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Rumpole and the Reign of Terror, John Mortimer11/12/2013 - 11:27amYou kind of forget how really good the Rumpole books can be - and this is a perfect little example. Especially with Mrs Rumpole locked in the box-room writing her memoirs (while not being romanced by Rumpole's nemesis of course). At the same time that Rumpole is proceeding with defending a Pakistani doctor suspected of terrorism. Who happens to have a connection to the infamous Timson family. Who have a big problem with him. Which means that Rumpole suddenly has a bit problem with cash flow. Really should not have picked this up, but I'm having a lot of trouble resisting ... Read Review |
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Ill-Gotten Gains, Ilsa Evans10/12/2013 - 3:55pmILL-GOTTEN GAINS is the second Nell Forest Mystery by Ilsa Evans set in the imagined country town of Majic (somewhere out near Bendigo if I remember from the first book :) ) When reviewing the earlier book, NEFARIOUS DOINGS recently, I commented on the style of accidental female PI series that these books fall into and what a good example of that genre they are. Whilst the first book was, in itself, a fun example of that style, ILL-GOTTEN GAINS adds a much stronger plot to other strong elements. Part of what ... Read Review |
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13 Shots of Noir, Paul D. Brazill09/12/2013 - 6:03pmDark, funny, dark, clever, funny, dark and absolutely brilliant, 13 SHOTS OF NOIR is a short story collection blurbed as in the "vein of Roald Dahl". I need to go back and read Dahl. Unless Brazill's got more of these collections. Short, sharp and lyrical, these are dark dark dark little morsels, gloriously British in feel, funny where required, poignant where appropriate. Cleverly balanced between sharply observant and a bit of sly commentary on the "human condition", there's really not a bad one in the bunch here. It made me laugh, and made me think all at the same time ... Read Review |
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Lady Audley's Secret, Mary Elizabeth Braddon06/12/2013 - 3:16pmPenguin Green Classics have provided an excellent opportunity to read, collect and revisit classic crime fiction titles. In the case of LADY AUDLEY'S SECRET, readers get an opportunity to return to a book from the Victorian era. Shocking and an absolute sensation in its time - LADY AUDLEY'S SECRET is one of the original potboiler style novels. Considerably more wordy than current day stylings, with a plot that's very weak really, this is a novel about the journey, as opposed to the resolution. It's all about whether or not our hero, Richard, can solve the mysterious ... Read Review |
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Murder and Mendelssohn, Kerry Greenwood04/12/2013 - 4:28pmPhryne Fisher returns in her 20th mystery, and one gets the distinct impression that the singer in Ms Greenwood has had issues with choir conductors in the past. But that's not the only thing that really stood out in MURDER AND MENDELSSOHN. Fans will, as always, find Miss Fisher in full flight, gorgeously costumed and decisive. A woman of means who uses those means to resolve the wrongs of the world. All of the expected elements are here - the cars, the household of supporting characters, the slightly bemused police in her wake. There's also a love interest, in the person ... Read Review |
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Sinister Intent, Karen M. Davies03/12/2013 - 4:28pmAccording to her bio author Karen M Davis was a New South Wales police officer for twenty years. Starting her career on the streets of Newtown, she went on to work as a detective and undercover operative in a variety of sections, all of which specialised in the investigation of organised crime. You can tell when you're reading SINISTER INTENT that the author knows what she's writing about very well. She also knows how to tell a yarn. In amongst the obvious parallels between the author's career and that of the central character, Lexie Rogers, there's also a sneaking ... Read Review |
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My Island Homicide, Catherine Titasey25/11/2013 - 1:25pmI love fiction that's set in remote communities, that's obviously written with great affection and experience of those communities - albeit with an outsider's viewpoint. It's obvious that this author has a close connection with, and affection for TI and it's people and the way that the community functions. Starting out as an interesting police procedural, with a tropical pace and feel to it, Thea's first case is the murder of a white woman, married to a local man. This lands her immediately in the intricacies of the local community. Complicated familial influences and ... Read Review |
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Dead Line, Chris Ewan01/11/2013 - 2:17pmDaniel Trent is a hostage negotiator, working alongside fiancée Aimee, but he could not have expected Aimee to go missing, or his chief suspect to be kidnapped as well. All of which is setup with breathtaking speed in DEAD LINE, dragging the reader into the story from the very first page, and not letting up until the end. Every now and again I did find myself rechecking the opening pages though - the sense of pace, the tension and the sheer wild ride of DEAD LINE didn't seem like THE DEAD THIEF'S GUIDE series at all. And I really liked those books from this author. There' ... Read Review |
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Sign of the Cross, Thomas Mogford28/10/2013 - 2:52pmSIGN OF THE CROSS is the second Spike Sanguinetti novel, in a series that really does need to be read in order. Not that it's any trial to have to do so, as this is shaping up to be a standout. It's not just the brutality of the murder, there's a fundamental sombreness about these books which works. The first book, THE SHADOW OF THE ROCK, was also set partly outside Gibraltar in Morocco, yet somehow that idea of a Shadow being cast carries through both stories. Sanguinetti is troubled in this book. By the brutal death of a loved aunt and uncle, the increasing frailty of ... Read Review |
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Savage Tide, Greg Barron25/10/2013 - 1:31pmAfter finding a surprising amount to like about the first of Marika Hartmann novels, I was much quicker to pick up the second book SAVAGE TIDE. Normally I quite like political thrillers, but this one wasn't for me. Read Review |
