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Move to Strike, Sydney Bauer10/03/2009 - 2:23pmIt is probably no coincidence that this book is likely to appeal to fans of TV shows like CSI and Law and Order as the author says she is very fond of those shows and the book has a structure, subject matter and delivery which seems somewhat reminiscent of that style of show (or at least what I glean from others about them) - I don't watch them, probably for the same reasons that MOVE TO STRIKE isn't really my sort of book. Perfect Home. Perfect Family. Perfect Murder. That's what is printed at the top of the cover of the book and there is a lot of ... Read Review |
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Punter's Turf, Peter Klein03/03/2009 - 12:45pmPeter Klein has spent a lifetime in the horse racing industry, working for some of Australia's top trainers such as TJ Smith and Bart Cummings. He was once a strapper of champion galloper Kingston Town. It's therefore not all that surprising that he has set PUNTER'S TURF firmly in the horse racing world, with a good balance between the horse racing and mystery elements. There is enough atmosphere to give the events a real sense of place, there's enough sprinkling of horse racing terminology to provide a sense of reality, but it's not overplayed or impossible for the average reader ... Read Review |
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Vanishing Point, Pat Flower25/02/2009 - 2:34pmVANISHING POINT by Pat Flower was originally published in 1975, and re-released by Wakefield Press as part of their Crime Classics series in 1993. It is the first of three important thrillers written by this author before her suicide in 1978. The Wakefield edition has an afterword written by editors Michael J. Tolley and Peter Moss which is well worth reading for some background to the author herself, as well as their take on the book. It includes this quotation from the author: "People sometimes ask as they edge away, Why Murder? I'm absorbed in ... Read Review |
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Fan Mail, PD Martin (review by Helen Lloyd)19/02/2009 - 1:15pmOn her last day at FBI headquarters at Quantico before transferring to the Los Angeles field office, Australian FBI profiler Sophie Anderson is given the task of showing crime author Loretta Black around the facilities. She finds Black to be rude and overbearing, and is glad when the tour is over. Within days of Sophie's arrival in Los Angeles, Black is found murdered in bizarre circumstances. She has been killed in exactly the same way as the victim in her latest book. It doesn't take long for Sophie to link this crime with the murder of another crime author several ... Read Review |
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Gentle Satan, My Father Abe Saffron, Alan Saffron17/02/2009 - 1:37pmSubtitled My Father, Abe Saffron GENTLE SATAN is the story of Alan Saffron - the son of Sydney's "Mr Sin" from the '60s and '70s. The book does promise to tell some tales of his notorious father, and whilst there is some skirting around the subject, it is probably most notable for what it doesn't, rather than what it does tell. It's obviously not easy being the son of a notorious, flamboyant, controlling and overwhelming man. It's also obviously not easy being the wife of an openly unfaithful, controlling and overwhelming man. But at the heart of this book there's ... Read Review |
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Deadly Intent, Lynda La Plante14/02/2009 - 12:32pmDEADLY INTENT is the fourth book in the Anna Travis series, made up of ABOVE SUSPICION, THE RED DAHLIA and CLEAN CUT. It's been a series which I've really enjoyed... up until this book, which I have to say disappointed. Anna is a dogged sort of a detective character, who has had a complicated personal life - having had a short-lived but dramatic affair with her previous boss - James Langton. She is still feeling the loss of that relationship and finding dealing with Langton on a daily basis very difficult. When he steps into overall control of the investigation of the ... Read Review |
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Witch Doctor's Vengeance, Andy L Semple04/02/2009 - 2:52pmThere's something profound and slightly unsettling about how much the idea of killing off politicians appeals. At least for a reason like this one. Let's face it - there's probably very few of us that haven't longed for something similar - if not actual death - than at least a tad painful - when it comes to one or other politicians. Awful as that may sound. WITCH DOCTOR'S VENGEANCE starts with a rather high minded and seemingly altruistic motive - the politicians are being killed off until they agree to the demand of stopping partisan politics. It also starts off with ... Read Review |
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A Darker Domain, Val McDermid29/01/2009 - 2:09pmVal McDermid has tackled some social history that is obviously very dear to her own heart in A DARKER DOMAIN, and it has to be said, she's done it with considerable style. Not only does this book give you a fascinating glimpse into the social chaos and personal pain caused by the Miner's Strikes in early 1980's Britain, it carries the story of three unfathomable disappearances. Cold Case squad detectives DI Karen Pirie and DS Phil Parhatka are initially looking into the disappearance of Mick Prentice - reported missing 22 years after he supposedly broke ranks and joined ... Read Review |
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English Toss on Planet Andong, Dave Franklin27/01/2009 - 1:33pmI really hope Dave feels better after writing this book. I'm guessing that there's a somewhat autobiographical element to the events that happen in this book - it's too starkly drawn surely for just imagination (mind you, if I'm wrong, well it's some imagination this man has!) Paul Taylor has taken a job - along with a lot of other people trying to escape from something - in Andong, South Korea. Teaching English to young Korean children. The fascinating thing is that horrible kids are basically horrible kids - no matter what country they come from, and teaching English ... Read Review |
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Devil's Peak, Deon Meyer (review by sunniefromoz)11/01/2009 - 12:56pmWhat makes a book special for you? For me it’s when the characters and the story stays with you after you’ve closed the book. All too often once the book is finished , the details begin to fade almost immediately. Not so with DEVIL’S PEAK by Deon Meyer The alcoholic detective is something of a staple in crime fiction; to the extent that it frequently becomes a cliché. Not so Benny. Meyer writes about Benny’s struggle , self-recrimination and the realisation of the full impact of his drinking on his life, his family and his colleagues with a great deal of sensitivity . ... Read Review |
