Choosing the remote island of Lark to relocate to is a decision made by the Kendricks in the wake of enormous loss. Viola and her mother Deborah will never be the same again now it is only the two of them, and the safety offered by the tiny community of Lark seems heaven sent at…
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 second book now to feature Constable Paul…
A comment often made about Bruny is that readers going in did not know it was going to be such a political read. Bruny is one of those works that very effectively puts the frighteners on for many fronts; climate change, politics, foreign investment, cultural divides – swing the proverbial, you’ll find it here. The…
Pandemics, post-apocalyptics, zombie dramas, dystopians – choose your preferred genre label here – generally seem to go all out large or small and intense. If you are one of those readers who simply must have delivered a very finite scientific explanation of how the world all goes to hell, you may find that you tend…
Snake Island, like other notable Australian mentions published in the last couple of years, straddles a literary space between dark drama and crime fiction. The term literary thriller has of late been used to describe such works. Acts of violence committed in small or otherwise closed communities offer rich opportunities for intensive explorations into what…
“Have you ever wanted to solve a murder? Gather the clues the police overlooked? Put together the pieces? Identify the suspect?” Where have we heard of this writer? For this reviewer, it is due to the riveting new true crime podcast, The Murder Squad, which Jensen co-hosts with former police detective, Paul Holes. The two…
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 extremely good examples of that and much more. There’s…
It becomes necessary for Hester Why to take advantage of a well-timed employment opportunity when it presents itself to her. Arriving at remote Morvoren House to take the position of nurse and ladies maid, Hester is somewhat horrified to learn that her new charge is a partially paralysed elderly woman who is almost entirely mute….
Mikael Blomkvist has good reason to worry about his friend Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist has repeatedly been saved by the actions of Salander, so is fully aware of what the enigmatic I.T. genius is capable of when it comes to the crunch. Concerned that Salander may be intending to pursue those who have repeatedly come after…
With Scrublands we had the bush, with Silver we have the sea. It will be interesting to see if Hammer’s next book is set in a grotty city capital, just to complete the trifecta of the Australian way of living. Silver is set in a coastal town that is struggling to stay relevant and facing…
