Featuring

8th Davitt Awards Nominations

Karen — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:22:30 +1000

Forty-one crime books by Australian women are competing for Sisters in Crime's 8th Davitt Awards for the best crime novels and true crime books by Australian women published in book form in 2007.

Four Davitts will be presented this year - adult, young adult, true crime and readers' choice, as voted by Sisters in Crime's 500 members nationally. The awards are sponsored by the Victorian Police Museum.

The winners each receive a handsome trophy to be presented on Friday October 10, 7pm, Celtic Club Restaurant, corner La Trobe and Queen Sts, Melbourne by Victorian Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon. Ms Nixon will also talk about her life and times with Sisters in Crime national co-convenor, Dr Sue Turnbull.

Adult Novels

Gospel - Sydney Bauer (Pan MacMillan) **

The Fourteenth Day - Joyce Berendes (Zeus)

The Curse of the Golden Yo-Yo - Robin Bowles (The Five Mile Press) *

Redback - Lindy Cameron (Mira) *

Scarlet Stiletto - The First Cut - Lindy Cameron (editor) (Mira) *

Bye Bye Baby - Lauren Crow (Harper Collins) *

Skin & Bone - Kathryn Fox (Pan MacMillan) **

To All Appearances Dead - Liz Filleul (Bettany Books)

Vodka Doesn't Freeze - Leah Giarratano (Random House) *

The Calling - Jane Goodall (Hachette Livre) **

Killing the Rabbit - Alison Goodman (Random House / Bantam)

Trick or Treat - Kerry Greenwood (Allen & Unwin)

A Question of Death - Kerry Greenwood (Allen & Unwin)

The Secret of Lost Things - Sheridan Hay (Harper Collins / 4th Estate)

Frantic - Katherine Howell (Pan MacMillan) *

Orpheus Lost - Janette Turner Hospital (Harper Collins / 4th Estate) *

Eden - Dorothy Johnston (Wakefield Press) *

Cock of the Walk - Wendy Laing (Writers Exchange E-Publishing) **

Severance Package - Wendy Laing (Writers Exchange E-Publishing)

Shattered - Gabrielle Lord (Hachette Livre) **

Rockhound - Pat Noad (Zeus)

Blood of Dreams - Susan Parisi (Penguin / Viking) *

El Dorado - Dorothy Porter (Pan MacMillan / Picador) *

Cherry Pie - Leigh Redhead (Allen & Unwin) *

The Night Has A Thousand Eyes - Mandy Saye (Harper Collins)

An Easeful Death - Felicity Young (Fremantle Arts Centre Press) *

Young Adult Novels

What Willow Knew - June Colbert (Hachette Livre)

Crime Seen - Jenny Pausacker (Hachette Livre)

Willows for Weeping - Felicity Pulman (Random House)

The Maharajah's Ghost - Sophie Masson (Random House)

Love Notes - Margaret Clark (Random House)

True Crime

The End of Innocence: The Remarkable True Story of One Woman's Fight for Justice (Hardie Grant Books)

Rough Justice: Unanswered Questions from the Australian Courts - Robin Bowles (The Five Mile Press)

Meaner than Fiction - Lindy Cameron (The Five Mile Press)

Imprisoning Resistance: Life and Death in an Australian Supermax (Federation Press)

Judas Kisses: The Remarkable True Story of One Woman's Journey to Hell and Back - Donna Carson and Debbie Ritchie (Hardie Grant Books)

Done Like a Dinner - Jennifer Cooke and Sandra Harvey (Media 21 Publishing)

Killing Jodie: How Australia's most elusive Murderer was Brought to Justice - Janet Fife-Yeomans (Penguin Books)

The Child Who Never Was: Looking for Tegan Lane - Allison Langdon (Media 21 Publishing)

The Devil's Garden: The Claremont Serial Killings - Debi Marshall (Random House)

The Making of Me - Tegan Wagner (Pan MacMillan)

* Read and reviewed here

** Here but unread as yet

Amongst Ourselves

Karen — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:44:21 +1100

This month's feature is a chat that we've been having amongst the 3 main reviewers / commentators / worker bees on AustCrime - Andrea, Helen and Karen.

