All the Reviews

Until It's Over, Nicci French

Husband and wife writing team Nicci Gerrard and Sean French have been churning out the psychological thrillers now for almost ten years since the release of THE MEMORY GAME.  Every year another is released and they all feature variations on a similar theme, that being of the urban girl in jeopardy.  UNTIL IT'S OVER lacks the density of some of the priors and is almost startlingly light in the mental conundrums we're used to seeing in novels by these authors.  The suspense, such as it is when it appears, doesn't gel with the casualness in which the characters go about their lives, as ... Read Review

The Fatal Flaw, Roger Maynard (review by sunniefromoz)

FATAL FLAW follows the investigation, the inquest and the trial which convicted New Zealander Glenn O'Neill.

Although the record shows that O'Neill was the killer, his conviction was based on an early confession which was later recanted by him.  The rest of the evidence was largely circumstantial and there were many unanswered questions which haven't completely closed the matter.

Norfolk Island is a somewhat hierarchical community, with descendents of the Bounty mutineers and Pitcairn Islander at the top.  it is also a community which is very protective of ... Read Review

Golden Serpent, Mark Abernethy

Espionage thrillers these days frequently put "the terrorists" in the old black hat role - the starring role the spies from the Soviet Union and the like used to occupy.  The Terrorists in these incarnations can come from anywhere - they could be Russian (mafia or not), they can frequently be Middle Eastern, or as in Golden Serpent, they are Asian.  One thing that doesn't really change that much is the nature of the threat - it tends to be huge, the weapons devastating, the results of their possible success vast and catastrophic.  And in GOLDEN SERPENT, as you'd want in a good ... Read Review

The Roar Of The Butterflies, Reginald Hill

The Joe Sixsmith series is much more light-hearted than Mr Hill's other, well known Dalziel and Pascoe series.  Partly because Joe is a gifted amateur Private Investigator and partly because of Joe's own personality.  He takes his responsibilities seriously, but he doesn't take himself all that seriously.  Of course his Aunt Mirabelle and his girlfriend Beryl are always standing by, ready to shoot down any signs of Joe getting ahead of himself.

He is somewhat surprised though to find himself confronted by a YFG (Young Fair God).  On a day when the heat is causing him to ... Read Review

The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam, Chris Ewan

THE GOOD THIEF'S GUIDE TO AMSTERDAM is exactly the tonic required for a crime fiction fan in dreary, cold winter.  Sure it's set in slightly more exotic cold Amsterdam, but the tone of the book is just on the cheeky side, a little bit light-hearted, a touch of the romp.  It is a good tale told by the central character - career thief, crime fiction author, the indefatigable Charlie Howard.

After the mysterious American dangles the job of stealing two (of the three of "wise" fame) uninspiring little monkey figurines, Charlie is initially pretty underwhelmed.  But once a ... Read Review

The Low Road, Chris Womersley (review by sunniefromoz)

THE LOW ROAD is an austere portrait of two of life’s losers.  Lee has never really had a chance.  He lost his parents suddenly at the age of ten. Wild, on the other hand, was successful and threw it all away.  Lee is incapacitated through his gunshot wound. Wild is so hopelessly addicted that he is almost incapable of any decision making outside of getting his next fix.

Reading THE LOW ROAD isn’t easy. In fact, there were moments in the book when I nearly put it down completely.  It offers the reader no comfort at all.   Like the winter landscape Womersley describes, it ... Read Review

Frantic, Katherine Howell (review by sunniefromoz)

Howell is a paramedic herself and writes with great credibility about Sophie’s working day. In fact, she writes so well about the working life of a paramedic that I found myself wishing that Howell had room in the plot for more of that aspect of Sophie’s life. I found it truly fascinating. 

Howell also has a deft touch with describing Sydney.  It helps that Sophie is stationed at The Rocks, right in the middle of the main tourist area of the city.   Anyone who has visited Sydney will immediately recognise some of the locations.

FRANTIC is Katherine Howell’s ... Read Review

A Carrion Death, Michael Stanley

Set in Botswana, A CARRION DEATH introduces the reader to, amongst a lot of other characters, Assistant Superintendent David Bengu.  David is a big man.  A very big man.  As a young man, his friend Angus coined the nickname Kubu - which means Hippopotamus in Setswana.  That friend belongs to one of the families in Botswana - his father, until he died, and his uncle have run the Botswana Cattle and Mining Company for many years. His friend - Angus and his twin sister Dianna are about to reach the age at which they inherit and they can take over from their uncle Cecil.

In ... Read Review

Shatter, Michael Robotham (review by Helen Lloyd)

Psychologist Joseph O’Loughlin is called to the Clifton Suspension Bridge where a woman, naked except for her red high heels, is poised to jump. As she weeps into a mobile phone, he tries to talk her down. She turns to him, whispers ‘you don’t understand’ and jumps.

A few days later, the woman’s teenage daughter, Darcy, turns up on Joe’s doorstep. She refuses to believe her mother could have committed suicide, and certainly not by jumping off a bridge. Joe starts to believe that the woman was coerced into jumping by the person on the other end of the mobile phone. The ... Read Review