All the Reviews

The Celtic Dagger, Jill Paterson

Dialogue.  It's something I'm increasingly aware of, as it should be part of the way that an author can show (as opposed to tell) the reader what the characters are seeing, thinking, considering, experiencing.  Combine really good dialogue with a feasible plot and an author can transport the reader to the world that they are building within the book.  Poor dialogue on the other hand yanks the reader out of the immersion experience and makes a book a less enjoyable experience.  Obviously the problem with this is defining what is "good dialogue".  For this reader, it's all about ... Read Review

Follow the Money, Peter Corris

You really have to worry about Cliff Hardy.  Every year he seems to dig himself a bigger, deeper more dramatic hole and he's not as young as he thinks he is.  

Or so it seems from these books, but realistically Cliff is timeless.  He has to be - don't try to do the maths of how old he must be - your brain will hurt or you could suddenly wonder why you're not quite such an action hero when you're nowhere near Cliff's age!  Cliff's timelessness is part of his attraction, as is his blatant disregard for the rules, personal safety, and doctors advice.  In recent years he has ... Read Review

Redback, Lindy Cameron

I originally read and reviewed REDBACK when it was released in 2007 by MIRA Press, so when Clan Destine republished it, I was really really interested to see if it would hold up well, particularly given that it has a number of quite topical references (okay well some digs as well) for the time.

At the time I mentioned that REDBACK is a quite a step away from Cameron's Kit O'Malley series - it's very much a big, pacey thriller, peopled with strong characters (male and female), a complicated yet disconcertingly believable multi-threaded plot and a hefty dose of subtle ... Read Review

Last Nocturne, Marjorie Eccles

I always think of these books as Jane Austen meets Crime Fiction.  Which is probably somewhere between extremely unfair and absolutely acceptable depending on your own particular point of view.  LAST NOCTURNE is from author Marjorie Eccles - who is best known in these parts for the Gil Mayo series, which was made into a short TV series that became quite a favourite.  

Whilst Grace Thurley's decision to break off her engagement to a rather pompous local man secretly pleases her mother, moving to London to take up the position of paid companion and secretary to Dulcie ... Read Review

If It Bleeds, Duncan Campbell

Every now and then it does a dedicated crime reader's heart good to read something that proves that there's nothing better than not taking yourself too seriously.  And if there's ever a fictional character that can't afford to take himself too seriously it is crime reporter Laurie Lane.  His wife has walked out on him (he did eventually twig she wasn't there), his daughter's remained at home, somewhat indulgent but equally pointed in her opinions of her father.  At the newspaper he's being investigated for fiddling his expenses, but there's a distinct smell about that.  Especially as ... Read Review

The Merry Misogynist, Colin Cotterill

If the idea of a serial killer novel titled THE MERRY MISOGYNIST has you slightly confused, then I can only guess that perhaps you've never read a Dr Siri book before.  If you're a fan of quirky, without cute or cosy, humour without slapstick and the most marvellous sense of place that you're likely to encounter, then I can only suggest that you rectify that as soon as possible.

THE MERRY MISOGYNIST is the sixth Dr Siri mystery, all set in Communist Laos.  Dr Siri is a most reluctant national Coroner, although he is supported by a most willing morgue team of colleagues ... Read Review

Through Black Spruce, Joseph Boyden

THROUGH BLACK SPRUCE isn't the first book it's taken me quite a long time to read, it's not even the one that took the longest to read, but it did take many attempts before I was able to get any traction.  This attempt I read the blurb first-up and did a little Google hunting - something I normally try not to do.  But this time I really needed it to find out what on earth was going on.  Then it dawned on me why I was having so much trouble getting into the book.

THROUGH BLACK SPRUCE is a family story, told from two main points of view.  Annie is the sister of the missing ... Read Review

Crosstown Traffic, edited by Stuart Coupe, Julie Ogden & Robert Hood

Love a quest and tracking down copies of these short story collections seems to have become one of my major quests.  A lot of these go back to the days of Mean Streets Magazine, and there have always been a few that elluded me.  Very happy dancing when I finally spied a copy in Kill City during a recent trip to Melbourne.

As per the blurb this is a cross genre set of stories, many of which take the reader off in most unexpected directions.  Crime morphing into Western, Science Fiction, Fairy Tales and Fantasy shouldn't really be all that surprising if you think about it ... Read Review

Love Songs from a Shallow Grave, Colin Cotterill

Dr Siri Paiboun has got to be one of the all time great fictional characters.  Irascible, kind, determined, a bit of a push-over, loving, stern, gentle, pushy, pig-headed, he's just so magnificently real.  I know I say this a lot, but if you've never read any of Colin Cotterill's fantastic series based in Laos, built around the elderly and reluctant, one and only coroner in Laos, then get thee to a bookshop / library with all haste.

In the 7th book - LOVE SONGS FROM A SHALLOW GRAVE - Dr Siri and his ever-present companions of Nurse Dtui, Mr Geung and his new wife Madame ... Read Review