Sorted on book title (not in series order)
The author bio for S.R. White reads thus:
S.R. White worked for a UK police force for twelve years, before returning to academic life and taking an MA in Creative Writing at Nottingham Trent University. He now lives in Queensland, Australia.
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Paul Cleave is an absolute master of the art of the expected unexpected, especially when Theodore Tate pops up. On the expected front you know that things are going to get messy weird, and you know that Tate is going to go out of his way to try to do right by victims, regardless of the...Read more
Horror isn't a sub-genre I spend a lot of time reading, so PAINTED, being a mystery with a horror overlay, wasn't a book that came with much in the way of preconceptions or expectations. The premise is that when an extremely reclusive artist instructs a law firm on the manner in which is...Read more
Katherine Kovacic's Alex Clayton series (all two books of them so far...) could be used as a teaching tool for aspiring Australian crime novelists on achieving balance between personal backstory and plot, and how to craft a realistic strong female lead character, because they are both...Read more
The second book in the Superintendent Le Fanu series set in 1920's India, THE PALLAMPUR PREDICAMENT follows on closely from THE MADRAS MIASMA. So closely it would be worthwhile reading both books in order, although not absolutely necessary.
In the reasons why column, in true...Read more
After finishing THE MAN WHO DIED in almost record time, PALM BEACH FINLAND was recommended in the highest possible terms, so the audio version of it was obtained and listened to with haste. Another one that should have come with a warning about driving and listening, because I don't know...Read more
Finn Bell made quite an impact on the 2017 Ngaio Marsh Awards with two shortlistings - his first novel DEAD LEMONS in Best First Novel, and PANCAKE MONEY in Best Crime Novel. Grouped together as The Far South Series, these aren't series books as such, so you can read them in...Read more
Fans of Christopher Brookmyre's dark, black-comedic writing are probably going to do what I did when this book arrived. A bit of dignified happy dancing and a general clearing of the activity calendar to sit down for a jolly good read and, along the way, a lot of very undignified laughing...Read more
BRONTE NEEDS A PLACE TO LIE LOW.
She posted a drunken rant that went horrifically viral. Now – jobless, friendless and broke – she’s forced to volunteer as a carer on an isolated rural property. She won’t be paid for looking after dementia sufferer Nell, but at least she’ll...Read more
In her new novel, Panic, Catherine Jinks provides a timely take on online mobs, conspiracy theorists, and sovereign citizens.
Bronte is a young woman who, along with most of her generation, records pretty much...Read more
A finalist in the Ngaio Awards for Best First Crime Novel, Paper Cage is the story of a divided community and a string of missing children.
There’s not much that happens in Masterton that Lo Henry doesn’t know about....Read more
Please don't ask me what the correct order of this series is, as I've got absolutely no idea. I've never found the need to worry about it as each book works on its own, and each book is one of those little pieces of joy that just make you feel good.
Part of it has got to be...Read more
Book Two in the DS Lucas Walker series sees him away from his family home in the dry, arid interior of Queensland, working on the Gold Coast. He's under investigation / threat of his job after the events in the first book, OUTBACK, and temporarily doing some training there. He's been lucky...Read more
Taking a look at the blurb will give you an indication of whether or not PARASITE is going to work for you. Unfortunately that style "eventuating events" and "charismatic charm" doesn't work for this reader. Combining that with the most offputting dialogue style used for Sasha's brother,...Read more
The Twelve Detectives are a famous group of crime solving individuals - spread throughout the world. In the 1880's their exploits are well known - the magazine The Key to Crime regularly publishes the story of their investigations. Sigmundo Salvatrio works in his father's shoe repair shop...Read more
It is always a pleasure to come across publishers who are bringing works from different cultures to the English-reading world, particularly when there is such a strong sense of place in the books I've been lucky enough to read from Le French Book (...Read more
Because I'd read (and loved) A RUNNERS GUIDE TO RAKIURA by Jessica Howland Kany first I was prepared for PARROT HEAVEN. Which was handy because the slightly chaotic styling of the first novel is ramped up even more in...Read more
This is gathering together of two DI Steel short stories, one featuring DS Logan McRae (Stramash) and the other (DI Steel's Bad Heir Day) has her giving Constable Guthrie a day to remember.
DI Steel's Bad Heir Day is set around Christmas with her manically buying / wrapping...Read more
THE PASSENGER starts out pretty dramatically with a frantic father who thinks his son might have been on the plane - blown up over a small town, all passengers on board dead. When Collard learns that his son Nick may not have been on board after all, confusion gives way to confrontation as...Read more
This is exactly what I like about short story collections. This is particularly what I like as it's made up of a series of stories from authors all over the world.
Whilst there is no particular theme, the collection really gives you a feel for interpretations of crime fiction...Read more
One of the strangest things about reading THE PATIENCE OF THE SPIDER was the weird sort of feeling that I knew the story at the beginning. And your reviewer is nothing but sharp - about 20 pages in the penny dropped - one of the recently screened TV-Movies on our local SBS TV was based on...Read more
The reader of my reviews will know I've become a bit of a fan of the Rowland Sinclair series (which is quite surprising for somebody who normally prefers to lurk deep on the dark side), so PAVING THE NEW ROAD was a welcome arrival. Basing the story in 1933, sending Sinclair and his...Read more
A vengeance styled thriller, set in Asia, PAYBACK tackles sex-trafficking and child abuse head on. Opening with the recounting of a young village girl being trucked off to the south of the country, along with many others, to be forced into a child sex ring. The resourcefulness this young...Read more
Wyatt is back in a new adventure set on the far side of morality. Introduced in Kickback, Garry Disher's fast-selling, widely praised crime novel, Wyatt reappears in the South Australian outback, intent on snatching a payroll. But Wyatt is not the only one eyeing the funds. The Outfit has...Read more
Rural noir being the big thing at the moment, it's sad that many seem to have forgotten that there have been superbly talented authors like Garry Disher telling beautifully crafted, intelligent, and informed stories of the urban fringe, and the rural regions for many years. PEACE is the...Read more
Simone Kirsh (aka Vivien Leigh) has an interesting job history - ex prawn trawler hand and working as a stripper for starters. Simone is determined to change things though, so even as she's still working in peepshows and as a stripper she's finished her Private Investigator's Course; has...Read more
A drama told from four family member's viewpoints, Lexi Landsman's THE PERFECT COUPLE is an interesting title choice for a book that's about anything but the perfect couple. As the blurb explains, Sarah and Marco Moretti have travelled the world together as part of their joint work as...Read more
The world sure as hell needs something to laugh at, and it could use a lot more caper novels. Especially ones where things are manic, odd, downright daft on occasions and a bit of just good old fashioned silly fun. With car chases obviously. PERFECT CRIMINALS fits most of those requirements...Read more
Immersive, almost meditative listening, I started John le Carre's A PERFECT SPY in Audio version recently, and was amazed by it. Partly a spy thriller, but really it's a character study in two parts. Magnus Pym, a young boy growing up with a con-artist for a father, who has become a...Read more
The author of THE PERFECT SUSPECT is a surgeon who, it would appear, has a strong interest in the welfare of children. Readers of this novel could probably be excused if they assume that the character of Tom is based on the author himself, although obviously, you'd hope without the tragic...Read more