All the Reviews

There's a slightly odd feeling about sitting down to read a book that if somebody asked you why you were reading it - the best explanation you could come up with was ... well ... "it sort of sounded slightly mad - and besides the central character wants to become part of a book.... ". You've got to be intrigued by that premise.

THE END OF MR Y doesn't telegraph what sort of a book it is from the cover blurb - it sounds a bit like a mystery, it could be fantasy, there's even some elements that sound a bit like traditional science fiction. It's all of those things and a lot ... Read review

With tongue firmly in cheek, and only because I live in the Pyrenees wine district, yes, well why on earth WOULD somebody kill for a Heathcote shiraz??? (Kidding!)

There's nothing better than books that are set in your own stomping grounds. Places that are very familiar, environments and industries that are close to the heart. I was really thrilled to win a copy of A VINTAGE DEATH from the good people at the very excellent Bendigo Writers' Festival, particularly as the author, Colin King is a Bendigo local, and Bendigo is one of my favourite places in this region. Not ... Read review

Carter's first novel featuring Cato (obvious connection for the nickname) Kwong, PRIME CUT, had him exiled to the Stock Squad in the back blocks of regional WA, doing penance. GETTING WARMER has him back in Perth, just as things weather-wise and crime-wise start to heat up. Starting out with the rather bizarre search for the body of a teenage girl, the supposed perpetrator of that crime being one from the nastier end of the psycho range, it's hard to see how anyone's going to get all that fussed when he shows up dead on the floor of the jail kitchens.

Except the two ... Read review

I've never seen the movie WOLF CREEK and undoubtedly never will. The idea of extreme violence, cruelty and madness on the page is one thing, visually another completely different for this reader anyway.

Had the books not been offered as review copies, it's doubtful I would ever have read either of them. They definitely aren't my preference, so it's only fair to say that ORIGIN was a struggle. The violence and deprivation are stark and very in your face. The book is a prequel to the movie, designed to introduce readers to the young boy that became the psychotic killer. So ... Read review

After coming to love the regular January Cliff Hardy fix it was a happy day when SILENT KILL arrived. Reading blurbs though can sometimes be problematic and so it was with this one, and the reference to a "rogue intelligence agent". Recently that seems to have been code for "no idea how to get my protagonist into, and subsequently, out of the mess I want them in the middle of". Corris is, however, not your standard writer and whilst there is a bit of sneaking around going on, in the main, this is a good old fashioned bit of biff, doesn't get the girl, solves the problem, Cliff Hardy ... Read review

Said it before, should say it again. Will read anything Stuart MacBride publishes... eventually. And yes I know they are extremely violent, dark, with a warped sense of humour and slightly mad edge. What, therefore, is not to love.

A SONG FOR THE DYING isn't, however, a Logan McRae novel but don't let that make you lose hope. There's an equally good cast of misfits, mad buggers, scrappers and fighters here. Which is just as well as it's not easy for an ex-cop like Ash Henderson to survive a spell inside. Especially as even there, arch-enemy, gang boss and evil bitch Maeve ... Read review

Being a bit of a fan of short story collections, I've was really pleased that to see published some of the Scarlet Stiletto winning stories from the past. In this collection, SCARLET STILETTO: SHORT STORIES 2013, the winners from the 20th Anniversary of the awards are released together.

The categories are pretty wide for these awards - The Scarlet Stiletto Award itself (and here we have the first, second and third prize winners), The Best New Talent Award, Great Film Idea, Best Investigative, Cross Genre, Funniest, Young Writers', Malice Domestic and The Body in the Library ... Read review

WRONGFUL DEATH is the ninth book in the Anna Travis series from Lynda La Plante. Which therefore requires a confession. I started to struggle with this series around book 4 (DEADLY INTENT), and never managed to finish book 5 (SILENT SCREAM) or book 6 (BLIND FURY). So on the upside, I did manage to finish WRONGFUL DEATH. On the downside it was a disappointment.

Whilst the central premise, the re-investigation of the death of Josh Reynolds was an interesting idea, the cast of characters flat out didn't work for me. Can't remember the last time I've encountered so many ... Read review

Christopher Brookmyre is appointment purchasing in these parts, but even allowing for that obsession, I do really like the way this Jasmine Sharp series is shaping up. WHEN THE DEVIL DRIVES is the second book now, and whilst it would be better to read them both in sequence, you could get away with just picking up this one, especially if you're aware there's a story behind Jasmine becoming a Private Investigator.

There is a cast of central characters, built around Sharp, featuring hardman Fallan and DS MacLeod. Since Sharp took over running her Uncle Jim's detective agency ... Read review