October's update is slightly late with apologies. Those wheels I mentioned last month have well and truly fallen off the eldest of our Aussie Terriers, who now has a diabetes diagnosis along with everything else. So we're trying to get a routine of meals, insulin injections and things sorted out, and anyone who knows us will know that "routine" is not our comfort zone. Chaos we do with considerable aplomb if I do say so myself.
Anyway - books.
Reviews
Starting out again with something from the cosier end of the spectrum, Near Death in Venice by Jonathan Biggins is another art heist book (The Picasso Ransom being read not so long ago), and as you'd expect from an author with the background of Jonathan Biggins (well known actor, singer, writer, radio host, comedian, dare I say satirist), there is much in NEAR DEATH IN VENICE that is highly comedic, and very stagey. In a good way if you're a bit of a fan of rambling, slightly daft plot scenarios that go from vaguely silly, to engagingly twisty and back again for the entirety of a novel.
Shot by Shelley Burr is a bit of a departure from the sort of rural novels she's been known for, being a novel about the death, on camera, of a couple lifestyle influencers, leaving their perfect daughter - Karma - as the prime suspect, even if nothing happens about the case until a vlogger steps in.
In the underrated category of #WhatWasThat followed up with #WheresTheNextOne is Something He Did by SK Lynch. If, like me, you're a fan of BROKENWOOD MYSTERIES on the tv, then ignore that bit of this author's bio - you're not going to find old Holdens, country music and quirky characters here. Billed as "The novel with the best twist you'll read this year", there is so much more to SOMETHING HE DID than just a twist - a doozy which hindsight might make you feel you could have seen coming, but hindsight has been known to lie through it's teeth. A novel in two halves, the first might seem to be a bit floaty, but stand by.
In another catch up from this year's Ngaio Marsh Awards, Empathy by Brian Walpert is beautifully written, empathetic (not surprisingly) take on a thriller about empathy in a bottle, and a game which involves people learning to understand one another without direct communication. Fatima Down Under by Julie Ryan is the third book in a trilogy based around refugees, trauma and the struggle to find somewhere to start their lives over. Probably not a good idea to start, as I did, with this third book - this is one of those series that really deserves to be read in order, in full. Finally there is The Strength of Old Shale by Kirsty Powell which is set a generation back from The Strength of Eggshells, but continuing the theme of generations of families interwoven with events. Not absolutely necessary to have read the first one.
On the comedic side of things The Man Comes Around by Caimh McDonnell is Book 9 in the Dublin Trilogy, featuring Bunny McGarry, but not part of of the McGarry Stateside series, so therefore set previously to that one - according to the author - and he should probably know. Anyway if you reckon that's chaotic then you've not read the Trilogy (it's not), the Stateside books (they are) or the other series, nor are you breathlessly waiting for the TV series and ready to work up a real head of steam if it's not shown in Australia. Immediately.
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Just Finished Pile
Over the weekend I finished (and I cannot stress how good this was), The Cross by Ronni Salt. Second in the Gunnawah series, preorders are open, book is due for release later in November. You will not be disappointed. Will be reviewed at Newtown Review of Books.
Which meant that I had to go looking for something completely different and Criminally Bad by Claire Sullivan was just the ticket. The whole thing is told in a very tongue in cheek, dripping with sarcasm manner, except for where it's not - and it makes some seriously good points about young men and societal failings. In amongst the most bonkers real life scenario I've read about in ages.
I also gave up trying to keep up and cheated, listening to the audio version of The Good Father by Liam McIlvanney because I'd been reading chapter by chapter of the darn thing for way too long.
According to Hardcover - my stated aim of 100 books to be read in 2026 is at 88 so I'm still ahead of schedule.
Current Reading Pile
The current reading pile is still shuffling enough to create it's own draft, but I have bounced A Suitable Man by Jock Serong in ahead of a lot of other stuff because it showed up on my library borrow list, and I always remember visiting the vaguely mad gardens of Fletcher Jones' in Warrnambool with my mother and grandmother enthusing and my father swearing a lot not quite under his breath about wastes of time and what the hell, and where was lunch...
On the crime side of things I've also started Into the Flames by James Delargy (library book so I've got to get a move on).
#NextUp
This is less now #NextUp and more #ForGoodnessSakeWillYouGetOnWithThese but still...
First cab off this rank will be Gone Guru by Nadine Browne, followed by Donkey Drop by Steve Tarulli, Penitent by A.W. Hammond, The Numbers by David Parry, The Crack by Michelle Stephens and The Switch by P.A. Thomas.
Then the leftovers (no fault of theirs) from last month Cold River by Margaret Hickey and Middle Rage by Myf Warhurst.
Still lingering are:
A Man Called Box by Tina Clough
The Birds Began to Sing by Jeffrey Buchanan
The Writers Retreat by Victoria Brownlee
Upcoming Releases
Another brief taste of things noticed, added, found, etc.
Australia
OCTOBER 2026
Saw the release of Criminally Bad by Claire Sullivan which I've already read and can highly recommend (Dubious ninja training. A scam religion. Swords, guns and homemade bombs. Extortion gone wrong. All cooked up in a cosy lounge room over a nice cuppa in Australia's least-likely-to-succeed capital, Hobart.) (TrueCrime)
Inter Alia by Suzie Miller is a novel based on the play by the same author - An eminent High Court Judge is forced to reckon her professional life and role as wife, mother, friend, and feminist when a devastating crisis hits home.
NOVEMBER 2027
My Child is Gone by Nicole Trope with the blurb for this one starting out: It was meant to be the perfect family trip at a house by a lake, miles from anywhere… until five-year old Gus disappears. Did he wander off into the empty fields? Or was he taken by someone close to home?
Headcase by Jack Heath is the 4th in the Timothy Blake series billed as returning in a tense, unputdownable thriller from the author of Hangman.
JANUARY 2027
Different offerings due out in January include
Death Hits the Heart by Alexander Thorpe is billed as hilarious, cosy and one for fans of Agatha Christie and Kerry Greenwood
The Numbers by David Parry F1RST Y0U SEE THEM. THEN YOU D15APPEAR. It started with the numbers. Spray-painted in red on street signs, outside homes and train stations. Then came the messages. At random, thousands upon thousands of complete strangers received a text on their phones: 10 15 is coming. It wasn't a clue - it was a warning.
The Crack by Michelle Stephens Sometimes, the truth will cost you everything. A sleepy coastal town. An unsolved disappearance. A sister who can't forget.
So a quieter period before the end of year heat up, although with the number of tantalising things starting to show up for release in 2027, I expect that the #ToBeRead pile may reach cyclonic conditions soon. Let's hope summer isn't the firey end of world that we're expecting (grant me a moment's wishful thinking before the heat and ever present watching / waiting cycle cuts in - I mean we've seen our first snake already! )
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Tedious Spammers Alert
Are we still falling for these? 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.