An Ethical Guide to Murder

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 06/11/2024 - 10:48pm by Karen

The image of the book cover for An Ethical Guide to Murder by Jenny Morris includes the tagline 'If you had the power over life and death, what would you do?'. The image has a red and pink background with a dagger to the left that's sitting upright, looking like the scales of justice. There's a woman in one of the balance cups, standing up, and a man lying down in the other, with red blood dripping from his body.

How to Kill Your Family meets The Power in this entertaining and thought-provoking read, that asks:

If you had the power between life and death, what would you do?

...Read more

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Crime Fiction

The Forsaken

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 06/11/2024 - 10:40pm by Karen

The image of the book cover for The Forsaken by Matt Rogers includes the tagline ' A Broken Assassin. A Brutal Deception. A War for Redemption.'. The image is red / brown in tone with the end of a large, solid bridge with wires / coming off a hefty brick pillar, which has a USA flag at half mast on the top and a couple of high buildings to the right.

For ten years, Logan Booth served as a contract killer for the CIA – he just never knew it. The first book in a blockbuster thriller series from Matt Rogers, million copy bestseller and 'a bright new talent shaking up the genre ' (Candice Fox).

In the twilight of his career, Logan learns...Read more

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Crime Fiction

Better Left Dead

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 06/11/2024 - 4:27pm by Karen

The image of the book cover for Better Left Dead by Catherine Lea includes the tagline ' Secrets Abound and No One's Telling the Full Story' and the notation 'A DI Nyree Bradshaw Novel.' The image is of a striking pink, purple and yellow sky over a beach that has scrubby trees and bushes right up to the edge. The tide is out and the water is reflecting the colours of the sky.

DI Nyree Bradshaw and her team have their work cut out for them once again. Local woman Lizzy Bean has been found dead, garrotted with a piece of wire. Lizzy's property, a 1970s beach house overlooking a pristine Northland bay, is overflowing with rubbish. Inside, the house is even worse....Read more

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Crime Fiction

Humidity

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 06/11/2024 - 10:51am by Karen

The image of the book cover for Humidity by Dan Kaufman has a drawing of a town pub, The Iron Castle. It's a two story wooden building with a verandah and balcony. There's a Hotel sign on the side, and it's a combination of green posts, white and tan coloured walls. There's an electricity line running in front, a TV aerial on the roof, and a white dog walking down a red dirt road. The I in the title of the book is a cricket bat.

Welcome to an Aussie town where the violence is rampant and the humidity’s hell

Ben doesn’t like being a nude model in a small country town. Then again, the local footballers don’t like their girlfriends ogling Ben.

Broke and desperately lonely, Ben...Read more

The Freezer

BOOK ADDED: Sun, 03/11/2024 - 8:16pm by Karen

The image of the book cover for The Freezer by Kim Hunt includes the tagline 'a Cal Nyx mystery' and quotes 'Fascinating central character' Karen Chisholm, Austcrimereview and 'tough and incredibly capable Nick Davies, Best Adult Fiction Book, NZ Booklovers Award 2024' The image is a large blue coloured cliff with a darkened overhanging rock.

In the endless tracts of the New South Wales bushland Ranger Cal Nyx finds a dead body under unusual circumstances. It soon becomes apparent this is a historic death. Growing attention on the crime puts the blowtorch to a murderer who’s managed to evade justice. For now.

...Read more

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Crime Fiction

#yeahnoir

Welcome to Nowhere

BOOK ADDED: Sun, 03/11/2024 - 2:21pm by Karen

The image of the book cover for Welcome to Nowhere by Caimh McDonnell A red background there's a signpost in the centre with the Nowhere from the title on an arrowed sign at the to of it. Sitting, with their back against the solid wood signpost there's a smiling, brown furred primate clutching a large glass jar.

When a gambling debt puts him between a rock and a swim in the Hudson with concrete shoes, Smithy has no choice but to take the worst job imaginable. The gig – as prey in leprechaun hunt for a bunch of Wallstreet jerks – goes as badly as it sounds. He could leave it there and write it off...Read more

Man. Made.

BOOK ADDED: Sat, 02/11/2024 - 3:27pm by Karen

The image of the book cover for Man. Made. by Ian Austin includes the tagline ' From best selling author of The Agency '. The image is a solid black background with the letters of the title on alternating grey and pale green jigsaw puzzle pieces.

