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Dark Matter, Juli Zeh06/08/2010 - 3:19pmDARK MATTER is one of those books that I picked up with considerable happy anticipation, so was more than a little startled to find myself really struggling to get into the start of it. Until a point at which I found I wasn't struggling and was completely absorbed. And I suspect that's very much what the book is set out to do. Set in Freiburg near the Black Forest, the book starts out with two men and their obsessions. Their friendship begins at University, studying physics - Sebastian, retains his love of physics opting for academia, sharing his love of physics with ... Read Review |
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Buried for Pleasure, Edmund Crispin29/07/2010 - 1:19pmOriginally published in the 1940's the Gervase Fen mysteries are one of those rights of passage for crime lovers. Or at least they were in my house as I was growing up. Vintage Books have done us all an enormous favour in turning their attention back to some of the classic books - and this set from Edmund Crispin is a real job to behold. Now I have read a lot of these books before, but the chance to reread them, without having to rely on falling on fragile old copies in second-hand bookshops is a joy. And these are still very good crime stories. Slightly eccentric in ... Read Review |
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Blood Stain, Peter Lalor30/06/2010 - 1:52pmYou can't possibly say that you've ever been looking forward to reading a book about a case like this, but I have had this book here since it was first published, and I've picked it up and read a little now and then since then. Frankly, the subject matter made me queasy. But in the same way that the author wanted to know what on earth made Knight go so far over the top, ultimately, I was wondering the same thing. So I eventually stopped sooking and sat down and read this book. It's no wonder that Katherine Knight is never to be released, and whilst the ... Read Review |
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Where Have You Been?, Wendy James26/06/2010 - 11:38amWhat would you do if your teenage sister just simply disappeared when you were a little girl. And then reappeared at about the same time as your mother's estate was to be distributed? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? by Wendy James explores what Susan and Ed Middleton do when Susan's long-lost sister Karen - now known as Carly - reappears in response to a lawyer's advertisement. Susan isn't sure she'll be able to identify her sister, and Carly is definitely not the same sort of woman as Susan - but there do seem to be some memories they share, some nicknames, or events that gel, ... Read Review |
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No Weather for a Burial, David Owen04/06/2010 - 11:45amFour Pufferfish novels were never ever going to be enough for dedicated fans of this wonderful, quirky Police Procedural from Tasmanian based author David Owen. There was always a real sense of disappointment that Owen didn't appear to have been given the opportunity to publish more of these books (or at least I believe that's what happened). The sight of NO WEATHER FOR A BURIAL was therefore a cause of much excitement in these parts - and a mad scramble to the publishers website (you can buy your own copy direct from ... Read Review |
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Captured, Neil Cross01/06/2010 - 2:13pmOne of the things that I've really come to expect from author Neil Cross is not quite knowing what to expect when you pick up one of this books. CAPTURED is the latest in a set of standalone novels that have just all been fantastic, and I'm happy to report that CAPTURED keeps up the standard. When Kenny finds out he has a matter of weeks to live he draws up the sort of list that I guess many of us might draw up. People that he wants to clear the air with. He starts out tracking down the man who, as a little boy had been nearly abducted. Kenny had seen the suspect ... Read Review |
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Cherry Pie, Leigh Redhead08/05/2010 - 4:19pmCHERRY PIE is the third book in the Simone Kirsch series, which takes a slightly darker, more edgy direction than the first two. Working to raise the cash for the gadgetry needed to start her own Private Investigator business, Simone is sidetracked by a desperate phone message from a childhood friend who subsequently disappears. Andi has only recently moved to Melbourne as well, she works as a restaurant as a waitress, and is studying journalism. Andi's already been in touch with Simone asking for her help with a major story that she thinks she's unearthed, but Simone ... Read Review |
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Wyatt, Garry Disher03/05/2010 - 2:21pmIt's been quite a wait for the latest WYATT novel - The Fallout was published in 1997. I for one was rather excited to hear the news that there was a book on the way last year and I've been somewhat impatiently waiting for it to appear since then. As with all these greatly anticipated books, there's always that nasty little voice at the back of your head wondering if the anticipation might be building an unreasonable expectation. But this is a Garry Disher novel, and it's a WYATT novel and it's almost impossible to contemplate the idea of disappointment. Partly because ... Read Review |
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Australian Outlaw, Derek Pedley01/05/2010 - 3:25pmSubtitled "The True Story of Postcard Bandit Brenden Abbott", AUSTRALIAN OUTLAW is the authorised biography of Abbott, once a notorious Australian criminal, although, as it turns out from this book, a bit of a mythological figure in some ways. Abbott actually contributed to the writing of this book (without recompense) and a combination of his own words, and Pedley's observations really bring him, and that myth to life in a rather unique way. It's an odd experience to hear directly from the criminal in this way, especially as his story isn't a particularly flattering one ... Read Review |
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The Black Russian, Lenny Bartulin29/04/2010 - 12:54pmHaving really enjoyed the first Jack Susko book, A DEADLY BUSINESS, it was music to my ears to find that the second book was on its way. THE BLACK RUSSIAN sees not just the return of Jack - but the return of all of Jack's problems - financial and personal. In THE BLACK RUSSIAN Jack somehow or other manages, yet again, to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Attempting to scrape up some much needed cash, he's doing a special delivery of an old art catalogue when the gallery he has just walked into is held up by a couple of masked thieves. Masked, yet there's ... Read Review |
