All the Reviews

A Better Class of Criminal, Cristian Kelly

There's a quote on the blurb for this book which goes:

Guy Ritchie meets Elmore Leonard – this is a fast-paced humorous crime thriller with splashes of dark and sinister

Which is where I could leave this review because it sums it up perfectly.

Fast paced: A BETTER CLASS OF CRIMINAL belts along, mind you that's a word worth keeping in mind, there's belting violence aplenty here which comes at the reader like a battering ram.

Humorous: If you like dark, cynical, pointed and very "gangster" styled ... Read Review

Death Off Camera, B.M. Allsopp

Book number five in the Fiji Island Mystery series featuring local rugby hero, now policeman Inspector Joe Horseman and his team, this time investigating the death of a fit young reality TV star who dies most unexpectedly on a small island off the coast of Fiji, in the middle of filming a wildly popular show which features, for the first time, a Fijian contestant.

Readers who are new to this series would be able to step in at any point as the author here plays very fair with just enough personal background to get where Horseman, and his 2IC, DS Susie Singh, in particular ... Read Review

The Concierge, Abby Corson

The author of THE CONCIERGE, Abby Corson, has been a luxury travel and lifestyle writer for over 10 years, and it shows in the way that she's able to depict a luxury hotel in the English countryside, with it's own concierge, Henry Harrow, the narrator of this, her first novel.

Now 73 years old, Henry has worked at the Cavengreen Hotel since he was 16. After a shocking murder, a very intense investigation, and a hotel ownership change, he finds himself narrating the story behind all that, in his own, rather unique voice. The blurb introduces him thus:

... Read Review

The Good Dog, Simon Rowell

THE GOOD DOG is the third novel featuring DS Zoe Mayer and her service dog Harry. The background to why Mayer has Harry, and some of the back story about why a new partner is working with her is in both of the previous books, and touched on enough here to give new readers some hints as to what's gone on. Seriously though, this is a series that really deserves following. Mayer is a strong character, Harry is fantastic, and the stories in both previous novels (THE LONG GAME and ... Read Review

Mila and the Bone Man, Lauren Roche

To say that author Lauren Roche has taken on a mammoth undertaking with MILA AND THE BONE MAN is possibly one of the bigger understatements this reviewer has uttered. There is so much happening in this coming of age story, which is more than just that - it's an exploration of consequences, a pathway from child to adulthood that has been profoundly impacted by trauma, it's about difference, acceptance, friendship, damage, and grief.

Every year the New Zealand Crime Fiction awards (Ngaio Marsh Awards) invariably present us with something that takes a different viewpoint ... Read Review

Slow Horses, Mick Herron

Been very intrigued by this series for the longest time, and I'm so glad I finally remembered to add it to the audio queue. Probably been mentioned lots before, but this felt very much like a worthy successor to the espionage thriller crown that sat atop John Le Carre's head for many many years.

Originally published in 2010, Slow Horses is the nickname that the MI5 uses for "Slough House" a division of the service that's a dumping ground for members that have screwed up. Their sins are many, varied yet depressingly similar: secret files left on trains, blown surveillance ... Read Review

And Away ..., Bob Mortimer

Bob Mortimer is probably best known around these parts for his legendary appearances on WOULD I LIE TO YOU? The TV show that includes David Mitchell as a team captain, somebody who, it has to be said, Mortimer has bluffed well and truly. His storytelling style on that show is exactly the same as it is in this biography, and you can't help but think it wouldn't be a bad idea for Mitchell to have been able to have read it (realise the timing isn't conducive) - as a lot of the stories that turn out to be true on that show (as unbelievable as most of them are), are covered in this amiable ... Read Review

São Paulo Noir, edited by Tony Bellotto

The Akashic Noir series is a brilliant idea (I have SYDNEY NOIR on the piles at present). The whole thing is a series of Noir styled short story collections from all around the world, launched originally in 2004 with BROOKLYN NOIR.

This collection of stories from Brazil is a fascinating combination of darkest noir stylings, some humorous in delivery, many of which come from an unexpected viewpoint / starting position.

As is always the way, some of the stories here will work for some readers and others not. In particular, the humour is a tricky undertaking ... Read Review

The Word is Murder, Anthony Horowitz

Launched into listening to this on audio without really doing any blurb reading or background checking of any type. Basically grabbed it because we'd recently watched THE MAGPIE MURDERS which we'd loved, and, well it was there. 

One of those reinvention style novels, where the author has cast himself in the role of a "Watson" like character, although to equate Daniel Hawthorne with Sherlock Holmes might be a bit of a push. Still, there's nothing wrong with the development of a brilliant, eccentric, disgraced police detective as a character, and Horowitz seems quite a dab ... Read Review