Man. Made. is the fifth book in a crime thriller series which features Dan Calder. Calder is an ex-cop who specialised in covert surveillance and undercover operations during his career in the UK Police. Dan's very unique set of skills have enabled him to investigate crimes and criminals in...Read more

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Ngaio Marsh Entrant 2024

The Campers

BOOK ADDED: Sat, 02/11/2024 - 3:04pm by Karen

The image of the book cover for The Campers by Maryrose Cuskelly includes the tagline 'You can't choose your neighbours' and the note 'Bestselling author of The Cane'. The image is looking upwards along the end of a house with a couple of lit windows and the hint of a face standing at one. There's a large gum tree behind it, and a bright blue sky with a few clouds and flying birds across it.

An engrossing and provocative exploration of privilege, hypocrisy and justice by the bestselling author of The Cane.

Leah has a good life. She lives on The Drove, an inner-city cul-de-sac, with her husband Moses and their two children. She and her neighbours - the...Read more

How to Send a Message

BOOK ADDED: Sat, 02/11/2024 - 11:45am by Karen

The image of the book cover for How to Send a Message by Caimh McDonnell is a yellow background with a series of "lines" of images down the page. 4 black emoji styled human figures An off white panel with How to Send in uneven red lettering Then the silhouette of a dog to the left of a red figure (same as the black ones), with a black figure then holding a gun to the red one's head Then an off white panel with A Message in the same uneven red lettering Then 4 full black emoji styled human figures, with another panel at the bottom with the author's name in it.

This is a collection of short stories that is exclusively available to members of Caimh's mailing list.

The collection features an eclectic mix of seven stories that range in genre from crime thriller to romantic comedy to sci-fi. Two of the stories feature Detective Bunny...Read more

The Cryptic Clue

BOOK ADDED: Fri, 01/11/2024 - 3:12pm by Karen

The book cover for The Cryptic Clue by Amanda Hampson includes the tagline 'Look who's back in hot water' highlighted by a magnifying glass which is making the look and in hot larger in size. The image is a white background with an orange border. To the left there's a dressmaker's dummy with a geometric shift dress on it. Out of a low down pocket on the front of the dress there's a light stick of explosive.

Look who's back in hot water! The highly anticipated new novel in The Tea Ladies cosy crime series, a runaway bestseller of the year. Available for pre-order now!

Welcome back to Zig Zag Lane in the heart of Sydney's rag-trade district, where our intrepid tea ladies, Hazel, Betty...Read more

Other Plans

BOOK ADDED: Thu, 31/10/2024 - 1:46pm by Karen

The book cover for Other Plans by Caimh McDonnell (near as I can get it Caimh is pronounced KEE-va or KWEE-va). The image has a red and black background with panels that look sort of like windows. There's a treeline with a large white moon showing above it, a bull with white horns and a very grumpy look on its face and a motorbike on a white stretch of road. The title of the book in centre at the top in a large, uneven font.

Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.

How much trouble can you possibly get into just stopping to use a restroom?

As it turns out, an awful lot. Bunny and co are supposed to be keeping a low profile, but nature calls and ironically, one of their...Read more

The Quiet Man

BOOK ADDED: Thu, 31/10/2024 - 1:42pm by Karen

The book cover for The Quiet Man by Caimh McDonnell (near as I can get it Caimh is pronounced KEE-va or KWEE-va). The image has a red and black background with panels at the bottom that look sort of like windows. There's a large snake, mouth open with fangs showing, a barred cell door, and some cards and gambling chips. The title of the book in centre at the top in a large, uneven font.

Getting into prison is easy, it’s getting out that’s tricky.

Almost everyone in prison will tell you they’re in there for a crime they didn’t commit, but Anthony Rourke really means it. That’s because he’s actually Bunny McGarry, who has got himself into one of Nevada’s finest...Read more

I Have Sinned

BOOK ADDED: Thu, 31/10/2024 - 1:39pm by Karen

The book cover for I Have Sinned by Caimh McDonnell (near as I can get it Caimh is pronounced KEE-va or KWEE-va). The image has a red and black background with panels at the bottom that look sort of like windows. There's the silhouette of a male figure, with a white dog collar showing, an arm holding a gun, and a bridge (?The Golden Gate Bridge - not sure). The title of the book in centre at the top in a large, uneven font.