KAREN - AustCrime has been around for a while now, starting out as a reference site of local authors and books. It really was just something I was using in house to keep track of who wrote what, and in the nature of these sorts of things, it grew. Since then it's been converted to a different sort of website, so that we could incorporate extra options. Articles about books; chats and so on. Now we're finally "at" where we've been heading for a while - an interactive online Magazine style site - talking about books, authors and anything and everything to do with reading. Andrea / Helen - what would you like to see this latest incarnation evolve into?

ANDREA - Australian crime (in particular) readers need a base, somewhere they can take their reading to the next level. AustCrime is that stop, a source of local news, releases and release dates, headlines and information. Let's face it, things work differently down here and we have an emerging stable of very very talented authors who are (or should be!) blitzing the best seller lists worldwide. We're also a unique readership group in terms of what we are willing to read. There really are no national barriers, and we are happy to take aboard the best of the UK, US and European Crime Writers with little lost in cultural translation - Australia is, after all, a very cosmopolitan society. But at the same time, who doesn't love a crime novel based on home turf? Luckily through our background in reviewing books, we've got contacts with the major publishing houses, as well as most of the good small or "boutique" houses. Publicists work darn hard for so many of their
authors. AustCrime wants to help them with that task of letting people know about as many good books and authors and their activities as possible.

HELEN - When Karen first started this site, it was exciting to be involved in setting up a comprehensive database of Australian crime writers, and discovering what a rich crime writing history this country has! And as Andrea said, there's a lot of new very talented authors appearing, and that can only be good news for fans like us. As always tends to happen with these things, AustCrime grew and evolved into something much more than just a database.

KAREN - That's a really good point about the cosmopolitan nature, but an equally good point about the local setting. There's something comforting / involving about a book that is set somewhere you can recognise, but more importantly is about us, written in our voices (as in Australian that is :) )

HELEN - It's feels comfortable to read about familiar and recognisable locations, with Australian characters speaking in local idiom. But as a nation we have a long history of getting our influences from a wide variety of other cultures. So, it isn't very strange that we enjoy reading fiction from other countries. A lot of contemporary crime fiction touches on social issues that are universal around the world, and so it seems that almost nowhere is entirely unfamiliar to us.

ANDREA - I would say that the average Australian crime fiction reader is a very sophisticated consumer of those books. But then we're lucky that so many of our authors are developing that strong local tradition as well - hopefully AustCrime is able to cast some light on what they are saying about the ripple effects of crime, how our societies function, and how we (as in Australia) came to be.

KAREN - One of the things that was so interesting about the research that goes into maintaining the Author and Book lists is the sheer breadth of the styles of Australian writers. Cozies, private investigators, accidental investigators, police procedurals, lawyers, serious, funny, silly and plausible - they are all here. Along the way, alas there have also been some great books or series that have just ended - authors who maybe didn't get the sales that they deserved?

HELEN - Yes, we seem to have someone writing in every sub genre imaginable. Series and authors that simply disappear from the bookshops is, I think, a sad consequence of having a relatively small population. I imagine it must be difficult for local writers to get enough sales in Australia for their publishers to decide to keep them on. Hopefully the pressure to write with an international market in mind won't affect the unique voice of Australian authors.

ANDREA - Let us not forget science fiction either! There is so much cross-over now between genres, with urban fantasy pumping out the murder and mayhem, butt-kicking and crime-fighting on a flashier and usually more gorey scale.

KAREN - To finish off, some of our recent favourite discoveries - my personal ones have been Paul Cleave in NZ (his first two books were as different as they could be but I loved each of them); Lindy Cameron's Redback is a fantastic, assured thriller; Katherine Howell's Frantic (last year) was one of the most confident debut books I've read in ages and Geoff McGeachin's Alby Murdoch series is, well, seriously funny.

