All the Reviews

Fans of Christopher Brookmyre's dark, black-comedic writing are probably going to do what I did when this book arrived.  A bit of dignified happy dancing and a general clearing of the activity calendar to sit down for a jolly good read and, along the way, a lot of very undignified laughing.  A lot of readers new to this writer may be stepping away from the book (and this review) in droves.  But really - don't.  To steal a famous phrase - do yourself a favour  (perhaps this needs to come with a strong language alert).

Sure Christopher Brookmyre writes gory, savage, lunatic ... Read review

Despite the title, THE DEATH OF BUNNY MUNRO is not a novel from my preferred genre of crime fiction.  Defining exactly what it is, however, is a lot harder.  Nick Cave is one of my favourite musicians, despite so much of his subject matter being somewhat more biblical than would normally be of any particular appeal.  With this novel he's moved from the overtly biblical, southern gothic feel of AND THE ASS SAW THE ANGEL released in 1989, but not completely away from some of all of its core themes.  THE DEATH OF BUNNY MUNRO explores human frailty, fanaticism and vengeance, set this time ... Read review

According to the famous names quoted on the back of STILL MIDNIGHT, Denise Mina is the crown princess of crime, past winner of the John Creasey Memorial Prize for her first crime novel GARNETHILL.  She certainly is a writer that deserves a wide fan base, as she is undoubtedly one of the great writers of the nuanced central character.

STILL MIDNIGHT introduces one such new character - DS Alex Morrow.  Morrow is prickly, raised by a single mother suffering from chronic depression, there but for the grace she's somehow kept herself out of trouble.  She's somebody who the ... Read review

SUFFER THE CHILDREN is the first book introducing DI Will Wagstaffe.  A confession early on - I try not to read blurbs on books so the first few chapters referring alternatively to Wagstaffe and Staffe left me mildly confused, a feeling that came back to visit me on a few occasions throughout the book.

Staffe is a workaholic, that or he doesn't trust the team he works with.  Either way, as one of his past cases resolves leaving him threatened by the perpetrator and his gang of thugs, Staffe is planning a holiday.  Which he cancels, or avoids, when somebody starts killing ... Read review

As Roger Rogerson puts it on the blurb to the book 'All that people know about me is that I'm a corrupt cop, shot three men, and was a mate of Neddy Smith...'.  He's probably right, but he's also probably acutely aware that his is a very Sydney story.  In the other states, particularly if you're not old enough to remember the events of Roger's colourful police career as they occurred, he could also be somebody whose name seems to vaguely ring a bell.  Didn't Richard Roxburgh play him in a movie on TV once (and wasn't that the first of the banned in the state it was made about sort of ... Read review

There's an immediate dive into the here and now with the opening chapter, each of which is a self contained character study, and each chapter grouping is titled appropriately.  Honey Brown touches gently on each chapter as if it were in preparation for a scene change in a film or play.  

This kind of novel usually does offer up some futuristic and frightening prophecy for the future with a moral message that can't be avoided, rather like the surfer riding the wave of catastrophe.  The biological concoction that is Red Queen is not explained in any great detail, so you are ... Read review

Stuart Black, ad exec turned author has his first book out - SHALLOW WATER - in September 2009, published by Sid Harta Publishers.

It is the story of a down to earth Australian builder and would be musician Brad West, who, by marrying the beautiful Jemma Beckford, gets a wife and her very wealthy and dysfunctional family.  The tension between Jemma and her sister Rose is exacerbated when Jemma, who considered herself heir apparent to her father's wealth and companies, sees control of the company and therefore the family fortune, willed to her older, more stable sister.  ... Read review

DEATH AND THE RUNNING PATTERER is the book that won Penguin's last Most Wanted Crime Writing competition, and there's a comment in the acknowledgements that explain a little about the development of the book:

"I owe a debt to Robert Sessions, Penguin Australia's Publishing Director, who overcame his initial shock at being confronted with a manuscript knocked out on an old manual typewriter...."

The reason for highlighting this is that whilst reading DEATH AND THE RUNNING PATTERER was a very enjoyable overall experience, the book is made up of a series of ... Read review

TRUTH by Peter Temple is probably the most keenly anticipated novel in this house for many years.  Let's get the verdict out of the way right up front so there's absolutely no doubt - it did not disappoint.  Not in any way.

TRUTH has been "billed" as the follow up to the acclaimed THE BROKEN SHORE, but really that's not setting expectations for the book well - sure Joe Cashin makes a number of cameo appearances (by reference) as, for that matter, does Jack Irish, but TRUTH isn't a sequel in the strictest sense of the word.  Perhaps it would be fairer to call it a ... Read review