All the Reviews

The Roar Of The Butterflies, Reginald Hill

The Joe Sixsmith series is much more light-hearted than Mr Hill's other, well known Dalziel and Pascoe series.  Partly because Joe is a gifted amateur Private Investigator and partly because of Joe's own personality.  He takes his responsibilities seriously, but he doesn't take himself all that seriously.  Of course his Aunt Mirabelle and his girlfriend Beryl are always standing by, ready to shoot down any signs of Joe getting ahead of himself.

He is somewhat surprised though to find himself confronted by a YFG (Young Fair God).  On a day when the heat is causing him to ... Read Review

The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam, Chris Ewan

THE GOOD THIEF'S GUIDE TO AMSTERDAM is exactly the tonic required for a crime fiction fan in dreary, cold winter.  Sure it's set in slightly more exotic cold Amsterdam, but the tone of the book is just on the cheeky side, a little bit light-hearted, a touch of the romp.  It is a good tale told by the central character - career thief, crime fiction author, the indefatigable Charlie Howard.

After the mysterious American dangles the job of stealing two (of the three of "wise" fame) uninspiring little monkey figurines, Charlie is initially pretty underwhelmed.  But once a ... Read Review

The Low Road, Chris Womersley (review by sunniefromoz)

THE LOW ROAD is an austere portrait of two of life’s losers.  Lee has never really had a chance.  He lost his parents suddenly at the age of ten. Wild, on the other hand, was successful and threw it all away.  Lee is incapacitated through his gunshot wound. Wild is so hopelessly addicted that he is almost incapable of any decision making outside of getting his next fix.

Reading THE LOW ROAD isn’t easy. In fact, there were moments in the book when I nearly put it down completely.  It offers the reader no comfort at all.   Like the winter landscape Womersley describes, it ... Read Review

Frantic, Katherine Howell (review by sunniefromoz)

Howell is a paramedic herself and writes with great credibility about Sophie’s working day. In fact, she writes so well about the working life of a paramedic that I found myself wishing that Howell had room in the plot for more of that aspect of Sophie’s life. I found it truly fascinating. 

Howell also has a deft touch with describing Sydney.  It helps that Sophie is stationed at The Rocks, right in the middle of the main tourist area of the city.   Anyone who has visited Sydney will immediately recognise some of the locations.

FRANTIC is Katherine Howell’s ... Read Review

A Carrion Death, Michael Stanley

Set in Botswana, A CARRION DEATH introduces the reader to, amongst a lot of other characters, Assistant Superintendent David Bengu.  David is a big man.  A very big man.  As a young man, his friend Angus coined the nickname Kubu - which means Hippopotamus in Setswana.  That friend belongs to one of the families in Botswana - his father, until he died, and his uncle have run the Botswana Cattle and Mining Company for many years. His friend - Angus and his twin sister Dianna are about to reach the age at which they inherit and they can take over from their uncle Cecil.

In ... Read Review

Shatter, Michael Robotham (review by Helen Lloyd)

Psychologist Joseph O’Loughlin is called to the Clifton Suspension Bridge where a woman, naked except for her red high heels, is poised to jump. As she weeps into a mobile phone, he tries to talk her down. She turns to him, whispers ‘you don’t understand’ and jumps.

A few days later, the woman’s teenage daughter, Darcy, turns up on Joe’s doorstep. She refuses to believe her mother could have committed suicide, and certainly not by jumping off a bridge. Joe starts to believe that the woman was coerced into jumping by the person on the other end of the mobile phone. The ... Read Review

Done Deal, Tony Berry

I wanted to read this book for a few reasons - for a start it's set in my home town, in and around the suburb of Richmond.  Okay I have a passing knowledge only of Richmond having spent an inglorious 6 months or so around that area many many many many years ago and nothing much since then - should go back / there's some good Vietnamese restaurants in that area.  But I digress.  The other reason I wanted to read this book is that it's obtained online via Lulu - and I've been quite a fan and follower of the Lulu business model for years - they provide an outlet for so many open source ... Read Review

Dreamland, Tom Gilling

If you were young, suddenly single again, and feeling a bit lost and unsure - what would you do if you were offered money to tell a harmless little lie?  If you were camping out at a friend's house after the break up of a relationship that had been just cruising along anyway, what would you have have done if an old friend's father asked a favour?  Would you help your old schoolfriend just because?  Do you ever really think about consequences - and even if you do, could you possibly imagine that somehow - taking the wrap for driving a car over the speed limit - could get you into a ... Read Review

Disco for the Departed, Colin Cotterill

If you haven't followed the adventures of Dr Siri, his nurse Dtui and his morgue assistant Mr Geung, then you're really missing out.  In DISCO FOR THE DEPARTED, Dr Siri and Dtui are sent into the mountains to investigate the mummified body of a man found buried under a concrete path at the mountain hide-out of the President of the People's Republic of Laos.  The investigation has a certain level of sensitivity because of where the body was found needless to say.  Mr Geung remains in Vientiane to look after the morgue and he takes his responsibilities very seriously.

Cuban ... Read Review