ANDREA - I was new to Michael Robotham last year with my read of THE NIGHT FERRY. The good folks at Hachette Livre Aust have popped an ARC out to me of SHATTER which calls to me (lots and lots!) so will report on that one soon. THE NIGHT FERRY appealed on so many different levels to all kinds of readers, and was truly one of those books that managed to satisfy all requirements of a thumping good read. Also, can you believe it, I don't think I ever read a Shane Maloney novel until last year also?

It's the hope that newcomers to Aust Crime find a home here. We'll be breaking down events, scamming out the good bookshops and sourcing all possible news on the fictional front down under for our readers and promise never to gush over anything. Oh okay, so that last bit might be a wee bit of a lie. Oh okay, a big fat one. Enthusiasm with a cause
is never out of style :)

HELEN - I have to agree about Katherine Howell's debut, Frantic - it was an exceptional first novel. Jane Goodall was another new author to me; her The Calling is an excellent police procedural set in London at the height of the punk era. Leah Giarratano's Vodka Doesn't Freeze was confronting and graphic, but worth the effort; she is definitely one to watch.

KAREN (laughing) Andrea - you can make enthusiasm look like it's just not trying :) Hopefully readers of AustCrime will feel the urge to dive in and participate. We'd love to hear from anybody who reads out there - doesn't matter if you read one book a year or 100 - let us know what you like - we're always on the lookout for a good book!

Crime & Justice Festival - The Authors

Karen — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:05:24 +1000

Starting off with THE most important thing at a Writers Festival (well okay - the coffee / the food / but then the most important thing) - the Writers.

Congratulations and thanks have to go the organisers for getting them to come, but to all the authors who showed up for the Inaugural Festival. I hope, despite the smaller crowds, that they all understand how much their efforts are appreciated - firstly in writing all those books - but also in their generosity of spirit and time they spend at these festivals.

There were quite a few authors we saw sessions with - and some we missed but saw them wandering around the venue - and the best part of all was to watch the impromptue gatherings of discussions in the Book Room and around the venues - there seemed to be a lot of good natured talking going on over the weekend.

Anyway - amongst the cast of luminaries there were:

On the Fiction Side:

Lenny Bartulin
Sydney Bauer
Marshall Browne
Lauren Crow
Sophie Cunningham
Garry Disher
Robert Gott
Kerry Greenwood
Shirley Hardy-Rix
Jarad Henry
Declan Hughes
Dorothy Johnston
Jennifer Kloester
Gabrielle Lord
Barry Maitland
P D Martin
Kevin Morgan
Dorothy Porter
Liz Porter
Leigh Redhead
Michael Robotham
Angela Savage
Jason Steger
Peter Temple

On the Justice Side:

Nigel Latta
Brendan Kilty SC
International PEN
Sarah Biddulph
Malcolm Fraser
David Manne
Pamela Curr
Professor Peter McPhee
Rod Quantock
Spencer Zifcak
Diane Sisely
Brian Walters
Susan Ryan
Arnold Zable
Tina Giannoukos
Lillian Holt
Helen MacDonald
Mary Dalmau
Tim Lindsey
Simon Clews
Barry Jones
Jude Bourgnignon
Phil Lynch
Henry Jolson
Victoria Marles
Rob Stary
Susan Long
Chloe Hooper

On the totally unexpected Side:

Lloyd Jones, Peter Finlay and Malcolm Hill - a theatrical performance of Ned Kelly's Jerilderie Letter

I think you can get a picture now of why we were so excited about this Festival!

Now if you're interested - to make it easier to track Crime & Justice blatherings - you'll find all the updates via this link.

I Know It's a Drought .. but

Karen — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:00:19 +1000

In the last few months the universe has been playing with my head.

It all started with

Still Waters by Nigel McCrery. An odd book no doubt about it, but rather engaging, some outlandish plot elements alongside some sobering all too realistic elements.

then came:

Still Waters by Camilla Noli. Not my cup of tea at all.

but today arrived:

Still Waters by Judith Cutler. I'll be reviewing that as soon as I can.

