All the Reviews

Frederick's Coat, Alan Duff

From the author of Once Were Warriors, FREDERICK'S COAT is equally as surprising, challenging, moving and profoundly affecting. It's also particularly unusual in that it looks past the crime, the investigation and jail time to a life that is being rebuilt.

Johno comes from a long line of single fathers. So it's no particular surprise that his release from jail after a long sentence doesn't lead to happy ever after in his personal life. Despite trying, it's not long before his wife packs up and leaves him, taking their daughter with her. This leaves Johno responsible for ... Read review

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The Beckoning Ice, Joan Druett

Having never heard of the Wiki Coffin series before, THE BECKONING ICE was an opportunity to read some historical crime fiction from New Zealand that doesn't come along all that often. Part Maori, part American, Wiki is on board the United States Exploring Expedition when a very odd murder is reported.

Reading this book it becomes very obvious that this is an area of history and naval events that the author knows a lot about. The book starts out in a very strong way with the sighting of a possible murder victim, and events that transpire once it is reported to the ... Read review

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Fractured, Dawn Barker

FRACTURED is a thriller entry in the expanding local sub-genre of books that look very close to home. Set as close to home as possible, it's the story of Anna, her husband Tony and their baby son Jack.

Using the obvious device of two converging timelines, the lead up to Jack's birth is contrasted with events afterwards. The storyline builds carefully, slowly almost, seen primarily from the viewpoint of Tony.

Partially because of that viewpoint there's a sense of "blame" or judgement, pervading the story. Whilst Anna obviously struggles with the change in her ... Read review

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Run to Me, Diane Hester

Written with the distinct feeling of a movie treatment RUN TO ME takes the story of a young boy in extreme danger, and combines that with a woman traumatised and stigmatised by the death of her own young boy. There's a feeling of inevitability to the coming together of those two characters, and their stand against the bad guys.

The threat to the boys (Zack is held with two other youngsters) is carefully crafted making it less confrontational, although the threat itself is clearly drawn out. The baddies are very bad in this book, and the contrast between them and the ... Read review

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The Murder of Harriet Krohn, Karin Fossum

The preoccupation for Scandinavian crime fiction of many readers is sometimes questioned. One response is to get people to read Karin Fossum's Inspector Konrad Sejer series. Within the one series, Fossum is able to shift the perspective, analyse the reasons why, explore the outcomes and long-term effects of crime, and play with accepted perceptions of clear cut resolutions. In THE MURDER OF HARRIET KROHN, whilst still part of the Sejer series, she's tipped the perspective completely - this is not a whodunnit, or even necessarily a whydunnit, but a how do you live with what you've just ... Read review

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The Weaver Fish, Robert Edeson

Ever read a book that you know you should just absolutely love, and yet somehow you're not quite getting it. It's a bit like that feeling you get when you're invited to a party and show up in fancy dress only to realise that you'd muddled up the invitations.

The quote for the book is from Robyn Williams, ABC Radio National's The Science Show - "Evocative writing, in which the science is an essential character. The ideas stimulate and mesmerise."

Not having been any good at science at school might be part of the reason (although having sought confirmation from ... Read review

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Straight Jacket, Adrian Deans

Something about STRAIGHT JACKET could make some readers a little uncomfortable. Not the serial killing aspect in this case - although the idea that there is a killer lurking in the bush that inserts itself into the Sydney suburbs isn't a welcome one. Certainly not a killer that sends victims fingers in the mail. It's more disconcerting that Morgen Tanjenz's idea of 'life sculpture' makes sense, dare we suggest, appeals. The idea that you could, with enough money and resources, dispense your concept of justice for wrongs. Although you have to wonder if you'd draw the line at ruining ... Read review

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Kundela, Terry L Probert

It's great to see police procedurals set in rural Australia that don't assume that everything's sinister and vaguely barking mad, and that reflects some of the dry humour, and resilience of both the cops and the locals.

KUNDELA perhaps errs a little to much to that descriptive element though, at the expense of much of the plot which seems to get a little lost and confused at points. The scenic descriptions were, however beautiful, and it's obvious that the author loves this area of Australia very much. He's also built a good cast of characters, albeit with some mixed ... Read review

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Terry L Probert

Thornydevils, TW Lawless

Melbourne in the late 1980s, and journalist Peter Clancy is working for The Truth. Which, for those of us who were around in those days, in that place, conjures up a very clear vision. Booze, coffee, dodgy goings on and journalism from the... well extreme-tabloid end of the scale.

After being "promoted" to the Crime Beat and provided with the mandatory police scanner, Clancy is launched into Melbourne's seedy side, way back before mobile phones and the internet made keeping track of everyone and everything part of everybody's daily routine. THORNYDEVILS builds a strong ... Read review

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Priest of Evil, The Purifier, Richard Osborn

No doubt about it, THE PURIFIER is part of a big, brave trilogy. Nothing at all wrong with these sorts of huge, conspiracy, world domination, evil threat, nuclear armageddon, master criminal types of scenarios. As long as the reader has the option of a bit of suspension of disbelief. Which this reader couldn't achieve.

