Book Review

Ruby and the Blue Sky, Katherine Dewar

07/08/2017 - 2:42pm

Coming at an eco-thriller from the point of view of the activists, RUBY AND THE BLUE SKY is part thriller, part exploration of "celebrity" culture, and part do good chick lit novel. The idea at the core is that fame can be used in positive ways - in this case a pro-environment, anti consumer-culture stance with a hefty dose of women's rights and empowerment. 

To that end the central character Ruby is band leader, conscience and activist, pursued by eco-groupies, determined to ensure she uses a sold-out tour as a venue to push the messages. Needless to say message is a ... Read Review

Crossing The Lines, Sulari Gentill

03/08/2017 - 4:39pm

Known for her Rowland Sinclair historical crime series and her YA Hero trilogy, Sulari Gentill delivers something very different with this new novel. Full review at Newtown Review of BooksRead Review

Romeo's Gun, David Owen

28/07/2017 - 2:13pm

Hate it when a new book from a much loved series lingers too long on the reading pile simply because of competing priorities. No disrespect intended at all in how long it took me to get to this entry, and much pleasure when I finally did. Anyway they come, I'm quite a fan of the Pufferfish books.

For readers unaware of the Pufferfish series, Detective Inspector Franz Heineken is a gruff, grumbling bear of a man wont to stalk the mean streets of Tasmania with a glare and a stare for anybody who steps outside the bounds of propriety. His very particular brand of propriety ... Read Review

Wimmera, Mark Brandi

25/07/2017 - 3:39pm

In 2016 the unpublished manuscript of Wimmera won the UK Crime Writers’ Association debut dagger – now it’s published and we can see why. Reviewed at Newtown Review of Books - this is mandatory reading.Read Review

A Briefcase, Two Pies and a Penthouse, Brannavan Gnanalingam

04/07/2017 - 3:52pm

There's something deliciously intriguing about the idea that a top spy could lose a briefcase, which, rather than chock full of official secrets and classified documents, instead contains three mince pies, two fruit pies, the NZ Listener, a Penthouse magazine, and unfortunately a diary chock full of gossip. In a particularly unfortunate twist the briefcase is discovered by the son of a prominent journalist and, well things go decidedly pear-shaped.

Needless to say A BRIEFCASE, TWO PIES AND A PENTHOUSE is high farce. Right from the opening as poor Rachel McManus tries to ... Read Review

An Isolated Incident, Emily Maguire (review by Andrea Thompson)

27/06/2017 - 2:09pm

Wouldn't be too quick to classify this one as a psychological thriller as there is very little simmering tension in watching the lead character disintegrate a little day by day. The whole tone of the book is rather desultory, which fits in well with the remote country town setting where things take a while to happen. The death of Bella is a killing without purpose and the struggle that Chris feels in carrying on with normal life is both relatable and genuine. AN ISOLATED INCIDENT has an excellent sense of place and is very easy to project yourself into the setting of the small town ... Read Review

A Moment's Silence, Christopher Abbey

26/06/2017 - 5:27pm

There's a particularly interesting idea at the heart of A MOMENT'S SILENCE. A holidaying New Zealander makes a chance sighting out of a bus window, subsequently connecting the dots between the car he saw, and a subsequent bomb explosion. Originally reporting his suspicions in the Cotswolds village he's staying in, it's rapidly escalated to Scotland Yard when the bomber is subsequently identified but not caught. Which puts Martyn and the information he can attest to in the firing line of a very determined serial killer.

The set up of this is very cleverly imagined - the ... Read Review

A Reluctant Warrior, Kelly Brooke Nicholls

06/06/2017 - 3:30pm

There's something especially sobering about crime fiction that is obviously set in such a real, contemporary and frightening scenario. A RELUCTANT WARRIOR takes the reader right into the middle of Columbia's drug wars. It takes the reader into the world of a young woman who is trying to avoid rape, murder, torture and degradation, while she also tries to keep those left in her small family alive - after the paramilitaries and the drug cartel's have already unleashed havoc upon them.

As the blurb says, the story and the characters in A RELUCTANT WARRIOR are fictitious, but ... Read Review

Something for Nothing, Andy Muir

30/05/2017 - 4:23pm

As Australian as a dingy, and dead set likely to get himself into bother, Lachie Munro is a good bloke. Sure he's an abalone poacher, but only to pay off a lapse of concentration gambling debt. And sure he and his best mate Dave don't report the giant heroin haul they find when they are out poaching off the coast of Newcastle. Of course they seem to have just enough street smarts to finagle a possible connection for flogging the heroin off as an unexpected windfall. Dave's got kids he wants to set up after all, and Lachie? Lachie wants out of this current version of his life, which ... Read Review

A Simple Favour, Darcey Bell (review by Andrea Thompson)

16/04/2017 - 1:07pm

A SIMPLE FAVOUR is an absolute treat of a book and for a debut novel, remarkably polished.  Punch after surprising punch is delivered to the reader who resultantly never quite knows who to root for. Considering that a child has been abandoned by his mother, A SIMPLE FAVOUR stays well clear of portraying maudlin maternal emotions and instead examines what happens when someone decides to put their best foot forward in their new and changed circumstances. Stephanie’s character set in a different book would be just as chilling, and the familiar environment of home and hearth is anything ... Read Review

