All the Reviews

Just Play Along, Megan Daymond

JUST PLAY ALONG is Megan Daymond's debut novel, and she's taken on quite confrontational subject matter. A double date that turns into a snuff film, with one of the girls fighting back and killing one of the attackers in the struggle to survive. From there things go from bad to worse as video of the attack is leaked online, and Andy finds herself the centre of attention, and under threat.  Add to that the discovery of six female bodies buried in bushland on Sydney's Northern Beaches, and a possible connection to the snuff-film ring, and Andy finds herself at the centre of an ... Read Review

Under the Cold Bright Lights, Garry Disher

Cold-case detectives are everywhere these days, but the latest creation from Garry Disher, Alan Auhl, is not as straightforward as some might expect. Full review at Newtown Review of BooksRead Review

Absolute Proof, Peter James

ABSOLUTE PROOF is a rare thing in these parts - a "did not finish". Try as I might to get into this whopping big thriller, it's just too much of a slog. (For the record I'm not a fan of Dan Brown's books either so there is a distinct possibility that this one was never destined to work for me as it seems to have been compared favourably to them in a number of quarters).

But for this reader, right from the outset there was much that pushed suspension of disbelief too far, and much that just flat out didn't work. The reader is called up on accept that an investigative ... Read Review

Whisky From Small Glasses, Denzil Meyrick

WHISKY FROM SMALL GLASSES is the first in the DI Jim Daley (yes he does go to the gym daily) and DS Brian Scott series, which I've started listening to, as opposed to reading, and very fine listening it is. Narrated by David Monteath, the series is now up to book 6.

Starting out with a good balance between introduction and set up of new characters, and an interesting investigation to be getting on with, WHISKY FROM SMALL GLASSES comes with a unique setting and some dark humour into the bargain. There's also more than enough intrigue, marital issues, and police politics to ... Read Review

Evil Under the Stars, C.A. Larmer

On the lighter than air side of the cozy spectrum this is a series that will appeal to readers who like a bit of self-aware silly in their crime fiction.

Third book in the Agatha Christie Book Club series, EVIL UNDER THE STARS, continues the adventures of a group of friends, linked by their shared love of the novels of Agatha Christie. When I reviewed the first novel it was littered with references and clues to Agatha Christie plots that were surprisingly missed by many of the club members, which at the time seemed a bit odd, but that's definitely been tightened up a lot ... Read Review

Get Poor Slow, David Free

There were so many reasons I wanted to love GET POOR SLOW. The concept of the most hated book reviewer in Australia being the only suspect in a murder, right down to the belly full of bourbon and the curdled dreams of literary greatness sounds like great fun. And I did so like the opening lines:

I'm starting to doubt this thing will end soon. Last night one of them came up to the house. I was inside, doing what I do these days when it gets dark. No lights on, no book, no TV, no sounds, just a glass in my fist with not much left in it.

... Read Review

A Necessary Murder, M.J. Tjia

The second outing for Heloise Chancey, A NECESSARY MURDER follows on from the promising debut SHE BE DAMNED. In that novel we were introduced to Heloise Chancey, courtesan, independent woman and occasional detective. A combination Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poroit in an 1800's V.I. Warshawski depiction, Chancey is considered, cautious, fearless and disdainful of societal rules and expectations. She's a highly sought after courtesan with lovers and champions in all sorts of places, and a fondness for detecting that makes enormous sense. So far the crimes she's involved in have had a ... Read Review

Believe Me, JP Delaney

Yikes.  Be prepared for the push and pull as your suspicions settle on one person and then are shunted briskly away to lay uneasily on the head of another.  Rinse and repeat.

There’s a lot to like in this novel and there’s also a lot that simply doesn’t work.  It’s clever or very clumsy in parts and there’s no continuity with either intent.  Claire’s character is suitably complex and we’re all for seeing female characters showing their dark sides, just as male characters have been able to display for the last billion years in fiction.  As you progress through BELIEVE ME ... Read Review

A Double Life, Flynn Berry

It was only recently that I watched a documentary about Lord Lucan, of which A DOUBLE LIFE was inspired by, so the release of this book was timely for me.   So armed, was very keen to read Berry’s fictionalized take on such an iconic disappearance story.

UK novelist Flynn Berry’s first book, UNDER THE HARROW was a standout of 2016 and her second outing A DOUBLE LIFE has much of that same bewitching appeal.  Another captivating and intelligent narrator makes no apology for her decisions and none of her incisive observations can be dismissed as unimportant.  It’s all ... Read Review