All the Reviews

A Body of Work, Janice Simpson

NOTE: This review was originally published in 2013 - the book has now been re-released.

A debut police procedural from Melbourne based, ex-Ballarat dweller, JM (Janice) Simpson, A BODY OF WORK makes good use of both of those locations. Brendan O'Leary is now a Melbourne based detective, with family contacts still in Ballarat. His DC Ange Micelli has a very Melbourne background, descended from Italian migrants, an inner city dweller who is very focused on career, feeling a bit of pressure over family versus career. When they are called upon to investigate the murder of ... Read Review

In a House of Lies, Ian Rankin

So we are rolling along with all the old gang (though the lovely wee dog is relatively new); Rebus, heir apparent Siobhan Clarke, Malcolm Fox, Big “Ger” Cafferty etc.   There’s a huge comfort in the familiarity of seeing the same people in each outing, though you do wonder how much longer Rebus’s involvement in current police investigations can be justified or explained away. Cafferty, who seemed to be beginning to slide into the background in series priors, appears to have found his mojo again IN THIS HOUSE OF LIES. Very curious to see what will happen with Cafferty’s empire, and as ... Read Review

The Burden of Lies, Richard Beasley

Second book in the Peter Tanner series, THE BURDEN OF LIES follows on from CYANIDE GAMES, which it might be worth reading first. There's a lot of framework construction in the first book that will help with understanding Tanner, his family, his work life and some of the ways that all intersects - good and bad.

This second book revolves around a complicated story of corrupt bankers, drugs, shonky property deals and murder. Self-made property mogel Tina Leonard is on trial for ordering the murder of disgraced ex-banker Oliver Randall. Randall has only recently been released ... Read Review

No One Can Hear You, Nikki Crutchley

Small towns and close knit communities are under scrutiny again in Nikki Crutchley's second novel NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU. Not part of a series with NOTHING BAD HAPPENS HERE, this second outing is built around another interesting and complicated female character Zoe Haywood. Haywood has returned to her hometown Crawton to bury her estranged mother Lillian, who recently committed suicide. Despite the difficult circumstances of returning home to the suicide of a mother she really didn't get on with, living in her mother's house, back in the community she grew up in, Haywood finds herself ... Read Review

Just Play Along, Megan Daymond

JUST PLAY ALONG is Megan Daymond's debut novel, and she's taken on quite confrontational subject matter. A double date that turns into a snuff film, with one of the girls fighting back and killing one of the attackers in the struggle to survive. From there things go from bad to worse as video of the attack is leaked online, and Andy finds herself the centre of attention, and under threat.  Add to that the discovery of six female bodies buried in bushland on Sydney's Northern Beaches, and a possible connection to the snuff-film ring, and Andy finds herself at the centre of an ... Read Review

Under the Cold Bright Lights, Garry Disher

Cold-case detectives are everywhere these days, but the latest creation from Garry Disher, Alan Auhl, is not as straightforward as some might expect. Full review at Newtown Review of BooksRead Review

Absolute Proof, Peter James

ABSOLUTE PROOF is a rare thing in these parts - a "did not finish". Try as I might to get into this whopping big thriller, it's just too much of a slog. (For the record I'm not a fan of Dan Brown's books either so there is a distinct possibility that this one was never destined to work for me as it seems to have been compared favourably to them in a number of quarters).

But for this reader, right from the outset there was much that pushed suspension of disbelief too far, and much that just flat out didn't work. The reader is called up on accept that an investigative ... Read Review

Whisky From Small Glasses, Denzil Meyrick

WHISKY FROM SMALL GLASSES is the first in the DI Jim Daley (yes he does go to the gym daily) and DS Brian Scott series, which I've started listening to, as opposed to reading, and very fine listening it is. Narrated by David Monteath, the series is now up to book 6.

Starting out with a good balance between introduction and set up of new characters, and an interesting investigation to be getting on with, WHISKY FROM SMALL GLASSES comes with a unique setting and some dark humour into the bargain. There's also more than enough intrigue, marital issues, and police politics to ... Read Review

Evil Under the Stars, C.A. Larmer

On the lighter than air side of the cozy spectrum this is a series that will appeal to readers who like a bit of self-aware silly in their crime fiction.

Third book in the Agatha Christie Book Club series, EVIL UNDER THE STARS, continues the adventures of a group of friends, linked by their shared love of the novels of Agatha Christie. When I reviewed the first novel it was littered with references and clues to Agatha Christie plots that were surprisingly missed by many of the club members, which at the time seemed a bit odd, but that's definitely been tightened up a lot ... Read Review