Bunny McGarry is a man on a mission. He left behind his life in Ireland to go to New York to find the woman he loves, who happens to have a lot of very dangerous people looking for her. The good news is that they don’t know where she is, the bad news is that Bunny doesn’t either and the...Read more

Good Deeds and Bad Intentions

BOOK ADDED: Thu, 31/10/2024 - 1:33pm by Karen

The book cover for Good Deeds & Bad Intentions by Caimh McDonnell (near as I can get it Caimh is pronounced KEE-va or KWEE-va). The image has a red and black background with the tagline 'A Bunny McGarry Short Story" at the very top of what is mostly a black panel. The bottom of the book has the silhouette of a city skyline with skyscrapers and the Statue of Liberty in it. The title of the book in centre at the top in a large, uneven font, and there's a red and white Santa hat perched on the second O in GOOD

It's the night before Christmas and Bunny McGarry is hard at work. New York is the city that never sleeps and it certainly doesn’t take days off. Just because it's the holidays it doesn't mean that bad people aren't up to no good. Helena Martinez is trying to start a new life for her and...Read more

The Lodger

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 30/10/2024 - 1:53pm by Karen

The book cover of The Lodger by Gabriel Bergmoser is from the audio version that has an Only From Audible yellow strip across the bottom right corner. The image is of this silhouette of a male figure standing with his back to the viewer, arms out from his side looking towards an old shearing shed, grain bin and windmill, with a few trees dotted around. The view behind is across a flat plain, the sky above dark purple, fading downwards to yellow and pinkish in colour.

Ryan and Sophie are a golden couple in Melbourne, the charming, salt-of-the-earth country boy and the charismatic, gorgeous social butterfly. When Ryan’s father dies, leaving them the family farm, it seems like a chance for Ryan to get back to his roots and for Sophie to embrace the bucolic...Read more

The Consequence

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 30/10/2024 - 1:48pm by Karen

The book cover of The Consequence by Gabriel Bergmoser is from the audio version that has an Only From Audible yellow strip across the bottom right corner. The image is of a red and yellow, firey sky above a suburban street with lit streetlamps and a complicated grid of electricity and telephone wires above. There are cars parked, trees and glimpses of houses.

To rogue ex-cop Jack Carlin, running a thug out of town and giving his stolen money to a kid struggling to escape the criminal lifestyle is all in a day’s work. Until it turns out the money belonged to a dangerous drug cartel seeking revenge against anybody who might have been involved in...Read more

The Hitchhiker

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 30/10/2024 - 1:31pm by Karen

The book cover of The Hitchhiker by Gabriel Bergmoser has a yellow "sticker" on the front that says Bestselling Author, Must-Read Suspense, with part of the book cover and the title of The Caretaker in the middle. There's also a quote at the bottom 'I haven't found a cat-and-mouse game this captivating since Misery.' Jack Heath, author of Kill Your Husbands. The image is of a long, rough country road with electricity poles running alongside it, and a rail crossing right in front. There are fields off to the side, and a car barely visible through the dust it is kicking up. Overhead, a cloudy, grey and white vast sky.

The Driver:

Ahead he could see only the stretch of unending road, on either side brown-scorched plains of dirt and scrub, above it all a soaring blue sky and blinding sun. Desolation that looked, to him, a hell of a lot like freedom. He wasn’t playing by anyone’s rules anymore....Read more

The Inheritance

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 30/10/2024 - 1:18pm by Karen

The book cover for the audio version of The Inheritance by Gabriel Bergmoser includes the tagline 'She's running from the past ... and she's running for her life', as well as 'Bestselling author of The Hunted'. There's a quote at the top 'A heroine you can't look away from, pure thrills and wallop, wilder and gamer than your average Aussie noir - this is fierce storytelling.' Kyle Perry, bestselling author of The Bluffs The image is of a hot, firey red and yellow cloudy sky over a view of a lit up city street crisscrossed with power and telephone lines.

The author of the bestselling The Hunted returns with another unmissable, white-knuckle, gritty urban suspense thriller: think Jack Reacher meets John Wick in a high-octane, high-speed chase on the dark streets of Melbourne.