Now I can't decide if this is just "find a good title and flog it to death" syndrome; the world's greatest coincidence or just the favourite phrase is some part of the universe, but it is interesting that so many books - same title yet publishers often change the title of books to "avoid confusion in the reader's minds" (I'm thinking of Diamond Dove in particular which was changed to avoid confusion with the Lovesey "Diamond" books).

So you have to wonder - a little like and it can't be done! Totally identical and let's flog it to death?

Sense of Place

Karen — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 10:24:55 +1000

Last night I was lucky enough to attend my first ever Sisters in Crime event. Crim De La Crim (Lindy Cameron talks to Alison Goodman, Liz Filleul and Dorothy Johnston)

The discussion was a fascinating one as it moved through a range of subjects, but some of that interest was also generated by the differences in the author's experience - Alison's Killing the Rabbit is her second book, Liz's To All Appearances, Dead is her first book, and Dorothy's Eden is her 8th book.

The issues that they did discuss ranged from

the different settings of the books (Eden = Canberra and it's Underbelly , Killing the Rabbit = Melbourne and To All Appearances, Dead = mostly the UK);
the similarities of elements of the books - the way that each one explores a central heart or core of darkness;
obsession;
varying points of view and why or how a point of view can be used to influence a reader's perception;
characters and characters backgrounds - either from a multi-cultural / multi-experience or class background of characters influences how those characters behave in a story

each of these elements are worthy of expansion in their own right - but the item that really grabbed my interest immediately was the sense of place of each of these novels.

I guess my interest in that topic is influenced strongly by my reading for fun preference which is very much for "Other Cultures" - and by that I mean those places that I have less knowledge of / that are different from where I come from. The most obvious differences are in language, but there's also less obvious differences - lifestyle / religion / politics / experience / location / climatic conditions and so on.

A novel that imparts a strong sense of the place that it's from - either by the picture it draws of the location / the climate / the people / the lifestyle; or in the way that the language indicates an otherness for me is a great drawcard. But on the other hand, a novel with a strong sense of MY place also appeals on some gutteral / internal level. Part of what drew me so strongly into Redback, for example, was that fabulous Australian sense of it - to say nothing of a roaring good thriller, but that's also what appeals about the books by all my favourite local authors - they all have a great sense of place.

So if anyone has any contributions / suggestions to make for books that really had a fabulous sense of place (from anywhere - not just here!) please suggest away!

Sundays at our Place

Karen — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 10:30:00 +1000

I have never been much of a blogger (which sounds a bit odd from somebody with a site like AustCrime), but I find that it's somewhat disconcerting to sit down on a regular basis and wax lyrical about what I"m thinking on whatever, on the understanding that absolutely nobody is reading anyway and beside that - my wafflings would probably win the gold medal at the Bore for the World Cup - but then it's the first day of winter and I'm feeling somewhat philisophical.

And cold.

It's rather chilly out there and at the moment I'm thinking I should be doing something on a Sunday morning that means that I don't have to go out there and do something useful.

Having finished a couple of books off on Saturday I was looking for the next book to read and it struck me what an odd process that is - what do I read next.

In one book case I've got a shelf full of review books - backed up by a task listing on my PDA that regularly sends me loud alarms to tell me what I should have read because the book has already been released and what I should be reading because the book is about to be released.

On another shelf I have my backlog of Australian books - many of which have been sitting around for a shamefully long period of time - "saved" perhaps for a rainy day - well that's my excuse and goodness knows the blasted drought in Southern Australia has been entrenched now for a few years.

Another series of shelves then contain the mountainous "To Be Read" pile. In here lurk many of my favourites - Scandinavian / European authors - book from Bitter Lemon Press, books from far off and exotic climes, some of my old favourite English authors. These are the books that I just have to have - but once I have them I then start to worry if I'm ever going to get time to read them... ever. Still I don't think there's anything particularly odd in a MtTBR of over 500 books - I just worry that I might die before I get to them all, and then what will I have missed out on. (You don't want to spend too much time in my brain - it's a very odd place to hang out).

So anyway, this week's agonising over what to read has flushed out Done Deal by new local author Tony Berry, After You with the Pistol by Kyril Bonfiglioli, The Miernik Dossier by Charles McCarry, Golden Serpent by Mark Abernethy and A Carrion Death by Michael Stanley.

