Reads a bit of crime fiction. Been reviewing with a focus on Australian and New Zealand works on www.austcrimefiction.org since 2006.
Also @kcfromaustcrime@mastodon.online
This link opens in a pop-up window
Just posted a review of Death Holds the Key, the 2nd Itinerant Mendicant novel by Alexander Thorpe:
Slightly on the cosier side, the personalities, and interactions between the two main characters is a big part of the attraction of DEATH HOLDS THE KEY.
www.austcrimefiction.org/review/death-holds-key-alexander-thorpe
This was well plotted, and whilst Maigret was his normal gloomy, introverted self, there was something spirited and committed about his determination that lifted this outing slightly. Set around the river Seine and the docks area, the sense of place was really strong as well.
There is no perfect marriage. There is no perfect murder. Diana Jager is clever, strong …
Listening to the audio version of this, I'd sort of half expected that the multiple viewpoints might be a bit of a problem to keep track of, but the whole thing chopped and changed, moved around, and worked backwards and forwards through the plot elements really well. It kind of felt like a good investigative thriller "show" being played out in front of the listener. All in all, a bit of a high point in a very highly rated series.
www.austcrimefiction.org/review/black-widow-christopher-brookmyre
What if all your secrets were put online? Sam Morpeth is growing up way too …
This one is the story of nineteen year old Sam Morpeth. Left to care for her younger sister, who has Down's Syndrome, after their mother was sent to prison, she's an anxious, lonely and worried young woman.
www.austcrimefiction.org/review/want-you-gone-christopher-brookmyre
'There is no doubt the truth would have been concealed and our concerns buried without …
I read Chris Master's book bookwyrm.social/book/1432873/s/flawed-hero (Flawed Hero on the same defamation trial (as per the Federal Court's listing www.fedcourt.gov.au/services/access-to-files-and-transcripts/online-files/ben-roberts-smith):
Ben Roberts-Smith v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (NSD1485/2018) Ben Roberts-Smith v The Age Company Pty Ltd (NSD1486/2018) Ben Roberts-Smith v The Federal Capital Press of Australia Pty Ltd (NSD1487/2018) Ben Roberts-Smith v Johnathan Pearlman (NSD1826/2018) Ben Roberts-Smith v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (NSD1440/2018)trial (Ben Roberts-Smith /
Whilst Master's was a more dispassionate and pointed telling of the trial, Nick McKenzie's take is considerably more personal. The book provided a clear outline of the lengths that all journalists had gone to in establishing the facts, and then it goes into the progression of the defamation action, and the affect it was having, in particular, on McKenzie.
Well worth reading both books on this trial, I'd hung onto this one for a time because we were due to read …
I read Chris Master's book bookwyrm.social/book/1432873/s/flawed-hero (Flawed Hero on the same defamation trial (as per the Federal Court's listing www.fedcourt.gov.au/services/access-to-files-and-transcripts/online-files/ben-roberts-smith):
Ben Roberts-Smith v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (NSD1485/2018) Ben Roberts-Smith v The Age Company Pty Ltd (NSD1486/2018) Ben Roberts-Smith v The Federal Capital Press of Australia Pty Ltd (NSD1487/2018) Ben Roberts-Smith v Johnathan Pearlman (NSD1826/2018) Ben Roberts-Smith v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (NSD1440/2018)trial (Ben Roberts-Smith /
Whilst Master's was a more dispassionate and pointed telling of the trial, Nick McKenzie's take is considerably more personal. The book provided a clear outline of the lengths that all journalists had gone to in establishing the facts, and then it goes into the progression of the defamation action, and the affect it was having, in particular, on McKenzie.
Well worth reading both books on this trial, I'd hung onto this one for a time because we were due to read it for our f2f bookclub. All of whom had not read the other book, all of whom were horrified and appalled by Roberts-Smith actions, and what was done in our name by him. There's "fog of war" and there's deliberate bullying, abuse, killing and utterly disgusting behaviour.
Had hoped that the SAS was above all that. Our military leaders have some work to do, but then all levels of leadership in this country need to get their acts together.
As the third wave of the virus hits, all inhabitants of Melbourne are given until …
My Review of Home Before Night by J.P. Pomare has just been posted at:
www.austcrimefiction.org/review/home-night-jp-pomare
Above all else, Pomare knows how to write tension, misdirection, pace and threat.
When twelve-year-old Esther disappears on the way home from school in a small town in …
An outstanding debut novel back in 2022 (good grief has it really taken this long to post this ...), it's very very hard to look past an Australian rural noir novel called DIRT TOWN by Hayley Scrivenor.
Helen FitzGerald is one of those authors who really knows how to write engaging and very offputting central characters that you care about, despite their obvious failings, flaws, and downright stupidity from time to time.
www.austcrimefiction.org/review/halfway-house-helen-fitzgerald
The thing with any novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist is to remember the stages of reading.
www.austcrimefiction.org/review/i-am-behind-you-john-ajvide-lindqvist-0
An interesting combination of a psychological thriller, with a couple of flawed, but engaging and very sympathethic central female characters, TO THE RIVER ticks many required boxes but does so in a unique form.
A TV reality hit. Players dying to win. Can Inspector Joe Horseman penetrate a fantasy …
Book number five in the Fiji Island Mystery series featuring local rugby hero, now policeman Inspector Joe Horseman and his team, this time investigating the death of a fit young reality TV star who dies most unexpectedly on a small island off the coast of Fiji, in the middle of filming a wildly popular show which features, for the first time, a Fijian contestant.
Full Review at: www.austcrimefiction.org/review/death-camera-bm-allsopp
It seemed a simple request. ”Can you find my daughter who has run away?” But …
The first time somebody tried to kill him was an accident.
The second time was …
It is 1951, and Jean-Luc Guéry has arrived in Indochina to investigate the murder of …
Just posted my review of Too Far From Antibes by Bede Scott:
Hugely engrossing, frequently funny, fast paced and extremely engaging, TOO FAR FROM ANTIBES was most definitely a standout read in 2023.