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The Hunted / The Inheritance, Gabriel BergmoserIf you do what I did, and get these two books out of order, they will still work, but dear me, combined they tell one hell of a tale about a strong, resiliant young woman called Maggie. A young woman who grew up in very difficult circumstances with a missing mother, and a drunken violent father (who also happened to be a cop), Maggie's been running from lots of horrible people for a long time. Starting out with THE HUNTED, when she staggers into a remote service station, badly injured, pursued by some very bad people indeed, only to end up with a standoff ... Read Review |
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The Other Half / The In Crowd, Charlotte VassellRight up front - I fell over this series via the library, loving the first I read so much so, that I reserved the second available immediately and read it as soon as it arrived. I'm annoyed with myself now because they were published in 2023 and 2024 respectively and I can't see how there's going to be another one soon enough (by that I mean immediately). So the fact that I'm reviewing both of these at once should not be seen to understate just how enjoyable these were. Centred around the character of DI Caius Beauchamp, this is a series that pokes fun at most everybody ... Read Review |
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Expectant, Vanda SymonThe 5th novel in the Sam Shepherd series set in Dunedin, New Zealand, EXPECTANT is the latest work from Vanda Symon, the author Val McDermid refers to as "New Zealand's modern Queen of Crime" (fiction one hastens to add). Sam Shepherd is an experienced, tough, up for anything cop, currently confined to 'light duties' as she's about due to deliver her first baby and commence maternity leave. Which obviously makes the case of the murder of a heavily pregnant woman, and the missing baby snatched from her womb, a potentially uncomfortable undertaking for Shepherd. And for her ... Read Review |
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Disaster Inc, Caimh McDonnellRight, so the paperwork up front. DISASTER INC is the first in the series, "McGarry Stateside", featuring Bunny McGarry, who has already made an appearance in the "Dublin Trilogy" which isn't a trilogy, and doesn't just feature McGarry, and has another spin off - "MCM Investigations". So good luck if you're trying to read these in order. I've got a schedule setup and lists everywhere and I've just gone with the "get them all, worry about the order later on" methodology which I hope pleases the author (sign up for his newsletter at https:// ... Read Review |
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Dice, Claire BaylisWARNING: This book discusses sexual offences, and the related trial proceedings. DICE is a debut novel from NZ author Claire Baylis. The subject matter is confronting, not just because it is seemingly based on a real life case, the styling is inventive, and the outcomes devastating, infuriating and searingly illuminating. DICE takes the reader through the complicated trial of four teenage boys, charged with the sexual assault of multiple victims, based around a sex game they invented. The novel works it's way through jury selection, aspects of the trial and ... Read Review |
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I Will Miss You Tomorrow, Heine BakkeidThe first book in a series by Norwegian author Heine Bakkeid, I WILL MISS YOU TOMORROW was released in 2016 with at least 5 books in total in the series, the first two available in translation. The stories revolve around Thorkild Aske, a disgraced ex-policeman, he's fresh out of prison and a stint in a psychiatric hospital in this first book. Not just a disgraced ex-policeman, Aske was an Internal Affairs investigator before an accidental death put him in prison, which lead to a suicide attempt, and cavalier approach to prescription medication. A tortured and struggling ... Read Review |
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Bunny, S.E. TolsenBUNNY is written by S.E. Tolsen, a husband and wife writing team, who won Best Horror Novel of 2023 in the Australian Aurealis Awards, making it to the longlist for the 2024 Ngaio Marsh awards based on it's thriller categorisation. A combination of a straight up thriller, with psychological overtones, there are horror and supernatural elements enough here to feel like it warrants the marketing spin "For fans of Stephen King and Stranger Things." I've certainly seen it described as a solid homage to King's work, with the story of childhood trauma and current day ... Read Review |
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Mami Suzuki: Private Eye, Simon RoweMAMI SUZUKI: PRIVATE EYE is a debut series of linked short stories by NZ born, Japan resident author, Simon Rowe. Mami Suzuki is a hotel clerk, and a part-time private investigator, running her slowly building sideline around the day job, and her mother and young daughter at home. Based in the port city of Kobe, all is not as orderly and calm as first impressions may seem, and when things are not going well, and discretion is required, it's rapidly becoming known that Mami Suzuki can provide the sort of discretion, and low profile, that her client's are looking for. ... Read Review |
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The Safe House, Cameron WardA psychological thriller with a hefty dose of more than willing suspension of disbelief, THE SAFE HOUSE is one of those bare knuckle roller-coaster rides of a reading experience that may lead to a loss of sleep and a strong desire to avoid anywhere in the bush during long hot summers. The novel starts out with Jess returning to her native Australia, taking a break from her job as an analyst with the London Metropolitan police. By way of a convoluted back story, she's accepted a stint as a caretaker of a luxury walled off property near Apollo Bay in the Otways region of ... Read Review |
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She's a Killer, Kirsten McDougallHave had this one in the reading queues for quite a while now, so when an audio version of it appeared, read by New Zealander, Eva Seymour, I jumped at it. There's nothing like hearing the Māori language pronounced the way it should be. A dystopian eco-thriller, SHE'S A KILLER is set somewhere in the future, in a New Zealand that is struggling under the weight of climate collapse and government corruption. The other complication is the way the government is encouraging an influx of wealthy, privileged immigrants, referred to as "wealthugees". They come from lots of ... Read Review |
