The People Smuggler by Robin de Crespigny

This is the true story of Ali Al Jenabi, the eldest son of a middle class Iraqi family, raised while Saddam Hussein was in power. Ali's father was in the army but openly critical of Saddam. When he was sent  to Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, Ali and his brother Ahmad had to support their large family by selling cigarettes at the market after school. Ali was always in danger of being sent to prison himself, either for failing to join the army or for his suspected opposition to Saddam.

After a long stint in Abu Ghraib, Ali worked in the resistance movement. This put his family in danger and they were all forced to flee to Iran. They then tried to find somewhere more permanent.

Ali eventually made it to Indonesia. He tried to get to Australia by boat, but he was cheated out of his money by a people smuggler. He decided that the only way to get his whole family to Australia was to organise his own boats and use the profit to pay for their passage. He was eventually captured by the Australian Federal Police and tried in Australia as a people smuggler.

This is not a happy story. It depicts the appalling reality many Iraqis and other refugees have faced. It shows the effect fear and poverty can have on people. Sometimes people risk their life for strangers and other times children turn their own parents over to the police.

The accounts of life in Abu Ghraib prison made me wonder how anyone survived. When they weren't  being tortured and beaten, the prisoners were forced to sleep on their sides, thirty to a cell, packed so close together no one could turn or get up. If they vomited or needed to defecate they had to do it where they were. Prisoners lived like this for years on end.

Some people call Ali Al Jenabi a saviour, the Oskar Schindler of Asia, others call him a criminal. Having read the book, I'll go with hero. Ali is currently living in Sydney but could be sent back to Iraq at any time. I hope the Australian government grants him permanent residency and soon.

A Wicked Snow by Gregg Olsen

When firefighters arrive at a blaze at a Christmas tree farm in Oregon they find the burnt bodies of two twin boys and a headless women. They also find the bodies of 17 older men, long since buried,  around the grounds.

It is unclear whether the headless body is that of farm owner Claire Logan, who is suspected of killing the men. He boyfriend Marcus Wheaton is sent to prison for 20 years for starting the fire. The story is told through the eyes of Helen, Claire's daughter, who was 13 at the time of the fire. Twenty years on, she is a CSI (Crime Scene Investigator), married with a daughter. Marcus Wheaton is dying and about to finish his 20 year prison sentence. Helen and the original FBI agent who investigated the case, Jack Bauer, visit Wheaton in prison to try and find out if Claire is alive and where she might be.

Author Gregg Olsen usually writes true crime stories. This is his first novel. The crime details are excellent. Olsen also shows how people touched by notorious crimes have to keep living with them. Helen has started a new life, her daughter and her work colleagues don't know she's the daughter of Claire Logan, yet journalists are always trying to track her down.

It's a great story, well told. It doesn't have lots of plot twists, you just slowly find out what happened and why; I was a little disappointed with the ending. That said, Olsen has written two more 'chiller thriller' books and I'm looking forward to reading them.

The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

Jess is a single mum in her mid 20s, struggling to make ends meet. Her goth stepson Nicky keeps getting beaten up and her daughter Tanzie is a maths prodigy. Ed is a workaholic computer geek who naively got involved in insider trading and now faces a possible prison sentence. Jess is Ed's cleaner. In an impulsive moment, Ed offers to drive Jess, Nicky, Tanzie and their huge dog, from Southampton to Aberdeen so that Tanzie can enter a maths competition.

The story reveals the frustrations of being poor. There seems to be no escaping the local state school and the bullies who attack anyone who is different. Yet Jess is trying to be positive and teach her children that they can overcome whatever trials they may face. The book is not so gritty that it's depressing. Overall it's entertaining and heartwarming; it would make a great holiday read.