Dragon's Eye

A husband and father is betrayed, a son chases a ghost through the decades, a Russian arms dealer wants his hands on a priceless ruby, a young woman disappears with the keys to the mystery, and a female insurgent fights for her life. The Past and the Present are on a collision course....Read more

Liar's Game

Alec de Payns is on the run - and wanted for murder - in the new thriller by the bestselling author of The Frenchman

While recruiting a Russian human source embedded in the shadows of illicit financial networks, French spy Alec de Payns...Read more

Dragon's Claw

A VIP Protection job goes wrong, the brutalised body of a young man is found in the jungle, a triad wants its $2.5 million back, a girl goes missing and a friend is murdered. Galahad Jones’ world is about to tilt.

When a simple VIP Protection job goes horribly...Read more

Dragon's Back

A woman wants her errant husband tracked, an undocumented Cambodian girl is found dead, the city’s two biggest criminal societies vie for power, a loan shark wants his money back, and a corrupt cop is pulling strings from the shadows. It’s just another day in Hong Kong.

Former...Read more

Murder And Redemption

Syd Fielding is on a fishing trip when he hears a horrifying scream ... What he doesn′t yet know is that a young man is being fed to a saltwater crocodile.

So begins MURDER AND REDEMPTION, an absorbing crime novel which follows in the traditions of Jon Cleary and Peter Temple....Read more

Bone Lands

'Isn't it your job to stop people being murdered?'

1911, on a winter's night in arid New South Wales wool country, mounted trooper Augustus Hawkins discovers the bodies of three young people. They are scions of the richest family in the district, savagely murdered on a...Read more

Collins Street Whores, Peter Ralph

Collins Street Whores starts off very evocatively (for me at least) with a powerful motorbike being ridden along the Dandenong Tourist Road - a hop skip and a jump from our front door.  Unfortunately for me, the interest in the story waned pretty soon after that.  Overall the plot is fairly...Read more

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City of Animals, Alan Mills

CITY OF ANIMALS is set in Sydney, in and around the Royal Prince Albert Zoo, which actually doesn't exist but bears a striking resemblance physically to the real Taronga Zoo. Let's hope that the resemblance ends there.

New zoo director, Dr James Rivers is struggling with his...Read more

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Done Deal, Tony Berry

I wanted to read this book for a few reasons - for a start it's set in my home town, in and around the suburb of Richmond.  Okay I have a passing knowledge only of Richmond having spent an inglorious 6 months or so around that area many many many many years ago and nothing much since then...Read more

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Crooked, Camilla Nelson

It's interesting that Camilla Nelson's first book (Perverse Acts) is a political satire, because CROOKED, her second book, is a crime novel with a distinctly political background.  Set in 1960's Sydney, the book, whilst fictional, involves a number of well-known political identities by name...Read more

The Black Russian, Lenny Bartulin

Having 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...Read more

Chelsea Mansions, Barry Maitland

With any long term series, it's not surprising to see an author rejigging the relationships just a little, bringing in new perspectives or adjusting the expectations.  CHELSEA MANSIONS is the ninth Brock and Kolla book from Barry Maitland, and in the last book there were hints that there is...Read more

Death and the Spanish Lady, Carolyn Morwood

DEATH AND THE SPANISH LADY is the first book from Carolyn Morwood for quite a while, and that, if for no other reason was enough to create some interest in these parts.  Set in the period immediately following World War 1, in Melbourne, during the Spanish 'Flu epidemic of 1919, the book...Read more

The Dunbar Case, Peter Corris

I'm really not sure how Peter Corris, or Cliff Hardy manage to keep up the pace, but I'm very very relieved they do, as the New Year tradition of a new Cliff Hardy book, a couch and the Test Cricket on the radio has become rather important over the last few years.

One of the...Read more

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Drive By, Michael Duffy

DRIVE BY is fiction although readers may find themselves having to work hard to remember that. From the opening voice of Jabber (John) Habib to the build up of mayhem on the streets of Sydney, obviously comparisons are being drawn between Melbourne's Underbelly Underworld wars and the...Read more

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8 Hours to Die, J.R. Carroll

"Carroll is the Australian writer who has most fully and consistently approached the dark and alienated world of Americans like James Ellory and Andrew Vachss..." Continent of Mystery, Stephen Knight (MUP, 1997).

