Over My Dead Body, Dave Warner

To be honest, I took one look at the blurb for OVER MY DEAD BODY and wondered whether or not it sounded ... quite right (well to be brutally honest, I thought to myself, it sounds as daft as a brush), but if there's one thing I've learnt in quite a lot of years of crime fiction reading, it'...Read more

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Private Prosecution, Lisa Ellery

If, like this reader, you're a bit twitchy about "legal" crime fiction, then PRIVATE PROSECUTION could be just the book for you. As the blurb puts it:

"This is a pacy, darkly comic whodunnit with a twist - Andrew knows who did it but the clock is ticking and he

...Read more
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Masala and Murder, Patrick Lyons

The first novel in what one hopes will be a very long series, MASALA AND MURDER introduces Melbourne-based, Anglo-Indian ex-cop / private detective Samson Ryder to the world.

The author, Patrick Lyons, is Anglo-Indian himself, and his view of life obviously informs the way that...Read more

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Those Who Perish, Emma Viskic

I'm not good with the end of things that I've really loved but when it came to the Caleb Zelic series by Emma Viskic, it turns out there was only so long I could hold out.

The earlier books in the series, RESURRECTION BAY, AND FIRE CAME DOWN, and DARKNESS FOR LIGHT, introduced...Read more

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A Disappearance in Fiji, Nilima Rao

In the author's notes at the back of A DISAPPEARANCE IN FIJI, Nilima Rao provides background to the thinking behind this novel, including the structure of the Indian indentured servitude program, established by the British overseen, Indian government, coming into its own when slavery was...Read more

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Paradise, Patricia Wolf

Book Two in the DS Lucas Walker series sees him away from his family home in the dry, arid interior of Queensland, working on the Gold Coast. He's under investigation / threat of his job after the events in the first book, OUTBACK, and temporarily doing some training there. He's been lucky...Read more

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Unblessed, Roger Simpson

UNBLESSED is the latest in the Jane Halifax series of books, featuring the TV series character of the same name. A forensic psychologist, Halifax has worked with all sorts of criminal types - from serial to opportunistic killers, and in the last book, herself, when she suffers from sudden...Read more

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Cherry Pie, Leigh Redhead

CHERRY 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...Read more

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Blood Sunset, Jarad Henry

BLOOD SUNSET is the second book from Jarad Henry, HEAD SHOT having already introduced us to Detective Rubens McCauley, his work partner Cassie, his ex-wife Ella and Prince the cat.  Don't for one moment get the wrong idea though - the presence of the majestic Prince in these books doesn't...Read more

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Paydirt, Garry Disher

Wyatt is back in a new adventure set on the far side of morality. Introduced in Kickback, Garry Disher's fast-selling, widely praised crime novel, Wyatt reappears in the South Australian outback, intent on snatching a payroll. But Wyatt is not the only one eyeing the funds. The Outfit has...Read more

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In Her Blood, Annie Hauxwell

Whilst it's not particularly unusual to have a flawed central protagonist, unapologetic ones are less common. Add being female, and that makes IN HER BLOOD's Catherine Berlin a rather rare beast, and a very welcome one.

Set in London after the Global Financial meltdown, Berlin...Read more

A Murder Unmentioned, Sulari Gentill

Sulari Gentill has never pulled her punches when it comes to putting Rowly Sinclair in a spot of peril, and it turns out that she's even prepared to do that retrospectively. In the process she makes the idea of being a scion of this particular landed gentry family a rather sobering prospect...Read more

The Heat, Garry Disher

The 8th in the Wyatt series, the resurgence of the best unrepentant, unapologetic and very demanding professional crook in Australian Crime Fiction is something to be very pleased about.

Wyatt is not a man who plays well with others, and his danger radar is on high alert after...Read more

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13-Point Plan For a Perfect Murder, David Owen

Pufferfish is one of my all time favourite Australian Crime Fiction identities. He's taciturn, reticent and often recalcitrant. He's frequently obtuse, often slightly grumpy, addicted to strong espresso and liquorice all-sorts and finally, he's back. No matter how many of these books are...Read more

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A Dangerous Language, Sulari Gentill

If anybody could point me in the direction of a good condition Chrysler Airflow I'd be very grateful. I know there was one in the 1953 Redex Trial and there were a few in Australia at the time, so surely, somewhere, in somebody's shed... frankly I'm lusting... But I digress, and that's the...Read more

Kill Shot, Garry Disher

Plan for the best, expect the worst, note the exit points.

Good bit of general life advice this, although at the time Wyatt is standing, motionless, waiting for any signs his entry into the house he's about to rob has been noticed. Perhaps not...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

You're Never the Same, Bill Bateman

Bill Bateman, author of the Vince Hanrahan series, was a rural based GP himself, and that shows. Both in his affection for the town, the people and the depiction of the day to day life of the slightly harried GP, but mostly in the way that some presentations are never quite what they seem...Read more

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Doom Creek, Alan Carter

In this current political climate, the rise of the ugly, radicalised individual is all too real, and the reflection of this in quiet, idyllic New Zealand somehow more shocking. Drafted originally before the appalling Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019, Alan Carter has chosen to (in his...Read more

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Death at the Belvedere, Sue Williams

The fourth book in the Cass Tuplin mystery series, set in the dryland farming areas of Victoria, somewhere sort of north west of Bendigo (I think), in the fictional town of Rusty Bore, with a takeaway that always makes me think of Wycheproof. (There's nothing whatsoever in these books that...Read more

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Stone Town, Margaret Hickey

STONE TOWN by Margaret Hickey follows the story of the central character introduced in her (very good) debut novel CUTTERS END. Senior Sergeant Mark Ariti's moved from the South Australian outback back to his home town of Booralama. Since the death of his mother, he's living on his own in...Read more

Four Dogs Missing, Rhys Gard

You wouldn't think reading crime fiction would leave you with a taste for wine, but here we are. 

Set in the idyllic surrounds of the Mudgee (New South Wales) wine region, Oliver Wingfield has set himself up as a winemaker with a fine reputation for his wines, even if everyone...Read more

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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...Read more

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