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Gentlemen Formerly Dressed, Sulari Gentill25/10/2013 - 1:12pmThe Rowland Sinclair series is up to book number five with the release of GENTLEMEN FORMERLY DRESSED, yet somehow it feels like there should be more of them. That could simply be wishful thinking. There is much to be admired about these books. The plots are clever and believable. Whilst the subject matter can be sobering, it's delivered with a light touch, drawing out the amusing where appropriate. There is a very strong sense of place, and the time period in which the action occurs. In the case of GENTLEMEN FORMERLY DRESSED and the previous book PAVING THE NEW ROAD that ... Read Review |
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A Hand in the Bush, Jane Clifton23/10/2013 - 2:10pmA HAND IN THE BUSH is the second of Jane Clifton's books re-released as ebooks. Cleverly, albeit loosely connected to HALF PAST DEAD by one of the supporting characters, the focus of this book is Decca Brand, psychologist, divorcee and woman with attitude. Whilst all of Clifton's books rely heavily on realistic female characters, and could possibly be classified as on the lighter side of crime fiction, they aren't fluffy or overtly cosy. In the second book from this author, there's a real sense of somebody who is hitting their writing straps. The central character here, ... Read Review |
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Flush, Jane Clifton23/10/2013 - 1:46pmListening to the radio recently I heard Jane Clifton talking about the thought process behind FLUSH. The end of a long term drought in Melbourne, watching a river running fast, and thinking "What If...". What if a body flushed into the river? What if the cover up of a murder can be derailed by an extreme weather event? What if that body, and that weather event, could provide a pointer to a location, and from there a killer? The exploration of "What If" can be as interesting for the reader as the why and who. In real life as in fiction, it seems a lot of the undoing of the ... Read Review |
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Out of Exile, Luke Preston23/10/2013 - 1:20pmOUT OF EXILE is the second Tom Bishop book from local author Luke Preston. Let's focus on that. The second book. It follows on from DARK CITY BLUE, taking the dangerous, damaged and deeply conflicted ex-cop Tom Bishop back, ever so slightly, onto the side of the angels. In two books Preston has ripped Tom Bishop's life, family and sanity apart, taken him down as low as an ex-cop in jail could possibly go. And then set him up in a no win situation blurring law and order and justice to the point where picking the good from the bad and the winners ... Read Review |
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Half Past Dead, Jane Clifton16/10/2013 - 4:04pmHaving originally read this when it came out in paperback form in 2002, it was no chore to re-read ... oh good grief ... 11 YEARS LATER. Now I've got an excuse for not remembering the entire story! It's always interesting to see how something stands up over the years since publication, allowing of course, for changes in technology, fashions, attitudes and social norms. In HALF PAST DEAD, there's not a lot of need for too much allowance though as there's a timelessness to the central themes. Marriages that are suddenly fraying at the seams, cut-throat business shenanigans ... Read Review |
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Death on Demand, Paul Thomas16/10/2013 - 2:59pmDEATH ON DEMAND came out in 2012 and it is impossible not to question sanity. It sat in my reading queue for over a year before daylight finally dawned. Needless to say a lot of other worthy books were swept aside, because it's nearly impossible not to love these books. Partly because Tito is such a believable character - even as cop turned vigilante. Actually Ihaka as a vigilante almost sounds right. He's a man with a finally developed sense of justice and a rather ruthless attitude to providing same. There is a strong sense of place built into these books ... Read Review |
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Nefarious Doings, Ilsa Evans15/10/2013 - 3:50pmDon't ask me what's going on. NEFARIOUS DOINGS, the first book in the Nell Forrest series released in digital format by Momentum Books, is the sort of accidental female PI thing that I seem to have been reading lately. The only reason I can come up with is that the ones I have stuck with have been very good. Perhaps it's because Nell might be a bit put upon (honestly why can't anybody else in that household throw together regular meals...) but she's not daft. She might be a bit ditzy but she's not stupid, and even though she's more of a stumbler upon the truth than the ... Read Review |
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The Case of the Death of a Ladies' Man, C.S. Boag15/10/2013 - 2:38pmMany years ago I went through one of those reader phases where I deliberately sought out weird titles just because there's nothing better than a quest. (Okay well any excuse to haunt bookshops and secondhand shops...) So THE CASE OF THE DEATH OF A LADIES' MAN appealed if for no other reason than a bit of nostalgia for that fun (and the sudden realisation that it might be time to revive it!) The book started out with quite a bang, and the details of a corpse found in a King's Cross alleyway that is guaranteed to make you sit up, pay attention, and work out very rapidly ... Read Review |
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Sleuth Astrid The Mind Reading Chook & Sleuth Astrid: Lost Voice of the Grand Final, Hazel Edwards01/10/2013 - 3:31pmI don't want to start any arguments here, but my mind-reading chook is an Australorp, currently known as "Underfoot", although a renaming ceremony is now on the cards. I've always been convinced she was a mind reader, although I'm pretty sure there's been no laboratory accidents in her vicinity. But she's the one, out of the very big flock of chooks in these parts, that always seems to be where I'm heading before I've even decided to go there. Of course it might be that she's such a guts that she secretly tracks movements in the hope of treats to get out from "Underfoot", but I much ... Read Review |
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The Dark Valley, Valerio Varesi24/09/2013 - 3:21pmI tracked down this book because I enjoyed the first in the series (RIVER OF SHADOWS) very much, but was prompted to actually start reading THE DARK VALLEY because of another book set in Italy. In that book the setting didn't quite seem to work, and I found myself craving something steeped in the location and culture. Got it in spades. Commisario Soneri is on vacation in his home village in the Appenines reconnecting with places and memories from his childhood, walking in the forest and most importantly collecting mushrooms. Which is frustrating for him as the crop has ... Read Review |