Sometime in the early 2000's,...Read more

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Crucifixion Creek, Barry Maitland

Barry Maitland's Brock & Kolla series is notable for, amongst many things, the way that he always takes a location in London and builds it into the story, almost as another character. In the first of the Harry Belltree trilogy, CRUCIFIXION CREEK, set in Sydney, there is a similar...Read more

Eden, Candice Fox

Right from the commencement of HADES, the first Archer / Bennett book by Candice Fox, it was obvious that this was a series to be watched. Dark, confrontational, emotional and compelling, that book started a journey into the consequences of human damage, and EDEN picks that up, twists it...Read more

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Jinx, Hugh McGinlay

Set within the hipster world of inner Melbourne lane-ways, cafes and bright young things, JINX is the debut crime fiction novel from local musician and writer Hugh McGinlay. A light-hearted, comedic styled novel, JINX introduces ex-police investigator, now accidental amateur detective,...Read more

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The Case of the Bullets at the Ballet, C.S. Boag

THE CASE OF THE BULLETS AT THE BALLET is book number 4 in the Mr Rainbow series, which I reread recently. Because you do. Think of these as good, fun, spare moment fillers and you've got it in one. For my full review of the entire series please head over to Newtown Review of Books -...Read more

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The Prodigal Son, Sulari Gentill

Anybody who knows about this series will be aware that this novella has been a gift from the author to fans, a little taste of the ongoing series, as a thank you, and a filler in a bit of a gap between novels. It has the added benefit of fleshing out the back-story of Rowland Sinclair and...Read more

Romeo's Gun, David Owen

Hate it when a new book from a much loved series lingers too long on the reading pile simply because of competing priorities. No disrespect intended at all in how long it took me to get to this entry, and much pleasure when I finally did. Anyway they come, I'm quite a fan of the Pufferfish...Read more

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Second Sight, Aoife Clifford

When Eliza Carmody returns to the small seaside town she grew up in, some things have changed, and a lot hasn't. Often the way when you return to the small town of your youth. Carmody's changed a bit though, and this daughter of the local cop, now lawyer, is there as the legal...Read more

Wetland, Colin King

Based around an event that followers of the Underbelly wars in Melbourne will likely recognise, this tale is the second outing for Detective Sergeant Rory James, based in part in the Bendigo region.

The first book in the series A VINTAGE DEATH was set firmly in winemaking...Read more

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Amongst the Dead, Robert Gott

AMONGST THE DEAD is the third novel in Robert Gott's William Power series.  William is an "aspirational" but failed Shakespearean actor, turned Private Investigator who finds himself in very unusual circumstances in the Top End of Australia during World War II in AMONGST THE DEAD....Read more

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The Echo of Others, S.D. Rowell

Opening up with a duck hunting scene that will stay with readers for a while, THE ECHO OF OTHERS is a debut novel set in my part of the world - Central and parts of Western Victoria. There's a heap of potential here - from a good solid, cleverly structured plot; some excellent characters -...Read more

Bordertown, Gregory James

Recently a lot of books have passed my way that have, as their central theme, white Australian's mistreatment of Aboriginal Australians. This is, in my humble opinion, not a bad thing. In the case of BORDERTOWN, however, it's not a book that is written from an Aboriginal perspective, rather...Read more

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Darkness For Light, Emma Viskic

‘He slowed as he took the bend, then sped up and pulled into the kerb. Door half-open, eyes on the mirror. The black sedan rounded the corner. It drew nearer, headlights off, the driver a hazy silhouette. Closer, nearly level. Passing. It kept going, the brakelights flashing once as it...Read more

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See You At the Toxteth, Peter Corris

It is more than fitting that the final word from Peter Corris would be curated by his wife, and long-time editor, Jean Bedford. The chosen short stories are perfect examples of his work, and the 'ABC Of Crime Writing' is every bit as insightful, acerbic, funny and thought-provoking as you'd...Read more

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