A young woman is hiding out in a sleepy...Read more

Cutler

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 30/10/2024 - 12:59pm by Karen

The book cover for Cutler by David Whish-Wilson includes the quotes 'Sharp and insightful' Sara Foster and 'A ripping page-turner' Tim Winton. The image is of a fishing net dragging through the ocean, some of visible above a rough sea. The sky above is grey and cloudy, and filled with gulls hovering over the net. The sea is dark grey and choppy.

Paul Cutler is a former undercover operative, now working off the books for his handler, Malik Khalil. When Cutler is tasked with investigating the disappearance of an Australian marine scientist on a Taiwanese distant water fishing vessel, Cutler realises that the apparent murder he' s...Read more

Murder Mindfully

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 30/10/2024 - 11:50am by Karen

The book cover for Murder Mindfully by Karsten Dusse includes a few taglines 'Calm Your Mind' to the left and 'Take a Breath. And Kill.' to the right of a figure in a black business suit and tie, white shirt with red splatters across it. He's sitting in a yoga position, legs crossed, hands joined palm to palm above his head. There's a large knife to the right of him. There's a "sticker" at the top with the Netflix logo in it and the words 'A Netflix Series'. At the bottom, under the title and author's name, the words 'The International Bestseller' appear. The cover is white on the top half, red at the bottom.

Calm your mind. Be here, now. Take a breath. And kill.

I didn't kill anyone until I was forty-two. That's actually a little on the late side for my current professional environment. Admittedly, I did kill almost half a dozen in the week that followed....Read more

Perversion of Justice

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 30/10/2024 - 11:34am by Karen

The book cover of Perversion of Justice by Steve Matthews includes the taglines 'The Spencer Investigations', 'In the darkest shadows, the pursuit of truth is the only light.' and 'From the bestselling author of the Hitler's Trilogy' The image is of a corridor with barred walls (cells) either side of it. The lighting is subdued. The title of the book is in orange lettering in the middle, the author's name and taglines in white.

In the scorching summer of 2004, a working-class Sydney suburb erupts in turmoil when Percy Fullwood, a respected local, is accused of a heinous crime by his own family. As the media frenzy ignites, Detective Bruce Spencer leads a high-profile raid, branding Percy guilty before trial....Read more

The Dream

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 29/10/2024 - 8:42pm by Karen

The book cover of The Dream by Iain Ryan has the tagline 'This ride has no brakes ....' and a quote at the top '... as hard-boiled as Australian Crime Fiction gets' - Sydney Morning Herald on The Strip. The image is of a moving rollercoaster cart which is blurred, running on a pink lighted track line. The title is at the top in very large yellow / orange lettering.

Corrupt cops, powerful criminals. A PI caught in the middle. The Gold Coast's darkest hour.

In the midst of a violent crime wave, Detective Bruno Karras (The Strip) investigates the disappearance of a wealthy family, confronting corruption within his own ranks...Read more

The Players

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 29/10/2024 - 8:36pm by Karen

The book cover of The Players by Minette Walters has a tagline 'In 1685, life becomes a game of chance. Some win. Some lose. But all who play make their mark ...' The image in the background is of a segment of elaborate costume which is gold, red and brocade. There is part of a hand at the top near a gold chain, and a full hand holding a brass key.

The much-anticipated sequel to The Swift and The Harrier

England, 1685. Decades after the end of the civil war, the country is once again divided when Charles II's illegitimate son, the Protestant Duke of Monmouth,...Read more

Present Tense

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 29/10/2024 - 2:13pm by Karen

The book cover for Present Tense by Natalie Conyer includes the quote 'A truly remarkable book. South Africa comes to vivid life in these pages' Kerry Greenwood. There are two blue "stickers' with text that's very blurred in this image. The background is in black, greys and white. It's brooding and dark, with a body of water in the foreground leading towards a single hill in the background with a black, dark, cloudy sky above with a wash of whiter, lighter area just above the hill. There's a small piece of barbed wire sticking out from the right hand side.

What if justice isn't enough?

Schalk Lourens got out his phone and started filming, something Pieterse taught him years ago. Keep a record. Do it yourself, boykie, every time. That way you can be sure. Cover your arse. Don't trust any of them.

