All the Reviews

Retribution, Christina O'Reilly

Following on from INTO THE VOID, RETRIBUTION continues to feature DSS Archie Baldrick and DC Ben Travers - in this outing, investigating the death of a very mysterious woman indeed. After Lucy is found dead on the beach, finding out who she is, or anything about her is the most tricky part of the investigation, she's obviously been hiding something but whether or not that has any part of why she's been murdered is very difficult to ascertain. She seems to have no family or friends, no obvious past, and no easily identified motivations for wanting her dead.

Both of the ... Read Review

For Reasons of Their Own, Chris Stuart

Set in a fictitious location in Melbourne, timed to coincide with one of those blazing hot, drought and bushfire plagued summers, FOR REASONS OF THEIR OWN is a debut novel introducing DI Robbie Gray and her new to town offsider Mac, a young Aboriginal policeman who has been moved out of the NT after turning whistleblower about the treatment of young detainees in a notorious prison. (That aspect of this book is definitely going to ring some very unpleasant bells for Australian readers).

The discovery of a dead body in a swamp on the edge of Melbourne sets off a chain of ... Read Review

Cutters End, Margaret Hickey

First off, let me break all the "rules" of reviewing and say from the outset that I really enjoyed CUTTERS END.

Set in the South Australian outback town of Cutters End, this is a two timeline mystery, with the story harking back to the death of Michael Denby in the scrub off the Stuart Highway, 300km south of Cutters End on New Years Eve in 1989. Originally flagged as an accident, there's always been something not quite right about the investigation at the time, and the conclusions drawn. Not helped by the victim being a local hero - the man who saved a young girl and her ... Read Review

The Long Game, Simon Rowell

The start of what one selfishly hopes is a long series, THE LONG GAME, introduces readers to Detective Sergeant Zoe Mayer. She's back at work after a traumatic incident, working with her old homicide partner Charlie, accompanied by her service dog, the gorgeous Harry, who helps her handle the flashbacks from her past, to say nothing of providing more than a few intuitive emotional clues in her current investigation.

With barely a chance to dust off the desk, Zoe and Charlie are assigned to an odd death - a local surfer, good sort of a bloke - estranged from his wife, ... Read Review

Dead and Gone, Sherryl Clark

DEAD AND GONE is the 2nd in the Judi Westerholme series, following on from TRUST ME, I'M DEAD. There are some events in the earlier book that would be useful to know about before starting this one, although it's not absolutely vital - there should be enough context to keep you moving forward with what's a really good plot, peopled by very real characters.

When I reviewed the first book I did say:

"There's a good, clever, plot at the heart of everything, and pace is never sacrificed to personal or character development. There's menace aplenty and it's a real ... Read Review

Hip Flask and Hanging, Rodney Strong

HIP FLASK AND HANGING is the second in the Silvermoon Retirement Village Cozy series featuring the intrepid, impressive and slightly dodgy 97 year old Alice Atkinson, resident of the aforementioned retirement village and investigator. She of the many many ghosts from the past, although one wandering past her in the street was most unexpected, and decidedly unwelcome.

The past is one thing, and it's gotten way too close which is going to need Alice to do some serious recalling of events from 1969 in Swinging London, but in the current day, and much closer to home, her ... Read Review

The Paris Collaborator, A.W. Hammond

The Second World War is now a long time in the past, we must have lost just about everybody with personal experience of that time, and the lengths people had to go to in order to survive, so historical fiction that casts a light on the real, every day experience feels particularly timely.

THE PARIS COLLABORATOR is the story of Auguste Duchene, a former schoolteacher, living in German-occupied Paris, finding missing people as a way to survive. Approached by the French Resistance to locate a missing priest, and a cache of stolen weapons, his initial refusal is thwarted when ... Read Review

The Frenchman, Jack Beaumont

A spy thriller that's slightly different from the run of the mill "one man to save the world", there is much to like about THE FRENCHMAN.

For a start this is obviously a book written by an author who knows the reality of life as an intelligence service agent all too well. The author name "Jack Beaumont" is allegedly a pseudonym for a former French special operator and you can believe that. The level of authority that shows in the details of the life of an agent, the hyper-vigilance, the routines for getting into and out of missions, and the clash when returning to family ... Read Review

Into the Void, Christina O'Reilly

A crime debut from New Zealand author Christina O'Reilly, INTO THE VOID is a short novel with considerable promise. Introducing DSS John (Archie) Baldrick, DC Ben Travers and the rest of their investigation team whilst presenting the reader with a well crafted plot all in 158 pages is quite an undertaking but O'Reilly manages it without letting go of character development, plot, intrigue or pace.

The story revolves around the sudden disappearance of banker Richard Harper who appears to have run out on a desperately ill wife, and a pregnant girlfriend. The only glimmer of ... Read Review