Sarah J Maas is a best selling author of two massive, best-selling Young Adult series loosely based on fairy tales: The Court of Thorns and Roses and Throne of Glass. House of Earth and Blood, the first in her new Crescent City series takes her into more adult, as opposed to young adult territory. Maas…
Stuart Turton’s follow up to his mind bending science fiction crime genre mashing award winner The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle feels like another genre mash. The Devil and the Dark Water, set in the 17th Century on board an Indiaman headed from Batavia to Amsterdam, trucks not only in murders to be solved but…
Garry Disher returns once more to the world of small town policeman Paul Hirschhausen in his latest book Consolation. Consolation appears in quick succession after the second book in this series, Peace, which itself came after a long hiatus after Bitterwash Road. Consolation shows that Disher has clearly found his groove with Hirschhausen. Once again,…
Rumaan Alam’s latest book Leave the World Behind starts in an idyllic manner – a family on holiday on Long Island. But despite the tranquil and familiar setting – an Airbnb in the country with a swimming pool, plenty of snacks and trips to the beach – there is plenty of foreboding. There is an…
Nardi Simpson’s scorching debut novel Song of the Crocodile opens with the irony of a sign naming the small Australian country town of Darnmoor the “Gateway to Happiness”. The fly-through that follows will be familiar to anyone who has driven around regional Australia. Two main streets crossing at right angles with a war memorial at…
Jock Serong has not done the same thing twice… until now. And even then, not really. The Burning Island is a sequel to Serong’s 2018 historical novel Preservation. Preservation drew on the true story of an epic land journey up the Australian coast in the very early days of the colony while also exploring the…
Hot on the heels of his high fantasy meets urban fantasy meets noir detective debut The Last Smile in Sunder City, Luke Arnold has delivered its sequel Dead Man in a Ditch. Arnold returns to his post-magical-apocalypse world and in particular Man for Hire Fetch Phillips. Once again Arnold manages to deliver a pitch perfect…
The British crime fiction industry is a little obsessed with the elderly solving crimes. Going back to the seemingly doddering but sharp Miss Marple, through to more modern efforts like The TV series New Tricks. Fixed firmly in that tradition is Richard Osman’s debut novel The Thursday Murder Club, which features a group of retirees…
Benjamin Stevenson’s first book featuring documentary maker Jack Quick was a revelation, particularly when considered again, in hindsight, from the viewpoint of the second novel in the series. Quoting from my own review of GREENLIGHT at the time: “There’s a something about GREENLIGHT that feels like a non-too-subtle dig at the commercialisation of true crime….
Australian author Hugh Mackay is very clear about his intentions in his latest book The Question of Love. The book’s subtitle is “Variations on a Theme” and even before the book opens, Mackay lets the reader know that the musical form of “variations on a theme” is his favourite and that this novel is his…