That's not to say that I will read them, in that order, without slotting other books into the list - I'm a reader and I like to think that gives me licence to be fickle.

Now off to extract the digit and write up a couple of reviews of the recently read.

Sundays at our Place #10

Karen — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:54:16 +1000

Sunday was spent charging around the Central Goldfields area, trying to decide if this was our new home or not. We shall see, but we are definitely going back to look at specific properties if that's any hint to the current leaning. Of course, the major problem with these sorts of moves is what happens to the books. Whilst there is a theory going around that living in a shed whilst we build something is a distinct possibility - what happens to the books? We could pack them away in cartons and store them in a shipping container I guess, but what happens if I want to find a book? (This is the read ones mind you - MtTBR will be out and accessible even if I have to build a shed for them myself). (At least the area we are looking at isn't as damp as here so hopefully they won't just sit and moulder somewhere). But it's a funny thing when you start talking to real estate agents and people about selling your house. The old "errr you've got a lot of books in this house" line as they walk through. And why does everybody think it's necessary to ask if you've read them? What do they think we do with all these books - make forts and play cowboys and indians? Of course we've read most of them - well apart from the MtTBR book cases and that pile in that corner, and the stuff that's stacked up over there. But there's still well over 4,000 that we have read.... some of them more than once.

And then you're into seriously odd look territory. You've read some of these more than once. Well yes actually - there's quite a few books that I've read a lot more than once. I like reading books, sometimes I like reading the same book for all sorts of reasons - sentimental / ease of getting back into the habit - even (SHOCK HORROR) because I LIKED the bloody thing. Sigh. I swear if a real estate agent walked in the door and said oooohhhhhhhhh what a great lot of books, I'd give them the deal to sell this place on principle!

Anyway - in terms of the current pile, The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg was oddly enoyable and mildly disappointing all at the same time, whereas The Build Up by Phillip Gwynne was uniformly fantastic. It's definitely going to make one of my top books of the year without a shadow of a doubt. But the problem with such a stonkingly good book is what on earth do you follow it up with. I ended up picking up Ted Bell's Assassin - mostly because I know this is probably just going to be an over the top, slightly daft thriller - all tally ho and away. Despite the fact that the darn thing is 500+ pages - it's the sort of book that you can read in a hurry, thoroughly enjoy, and then have very little idea what it was about a week later - pure entertainment and I think that's what I needed. Needless to say - nowhere nearer a couple of Australian books, and given the Ned's Short list is out and they aren't on it, I'm reluctantly shuffling them sideways for a little while so I can catch up on some review books. So I've moved Night Work by Thomas Glavinic and Hell's Fire by Chris Simms further up the list, as well as Secret Friend by Chris Mooney. As always, stand by for a change of plans.

Sundays at our Place #11

Karen — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 14:10:03 +1000

It's snowing today. Not the sort of snow that settles and needs to be shoveled away mind you - but fluffy stuff falling from the sky - melting as it hits the ground as it's also been raining. YEAH.

We were up looking at property in Western Victoria again yesterday and it was raining and freezing cold up there as well, so it's good to see it's pretty widespread. I used to love rainy, cold weekends as it seemed only fair and reasonable that the only thing you could do was stay inside and read books. And I probably should be doing that today, but I can't seem to stay awake if I sit down so I'm not getting as much reading done as I'd like. Although himself says I'm catching up on the snoring stakes so I guess not all is lost. At least the current obsession with the Olympics mean that I'm not even vaguely fussed about missing out on anything on TV, although I did sleep happily through an Audrey Hepburn movie on TV last night - I can't even remember which one it was, I think I saw the first 10 seconds of the opening credits, woke up often enough to figure out it was Audrey on the screen and woke up again as the closing credits finished. Nothing new there then I guess.