The evil component of the book was obviously aiming very high, alas it headed rapidly into farce territory. Never with the dash and élan that would carry this sort of attempt through. Quickly it all became a bit too unbelievable, dare I say, silly for me ... Read review

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A Morbid Habit, Annie Hauxwell

The third Catherine Berlin novel from Annie Hauxwell takes the concept of moving a character out of their comfort zone that bit further. Berlin is one of those unrepentant flawed types. A heroin addict she's prepared to manage the addiction with prescription medications, but she's really not able / or willing to give up totally. Anything that threatens her supply of drugs has a major impact on her comfort zone. She's also a welded-on resident of London. She knows her area very well, often walking miles of a night to soothe the cravings and distract her brain. Taking her to Moscow ... Read review

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Blood is Thicker, J.S. McGrath

I fell across this book a few years ago in a shop, having never heard of the author anywhere before. But if it's Australian then I'm almost duty bound to read a book (well that's my justification anyway). This is a story about a serial killer - and the police unit that is investigating - firstly the death of a teenage girl and then the death of a young boy - both killings with a similar, very clinical, method. From the book - the synopsis probably explains it best:

"In the bayside suburb of St Kilda a teenage girl is murdered. It is no ordinary murder; the method was ... Read review

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What Came Before, Anna George

Are you allowed to write reviews that just say "WOW"? No, well okay - an explanation of why "wow".

From the opening lines of WHAT CAME BEFORE it's hard not to be hooked. The man talking directly to the reader has just killed his wife. He's a lawyer, so his immediate reaction is to record his statement of events - into a dictaphone, sitting in his car. In the background there's the quiet, subdued voice of his wife. Hovering there in the laundry, also talking directly to the reader. Not as often, and not in a strong voice. Well you wouldn't if you were staring at your own ... Read review

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The Politics of Murder, Reece Pocock

"Part One

The Dump

Constable Mark Jenkins woke and gazed at the stars.

He sensed a presence and lifted his head.

Someone with large eyes was staring at him. Maybe he was dreaming. At first, Mark did not perceive the danger. A face, covered in night-vision glasses, sighted down the long barrel of a handgun. Something was odd, and then it hit him.

The weapon had a silencer."

The opening sequence of THE POLITICS OF MURDER continues from ... Read review

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No Witness, No Case, Bill Robertson

It's hard not to have certain expectations of crime fiction when it's written by a former Victorian Assistant Police Commissioner, as unreasonable or unfair as that may seem.

The first expectation is that the plot should have a strong sense of realism about it. NO WITNESS, NO CASE explores Mafia activities in a way that seemed uncommon in crime fiction. Looking at the machinations behind a Mafia boss attempting to turn an illegal, and dangerous business, into a legitimate activity. That needs influence from the bottom of the chain - the workers in a company through the ... Read review

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Present Darkness, Malla Nunn

There has always been a strong instructive element in the Emmanuel Cooper series. Apartheid South Africa is a world that we know existed, even know some details about, but what it was like actually living in that regime, particularly when you're not definitely part of the elite? Well that's where this series comes in.

One of the great strengths of the books is the way that the world that Cooper and his compatriots occupy has been expanding. This is a series that could be read out of sequence but will work much better if you can follow them in order. The progression steers ... Read review

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1.9.7 HAMBURG, Alexa Camouro

A modern day industrial espionage tale, 1.9.7 HAMBURG, the debut novel from Alex Camouro is a very brave undertaking. Moving backwards and forwards in time in chapter jumps, it tells the story of much of Dixon Grace's past life as well as present circumstances. As befits the situation she finds herself in Germany, everything about Grace is complicated - her name, her ethnic background, her family, her current situation, the investigation she's involved in, her love life. Everything.

Part of the braveness of this novel is what seems to be the intentional use of ... Read review

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Football Mambo, Peter Tonkin

Being profoundly disinterested in all things AFL, I will admit that for a while I did think the possibility of a real life Centralian Galahs teams sounded quite feasible. As did the idea that drop kicks weren't just drongo's, but somehow something very undesirable in a game (okay so I had to check with somebody who would know what a drop kick was...).

The idea that cynical PI Bruce Bilger would be called into investigate the mystery of why a famous player would suddenly throw a game via the aforementioned kick didn't seem too far of a stretch as well (although to be ... Read review

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Stalin's Gold, Mark Ellis

The thing with really enjoyable review books that are part of a series is that there's no option but to go back and get the earlier books. Regardless of how teetering the current reading pile might be. Which is what happened here after finishing STALIN'S GOLD.

Interesting enough this is now the second series built around the Polish in England that's appealed - albeit this isn't set in current day. Despite it also being the second book in the series, it's very easy to get into sync with Frank Merlin. A cop kept behind in England whilst the war rages, because of the ... Read review

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St Kilda Blues, Geoffrey McGeachin

ST KILDA BLUES is the third Charlie Berlin novel from dual Ned Kelly Award winning author Geoffrey McGeachin. Starting out just after WWII, this series is as much a character study of Charlie Berlin and the after affects of war, as it is a police procedural. It's the great strength of these 3 books, and why they are increasingly earning the attention and commendation that they deserve.

McGeachin doesn't make things easy for his central character though. Berlin is still suffering the after affects of the war, even though it's 1967, the summer of love, and Melbourne is ... Read review

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Geoffrey McGeachin

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