All the Reviews

OxCrimes, Ian Rankin (editor)

OXCRIMES, from Profile books is a fundraising book of short crime stories with contributions from a strong group of authors - some of whom will be favourites, many of whom will be new to readers.

Said it before, will say it again, the best thing about short story collections is a chance to find "new to you" authors. In this collection the option of comparing them, up close, with more favourite writers is a bonus. Particularly as the list of contributors is so stellar, and the standard of the stories here really high.

For my money, I've had Stuart Neville on ... Read Review

Chasing the Ace, Nicholas J. Johnson

"The Honest Conman" (aka Nicholas J Johnson) used to do a warning segment on scams and frauds on ABC Local Radio, but it was a pleasant surprise to find he'd written a heist / scam novel. Needless to say his debut novel, CHASING THE ACE, reads like the author knows a lot about the subject matter.

Think a dual handed TV's Hustle style scenario in which Joel, a young man with no purpose in life, hooks up with Richard, an older man, experienced in the fine art of scams and swindles. What Joel doesn't realise is that the man he's adopted as his mentor and working partner is ... Read Review

A Madras Miasma, Brian Stoddart

Set in 1920's India, A MADRAS MIASMA takes place in an India that is looking towards independence from the British. With a strong sense of place, culture and time built in, this is debut crime fiction with potential.

The central character, Superintendent Le Fanu is a complex man in a judgemental and class-riven society. His wife has left him, he's in love with an Anglo-Indian woman, a relationship frowned upon by the ex-pat British "society" that remains influential. His investigative side-kick is a local man, who he admires for his ability, and skill as an investigator. ... Read Review

The Mandarin Code, Steve Lewis & Chris Uhlmann

Reading the first book in this series - THE MARMALADE FILES - was a laugh out loud experience, what with scheming Foreign Ministers, dumped Prime Ministers scheming revenge and ... well you name scheming in recent Federal Politics and there will be a version of that in these books.

A series that might work best for followers of Australian Federal Politics, THE MANDARIN CODE continues dredging the depths of the ridiculousness laid bare in that first book. Because of that much of the humour is slightly more subdued here - unless you've not read the first book of course. ... Read Review

My Brother's Keeper, Donna Malane

MY BROTHER'S KEEPER is the second Diane Rowe book from New Zealand author Donna Malane, and it's a really strong idea for a protagonist. Rowe is a PI who specialises in looking for missing people, which seems like such a believable, unsurprising thing to do, even in this cyber-connected-technical-no-fault-divorce world, that it gives the character gravitas from the outset.

Not that she's an overly sober or considered woman. Rowe comes across as someone of great compassion, and concern for her clients, but flawed and a bit chaotic. She's a straight talker, and prepared to ... Read Review

Life or Death, Michael Robotham

One of Australia’s great storytellers: Michael Robotham’s crime fiction and the tantalising premise of his new novel.

Michael Robotham’s latest novel, published ten years after his first, was more than 20 years in the making. In a recent interview, the author said:

‘It took me years to come up with an answer and even longer before I felt I had the skills to tell the story properly. I needed to practise. I needed to learn. I needed to get better. That’s why I’m so excited about Life or Death. It’s a love story and a prison story and a heart-stopping account of ... Read Review

The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton

Obviously one of the most commented on aspects of THE LUMINARIES is the size. Clocking in at 830+ pages this is not a book for fans of thrillers, or fast reads, not just because of its sheer size, but because of the dense nature of the writing and the story. Set in 1866, this novel feels and reads exactly as if it was written in that time. Littered with so many of the elements that come into this sort of fiction: opium dens, families losing everything, illegitimate children, multiple identities, belief in the spirit worlds and illicit relationships, there's something utterly perfect ... Read Review

After the Silence, Jake Woodhouse

Set in Amsterdam, AFTER THE SILENCE is a debut police procedural introducing, amongst a big cast of characters, Inspector Jaap Rykel. If you were looking for a single word to describe everyone in this book it would have to be damaged. They are all dealing with their own demons, to the point where there is a sneaking suspicion that there's not a happy person in the entire city. Mind you, the themes in the book will also have you wondering about where they have put their human decency into the bargain.

Rykel is a very flawed main character with a complicated past. His work ... Read Review

Every Breath, Ellie Marney

At the recent Ballarat Writers / Sisters in Crime collaboration, DEATH IN JULY, one of the panels was on YA writing and books. It came as a mild surprise that this is now a special category, but it is particularly pleasing to know there are some YA Crime Fiction books popping up. After all, a lot of firmly welded on crime fiction readers would have progressed straight from the likes of Trixie Belden, Famous Five and the Hitchcock mysteries straight to Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh and the like (allowing for the age category into which the reader falls obviously).

EVERY ... Read Review