The Devil's Jump, Peter Doyle

REVIEW ADDED: Fri, 20/07/2007 - 1:31pm by Karen Chisholm

BOOK ADDED: Mon, 31/10/2011 - 12:21pm by Karen Chisholm

Another book from the local books pile that I've been catching up on lately - The Devil's Jump is from the same author that wrote GET RICH QUICK (which won the Ned Kelly for Best First Crime Novel in 1997) and AMAZE YOUR FRIENDS (which won the Ned Kelly for Best Crime Novel in 1999).

THE DEVIL'S JUMP is set in Sydney at the end of the Second World War - in fact the blurb on the book says "The war in the Pacific is over... The war on the streets has just begun". It's the story of Billy Glasheen - local lad and (in the author's words) apprentice lurk merchant. Billy's not ... Read review

Author: 
Peter Doyle
Crime Fiction
#AusCrime

Dying Light, Stuart MacBride

REVIEW ADDED: Fri, 20/07/2007 - 1:23pm by Karen Chisholm

BOOK ADDED: Mon, 01/01/2007 - 4:14pm by Karen Chisholm

DYING LIGHT is the follow-up book to the much talked about and acclaimed COLD GRANITE and it maintains the high standard that the first book in the series reached.

It is summer in Aberdeen, the sun is shining and it is not raining anywhere near as much as it does in winter. With his love life sort of looking up and his working life running pretty well par for the course, the major downsides to the entire season seem to be that somebody is killing prostitutes and DS Logan McRae has been moved to DI Steel's "Screw-Up" squad. One botched raid, one severely injured uniformed ... Read review

Author: 
Stuart MacBride
Crime Fiction
#TartanNoir

Broken Skin, Stuart MacBride

REVIEW ADDED: Fri, 20/07/2007 - 1:15pm by Karen Chisholm

BOOK ADDED: Mon, 27/03/2017 - 4:56pm by Karen Chisholm

There's something immensely satisfying about reading a book that tackles some very tricky subject matter head-on, with enough of the gory details to illustrate rather than titivate and just the right level of gallows humour. BROKEN SKIN is the third book featuring DS Logan McRae and it's as good as the first two.

It's February and it's raining again. McRae is on DI Steel's team and they are most definitely not at home to her favourite term for a complete disaster, particularly as DI Insch is well on the outer. There's also an awful lot going on. There's a vicious, nasty ... Read review

Author: 
Stuart MacBride
Crime Fiction
#TartanNoir

Sucked In, Shane Maloney

REVIEW ADDED: Thu, 19/07/2007 - 3:31pm by Karen Chisholm

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 02/07/2008 - 12:30pm by Karen Chisholm

I happily went out earlier this week and bought a copy of Sucked In and it took me roughly one day to finish it - and that was an unfair delay - I could have sat down and read it in one sitting. Needless to say the 6th book in the Murray Whelan series (for which we've all been waiting an absolute age), lives up to the expectations of the long wait!

Murray is older, slightly wiser and just that little bit more cunning. A member of the Upper House of the Victorian Parliament, he and a number of other "pollies" are "doing the rounds" in Country Victoria, when Murray's long ... Read review

Author: 
Shane Maloney
Crime Fiction
#AusCrime

Death by Demonstration, Patricia Carlon (review by Helen Lloyd)

REVIEW ADDED: Wed, 20/06/2007 - 1:17pm by Karen Chisholm

BOOK ADDED: Mon, 31/10/2011 - 3:29pm by Karen Chisholm

This book is quite different from Patricia Carlon's usual psychological mysteries, and it is far from her best work. Originally published in 1970, this book shows its age, not just in style but in the plot. The plot had potential, but is let down by boring characters and what I believe was the author's political agenda.

What action there is gets bogged down by the long tedious speeches that most of the characters would launch into at every opportunity.  Although this was only a short book by today's standards (190 p.), it seemed much longer, and I found myself skimming ... Read review

Author: 
Patricia Carlon
Crime Fiction
#AusCrime

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