Sorted on book title (not in series order)
I was having a bit of a chat with a fellow lover of crime fiction (hi Gavin) on BlueSky who copied me in on an instagram post that outed the author of this novel as Campbell Jeffreys, a writer with a diverse background in literature, media and film, and the author of (amongst other things)...Read more
It's not unknown for crime fiction followers to point out that it frequently explores the rights and wrongs of society and human behaviour. Because of that it's reasonable to expect that the settings, and central subject matter have unlimited scope, but I think this is the first book I can...Read more
THE RAFT was originally published in 2005 before the author's recent CITY OF ANIMALS.
Lydia and Martin Napier have gone through personal tragedy, their once perfect lives have been turned upside down and they are now struggling...Read more
In a particularly poignant touch, all round good guy and saver of the world Alex Morgan shows an unsurprising side in RANGER with his care and concern for a returned vet who needs help.
This novella sees Morgan returning from rescue duties, to be immediately redirected to the...Read more
Barry Maitland’s Brock and Kolla series is back for its 12th outing with The Raven’s Eye, set on the canals and houseboats of the Thames. Full Review at...Read more
Somewhere in the back of my head, as I've read more and more books set in Australia, there's always been a little question. Which RED DIRT TALKING has answered. Why can't we have more books written from the Aboriginal perspective? And what better way to look at that perspective from the...Read more
Never having read any of James Phelan's Lachlan Fox series before, RED ICE had to be approached as a standalone, which probably made for a different experience than that of the dedicated fan.
Lachlan Fox is an ex-navy operative turned investigative journalist, and in this book...Read more
There's an immediate dive into the here and now with the opening chapter, each of which is a self contained character study, and each chapter grouping is titled appropriately. Honey Brown touches gently on each chapter as if it were in preparation for a scene change in a film or play. ...Read more
Apocalyptic scenarios are not my favourite thing. To be frank, a pandemic world-wide threat from a mutant viruses wasn't making me feel a desperate urge to read RED QUEEN. I've been shuffling other books over it in the priority queue for quite a while. But eventually, you've just got to...Read more
Taking a big step away from her Kit O'Malley series, Lindy Cameron has created an excellent thriller. Pacey, peopled with strong female characters; good male characters; a complicated yet disconcertingly believable multi-threaded plot and a hefty dose of subtle humour, REDBACK is...Read more
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...Read more
Inter-generational trauma is explored with explosive impact in Candice Fox's latest novel REDBELLY CROSSING.
When a young woman is found stabbed to death in an upstairs bedroom of a busy pub in the small country town of Redbelly Crossing, it brings together two brothers Russell...Read more
This second book in the Ted Conkaffey series clearly demonstrates why Candice Fox has won two Ned Kelly Awards for crime writing.
Following on from Crimson Lake, Redemption Point is dark, dry, funny, cleverly plotted and populated by...Read more
A book that was pitch perfect for over the festive season reading. Set in the fictional location of the Windmark Ranges (not too hard to figure out the basis for them though), it's Christmas, and the drunks, troublemakers and idiots are out in force. Nothing unusual then, until the death of...Read more
REFLECTION OF EVIL by Bridgette Powell is a book flagged as Forensic Science united with Spirituality in a spine chilling murder mystery novel. So right up front I should just say I wasn't particularly convinced. I'm not a fan of this type of cross-over, not being a welded-on fan of the...Read more
A deftly handled plot, strong characters and a sly, dry humour make this an outstanding debut crime novel. - Review at Newtown Review...Read more
The second novel, spinning off from the excellent TV series, Halifax f.p., RESURRECTION is definitely an unusual crime fiction novel, which would work well as a starting point if you've not read the earlier book - TRANSGRESSION.
Unusual for a number of reasons, the first being...Read more
The people in RETRIBUTION come across as quite desultory and disaffected so it’s a relief when they are given a purpose, doomed as it is. Sweetapple, Carson and Luke are struggling to stay focused and it’s a diversion from their own mess when they band together to do some harm and make a...Read more
Another entry in the expanding Rural Noir category, it's sometimes hard not to come to these novels with a slight sense of foreboding. The "new big thing" is all too often a marketing ploy - more experienced in the hype than the actuality. Fear not however, RETRIBUTION is a good one,...Read more
Ten years ago six teenagers hiked into the wilderness and five of them came back alive. They were school friends. Ed (whose family farm was their starting off point), Hugh, Charlotte, Laura, Jack and Alex, close, but with the sorts of slightly complicated romantic attachments and fractures that you find in groups of kids of that age. Nobody for a moment thought that this would be a dangerous hike, they were experienced walkers, fit, and Ed knew this area from a childhood growing up here. Only Ed died, and for the ten years since his mother Mary has had plenty of time to think about her beloved only child's death.Read more
Some things remain in this nation's psyche for a very long time. The Bodyline series was something my grandfather was still hot under the collar about when I was a girl (gives you a feeling for how the New Zealanders feel when you mention underarm bowling...). THE RICHMOND CONSPIRACY sits...Read more
RICK DUNLOP CASES, the Maclay Murder and Other Mysteries is a collection of 5 short stories, the majority of which are variations on the "locked room mystery" scenario. This is the first publication from new Australian author R.M. Davey.
The Locked Room scenario's nothing new...Read more
I just love the Brad Chen series. I must do. RIP OFF actually took me into the world of high finance skull-duggery and I really didn't notice until I was well into the action. Quite an achievement.
Part of what really works with RIP OFF is the character of Brad himself. ...Read more
The third novel in the Dusty Kent series, these books are built around investigative journalist Kent and her Irish assistant and IT expert Sean O’Kelly. IN RIPPLING RED they are in Darwin looking into the alleged suicide of Cody Bongiorno. Cody’s parents are convinced that their...Read more
Kirsten Alexander’s second novel evokes 1970s Queensland as it explores the fallout of a tragedy.
In her acknowledgements at the end of Riptides, Kirsten Alexander touches on the difficulties she faced in writing about her home town:
...Read more
Australians who grew up during the era in which Riptides is set may recognize a heck of a lot of their own experiences; the long road trips on rubbish roads, the relentless heat, Bali (even as it was back then), perhaps even turning on the TV at Christmas time to news of the devastation...Read more
"Mile after mile of bush. Gum trees standing straight and silent along the side of the road like ghosts sitting in judgement on the living: on him. It was amazing you could drive so far and see so few people. With each passing minute, the sun sunk lower, as if embarrassed by the...Read more
Award winning police reporter Paul Anderson obviously spent a lot of time around the Victorian Armed Robbery Squad during some pivotal investigations in this state as there's much of the plot in THE ROBBERS which rings loud, persistent and very musical bells.
There is therefore...Read more
Personally, and not just because the idea of Lycra and clicking around in those weird riding shoes makes me shudder, the idea of being sent to the Siberia of the Mountain Bike Police certainly sounds like a rather extreme punishment. Especially as Tony 'Rocket" Laver is adamant that the...Read more
Hate it when a new book from a much loved series lingers too long on the reading pile simply because of competing priorities. No disrespect intended at all in how long it took me to get to this entry, and much pleasure when I finally did. Anyway they come, I'm quite a fan of the Pufferfish...Read more