All the Reviews

Many frequent readers of crime fiction (and I count myself in both these numbers) are over the mad serial killer sub-genre. This could make the opening monologue of BROKEN MONSTERS something that makes you put down the book and step away. Whilst the subject matter remains confrontational, often times surreal and vaguely supernatural, there are other aspects worth considering.

We all know the story of the rise and decline of Detroit – from economic power-house to basket-case in a very short period of time. The resulting population decline left decaying buildings and a ... Read review

Using a title like CLAUSTROPHOBIA obviously sets certain expectations for readers, which luckily, in this outing are uncomfortably well imagined. There's something incredibly claustrophobic about everything to do with this book. The enclosed, world that the two main characters Pen and her husband Derrick occupy. From their home life, working together at the same school, even when Pen finally breaks away to another job, albeit for reasons that Derrick doesn't know. It's not just circumstances though. Of course, with Pen as the main narrator of the book there is an inward focus, but ... Read review

THE BOMB MAKERS by pseudonymous author Marcus Case is a terrorist thriller set in London, with the threat coming from a combination of ETA and the Real IRA. Which is a different combination for this reader.

A big, bold plot, THE BOMB MAKERS combines a bit of good old fashioned British policing with current counter-terrorism methods to track down an unusual and complicated bomb maker, and the bomb planter. DCI Emma Rydan and her junior, DS Kent are paired up when he's seconded to an investigation that's gone pear-shaped. In an interesting take on a very current day ... Read review

There was a point in the Melbourne Underworld Wars that things just got too complicated for anybody but the most assiduous follower to keep up with. The connections between the crooks, the cops, and all the permutations thereof were enough to make you hope somebody was keeping some sort of map. Fortunately it seems that Liam Houlihan was, and he's used it to weave some threads through the entire mess that are both surprising and decidedly sobering.

Using a clever metaphor for the reader to engage with, you are pulled instantly into a story that would be quite a thriller ... Read review

THE CHILDREN'S POND is a debut crime novel for NZ author Tina Shaw, a well-known writer in her native New Zealand, it's written with the authority of an experienced author. Especially as it puts a city girl, moved to the country to be closer to her son in jail; somebody with a dodgy dating history, but a strong work ethic; and debutante fly fisher into the central character in a surprisingly taut analysis / thriller. It's not often that somebody can combine fly fishing and a dark, interweaving of evil, and secrets and make a river a character into the bargain.

A novel ... Read review

Looking back at the public persona of Mark 'Chopper' Read, so much of what Adam Shand discusses in THE REAL CHOPPER was there for the seeing. Can't help but give you a sneaking sense of admiration for Read's skill as a myth maker, given how unlikely many of his alleged transgressions actually were.

Read has always been an interesting prospect. Somebody with enough gangster profile to titillate and amuse some sectors of the community, he was renowned as a walking underworld quotation for the media. A thorn in the side of the underworld he claimed to be a big pin in, he was ... Read review

OXCRIMES, from Profile books is a fundraising book of short crime stories with contributions from a strong group of authors - some of whom will be favourites, many of whom will be new to readers.

Said it before, will say it again, the best thing about short story collections is a chance to find "new to you" authors. In this collection the option of comparing them, up close, with more favourite writers is a bonus. Particularly as the list of contributors is so stellar, and the standard of the stories here really high.

For my money, I've had Stuart Neville on ... Read review

"The Honest Conman" (aka Nicholas J Johnson) used to do a warning segment on scams and frauds on ABC Local Radio, but it was a pleasant surprise to find he'd written a heist / scam novel. Needless to say his debut novel, CHASING THE ACE, reads like the author knows a lot about the subject matter.

Think a dual handed TV's Hustle style scenario in which Joel, a young man with no purpose in life, hooks up with Richard, an older man, experienced in the fine art of scams and swindles. What Joel doesn't realise is that the man he's adopted as his mentor and working partner is ... Read review

Set in 1920's India, A MADRAS MIASMA takes place in an India that is looking towards independence from the British. With a strong sense of place, culture and time built in, this is debut crime fiction with potential.

The central character, Superintendent Le Fanu is a complex man in a judgemental and class-riven society. His wife has left him, he's in love with an Anglo-Indian woman, a relationship frowned upon by the ex-pat British "society" that remains influential. His investigative side-kick is a local man, who he admires for his ability, and skill as an investigator. ... Read review