Sorted on book title (not in series order)

Crime Fiction

Redback, Lindy Cameron

I originally read and reviewed REDBACK when it was released in 2007 by MIRA Press, so when Clan Destine republished it, I was really really interested to see if it would hold up well, particularly given that it has a number of quite topical references (okay well some digs as well) for the...Read more

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The Redbreast, Jo Nesbo

Okay - a little housekeeping first.  I can't get accented characters to work properly here ... yet.  I'm working on it because it annoys me as much as it undoubtedly annoys readers of these posts.  

Secondly, a little background to the Harry Hole (pronounced - we think - Hurler...Read more

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Redemption Point, Candice Fox

This second book in the Ted Conkaffey series clearly demonstrates why Candice Fox has won two Ned Kelly Awards for crime writing. 

Following on from Crimson Lake, Redemption Point is dark, dry, funny, cleverly plotted and populated by...Read more

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Reflection of Evil, Bridgette Powell

REFLECTION OF EVIL by Bridgette Powell is a book flagged as Forensic Science united with Spirituality in a spine chilling murder mystery novel. So right up front I should just say I wasn't particularly convinced. I'm not a fan of this type of cross-over, not being a welded-on fan of the...Read more

A Reluctant Warrior, Kelly Brooke Nicholls

There's something especially sobering about crime fiction that is obviously set in such a real, contemporary and frightening scenario. A RELUCTANT WARRIOR takes the reader right into the middle of Columbia's drug wars. It takes the reader into the world of a young woman who is trying to...Read more

Remember Me This Way, Sabine Durrant

It's getting to the stage now where you'd be forgiven for wondering if we're at peak "how well do you know those nearest and dearest to you" psychological thrillers, particularly those that concentrate on the relationship between husbands and wives. Which makes REMEMBER ME THIS WAY a...Read more

Resurrection, Roger Simpson

The second novel, spinning off from the excellent TV series, Halifax f.p., RESURRECTION is definitely an unusual crime fiction novel, which would work well as a starting point if you've not read the earlier book - TRANSGRESSION.

Unusual for a number of reasons, the first being...Read more

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Retribution, Christina O'Reilly

Following on from INTO THE VOID, RETRIBUTION continues to feature DSS Archie Baldrick and DC Ben Travers - in this outing, investigating the death of a very mysterious woman indeed. After Lucy is found dead on the beach, finding out who she is, or anything about her is the most tricky part...Read more

Retribution, Richard Anderson

Another entry in the expanding Rural Noir category, it's sometimes hard not to come to these novels with a slight sense of foreboding. The "new big thing" is all too often a marketing ploy - more experienced in the hype than the actuality. Fear not however, RETRIBUTION is a good one,...Read more

Retribution, Richard Anderson

The people in RETRIBUTION come across as quite desultory and disaffected so it’s a relief when they are given a purpose, doomed as it is.  Sweetapple, Carson and Luke are struggling to stay focused and it’s a diversion from their own mess when they band together to do some harm and make a...Read more

The Reunion, Bronwyn Rivers

Ten years ago six teenagers hiked into the wilderness and five of them came back alive. They were school friends. Ed (whose family farm was their starting off point), Hugh, Charlotte, Laura, Jack and Alex, close, but with the sorts of slightly complicated romantic attachments and fractures that you find in groups of kids of that age. Nobody for a moment thought that this would be a dangerous hike, they were experienced walkers, fit, and Ed knew this area from a childhood growing up here. Only Ed died, and for the ten years since his mother Mary has had plenty of time to think about her beloved only child's death.Read more

The Reunion, Simone van der Vlugt

Written in the first person, THE REUNION is Sabine's story.  Suffering from depression she has been away from full-time work for quite a while, returning slowly to an office environment where the power base has shifted considerably since she's been gone.  Sabine is a very fragile girl, with...Read more

Revealed in Mist, Jude Knight

REVEALED IN MIST is weighted heavily on the romance side, with a tendency towards a showy style of descriptive text to reinforce the period setting. Possibly one for fans of historical romance as opposed to crime fiction, and definitely not for those who like their crime front and centre of...Read more

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The Revelations of Carey Ravine, Debra Daley

With a strong sense of place, THE REVELATIONS OF CAREY RAVINE is an interesting combination of romance, history and crime fiction. There's a lot being attempted in one novel here, and that combination of genres, and hence stylings are both the strongest and weakest points, depending upon...Read more

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The Richmond Conspiracy, Andrew Grimes

Some things remain in this nation's psyche for a very long time. The Bodyline series was something my grandfather was still hot under the collar about when I was a girl (gives you a feeling for how the New Zealanders feel when you mention underarm bowling...). THE RICHMOND CONSPIRACY sits...Read more

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The Riddle of the Sands, Erskine Childers

First published in 1903 THE RIDDLE OF THE SANDS, is an early espionage novels that I remember reading ... way back. The re-release as part of the Penguin Green Classics series, provided an excellent opportunity to revisit it. Interesting to look back now with adult eyes and to discover that...Read more

Riding in Cars with Girls, Evangeline Jennings

It's a such a simple idea when you think of it, take a standard noir setting, with added muscle cars, old cars, fast cars and gorgeous cars, and replace the male characters with female ones. It makes enormous sense to me, especially as I grew up in a country town where girls driving hotted...Read more

The Ringmaster, Vanda Symon

THE RINGMASTER is the second in the Sam Shephard series from NZ author Vanda Symon.  Sam has moved to Dunedin, is in detective training when the body of a young university student is found in the Botanic Gardens.  In Sam's world it goes without saying that nothing is ever going to be...Read more

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Rings on Water, Madeleine Eskedahl

RINGS ON WATER is the second novel in NZ author Madeleine Eskedahl's Matakana Series, set in and around the idyllic rural winemaking and tourist destination near Auckland. The series features local cop, Sergeant Bill Granger, and his Swedish wife Annika, their family, and their lifestyle in...Read more

Rip Off, Kel Robertson

I just love the Brad Chen series.  I must do.  RIP OFF actually took me into the world of high finance skull-duggery and I really didn't notice until I was well into the action.  Quite an achievement.

Part of what really works with RIP OFF is the character of Brad himself. ...Read more

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Rippling Red, Brigid George

The third novel in the Dusty Kent series, these books are built around investigative journalist Kent and her Irish assistant and IT expert Sean O’Kelly. IN RIPPLING RED they are in Darwin looking into the alleged suicide of Cody Bongiorno. Cody’s parents are convinced that their...Read more

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Riptides, Kirsten Alexander

Kirsten Alexander’s second novel evokes 1970s Queensland as it explores the fallout of a tragedy.

In her acknowledgements at the end of Riptides, Kirsten Alexander touches on the difficulties she faced in writing about her home town:

...Read more

Riptides, Kirsten Alexander

Australians who grew up during the era in which Riptides is set may recognize a heck of a lot of their own experiences; the long road trips on rubbish roads, the relentless heat, Bali (even as it was back then), perhaps even turning on the TV at Christmas time to news of the devastation...Read more

Ritual of Fire, D.V. Bishop

Third in the Cesare Aldo series from D.V. Bishop, RITUAL OF FIRE is set in a time of change for Aldo, his colleagues and his personal life. He's been sent to the Tuscan countryside, hunting thieves and fugitives whilst Florence battles a heatwave, drought and what turns out to be a series...Read more

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