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The Abyssinian Proof, Jenny White09/01/2009 - 1:07pmI have to be honest and say that initially the idea of another historical crime fiction novel, set within the Islamic and Christian worlds left me somewhat underwhelmed. Fortunately there is a lot more going on in THE ABYSSINIAN PROOF, although I will admit that a large part of the attraction of this book was the central character - Magistrate Kamil Pasha, who is my idea of a detective. A little grumpy, a little shambolic, a man who is able to think through a situation and sees the clues that others may gloss over. THE ABYSSINIAN PROOF starts out with the rescuing of a ... Read Review |
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The Murderers' Club, PD Martin (review by sally906)31/12/2008 - 3:16pmOpening Sentence: "...BlackWidow has entered the room..." PD Martin's second novel is simply amazing. It is so chillingly plausible it leaves you feeling very uncomfortable. Most internet users belong to some sort of online discussion group or forum. Many of these forums are for the use of its members only. THE MURDERERS' CLUB opens in one such forum - only this one consists of four members - and they are all established serial killers. Australian FBI Profiler, Sophie Anderson, is taking a break in Arizona with a colleague and friend, Detective ... Read Review |
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Connie's Secret, Anne Lovell31/12/2008 - 2:28pmAuthor Anne Lovell found out by accident that her aunt, Connie Sommerlad, had been murdered by John Trevor Kelly in 1939. John Kelly goes down in Australian history with the dubious honour of being the last man to be hung in NSW. Connie’s name had never been mentioned by any of the older members of the family – her life, and death, had remained a secret. Why? As Anne investigates her late aunt’s life, she discovers that it was not the horrific murder that embarrassed the family into silence but something quite different. Connie and her younger brother Eric ran the ... Read Review |
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Sepulchre, Kate Mosse29/12/2008 - 2:04pmSEPULCHRE certainly appears to be a formidable prospect when you consider the weight of historical content, and of course simply the weight of the edition as it is another house brick sized novel (as was the hugely successful LABYRINTH). Both novels have utilized the same tact of luring in an audience expecting some riveting tease of a mystery lost in time and then found again by the present day heroine. SEPULCHRE is pretty vanilla flavoured in that regard, and what could have been a wonderful sub plot with Debussy is sadly never explored. There seems to be other pieces of writing ... Read Review |
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A Beautiful Place to Die, Malla Nunn24/12/2008 - 1:46pmOne thing that will strike readers of A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO DIE firmly between the eyes is how an apartheid society is so incredibly foreign from the ways in which others of us live. That's not to say that there is an overtly "political" agenda in this book, rather the book does not take a step backwards in depicting South Africa under Racial Segregation laws. It also starkly draws a picture of the various societies within that - the 'English' South African's, the Afrikaner South African's and the native South African's. It is not a particularly pretty picture, and it's delivered ... Read Review |
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The Final Bet, Abdelilah Hamdouchi19/12/2008 - 1:40pmRemarked upon often as the first Arabic detective story translated, THE FINAL BET is a very slim volume that has a strong central message. The book really isn't particularly about Casablanca the place, or even the people. It's very much targeted straight at the way that the Moroccan legal system functioned at the time that it was written - and you can pick that thread up very clearly even without reading the afterword by the translator of the book - Jonathan Smolin. Othman has often thought about killing his elderly wife. The marriage is complicated by the difference ... Read Review |
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Life, Law and Not Enough Shoes, Judith Fordham18/12/2008 - 1:18pmAll right, all right. All those people who know me personally can stop snorting with laughter. The idea of me and a book about the love of shoes doesn't work. We all know that. Now if it had been hats, well maybe. But shoes. I've never seen the point - you've only got one pair of feet after all, and there's nowhere that a reasonably clean Blundstone can't take you if you look like you might bite back. But I digress. LIFE, LAW AND NOT ENOUGH SHOES is a memoir from Judith - a top criminal barrister and Associate Professor in Forensics in Western Australia ... Read Review |
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Fedora Walks, Merrilee Moss05/12/2008 - 1:22pmThere are simply not enough of these short novella books being published these days. Not only do they give you a real taste of (frequently) lesser known writers, they are perfect little handbag books - stocking stuffers if you want. FEDORA WALKS could definitely stuff the stocking of a lot of readers. If you're fans of the supernatural, if you're a fan of theatricals, if you're a lover of lesbian fiction (crime or not), or if you simply want something funny to fill in a few pleasant hours, then FEDORA WALKS is a great little book. Now I'm not much of a shoe shopper, but ... Read Review |
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The Darkest Hour, Katherine Howell04/12/2008 - 3:34pmSince finishing THE DARKEST HOUR I've been trying to think of another author who uses such an unusual protagonist's viewpoint of violent crime. I can't, which simply could be my aging brain, or it could be that Howell is looking at violence from an angle that not many have first hand experience of. THE DARKEST HOUR is Katherine Howell's second book - the first - FRANTIC - was a tremendous debut and she's followed up with another tight, taut and suspenseful book, using parallel viewpoints which almost become plotlines in their own right. THE DARKEST HOUR reintroduces ... Read Review |
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Befriend and Betray, Alex Caine (review by Sunnie Gill)03/12/2008 - 3:09pmBEFRIEND AND BETRAY is an insider’s story of this complex and murky world where you can trust no one. Not only did Caine have to be wary of the gang he was infiltrating, but he also had to be circumspect about who he trusted in law enforcement. His is a story of creating alternative identities and living on his wits, often for months at a time. It makes compelling reading. Just how such people live, how they maintain their own identity and the effects on their relationships outside their work is as fascinating as the details of the work itself. In some instances Caine’s ... Read Review |