Sorted on book title (not in series order)
Historical crime fiction with a political basis, Jonothan Cullinane's RED HERRING is set in 1950's Auckland during a time of confrontation between workers and the government. Based on the waterfront it's fascinating how this sort of pitched battle resonates in difficult places, across...Read more
Never having read any of James Phelan's Lachlan Fox series before, RED ICE had to be approached as a standalone, which probably made for a different experience than that of the dedicated fan.
Lachlan Fox is an ex-navy operative turned investigative journalist, and in this book...Read more
There's an immediate dive into the here and now with the opening chapter, each of which is a self contained character study, and each chapter grouping is titled appropriately. Honey Brown touches gently on each chapter as if it were in preparation for a scene change in a film or play. ...Read more
Apocalyptic scenarios are not my favourite thing. To be frank, a pandemic world-wide threat from a mutant viruses wasn't making me feel a desperate urge to read RED QUEEN. I've been shuffling other books over it in the priority queue for quite a while. But eventually, you've just got to...Read more
“The liquorice eyes shine in the sporadic artificial light and I can see the capital ‘G’ on each coin and I can see the stoat features of this poor, scared man. His mouth is wide open like he’s in agony. He has small ears set back and he has tufty whiskers. It’s the man from the canteen...Read more
The fifth book in the Annika Bengtzon series, I've absolutely no idea whether or not the entire series has been translated in order or not. I've sort of lost the plot with this series, probably because the first book - THE BOMBER - didn't appeal a lot. The last I read, PRIME TIME, was...Read more
Taking a big step away from her Kit O'Malley series, Lindy Cameron has created an excellent thriller. Pacey, peopled with strong female characters; good male characters; a complicated yet disconcertingly believable multi-threaded plot and a hefty dose of subtle humour, REDBACK is...Read more
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
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
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
A book that was pitch perfect for over the festive season reading. Set in the fictional location of the Windmark Ranges (not too hard to figure out the basis for them though), it's Christmas, and the drunks, troublemakers and idiots are out in force. Nothing unusual then, until the death of...Read more
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
I'm not going to pretend for a moment that I've the slightest idea what's going on with the Inspector Giovanni 'Rex' Matsuko series, of which The Reluctant Gunmen is book number 5 (and I've read a couple of the earlier ones as well).
I'm not even sure I can describe them,...Read more
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
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
A dementia diagnosis reveals clues to a decades-old mystery in this new novel from the author of The Secrets of Strangers – Charity Norman’s third to be shortlisted for NZ’s Ngaio Marsh Awards.
Full Review at: ...Read more
A deftly handled plot, strong characters and a sly, dry humour make this an outstanding debut crime novel. - Review at Newtown Review...Read more
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
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
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
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
Following on from the excellent first novel in this series, BETTER THE BLOOD, RETURN TO BLOOD is centred, once again, around Hana Westerman. Only now she has turned in her police badge, abandoning a career as a detective in the Auckland CIB, she's returned to her hometown of Tātā Bay to do some running repairs.Read more
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
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 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
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
If you read the blurb for REVENGE IS A SELF INFLICTED WOUND then you'll get a very good taste for the style of writing in this novel, which I've dithered around a description of for ages now and cannot for the life of me decide. I'm caught somewhere between "stream of consciousness",...Read more
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
RICK DUNLOP CASES, the Maclay Murder and Other Mysteries is a collection of 5 short stories, the majority of which are variations on the "locked room mystery" scenario. This is the first publication from new Australian author R.M. Davey.
The Locked Room scenario's nothing new...Read more
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