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The Man Who Died Twice / The Bullet that Missed, Richard Osman04/01/2024 - 4:33pmThe last thing anybody needs is a fully blown review of anything to do with Richard Osman's wildly popular The Thursday Murder Club series, of which THE MAN WHO DIED TWICE is number 2 and THE BULLET THAT MISSED is number 3. These books deserve all the success they have achieved, but as I've been listening to the series on Audible (and have the 4th queued up at the moment), I thought a quick reminder to myself if nothing else about why a reader who likes the darker side of fiction would find these such great, fun listening. Mostly it's because of the character studies. The ... Read Review |
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A Man With One of Those Faces, Caimh McDonnell04/01/2024 - 2:29pmOne of those series that I plucked from a long list on Audible when looking for something new and fun to listen to. Sometimes the universe is very good to you. A MAN WITH ONE OF THOSE FACES was such good fun with madcap action and activities, really engaging characters, and a mystery plot that lent itself well to listening. The narrator of this was also perfect, with an engaging accent and an excellent deployment of varied voices to always give you an idea about who is who in a busy, but not overcrowded cast listing. The series revolves around Paul Mulchrone ... Read Review |
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Australian Code Breakers: Our top-secret war with the Kaiser's Reich, James Phelps04/01/2024 - 1:52pmI listened to this audio book (borrowed from the library) sometime ago. Definitely fell into the "why didn't I know about this before' category. As per the blurb:
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Notorious, Olivia Hayfield03/01/2024 - 4:45pmPart of a series of novels placing real life historical events in a modern setting, NOTORIOUS deals with one of England's past mysteries - the Princes in the Tower, and the enigma that was Richard III. The modern setting revolves around a world famous arty family, the Snows. Belle is a singer, her husband Teddy an acclaimed actor. Their 5 children live their lives in the shadow of their parents, but eldest daughter Emma has dreams of her own. She wants to be a writer, she wants a cat and she wants to forget her first love interest. The story revolves around the ... Read Review |
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If That's What It Takes, Les Allen02/01/2024 - 3:07pmLess a review, more a few comments on Les Allen's IF THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES, published in June 2022. Set in 1982, New Zealand, the story revolves around an unlicensed private investigator who, whilst living under a false identity, forms an unlikely alliance with a small town laywer to fight dirty tricks and nefarious goings on in courtrooms and, slightly unexpectedly, rugby fields. Luckily PI Sean McBride's past experience has equipped him with a fine abilty to play dirty, if that's what it takes. This story is very much in the spinning a yarn category of ... Read Review |
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Everyone On This Train is a Suspect, Benjamin Stevenson02/01/2024 - 12:38pmI'm not going to pretend that I didn't wonder if the dreaded "second book syndrome" would appear with Benjamin Stevenson's EVERYONE ON THIS TRAIN IS A SUSPECT. This second novel in the series (not his body of work overall), features Ernest Cunningham, of EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE fame, a book, which to be frank never really felt like it was going to leave the possibility of a follow up in its wake. Shortage of people after the accelerated body count being part of the problem, the other being the enclosed space cleverness which felt like it would be a more ... Read Review |
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The Wiregrass, Adrian Hyland14/12/2023 - 4:54pmIn Adrian Hyland’s latest crime novel, Jesse Redpath is back, stationed in a new town during a time of stormy weather. The much anticipated follow-up to Canticle Creek, The Wiregrass is set in the temperate rainforest area of Victoria in the fictional town of Satellite. Jesse Redpath is a cop, recently transferred from the Northern Territory to a new job in the town after the events of Canticle Creek. If you’re not familiar with Adrian Hyland’s crime fiction, you’ll find that he has a keen eye for character, pace and ... Read Review Newtown Review of Books |
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The Great Swindle, Pierre Lemaitre06/12/2023 - 4:13pmSet in France in the aftermath of the First World War, THE GREAT SWINDLE is loosely a crime novel, owing to the fraud perpetrated as part of the ongoing action. What it really is, is an exploration of the treatment of returned servicemen, the damage - physical and mental - that war leaves in it's wake, and the similar damage societal pressure causes. In what turned out to be a massive book (I was reading an ebook version of it and didn't twig to the size until well into the story), Lemaitre introduces the reader to the three main characters on the battlefront - in an apt ... Read Review |
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Exit .45, Ben Sanders30/11/2023 - 4:08pmWhen Marshall Grade agrees to meet his former NYPD colleague Ray Vialoux, he does not expect Ray to end up dead on the floor of a New York restaurant. Full Review at: Newtown Review of BooksRead Review |
