Macmillan Australia Archives

Book review: The Girls Before by Kate Alice Marshall

February 18, 20262 min read

The Girls Before by Kate Alice Marshall is a twisty and addictive read. It opens with a search and rescue team on the trail of a missing toddler… who’s thankfully found and there are #nospoilers there as that’s unrelated to the rest of the book 😉 . It is however while searching on private property (where she shouldn’t be) that school counsellor and search and rescue volunteer Audrey finds ‘witch beads’ (a talisman of sorts used by teens to ward off a local legend). Beads she believes could have been belonged to a local girl (Meghan) who recently disappeared, believed by police to have run away.

VIEW the POST

Share

Book review: The Hitchhikers by Chevy Stevens

November 20, 20252 min read

The Hitchhikers by Chevy Stevens is the latest novel by the Canadian author, who was one of the first authors I started to follow on social media as I loved her debut release Still Missing. And I think I’ve read all but one of her books. As for this book – OMFG what a ride!!! Literally…

It opens in 1976 and I read so many dual timeline books I was waiting to switch to the present (and the aftermath of whatever happens in 1976) but we stay there in fact… with Alice and Tom, a couple recovering after a tough year, taking a roadtrip in their brand new RV. They come across hitchhikers Jenny and Simon not long after setting off and end up offering them a lift when it’s obvious the young pair are far from prepared for camping.

VIEW the POST

Share

Book review: Last One Out by Jane Harper

October 22, 20253 min read

Last One Out by Jane Harper is the popular Aussie author’s latest release. It’s a standalone and beautifully balances the suspense / mystery element with some complex topics and deeper issues worthy of discussion. I loved the commentary Harper provides on regional and rural communities, particularly those impacted by fluctuating industries. In my day job with government I’m privy to A LOT of conversations about the impact that mining (not to mention gas and renewables—wind and solar farms)—has on landowners and communities. Here in Queensland we’ve seen some small towns fight for survival after a mine closes and certainly the north-western town of Mt Isa has featured prominently in recent media. I’m conscious there’s also the challenge of small businesses and primary producers trying to compete for workers when large mining corporations can offer much better salary packages, and locals being priced out of housing markets. Of towns left to wither and die when the land is drained of its bounty and mines or projects are decommissioned .

VIEW the POST

Share

Book review: Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

August 31, 20242 min read

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth is probably my favourite book of hers that I’ve read. I have missed a few however as I’m not sure I get review copies from her publisher.

Interestingly an ‘app’ I used for my website requires me to input certain information… like the book’s genre and I found this one hard to classify. It’s not a thriller or crime fiction but has the right amount of mystery or intrigue that I enjoy in a book that isn’t specifically billed [as crime fiction or a thriller]. There’s no ‘suspense’ as such so we’re not on the edge of our seats and worried our protagonists’ lives are at risk, but there’s a deep level of intrigue that keeps you turning the pages… needing to get the bottom of the mystery.

VIEW the POST

Share

Book review: The Professor by Lauren Nossett

January 4, 20243 min read

The Professor by Lauren Nossett is the second book I’ve read by the former professor. In my review of The Resemblance I talked about it being obvious that she was ‘writing what she knew’ which is an old adage for authors. It too was set at a university and meant that readers were privy to the innermost workings of life-on-campus (and behind closed professorial doors).

This started a little slowly for me. Dragging to the point I was tempted to put it down just after starting, which would draw its reading out and I’d feel less inclined to get back to it, ultimately resulting in a reading slump. However… the action picks up significantly about two-thirds of the way through and Nossett throws in some twists so the novel finishes on a high.

VIEW the POST

Share

Book review: Judgement Day by Mali Waugh

February 27, 20232 min read

Judgement Day by Mali Waugh is essentially a police procedural but we dip enough into the world of the judiciary that it equally qualifies as a legal procedural. Either way it’s an excellent debut by Waugh and gives us a twisty crime to solve and infuses just enough of the non-investigative stuff to offer up characters of substance I’d like to meet again.

VIEW the POST

Share

Book review: The Resemblance by Lauren Nossett

October 24, 20222 min read

The Resemblance is a debut novel by former professor Lauren Nossett and she certainly writes what she knows as this is set on a University campus and delves into the culture of fraternities as well as the camaraderie that goes along with those in their late teens or early twenties thrown together – often by chance… and privilege.

I enjoyed most of the novel but felt a little let-down by the end. I think it’s possible to guess what is going to happen but I expected a bit more of a twist, hoping Nossett would take the book in a different direction. It was, I think, a lost opportunity to add another layer without convoluting the why and whodunnit.

VIEW the POST

Share

Book review: Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor

June 15, 20223 min read

Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor won several awards before it was even published, taking out the Kill Your Darlings (literary magazine) Unpublished Manuscript Award and being shortlisted for Penguin’s Literary Prize. And it’s certainly worthy of those accolades, in addition to the glowing reviews I’ve been seeing on social media.

Scrivenor’s writing is stunning and her character development and story arc (here) perfectly paced. She manages to offer readers both a sense of urgency – in the search for a missing girl – but also recreate that small-town (claustrophobic) laconic pace so you can feel the town, its occupants and secrets, dragging you down.

VIEW the POST

Share