Quicksand, Malin Persson Giolito

20/03/2017 - 2:19pm

If ever there was a book that shows that the Best Swedish Crime Novel award needs to be closely followed, QUICKSAND is it. Scandinoir remains one of the big things in worldwide crime fiction, but, as you'd expect, there can sometimes be a little sameness to the sub genre. Which is not intended as criticism, there's only so many subject matters, styles and approaches available when you're writing psychological thrillers or crime fiction. QUICKSAND, on the other hand, has taken an unusual and different approach to a very difficult subject, handling that undertaking with considerable ... Read Review

You, Caroline Kepnes

22/02/2017 - 3:59pm

YOU is one of those books that I've been hearing murmurings about for ages, so when it was talked up by a local publicist who knows her crime fiction well it became required reading. Having said that, I'm well aware that it has also garnered mixed reactions so all in all, quite an intriguing read.

It doesn't take long to identify some of the likely causes of the mixed reactions. YOU is a creepy, sobering and realistic story about stranger obsession which is enough to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. It's discomfortingly, worrying and more than a bit weird ... Read Review

Signal Loss, Garry Disher

09/02/2017 - 3:10pm

Garry Disher has two successful major crime series out – very different from each other, both of the highest possible standard. Full Review At Newtown Review of BooksRead Review

Win, Lose or Draw, Peter Corris

16/01/2017 - 12:39pm

Many years ago there was a specialist bookshop tucked away in Auburn Road, Hawthorn run by a crime fiction expert and massive enabler (I think his name was Malcolm Campbell). He was one of those real-life people that made me thankful I'd made the trek from the bush to the big city, and Peter Corris was another. Sure I probably would have eventually found his books, but arriving in the city, finding that shop, and eventually being introduced to Cliff Hardy, kind of reinforced at that time it had been a good move all round.

From the opening book in the Cliff Hardy series, ... Read Review

Bangkok Belle, Ron McMillan

09/12/2016 - 12:53pm

Author Ron McMillan is a Scottish born and bred lad, who has spent many years in Asia as a photo journalist, and that "eye" shows in BANGKOK BELLE and the earlier book BANGKOK COWBOY. It's not going to be absolutely essential for you to read both books in order, but as is always the way with strong character based novels, it does work really well if you've been fortunate to get them in order. 

There is something visual about both the settings and the characters employed in these novels, as well as a deep understanding of the nuances of Thai Culture. When it comes to a PI ... Read Review

A Donation of Murder, Felicity Young

08/12/2016 - 5:25pm

A DONATION OF MURDER is book number five in this excellent historical series from WA based author Felicity Young. Built around the central characters of Forensic surgeon Dody McCleland and her love interest Chief Inspector Matthew Pike, there are some important historical aspects to these two, their working lives and their relationship. For a start that relationship would be frowned upon because of their work together so it's secret, but it's also most unusual that McCleland is a qualified doctor at that point in history. That's why she is working in Forensics, and doing some private ... Read Review

The Prodigal Son, Sulari Gentill

02/12/2016 - 5:07pm

Anybody who knows about this series will be aware that this novella has been a gift from the author to fans, a little taste of the ongoing series, as a thank you, and a filler in a bit of a gap between novels. It has the added benefit of fleshing out the back-story of Rowland Sinclair and his band of compatriots - Edna, Clyde and Milton. 

It should be astounding that even within the size restrictions of a novella, Gentill has managed to provide that back-story, build in a murder, set up a bit of romantic tension, and give a feel for the societal tensions at the time, but ... Read Review

A Secret to the Grave, Jane Blythe

20/10/2016 - 1:00pm

Sometimes you just can't shake the idea that an author really doesn't like their characters much. Flaws and troubles aplenty are one thing - but weighing everybody down in a story with just about every possible problem known is another kettle of fish altogether.

We know from the blurb that Detective Parker Bell has just returned to work after shooting dead a killer - which turns out to be somewhat less straightforward than it seems. As does the abduction case he and his partner are handed on his return. A young woman being held, a list of clues pointing to others who will ... Read Review

Nothing Short of Dying, Erik Storey

12/10/2016 - 4:28pm

NOTHING SHORT OF DYING is the debut release from author Erik Storey, which arrived with considerable fanfare. It's flagged as something that will have Lee Child's Reacher watching over his shoulder which clearly flags this is action packed, with a lone hero up against it from all sides central character.

Clyde Barr is a mountain man, hunter and a mercenary. After many years fighting conflicts in Africa amongst other places, and a torrid stint in a Mexican jail he's heading back to his native Colorado, out into the mountains, going bush as we'd say in Australia, looking ... Read Review

Australia's Toughest Prisons: Inmates, James Phelps

26/09/2016 - 2:13pm

The follow up to a fascinating book Australia's Most Murderous Prison, AUSTRALIA'S TOUGHEST PRISONS: INMATES tells the story of a number of people in prison - for a change not all of the usual role-call of participants that show up in these sorts of books. The definition of "toughest" here is something that's really up to the reader's perception - it could mean hardest to cope with, or most able to cope with dreadful circumstances.

There's something very off-putting about the opening to this book describing the behaviour of Martin Bryant. Perpetrator of one of Australia's ... Read Review

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