CUTLER, the novel, features Paul Cutler, the former undercover operative, now working "off the books" in the dangerous and unpredictable world of investigator for hire. In this story he's tasked with finding the truth about the disappearance of an Australian marine scientist, whilst on a Taiwanese distant water fishing vessel, working in the incredibly murky and dodgy world of deep sea trawling and fisheries.Read more
Not for a moment would this reviewer wish to suggest that this is a time in history when the murder of an obnoxious rich person, on a luxury island, busily engaged in being obnoxious and threatening to all and sundry is an enjoyable idea, but it did come across, in this novel, as...Read more
What do murders, lawyers, politicians and property developers have in common? To find out you'll have to read Christ Nyst's CROOK AS ROOKWOOD.
First an explanation of the title. In Australia, when things aren't good they are “crook”. “How are ya, mate?” “Crook, mate.” When...Read more
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
A DECENT RANSOM is a story of a kidnapping gone right (according to the tag on the book). More than that it's a story about a bit of a misfit that somehow ends up okay, despite all the odds being stacked against him.
The storyline is pretty simple to start off with - two young...Read more
What 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...Read more
A little book I've had salted away for quite some time, it took the sad death of Bill Green to get me to stop dipping into and out of it, and sit down and read it. Having finished it, the quote from Mungo McCallum on the back sums up the political component:
...Read more
A young English backpacker gets into a car with an older Australian man somewhere in the Australian outback, and the violence, threatening, rape, pillage, murder and general mayhem commences. Somehow young, innocent, a bit wet Mick the backpacker stays. Despite the drugging and rape of a...Read more
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
The third Catherine Berlin novel from Annie Hauxwell takes the concept of moving a character out of their comfort zone that bit further. Berlin is one of those unrepentant flawed types. A heroin addict she's prepared to manage the addiction with prescription medications, but she's really...Read more
Nominated as a young adult novel, COOPER BARTHOLOMEW IS DEAD is one that's readable for that age group and those of us for whom "young" is but a vague memory.
Whilst there is a death at the centre of this book, in many ways it is less of a crime mystery than one about the...Read more
The Author of DEADLY DIPLOMACY has a background as a diplomat working for many years in Embassies and High Commissions in Australia, Brussels, the Caribbean, China, East Berlin, Indonesia, Mauritius and Switzerland. Her indepth knowledge of the workings of that world stands out in this...Read more
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, written in the mid 1880s, was a world-wide publishing phenomenon. The story of its publication deserves a book like Blockbuster!. Reviewed at ...Read more
If two Ned Kelly Awards and one short-listing hasn't given you a big enough hint already, CRIMSON LAKE should absolutely confirm that Candice Fox is an Australian writer of immense ability.
Always on the darker side, Fox's books incorporate clever plots with strong characters....Read more
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
Cold-case detectives are everywhere these days, but the latest creation from Garry Disher, Alan Auhl, is not as straightforward as some might expect. Full review at ...Read more
It is the summer of 1894. The Garry Street murder is the talk of London, and no one is more baffled than Gerald Conway, in whose library the dead man's body was discovered, stabbed. The only clue to the man's identity seems to be the gold bangle containing a small carbuncle, worn on the...Read more
William Power has been "resting" for a long time now, so his re-emergence in THE SERPENT'S STING is a relief for all concerned. For those that haven't read the first three books in this series (GOOD MURDER, ...Read more
Bit of housekeeping first because I got myself a little confused early on here. DEVIL'S LAIR is a standalone novel from prolific Australian author Sarah Barrie, sharing some location similarities with an earlier novel - BLOODTREE RIVER. Sarah's past books seem to lean towards the romance...Read more
A bit of housekeeping up front. A TROPICAL CURE is the second book from John Hollenkamp to feature cab driver Darren Mangan, following on from STEALTH. That to be honest, I really should have read first up because it took some serious concentrating to figure out what was going on here....Read more
In her first full length novel for adults, educational and children's writer Carmel Reilly has delivered a crime fiction book that tackles sibling relationships and family secrets full on.
Set in two main timelines, in 2016 Lori receives a visit from a policeman to tell her...Read more
Before starting out, this review is going to contain possible SPOILERS. I'm finding it almost impossible to talk about CATCH US THE FOXES without them.
Flagged as Twin Peaks meets The Dry, this is also described as a deliciously dark and twisted...Read more
The first in the Mantra-6 series (Nitrate has been released now), the author of BRIMSTONE, Russel Hutchings, is a former SAS Warrant Officer with over 20 years' service in the Regiment. That experience shows very clearly in the authority of the action sequences, and the way that operational...Read more
Bryan Brown is an actor synonymous in these parts with that sort of dry, pared back, quintessentially Aussie bloke character, much like the ones he's played in THE CHANT OF JIMMIE BLACKSMITH and for those of die-hard local crime fiction fans, the much missed Cliff Hardy in THE EMPTY BEACH....Read more
As I was reading this novel, I was finishing the autobiography THIS MUCH IS TRUE by Miriam Margolyes in audio form and I was struck by the coincidence of some of the things that she says most powerfully and pointedly, about dehumanisation, the utter and abject cruelty of "Empire" and the...Read more
In 2018, Katherine Ashworth is struggling. The death of her daughter has precipitated a major falling apart, which she's self-medicating with sleeping pills and vodka. A move to the small town of her husband's childhood - Lowbridge - is the beginning of the fight for Katherine to regain a...Read more
In BM Carroll’s latest crime novel, one family’s celebration turns to disaster as a teenager disappears amid a crowd of concert-goers. Full Review at Newtown Review of BooksRead more
On paper this should have been right up my cobblestone alley, but I've been thinking about it for over a week now, trying to identify what didn't quite tick my personal boxes. And this is very much a personal reaction. As with all books, there will be lots of readers for which WITH WINTER...Read more
My review of RESERVATION FOR MURDER, FACULTY OF MURDER and MAKE-UP FOR MURDER has been posted:
June Wright has faded from view, but in 1948 her novel Murder in the Telephone Exchange outstripped sales of Agatha Christie in...Read more