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Girls Like Funny Boys, Dave Franklin31/03/2010 - 2:26pmI will confess to being a fan of Dave Franklin's earlier novels - but when asked, I've only ever been able to describe or classify them as "rant novels", which, incidentally is a good thing. I was very pleased to hear there was another book out, but GIRLS LIKE FUNNY BOYS surprised me. Very much. Sure there's a tiny bit of "rant" in there, but this book is considerably more. GIRLS LIKE FUNNY BOYS is the story of Johnny Goodwin. Growing up in a quiet Brisbane suburb, with loving, if not slightly batty parents, a faithful dog and a big crush on his teenage sweetheart, ... Read Review |
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Australian Tragic, Jack Marx02/03/2010 - 2:16pmThe blurb of this book really really intrigued me - and it's true there are stories that I've heard of, some I knew a lot about, some simply rang a bit of a bell. There were others that I knew absolutely nothing about. As the blurb goes on to say, they range across our past and our present: the heartbreaking story of the fire at Luna Park; the unstoppable opportunist who snatched innocent men and women from Palm Island to be part of P.T. Barnum's 'Greatest Show on Earth'; a world-class boxer who lost his battle with alcohol and ended up in an unmarked American grave; Steve Irwin, ... Read Review |
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Unseen Academicals, Terry Pratchett25/02/2010 - 5:17pmLess of a fully fledged review, more of a musing on the latest Discworld Novel from Terry Pratchett UNSEEN ACADEMICALS. The quote on the back sort of says it all "The thing about football - the IMPORTANT thing about football - is that it is not just about football". Now I will admit I'm not a football (in any incarnation) fan. Can't stand the hype. Can't stand the carry-on. Can't stand the games themselves. So I was a little intrigued by this book - how would a Terry Pratchett treatment of the dreaded awfulness work? I was certainly intrigued enough to put aside my ... Read Review |
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Confessions of a Crooked Cop, Sean Padraic23/02/2010 - 1:05pmPart personal story, part historical overview, part warning about how easy going wrong can sometimes be, CONFESSIONS OF A CROOKED COP is the story of NSW Policeman Trevor Haken as told to author Sean Padraic. This book is flagged in the media release as "The corrupt cop from UNDERBELLY 3 tells his side of the story" so it's not going to come as a lot of surprise to see this book out and the timing in which it was released. I haven't seen a lot of the publicity for UNDERBELLY 3 but I'd take a wild guess that this book tells the personal story of one of the main figures of ... Read Review |
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Cold Justice, Katherine Howell30/01/2010 - 3:03pmIt's nearly impossible for a reader to understand what it must be like to write a series of books, based around the same characters. All we can do is be extremely grateful that writers like Katherine Howell can do it, book after book, maintaining the same high standard, giving us new stories, and new situations for the characters to appear in, keeping the series fresh and interesting all the time. Following on from FRANTIC and THE DARKEST HOUR, the third book COLD JUSTICE again simply does not miss a beat. Part of the reason that these books are so good is the shifting ... Read Review |
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All The Dead Voices, Declan Hughes12/01/2010 - 3:44pmGrant me a moment here, but Ed Loy is well and truly back and I'm more than a little bit happy about that! ALL THE DEAD VOICES is a really tense, investigative novel with a just a touch of the thriller about it. The action is swift, the tension carefully ramped up and the plot nicely complicated. The details are carefully laid out, allowing the reader to keep up, sort it out, decide for themselves, pick up the clues along the way. Provided you're concentrating. In 1980 two IRA men are hiding beside a roadway, ready to detonate the bomb destined to kill a hated judge ... Read Review |
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Cold Justice, Katherine Howell (review by sunniefromoz)12/01/2010 - 3:04pm“Write what you know” aspiring writers are often told. Katherine Howell has done that to good effect. She worked as a paramedic for many years and her detailed knowledge of both the job and the physical and emotional toll it takes are vividly portrayed. COLD JUSTICE is Katherine’s third book (the previous two are Frantic and The Darkest Hour) and her writing seems to get better and better . COLD JUSTICE not only has the fast pace of a thriller, it also has multiple threads which are gradually pulled together. Katherine is also a dab hand at knowing exactly when to change threads in ... Read Review |
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Dark Mirror, Barry Maitland (review by Sunnie Gill)10/01/2010 - 11:54amDARK MIRROR is a first rate police procedural. The author plays fair with the reader. The clues are all there, it's up to you to sort out which are red herrings and which are genuine. He also strikes a nice balanace between the private lives of the characters and their work. A good police procedural is one of my favourite types of books. If it's done properly it keeps you reading compulsively to find out if your theory is correct. I did manage to figure it out in the end, but not before I ran trough a number of suspects and changed my mind several times. If ... Read Review |
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Innocent Blood, Elizabeth Corley06/01/2010 - 12:49pmThere are some authors who just seem to be able to consistently turn out good books, ones that engage your attention, sometimes create some discomfort in the reader, but invariably make you think. Elizabeth Corley is one of those authors for me, I remember her books long after I've finished reading them. INNOCENT BLOOD continues the standard. DCI Fenwick's case - the Choir Boy investigations into a paedophile ring, was triggered by information from the USA, indicating that there is a paedophile ring operating in his area. This ring looks like it has been in existence ... Read Review |
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A Question of Power, Michelle Schwarz05/01/2010 - 1:11pmIn 2001, when a series of newspaper reports revealed that four women had accused Geoff Clark of rape I distinctly remember trying to follow the complicated legal and reporting machinations that were going on. I also distinctly remember feeling like I'd failed in that endeavour badly, but was never exactly sure why. Reading A QUESTION OF POWER gives you a distinct understanding of why this case was so complicated, so intense, so emotional. This book really is a fantastic example of investigative journalism, and ultimately, of the very best sort of true crime ... Read Review |