All the Reviews

DEAD AND GONE is the 2nd in the Judi Westerholme series, following on from TRUST ME, I'M DEAD. There are some events in the earlier book that would be useful to know about before starting this one, although it's not absolutely vital - there should be enough context to keep you moving forward with what's a really good plot, peopled by very real characters.

When I reviewed the first book I did say:

"There's a good, clever, plot at the heart of everything, and pace is never sacrificed to personal or character development. There's menace aplenty and it's a real ... Read review

THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING MINISTERS is the first in an intended series JUST PIE MYSTERIES by Gina Poekeleen (a pseudonym I believe).

Straight out of the cosy manual, it's one of those arch, comically styled female investigator types of novel full of aside comments, and decidedly unflattering portraits of a couple of kidnapped politicians (you'd be tempted to nod in agreement here but I probably should say they're not all bad, or so I'm told).

The plot is kind of cute, with the kidnappers using cryptic photos of Wellington landmarks as clues for our junior ... Read review

THE LEWIS PASS is the second book in the Dylan Harper series - the first being THE FORGOTTEN LANDS (I believe aka DEAD GROUND but that needs confirmation - they sound like the same book but it could be a rewrite). Anyway, it's an interesting little series, although it's probably one that would be best read from the start especially given the premise of this one hangs 100% on the happenings in the earlier book.

As the blurb puts it:

"On his last case, Dylan Harper strayed too close to a secret government operation and needed to be silenced. For three years, ... Read review

Set in 1960s small town New Zealand, BUSH SICK LAND is a story that sets itself so firmly in time and place that it's uncomfortable. A time when racism, homophobia and gender stereotypes were not just rife, they kind of felt like they are being celebrated. Back when radio and vinyl records ruled, when men worked, suppressed all their emotions, fixed stuff, got drunk and lashed out; women cooked, cleaned, dealt with a lot of externally imposed limitations and dodged a lot; and kids did as they were expected to do, and never questioned anything or anyone.

Somewhere in the ... Read review

Adeline yearns for family, but for many years, since the death of her parents when she was a teenager, the closest she's gotten is her assistance dog, Coco. Adeline can also see ghosts. She has seen them all her life, off to the side as she goes about her days, never interacting, but always there. So you can imagine how shocked she is when a ghost speaks to her in the supermarket. And then a particularly malevolent one attacks here in her own home. Adeline also suffers severe epileptic seizures and her reactions to things around her, and people's reactions to her are often tempered by ... Read review

MURDER IN PINK is the fourth book in the Hitchhiker series featuring Oliver Atkinson, his family, and his ... hangers on. Basically Oliver is an unwilling house husband, and amateur investigator who is "aided" by witnesses or involved parties, who inhabit his being. Ghosts with opinions and justice on their minds. Heftily on the cosy side, this series has a number of elements to it that readers will just have to love or hate - the sense of humour, the self-deprecation of the central character, his put-upon demeanour, to say nothing of the whole idea of "ghost witnesses" who hitch a ... Read review

FLASH JIM is the story of James Hardy Vaux, writer of Australia's first dictionary and first true-crime memoir. It's kind of appealing to know the first dictionary came about as a result of the inability of colonial police and magistrates to understand the slang used by the criminal classes. I will admit to being somewhat startled still to discover the words and phrases that are particularly unique to Australian English (normally as a result of the utterly blank look on the face of the hearer from another land).

But the story of James Hardy Vaux is the main point of FLASH ... Read review

The Second World War is now a long time in the past, we must have lost just about everybody with personal experience of that time, and the lengths people had to go to in order to survive, so historical fiction that casts a light on the real, every day experience feels particularly timely.

THE PARIS COLLABORATOR is the story of Auguste Duchene, a former schoolteacher, living in German-occupied Paris, finding missing people as a way to survive. Approached by the French Resistance to locate a missing priest, and a cache of stolen weapons, his initial refusal is thwarted when ... Read review

DEATH BEYOND THE LIMIT is the third novel in the Fiji Island Mysteries series featuring superstar ex-Rugby player, now Police Inspector, Joe Horseman. This is one of those series that will work really well if you're reading it in order, but luckily won't matter too much if you don't.

Having really enjoyed the first two novels in this series, one of the aspects I was particularly intrigued about was the balancing act between what's increasingly becoming the two central police investigators - Horseman, with his Fijian background, culture and sensibility and his sidekick DS ... Read review