired with a handmade scented candle, a seed paper bookmark, a beverage (choice of alcoholic/nonalcoholic), a surprise, and an invitation to join the RBC Facebook Community.

November’s @readingby.candlelight 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲/𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗕𝗼𝘅 features the incredible 𝗧𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝘁 and her debut novel 𝘚𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳. It has been called one of the most explosive crime debuts of the year, and it absolutely lives up to the hype!

In our chat, Tanya and our host Fiona Taylor dive into:
✨ The spark that inspired 𝘚𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳
✨ How her medical career shaped the novel’s themes
✨ How she landed a blurb from Jane Harper (!!)
✨ Why she thinks of herself as an “accidental crime writer”

With its dual timeline, gripping pace, complex characters, and twist after twist, 𝘚𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 is truly unputdownable.

'Reading by Candlelight' is a book subscription that celebrates up-and-coming Australian authors, delicious beverages, and incredible creations. Each month features a different novel paired with a handmade scented candle, a seed paper bookmark, a beverage (choice of alcoholic/nonalcoholic), a surprise, and an invitation to join the RBC Facebook Community.