I'm going with a change of style here because it feels like things need a bit of a refresh. In general, the animals have decided to co-operate, I now only have to drive an hour a week to get my mail, and all in all it sort of feels like life might be stabilising. Which I realise is tempting fate.
Reviews
On the review side of things, progress has been made with a few stellar books in the lineup including Like, Follow, Die by Ashley Kalagian Blunt which is a timely, pointed and very clever exploration of the online manosphere (thanks as always to Linda at Newtown Review of Books where the review was originally published. She is an expert editor and always turns my ramblings into something coherent).
Next up in the really enjoyed listing are another two originally published at Newtown Review of Books - Bella Donna by Jill Johnson and Newtown Review of Books - Lucky Thing by Tom Baragwanath. Both of these are very different books, with Bella Donna being another outing in the excellent (and firm favourite) Professor Eustacia Rose series, and Lucky Thing being the second in a series packed full of potential featuring Lo Henry and a small town police force.
One for fans of gentle cosys was Three Dogs, Two Murders and A Cat by Rodney Strong whereas the fifth book in the DS Lucas Walker series Hero by Patricia Wolf is a police procedural with an added layer of the AFP, small outback towns and sporting heroes. Enjoyed this one very much.
The Your Mileage May Vary category had two in it this month The Nowhere Boy by Anne Cleary which wasn't a bad book, it's just that it had me struggling a bit at a few points through the narrative. Unfortunately The Bunny Club by Blanche D'Alpuget was a flat out two attempts, couldn't finish it. Gave up.
In the heartily, totally and absolutely unexpected category there were two surprising entries - firstly Later, Only Love Remains by Leah Swann a follow on from SHEERWATER, which I think you would be better to have read first, having said that, the juxtaposition of reasons for people behaving badly was fascinating, as was the yearning for redemption. Finally, by way of utter happenstance and I'll never be able to explain why I picked this from the libraries borrow list, The Memory Bookshop by Song Yu-jeong arrived in the aftermath of our senior cat's unexpected but not unforseeable death. Magical realism, contemplative, involving and utterly beguiling. I loved this.
Just Finished Pile
The finished reading pile built up some momentum with Like, Follow Die by Ashley Kalagian Blunt, The Bathing Box Murders by Laraine Stephens (an early ARC / details and review to come), Hero by Patricia Wolf, Later, Only Love Remains by Leah Swann, The Memory Bookshop by Song Yu-jeong, The Nowhere Boy by Anne Cleary, See How They Fall, Rachel Paris, High Rise, Gabriel Bergmoser and Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami all ticked off.
Current Reading Pile
The current reading pile is also heading into very different from each other territory with The Corrector by Kim Hunt, What Rhymes with Murder by Penny Tangey, Happy Woman by Abby Corson and Against Their Will by Karina Kilmore all climbing up the list.
#NextUp
This grouping is still more than a bit random as I'm juggling a lot of priorities at the moment but if we put it in the groupings
#FeelingGuiltyAbout
The Ledge by Christian White and Parrot Heaven by Jessica Howland Kany (still)
#NgaiosSubmissions
A Man Called Box by Tina Clough (2026 Ngaio's), The Good Father by Liam McIlvanney (2026 Ngaio's) and The Birds Began to Sing by Jeffrey Buchanan (2026 Ngaio's)
#NudgedToRead
Red River Road by Anna Downes and The Writers Retreat by Victoria Brownlee
#ReallyWantToRead
#NetGalleyReads
Against Their Will by Karina Kilmore and Stay Buried by Jane R. Miles
Upcoming Releases
This time, rather than listing a heap of info about upcoming releases (and new acquisitions), I'm going to give you a brief taste. Hopefully this means the newsletter will be a bit more compact and gives me a chance to wax lyrical if I feel the urge.
Firstly in news from "of course I missed it" Dove by Georgia Harper was released in March, which has the tagline in the blurb "what would you do if you had a whole day on earth free of men?". Also there's Nightwalking by Murdock McKay a story about Queensland, boomers and consequences.
In May Slash by Gavin Strawhan was released, an NZ based writer with a real flair for sense of place. Luckily I fell across The Memory Bookshop by Song Yu-jeong as already mentioned. Also Dead Fall Lake by S.R. White is one from an author that I really want to put a lot more effort into catching up on. Add to them Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith and one I think I've mentioned before but why not again - Devil Mountain by Inessa Jackson which is lurking here on the teetering to be read piles.
June saw the release of Welcome to Possible Springs by Samantha Ross which I've also seen referred to as Possible Springs, a small town thriller with a touch of the psychic's. Then there's Outrider by Mark Wales which is an action thriller from the future and Blood Root by Jill Johnson the latest Professor Eustacia Rose outing. Donkey Drop by Steve Tarulli is also on my to be reviewed list (bit of a Holden woman myself but I'm pretty sure that's a Ford on the cover and it's definitely my era), also The Truth About the Accident by Nicole Trope and The Importance of Being Delia by Meredith Jaffe the later being flagged as a cosy family drama. Then there's Red Lake by Jason Summers a local writer I don't know much about but I think may have gone from self-published to this one, the first in a new series (don't quote me on that ... I've just got bells ringing far off in the distance). Also another Young Adult offering - We Did It Anyway by Carla Salmon about smuggling and treasure and a group of kids.
August will see the release of The Doubles by Jacob Gallagher, a First Nations science fiction, fantasy, mystery combo, The Burn by Jessica Mansour-Nahra a psychological futuristic thriller set against the backdrop of bushfires in 2030 and FEDSBANE by Corey Donaldson which is a true crime, Australian inmate in the American prison system memoir.
Due out in September, we've got Gone Guru by Nadine Brown which looks like it could be a fun cosy (and I trust the publicist on this one - he raved about The Shark by Emma Styles recently and was spot on). Blood Moon by James Dunbar is also due out that month - an action thriller with a cave-dwelling survivalist character. Also a YA novel Five Voices by Tamara Moss which looks like a revenge / redemption type tale and The Second Child by Malcolm Knox which is a satirical thriller set in 1945 (given it's about a young woman's plot to outsmart the supreme dictators in a world on fire, doesn't feel at all wrong to want a real life, current day example!). Also this month The Wreck by Riley James comes out - given the first book, The Chilling was such a surprise / happy reading experience I'm really looking forward to this one. Finally from the UK comes the second in the We Solve Murders series, We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman which is pre-ordered in Audio format because listening to his books is a real pleasure for me.
October will see the release of one I'm adding because I'm a huge fan - from Japan Laplace’s Witch by Keigo Higashino - a cross over science fiction / mystery novel. On the local scene The Hiding Place by Kate Mildenhall will be out.
New Acquisitions
I'm behind (what a surprise I hear you mutter), but Bloodtree River (2018) Deadman's Track (2020) and Unforgiven (2021) all by Sarah Barrie (that is ridiculously behind even for me!) finally made it into the stack this month,
Tedious Spammers Alert
As mentioned in this blog post Tedious Spammers Alert some loser is using a gmail address that includes "austcrimefiction" in the handle along with various numbers and other things, pretending to be me offering partnership or cooperation agreements. Remember these things only exist because some people engage with them. Block them if you can. Report them if you can. Wish them to the deepest darkest corners of hell if that suits you.