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The Caretaker, Gabriel BergmoserGabriel Bergmoser's one of those author's that is building a back catalogue of creepy, tense thrillers full of interesting psychological analysis and, frankly, disturbing scenarios. Which is exactly what you're given in THE CARETAKER. Charlotte is on the run from a controlling husband and his underworld associates, adopting a new identity and taking on the role of off-season caretaker at a small, deserted alpine resort, way off any beaten track. She's lying low, doing the small maintenance and cleaning jobs required, revelling in the isolation, dealing with the limited ... Read Review |
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Ace Post Mortem Twist, Kura Jane CarpenterAnother entrant in the extremely quirky, cozy Wyld Enchantment Woods series, ACE POST MORTEM TWIST is another one, as the blurb hints, for fans of non-romantic, paranormal, very cozy mysteries dripping with old lady snark, talking cats, and quirky characters. Very quirky characters. In this one it's all about a still suspended Fairy Godmother, a rookie henchman who is now a cat due to a magical accident, a wicked queen and a potentially crooked cop. In the frozen kingdom (queendom?) of the Wyld Enchantment Woods. Very niche. So niche I suspect a new niche as ... Read Review |
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El Flamingo, Nick DaviesRegardless of why struggling actor Lou Galloway upped sticks from Los Angeles landing in Mexico, going from attending yet another audition in which he didn't get the job to sitting around in bars with cheap mezcal and no demands, the last thing he expected was to end up at the wedding of the daughter of the infamous crime boss Diego Flores. The grand mansion, the fancy food, elaborate outfits, the drinks, the gorgeous wife Maria-Carla Flores, the pretence that he's El Flamingo. The real ruthless assassin, someone Galloway somehow got talking to in one of those bars, had an idea for an ... Read Review |
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Death of a Foreign Gentleman, Steven CarrollThe first book in a planned series of post-war literary crime novels, DEATH OF A FOREIGN GENTLEMAN by Steven Carroll was released in April 2024. Not sure when the next one is due for release but I'll be standing by for it when it arrives. Set in 1947, in Cambridge England, German philosopher Martin Friedrich is riding his bicycle through an intersection when he's hit and killed by a speeding car, which promptly left the scene. The only clues available to DS Stephen Minter when he is assigned to this case, are a possible partial number plate, an unrecognised driver, ... Read Review |
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Blood & Ink, Brett AdamsBLOOD & INK is a crime novel about a student that could be writing a crime novel. Or could be planning a range of murders. When his Literature professor Jack Griffen discovers five sheets of paper that the student, Hiero, has written, Jack's not sure which option it is. Until the first event that matches one of the scenarios he's been left. Why would Hiero choose Jack you well may ask? Well Jack's an interesting character, mild-mannered, but coming back from a recent nervous breakdown. His wife divorced him, and she and their adult daughter moved to the USA, leaving ... Read Review |
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Murder by Natural Causes, Helen ErichsenBorrowed this one by sheer happenstance from the library in audio format. Turned out to be an excellent choice, as it was different, and cleverly done. MURDER BY NATURAL CAUSES is told in two timelines. In the current day, Cilla is a 22-year-old contract killer, specialising in "dry" killings - murders that are usually declared by natural causes, with no suspicions aroused. Her main source of work is Vladimir Haugr, owner of an exclusive London based bridge club, she does five jobs a year for him, in return for a flat, a retainer and expenses paid. She freelances as well ... Read Review |
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The Queen of Poisons, Robert ThorogoodTHE QUEEN OF POISONS is book number 3 in The Marlow Murder Club, which is also now a TV series. Not at all surprising, it definitely has a "perfect for TV feeling" to the stories, it's quite good fun, and written by Robert Thorogood, the man behind the Death in Paradise series. The "crime fighting trio" in this series is made up of Judith, a retiree who keeps herself busy setting crosswords for a newspaper, and nude swimming in the Thames that meanders past her ramshackle old mansion. Then there's Suzie, the salt-of-the-earth type dog walker. She has a long standing ... Read Review |
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Dark Arena, Jack BeaumontJack Beaumont is a pseudonym used by a former operative in the clandestine operations branch of the DGSE, the French Foreign secret service. He joined them after being an air force fighter pilot, flying special operations and intelligence missions. Needless to say there are a lot of similarities between the author's background and that of his main character Alec de Payns. Not that the expertise is mishandled in this, now, series of two novels. Beaumont has the knack of providing more than enough detail of how missions are conducted, operatives work, and the difficulties, ... Read Review |
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The Shadow Broker, Tina CloughSHADOW BROKER is a standalone novel from NZ based author Tina Clough. It's a thriller in style, set in the future, where individual freedoms have been severely curtailed and state surveillance is omnipresent. When coded messages are found on a burner phone, they reveal a shadowy mastermind, who refers to himself as "The Broker", government corruption, and ruthless politics. Based around a group of three friends, who in an unlikely twist of circumstances, discover the messages on a burner phone, which sends them off on a dangerous game of cat and mouse, setting them ... Read Review |
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With Winter Comes Darkness, Robbi NealOn paper this should have been right up my cobblestone alley, but I've been thinking about it for over a week now, trying to identify what didn't quite tick my personal boxes. And this is very much a personal reaction. As with all books, there will be lots of readers for which WITH WINTER COMES DARKNESS ticks boxes, dots i's and crosses all the t's. Set in the 1970's in Ballarat, WITH WINTER COMES DARKNESS is made up of two main story lines. The first is Alice's life and the car accident that turns it upside down. Her handsome, assured, lawyer husband is driving out in ... Read Review |