Schalk began...Read more

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Crime Fiction

Death in a Lonely Place

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 29/10/2024 - 1:25pm by Karen

The book cover for Death In A Lonely Place by Stig Abell includes the tagline 'In a quiet village, secrets stir ...' The image is of a body of still water, deep blue and mauve reflecting the sky above. There's a leafless tree in the middle of the water with birds flying around it, and across the other side there are a row of low purple coloured hills.

In a quiet village, a storm is brewing. Detective Jake Jackson left London for a quiet life in Caelum Parvum. The idyllic country village offers the peace he craves—tending to his chickens, swimming in his lake, and spending long, lazy evenings with his new love, Livia. It’s the perfect...Read more

Last One To Leave

BOOK ADDED: Fri, 25/10/2024 - 2:22pm by Karen

The book cover of Last one to Leave by Benjamin Stevenson includes the tagline 'A twisty mystery' at the very top of a blue green solid background with a stylised "house" in the middle with lights showing in all the windows, and a round "sticker" to the right of that saying that "By the author of the bestselling Everyone on this Train is a suspect (including the eagle that features on that book cover). The background is divided into two blue green sections, the title of the book in large slanted yellow lettering at the top, and the author's name at the bottom in white. The penguin logo is at the top left.

How far will they go to win the prize?

Seven strangers are invited to compete to win a clifftop mansion. The rules are each contestant must have at least one hand in contact with one part of the house at all times. The last one to take their hand off, wins the...Read more

The Woman Who Knew Too Little

BOOK ADDED: Thu, 24/10/2024 - 2:19pm by Karen

The book cover for The Woman Who Knew Too Little by Olivia Wearne includes the tagline '1948, Somerton, Adelaide. A Dead Man. An unsolved mystery.' at the bottom with the title of the book in slanted lettering in the middle across the image of a woman in a 1940's style coat with rolled hairdo, a handbag and a hat in her hand. She's walking away from the viewer towards a car with headlights lighting the cobblestone roadway she's walking on. The overwhelming colour is green with a foggy green sky light by a single street light.

1948. An unidentified dead man is found on Somerton Beach, Adelaide. Officer Kitty Wheeler yearns to work the case - but the city's women police are typically assigned to more domestic matters. A wryly funny, sharply observed novel about one of Australia's great mysteries, and the...Read more

Woman, Missing

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 23/10/2024 - 3:44pm by Karen

The book cover for Woman, Missing by Sherryl Clark includes the tagline 'Will her first case be her last?' and the quote 'A pacy race against time that keeps you turning the page.' Vikki Petraitis, author of The Unbelieved The image is of a stairwell with a window to the right tiles, and wooden steps to the left. There's a female figure running up the stairs, she's got blond hair trailing behind her, as is her skirt. She's taking a big step up the stairs and is only partly visible.

She's the one to turn to when you need saving. But first she has to save herself...

Lou Alcott is turning over a new leaf as a private investigator. Formerly police, she was forced to resign when she attacked a domestic violence perpetrator. She's always vowed to be...Read more

Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 22/10/2024 - 4:03pm by Karen

The book cover for Everyone this Christmas Has A Secret by Benjamin Stevenson is a white background with a greyed out dotted line joining the words of the title: Everyone - green with a Christmas light forming the o This - slightly angled in two shades of green Christmas - red with a Christmas tree with white lights on it forming the a Has A - slightly angled two shades of green with a white dove to the left standing on top of the S in the next word down Secret - Green lettering, slightly angled, with a top hat in front of / slightly under the T with a red explosion coming out of the top, pushing the T slightly upwards The Author's name is at the top of the book directly under the line 'The International Bestseller' with a quote at the very bottom 'An ingenious and hilarious meta-murder mystery.' Sunday Times

If Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club kissed under the mistletoe...

My name’s Ernest Cunningham. I used to be a fan of reading Golden Age murder mysteries, until I found...Read more

Everyone on this Train Is A Suspect

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 22/10/2024 - 3:45pm by Karen

The book cover for Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson is a white background with a greyed out train line joining the words of the title: Everyone - grey with a poison bottle with an orange label as the o On this - grey with a wedgetail eagle in flight to the left, holding a burning twig in its talons Train - large orange lettering with go fast echoes Is A - grey letter slightly smaller Suspect - grey lettering with the U showing signs of fire on the inside lines. The Author's name is at the top of the book directly under the line 'The International Bestseller'

When the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each other. Obviously,...Read more

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