All the Reviews

It is just possible that a book about a middle aged, female, technical writer working for a software company might, just, perhaps be set in a world that feels more than a little bit comfortable (sans daughter of course). I will admit that when NO SAFE PLACE arrived I was more than a little bit excited!

Despite her close working relationship with your classic sort of ubergeek, working for an average software company as a technical writer is not the sort of job that you think would put you in a gunman's sights. So when her elderly neighbour, Mabel, who has simply stepped ... Read review

Two novellas, connected by PI Jack Munro, COORPAROO BLUES and THE IRISH FANDANGO are an interesting historical hard-boiled combination of PI, mean streets, fallen women, drinking and the whole nine yards.

The first story, COORPAROO BLUES, introduces Jack, war veteran, ex-cop, nose for trouble, attractor of a simply staggering number of women, PI that you turn to when things are going to get nasty.

The second story, set a few months later, sees the US troop angle switched for political refugees and Communists around every corner, and a suicide that isn't. ... Read review

Award winning police reporter Paul Anderson obviously spent a lot of time around the Victorian Armed Robbery Squad during some pivotal investigations in this state as there's much of the plot in THE ROBBERS which rings loud, persistent and very musical bells.

There is therefore a parallel when journalist Ian Malone is assigned as a police reporter, his first involvement with the "the Robbers" as he wants to write a feature about the feared, and not always admired Squad. Malone is along for the ride as "the Robbers" slowly fall from favour with the more controlled, ... Read review

If there's one thing I'm a huge fan of it's dialogue that's realistic. Crisp, authentic and realistic. That and plots and the behaviour of characters that are consistent.

MURDER ON DISPLAY is obviously based sort of loosely (very loosely in some parts) around true events in the not-too-distant past in Adelaide. A number of different elements from a number of different true life cases appear to have sort of been melded together to create the story of an Adelaide cop, DS Dan Brennan.

Therein lies a lot of the problem with MURDER ON DISPLAY as I'm not 100% sure ... Read review

Some things remain in this nation's psyche for a very long time. The Bodyline series was something my grandfather was still hot under the collar about when I was a girl (gives you a feeling for how the New Zealanders feel when you mention underarm bowling...). THE RICHMOND CONSPIRACY sits within it's timeframe beautifully, giving the reader a real feel for the way that Melbourne and it's inhabitants worked in 1933. The references to Bodyline (and the way that news about the state of the match being played out in a whole different part of the country had to be sought out), the way that ... Read review

One of the biggest problems with the blanding out of Australian Federal politics and society is that Political Satire seems to have disappeared around the back, probably mugged by some idiot with a bias obsession. Well that is until THE MARMALADE FILES where I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was to finally find something to laugh about coming out of Canberra. In an amused way, not that panicked titter that escapes when you realise that the idiot on the telly who just said what they said may actually be believed by someone out there...

As a political junkie I will ... Read review

I am a bit of a sucker for a daft title, even though it frequently explodes in my face. Even then, it did come as somewhat of a surprise to be reading a knitting type book (no patterns ... there are limits). The reason I picked up MAD MEN, BAD GIRLS AND THE GUERRILLA KNITTERS INSTITUTE is pretty simple really - a bit of little light relief after a row of heavy, thought provoking books. Exercise distraction therapy... whatever. Regardless of why I picked this book up, have to say, was pleasantly surprised.

A particular surprise as even though the ground is pretty liberally ... Read review

Set in Victoria in the early 1900s, OUT OF THE SILENCE has been republished by Momentum in digital format. This novel won the 2006 Ned Kelly for Best First Australian Crime Novel. Given that Wendy James has now written a number of other books, not only is this a chance to look back at an extremely worthy award winner, it's also a chance to look at back at the work of an author who specialises in sensitive looks at difficult subjects.

Whilst the packaging might be suggesting something a little on the romantic side, and the subject matter pertains particularly to women, ... Read review

One glance at the blurb for this book will give you a pretty good feel for the style. Yep, another comedic female private detective crashing through life in a manner that can make a reader cry with laughter, or stick their hands up in the air begging for a good old fashioned police procedural with a central female character with a serious drinking problem, an attitude and maybe a bad case of BO. Anything from the other end of the expectation spectrum anyway.

The difficulty with this sort of humorous crime fiction scenario is that humour is a profoundly subjective thing - ... Read review