Last week I did finish off Ted Bell's Assassin and I will write up a proper review on it in the next day or so - great fun needless to say, although I did end up feeling a bit like I'd done 100 rounds on Fantasy Island. I then charged - inhaled through The Final Murder by Anne Holt - which was absolutely fantastic. It was such a good book I actually did time on the treadmill so I had a reason to be reading it. That's a seriously good book!

I'm now toying with picking up Tana French's second novel - The Likeness, although I'm a bit late for the Murder and Mayhem bookgroup discussion on it. Then the current stack still includes Night Work by Thomas Glavinic, Hell's Fire by Chris Simms and Secret Friend by Chris Mooney. I would like to pick up one of the Allan Guthrie novels that I won at the Readers Feast trivia contest a while back though, as well as Blood in the Water by Gillian Galbraith. Anybody can do a plan though - it's not sticking to it with aplomb that matters around here!

Sundays at our Place #12

Karen — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:35:30 +1000

Well, house packing is underway. We have found one place that we're really interested in - so we're off for another look tomorrow, Starting the packing has a twofold benefit - for a start it's going to take forever to pack this place up plus it means we clear some room in the house as this is a big week for the 4MA / AustCrime Fiction "girls" (aka "The Coven" as himself nicknamed us a few years ago - which stuck).

You hear all the "horror" stories about the internet and you hear very little about the good. We all "met" up via the fantastic 4MA - a reading / discussion group where a lot of friendships have been formed over the years, a group which is managed with great aplomb by the best group of moderators around. We talk books a lot, fanatically (the group's not named 4 Mystery Addicts for nothing), but within the book discussions there is a real sense of community and encouragement of that shared experience. Mind you, we don't stray from books for too long - did I mention fanatics?

So out of the interactions online - we've formed a little group of friends many of whom catch up in their respective home states, many of whom gather now for the Writers Festival. Hopefully we'll continue to do this at the Crime & Justice Festival into the future - even though logistically it will be more tricky for us as we head way out into the bush. But this year, Helen from Newcastle and Sunnie from Launceston are coming as usual, and Sally from Darwin is also flying in for her first visit / to join in the fun. We're going to the few events that we could find that interested us at the Writers Festival, but we've got a lot of extra-curricula events shaping up as well. A minibus and driver has been hired for a tour of wineries in the Yarra Valley, some second-hand bookshops have been identified for raids errr visits - and we'll definitely be "doing" Kill City and Readers Feast when we're in town. Andrea from WA is joining us for the second weekend of the festival - as will Kerry from SA, and we'll all be off to the Ned Kelly Awards and then "lunching" big time on the Saturday as there's litte of interest at the festival on that day. That just leaves a few odds hours during the week to fill in - so it'll be Pub Trivia, a bit of touring, a lot of lunching, a spot of talking, maybe a fight to the death Rum Punch and Trivia competition or two and some time spent with lovely people who all share the same fanaticism for reading. I'm guessing a few books will be dragged through the coals at the same time.

I'm running desperately behind in writing up some reviews so I'll try and grab a few hours before everybody arrives later this week - but I have managed to finish a few things on the To Be Read list! Hell's Fire by Chris Simms and The Secret Friend by Chris Mooney have been ticked off, and I've started Pitcairn by Kathy Marks and Orpheus Rising by Colin Bateman sort of shouted louder than Tana French's The Likeness. That leaves Night Work by Thomas Glavinic still on the pile but undoubtedly not far away and the Allan Guthrie books that I want to try. Mind you Adrian McKinty will be at MWF and I've got one of his books here so I might try that if I can. I guess the problem is going to be whether or not we'll be too busy to read much once everyone arrives!

Sundays at our Place #2

Karen — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:00:54 +1000

It's the Sunday of the June long weekend - the Queens Birthday weekend - which is interesting insofar as it's not really her birthday (when King George V died they kept it mid June) and nobody I know has ever thrown her a birthday party. Basically it's the start of the ski season (there's no snow yet this year) and the last long weekend for a while. So we've spent a fair part of it in the garden. The good news is that the persimmon and the kiwi fruit crops were big this year - so that's lots of kiwi fruit wine and there are Jersualem Artichokes everywhere so that's more wine as well.

