All the Reviews

The Man With the Golden Mind, Tom Vater

Maths not being a strong point, I got myself tied up in knots reading THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN MIND. Perhaps it wasn't helped by not having read the earlier book in the series, but I could not, for the life of me, get the timeframes straight in my own mind.

Twenty-five years after Julia Rendel's father was killed at a CIA base in Laos, she asks Maier to investigate his murder. Not long after this Rendel is kidnapped and Maier is left in a country he doesn't seem to know a lot about, working with the scant information provided before Rendel's disappearance, searching for ... Read Review

One Step Too Far, Tina Seskis

ONE STEP TOO FAR is one of those books that make you think you need a new "category". One that emphasises the number of clues that were there, right under your nose, that you missed because you were too busy turning pages.

Right from the outset everything about Emily (soon to be Cat) Coleman (that's changed as well) is more than a bit mysterious. It's not just that she's walked away from a marriage and child - that's been known to happen. It's the idea that she adores that child, loves her husband, and the family pet into the bargain, and despite the difficulties with her ... Read Review

Standoff, David Rollins

Having not read any of the Vin Cooper series this started out as an exercise in seeing if I could catch up in a hurry. So, for newcomers to the series as well, a few points. Cooper's an interesting character in an over-the-top military style thriller. Definitely a bit of an all-action hero with the physical prowess and durability of a tank, he's also got a touch of humour about him that somehow makes him slightly less hard-boiled than you'd expect. It did, however, leave this reader with a sneaking suspicion that there could be more than just Cooper's tongue firmly planted in his ... Read Review

Beams Falling, P.M. Newton

When THE OLD SCHOOL was released all the way back in 2010, I noted "As I was reading this book I couldn't help but create a checklist of the things that make up seriously good crime fiction for me, and apply it as I went." Every box ticked needless to say, which means that the follow up has been much anticipated. It doesn't disappoint in any single way. 

As with the first book we've got a very good plot, with Kelly returned from sick leave, and on light duties. Still in physical rehab her mental recovery also gets some attention, as she struggles to cope with the PTSD ... Read Review

The End of Mr. Y, Scarlett Thomas

There's a slightly odd feeling about sitting down to read a book that if somebody asked you why you were reading it - the best explanation you could come up with was ... well ... "it sort of sounded slightly mad - and besides the central character wants to become part of a book.... ". You've got to be intrigued by that premise.

THE END OF MR Y doesn't telegraph what sort of a book it is from the cover blurb - it sounds a bit like a mystery, it could be fantasy, there's even some elements that sound a bit like traditional science fiction. It's all of those things and a lot ... Read Review

A Vintage Death, Colin King

With tongue firmly in cheek, and only because I live in the Pyrenees wine district, yes, well why on earth WOULD somebody kill for a Heathcote shiraz??? (Kidding!)

There's nothing better than books that are set in your own stomping grounds. Places that are very familiar, environments and industries that are close to the heart. I was really thrilled to win a copy of A VINTAGE DEATH from the good people at the very excellent Bendigo Writers' Festival, particularly as the author, Colin King is a Bendigo local, and Bendigo is one of my favourite places in this region. Not ... Read Review

Getting Warmer, Alan Carter

Carter's first novel featuring Cato (obvious connection for the nickname) Kwong, PRIME CUT, had him exiled to the Stock Squad in the back blocks of regional WA, doing penance. GETTING WARMER has him back in Perth, just as things weather-wise and crime-wise start to heat up. Starting out with the rather bizarre search for the body of a teenage girl, the supposed perpetrator of that crime being one from the nastier end of the psycho range, it's hard to see how anyone's going to get all that fussed when he shows up dead on the floor of the jail kitchens.

Except the two ... Read Review

Origin, Greg McLean and Aaron Sterns

I've never seen the movie WOLF CREEK and undoubtedly never will. The idea of extreme violence, cruelty and madness on the page is one thing, visually another completely different for this reader anyway.

Had the books not been offered as review copies, it's doubtful I would ever have read either of them. They definitely aren't my preference, so it's only fair to say that ORIGIN was a struggle. The violence and deprivation are stark and very in your face. The book is a prequel to the movie, designed to introduce readers to the young boy that became the psychotic killer. So ... Read Review

Silent Kill, Peter Corris

After coming to love the regular January Cliff Hardy fix it was a happy day when SILENT KILL arrived. Reading blurbs though can sometimes be problematic and so it was with this one, and the reference to a "rogue intelligence agent". Recently that seems to have been code for "no idea how to get my protagonist into, and subsequently, out of the mess I want them in the middle of". Corris is, however, not your standard writer and whilst there is a bit of sneaking around going on, in the main, this is a good old fashioned bit of biff, doesn't get the girl, solves the problem, Cliff Hardy ... Read Review