HarperCollins - AU Archives

Book review: Three Reasons for Revenge by Dervla McTiernan

April 30, 20263 min read

I’d seen a stack of other people receive early copies of Three Reasons for Revenge by Dervla McTiernan for review and thought I’d missed out, so was grateful when this arrived. If I was one to ‘squee’ I might have squeed. I love McTiernan’s Cormac Reilly series but my absolute favourite book of hers was What Happened to Nina, a standalone published in 2024. It’s unclear if this is to be a standalone but I for one will be cheering if it becomes a new series because I really liked DS Judith Lee and her boss (and family friend) Rocky.

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Book review: The Italian Correspondent by Belinda Alexandra

April 18, 20263 min read

I harp on and on about the fact I don’t read historical fiction. But I just read historical fiction. ON PURPOSE! And I very much enjoyed The Italian Correspondent by Belinda Alexandra. I’m helping with reviews / interview questions for someone and they gave me a selection of books and I chose this one because the other options included non-fiction, rural romance and fantasy novels. And – as usual, though I won’t learn this lesson – I do myself a disservice by making assumptions about my taste broadly rather than on a case-by-case basis.

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Book review: Tipping Point by Dinuka McKenzie

February 1, 20242 min read

Detective Kate Miles is back in Tipping Point by Dinuka McKenzie, the third book in the series featuring the likeable detective balancing her job and life with her husband, two kids and various relatives who seem to come to the attention of police far more than she’d like.

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Book review: After That Night by Karin Slaughter

July 14, 20232 min read

I very much enjoyed After That Night by Karin Slaughter which is the 11th in the Will Trent series. I must have missed one or two I think as I think I knew Will and Sara Linton were together but had forgotten how much I like their relationship and the way they complement each other.

The underlying plot here is shocking though I’ve read similar books. It’s a reminder that sociopaths somehow manage to find one another and also raises the nature vs nurture debate.

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Book review: Black Lies by Mercedes Mercier

June 4, 20232 min read

Black Lies by Mercedes Mercier is the second in the series featuring psychologist Laura Fleming who works with inmates at Westmead prison. It kicks off two years after the events of White Noise and things seem to have settled down in Laura’s life after a history of pain killer addiction created problems with her ex-husband and daughter.

I should mention that it won’t matter if you’ve not read the first in the series as there’s minimal reference to it here.

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Book review: Dying to Know by Rae Cairns

April 9, 20232 min read

Dying to Know by Rae Cairns is the second book by the Australian author and I very much enjoyed her first, The Good Mother, despite it being about one of my less-favourite topics… of parenting-related angst and judgement.

In her latest novel she very deftly introduces an historical crime without belabouring it, which is something I very much appreciated. The backcover blurb made me wonder if there’d be a lot of back and forward in time (which I don’t dislike, but imagined might be drawn-out) when in reality Cairns cleanly and succinctly introduces the events of twelve years earlier and moves on to the present.

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Book review: Seven Sisters by Katherine Kovacic

December 24, 20223 min read

When I first started Seven Sisters by Katherine Kovacic I was worried it was going in an obvious direction but then realised it wasn’t just me drawing parallels between the women we meet here and the book / movie Strangers on a Train. Rather Kovacic – via her characters – makes the point that they’re drawing their inspiration from exactly that… crossed with Greek mythology’s seven sisters, The Pleiades.

It changed the perspective for me and meant the book was more about the women, the crimes committed against their sisters and the hurt brought upon their families than the unfolding plot itself.

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Book review: In Her Blood by Nikki Crutchley

November 26, 20222 min read

In Her Blood by Nikki Crutchley introduces two families and a missing girl; stories unfolding decades apart. Both families have been torn apart by tragedy and loss, but they’re not blameless we learn and Crutchley offers some very flawed and unlikeable characters in this dark and twisty read.

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