It's been a long week this week - what with one elderly German Shepherd with frequent bleeding from a split on her nose that won't heal - and the other one slowly, ever so slowly succumbing to Degenerative Nerve Disease - and it's been freezing of a night, so needless to say any little "accidents" that need to be dealt with tend to happen at 1.00am. Still, never let it be said that a dog of ours was ignored for any length of time - we seem to spend time every hour peering closely at these two - which needless to say drives the two terriers crazy, so then they have to be amused.

On the reading front I'd promised myself that I'd queue up Done Deal by Tony Berry, After You with the Pistol by Kyril Bonfiglioli, The Miernik Dossier by Charles McCarry, Golden Serpent by Mark Abernethy and A Carrion Death by Michael Stanley.

I read Done Deal and I've started After You, but Cemetery Lake by Paul Cleave arrived and I swear I'm getting to the stage where if he published his milk order I'd probably read that. Having said that my other all time "drop everything" author is Reginald Hill and I've been hoarding / gloating over A Cure for All Diseases and I suspect (if Sally and Sunnie don't stop talking about it soon) I'm going to succumb.

Of course the complicating factor is always the Ned Kelly Long list - Golden Serpent by Mark Abernethy is on list because it's a review book for me and because it's on the Ned list, so I also need to catch up on the other books I haven't read yet. So that means quite a few to be going on with (*** indicates the ones I haven't read yet).

Best First Fiction:
*** Golden Serpent, Mark Abernethy
*** Shadow Maker, Robert Sims
*** A Fraction Of The Whole, Steve Toltz
The Low Road, Chris Womersley
*** The Butcherbird, Geoffrey Cousins
Bye Bye Baby, Lauren Crow
**** Broken Swallow, JJ Burn
*** Green Velvet Shoes, Christina Ann Alexander
Frantic, Katherine Howell
Vodka Doesn't Freeze, Leah Giarratano
*** Iraqi Icicle, Bernie Dowling
Maelstrom, Michael MacConnell

Best Fiction:
*** Trick or Treat, Kerry Greenwood
Cherry Pie, Leigh Redhead
Endangered List, Brian Westlake
Harum Scarum, Felicity Young
Sensitive New Age Spy, Geoffrey McGeachin
Sucked In, Shane Maloney
*** The Night Has A Thousand Eyes, Mandy Sayer
Orpheus Lost, Janette Turner Hospital
Amongst The Dead, Robert Gott
Appeal Denied, Peter Corris
Open File, Peter Corris
*** Gospel, Sydney Bauer
*** Broken, Ilsa Evans
*** Skin & Bone, Kathryn Fox
*** Fan Mail, PD Martin
El Dorado, Dorothy Porter
*** Shattered, Gabrielle Lord
*** The Calling, Jane Goodall
Shatter, Michael Rowbotham
*** Game As Ned, Tim Pegler
*** The Tattooed Man, Alex Palmer
Blood Sunset, Jarad Henry
Redback, Lindy Cameron

Best Non-Fiction:
*** Bondi Badlands, Greg Callaghan
*** Mr Sin, Tony Reeves
Underbelly The Gangland War, John Silvester and Andrew Rule
*** Killing Jodie, Janet Fife-Yeomans
*** Red Centre, Dark Heart, Evan McHugh
Big Shots, Adam Shand
*** Lives of Crime, Gary Tippett & Ian Munro
*** Fatal Flaw, Roger Maynard
*** Ned Kelly's Jerilderie Letter, Carole Wilkinson
*** Wild Colonial Boys, Paula Hunt

Eeek - that's a lot of books! Sometime soon I will set up a poll like we had last year - see if we can double guess the Ned judges again.

So on the queue for this week - finish off After You with the Pistol, Kyril Bonfiglioli; then onto The Miernik Dossier by Charles McCarry, Golden Serpent by Mark Abernethy, A Carrion Death by Michael Stanley, The Tattooed Man by Alex Palmer and Shattered by Gabrielle Lord. Unless that Reginald Hill book doesn't stop shouting from the shelves - I really can't say no to Mr Hill.