All the Reviews

Grief Encounters, Stuart Pawson (review by sunniefromoz)

Reading GRIEF ENCOUNTERS is like slipping into a pair of your favourite comfy slippers.  It may not set the world on fire for being fashionable or chic but you know you are going to enjoy the experience. Stuart Pawson steers away from the dysfunctional stereotypes that abound in crime fiction these days.  It is near impossible not to like the amiable Charlie Priest and his team at Heckley nick.  These are ordinary people who come to work each day and share jokes, socialise and lead quiet unremarkable lives; just like the majority of us. And perhaps that is the clue to the popularity ... Read Review

Head Shot, Jarad Henry

There are days when the fact that I'm often so far behind with local authors that I could kick myself, and today is definitely one of those days.

HEAD SHOT is the debut novel for Jarad Henry, with Blood Sunset - his second book to be published by Allen & Unwin in 2008.

HEAD SHOT is a police procedural that's written with enormous aplomb and deftness.  The author has a background in the criminal justice system and that experience shows through, but doesn't overwhelm the reader.  This is not a police procedure manual, but a great book about a young cop who ... Read Review

The Shadow Maker, Robert Sims

A heartless, sadistic predator is roaming the streets of Melbourne.  He is attacking women, sexually abusing them then brutally mutilating them.  The first victim has her eye sockets burnt out, but she is a lucky one; she isn’t killed.  Detective Marita (Rita) Van Hassel from the Sexual Crimes Squad is asked to assist in the investigation.  Her profiling skills can’t pin down the man behind the increasingly violent crimes, but what does become clear is that she is being hunted as she hunts for him.

THE SHADOW MAKER is a debut novel by Australian author Robert Sims.  Dark ... Read Review

The Redbreast, Jo Nesbo

Okay - a little housekeeping first.  I can't get accented characters to work properly here ... yet.  I'm working on it because it annoys me as much as it undoubtedly annoys readers of these posts.  

Secondly, a little background to the Harry Hole (pronounced - we think - Hurler, but corrections from those who really know would be extremely welcome)!  THE DEVIL'S STAR (released in English first) is actually number 5 in the series, THE REDBREAST (released in English second) is number 3 in the series and NEMESIS (to be released about now, so third) is actually number 4 in ... Read Review

Wolf of the Plains, Conn Iggulden

WOLF OF THE PLAINS is the first novel in a series covering the life of the mighty Genghis Khan.  Author Conn Iggulden deftly demonstrates his knack of producing stirring oratories for Khan without pontification, perfectly timing their inclusion into some truly thrilling battle scenes.  Iggulden acknowledges in the back of his book that some facts had to be trimmed in order to make this work fit into the mold of popular fiction.  Yes, this is an epic work covering the early years of a well-known historical figure but don't expect to find it pedantically correct on dates of invasions ... Read Review

The Skeleton Man, Jim Kelly

THE SKELETON MAN is the fifth novel in this series - "starring" Philip Dryden, journalist - once Fleet Street luminary, now small-town newspaper man, and I have to confess this is a favourite series of mine.  Not because the books are edgy, or dark or particularly enlightening of the human condition, but because everybody in them is relatively normal; the situations that Dryden ends up investigating are not that outlandish and because there is a real human touch in the way this author builds his characters.

THE SKELETON MAN is set in and around a little village that has ... Read Review

Sensitive New Age Spy, Geoff McGeachin

SENSITIVE NEW AGE SPY continues the Alby Murdoch story where D-E-D Dead! left off.  Post the hilariously over the top events at the end of the first book, Alby finds himself thrust into leadership of D-E-D, not that it's all bad.  He manages to not get too involved in the day to day, and there's always Julie.  Julie helping out on operations is one thing, Julie asleep, in not a lot, on your couch is another altogether.  Mind you Alby's pretty well convinced he'll never get to have his way with Julie, it's a pity that for an intelligence agent, he can be as thick as the walls of an 80, ... Read Review

Core of Evil (aka Still Waters), Nigel McCrery

McCrery is the writer of Silent Witness and New Tricks - TV series that are undoubtedly instantly recognisable to a number of readers of this review, and there's something about the characterisations from those shows that rings bells of recognition in STILL WATERS.  DCI Mark Lapslie is called back from "gardening leave" - extended sick leave - because his name has been flagged as somebody who could understand a particular mutilation of the body that was found at the scene of a fatal traffic accident.  The investigation into this body proceeds slowly as, whilst the identification of ... Read Review

The Wrong Kind of Blood, Declan Hughes

Okay, so Ed Loy is a bit of a lone wolf character.  He's also obviously been endowed with some sort of minor super-powers.  You know the sort.  No matter how much of a kicking he takes, no matter how much battering, beating, brawling and bashing goes on, Ed keeps on keeping on.  He might limp a bit occasionally.  He might grimace when a recent scar stings, but there's a job to be done and Ed's going to do that job.  Of course this sort of character can get right up the reader's nose unless they have something else - that personality or style - that means you can forgive the minor ... Read Review