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Suburban True Crime, Emily Webb21/11/2023 - 1:16pmThe collection of cases covered by Emily Webb's SUBURBAN TRUE CRIME go back to the 1940's, through to more recent times, covering a wide range of different murders and disappearances that have occurred in Australian suburban locations. In the author acknowledgement at the front of the book she provides some context for this collection:
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The Drowning, Bryan Brown16/11/2023 - 12:18pmMy review of Bryan Brown's first full length crime novel - The Drowning has been posted at Newtown Review of Books: https://newtownreviewofbooks.com.au/bryan-brown-the-drowning-reviewed-by... "Actor and Australian icon Bryan Brown brings his laconic style to his first full-length crime novel."Read Review |
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Offline, Anne Holt15/11/2023 - 1:37pmI'm behind with this series, and heartily confused about the order in which to read them. But this fortuitous find in a neglected stack of purchased books, is blurbed as the "long-awaited sequel to 1222". Which I did really enjoy. It's also listed as the 9th Hanne Wilhelmsen novel, but I do remember at the time that I read 1222 (the 8th) it was the only one in translation I could get. Or something. OFFLINE is an interesting undertaking for a number of reasons. Written after the 2011 terrorist attacks in Norway, the car bomb in Oslo, then the shooting of 69, mostly young ... Read Review |
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Paper Cage, Tom Baragwanath24/10/2023 - 3:16pmA finalist in the Ngaio Awards for Best First Crime Novel, Paper Cage is the story of a divided community and a string of missing children. Full Review at Newtown Review of BooksRead Review |
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Curses and Cousins, Helen Vivienne Fletcher19/10/2023 - 3:41pmThe second in this YA / Kids series from New Zealand writer, Helen Vivienne Fletcher, CURSES AND COUSINS follows on pretty closely from the earlier book, FAMILIARS AND FOES. Closely enough that it would probably be a good idea for kids to read both books in order, just so they have a feel for Adeline, Coco and Hemi. Listing the characters in that order is on purpose - Adeline and Coco were a closely knit unit before Hemi and Adeline became partners in the first novel, expectant parents in this one. Coco, an assistance dog, has been with Adeline and through a lot of stuff ... Read Review |
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Flawed Hero, Chris Masters18/10/2023 - 11:27amA full, reasonably dispassionate scrutiny of the defamation trial bought by Ben Roberts-Smith as a result of the investigations that Chris Masters and fellow journalist Nick McKenzie did into rumours of war crimes committed by BRS. Needless to say, the case was sensational, and followed closely by many Australian's, but fair to say not as closely as those involved in what would be a complex undertaking. From the outside it often seemed like BRS had scored an own goal on many occasions, but on the inside it was not so clear, clouded as well by the potential outcome for the participants ... Read Review |
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The Doctor's Wife, Fiona Sussman17/10/2023 - 2:06pmFiona Sussman’s fifth novel pieces together a suspicious death, a fatal illness and erratic behaviour within a group of lifelong friends. Full review at: Newtown Review of BooksRead Review |
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The Promise, Damon Galgut09/10/2023 - 5:22pmAs one participant in yesterday's discussion put it - the story of a crumbling family, in a crumbling society, The Promise tells the tale, in particular, of three siblings, Anton, Astrid and Amor, their parents and extended family, against the backdrop of the ending of apartheid in South Africa. From a white farming family, the three sibling's story is told in a series of deaths and the ramifications of each of those on them, and a long-standing promise to the black maid and lifelong companion of them all - Salome. Starting with the death of their mother, and her deathbed ... Read Review |
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Qanon and On, Van Badham08/10/2023 - 2:59pmTo be short and precise, I found this book absolutely fascinating. Insightful, informative, and clear eyed. Mandatory reading for anyone trying to work out what the hell is going on in this world.Read Review |
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Remember Me, Charity Norman05/10/2023 - 5:11pmA dementia diagnosis reveals clues to a decades-old mystery in this new novel from the author of The Secrets of Strangers – Charity Norman’s third to be shortlisted for NZ’s Ngaio Marsh Awards. Full Review at: Newtown Review of BooksRead Review |
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Life, Keith Richards05/10/2023 - 12:35pmI've had this book in the queues for such a long time, one to dip in and out of at those moments when a bit of amusement was required, I thought. Until the day I wasn't dipping, and couldn't put it down. Told very much in his own voice (I think there was a ghostwriter involved / not sure), this is a rollicking roam through the life, times, trials, triumphs and tribulations of the (to my ears at least) greatest band ever. Full of very funny one-liners and some utterly brutal honesty about a life that's been lived to the edges always. There's plenty here for ... Read Review |