Penguin Books Australia Archives

Book review: Dove by Georgia Harper

May 18, 20264 min read

I was a latecomer to Georgia Harper’s award-winning debut novel, What I Would Do To You, buying a copy after meeting her at the BAD Sydney Crime Writing festival a few years ago. I missed out on a review copy of her second book, Dove, but picked one up when I went to a (rare) local author event featuring Harper and Penguin stablemate Mercedes Mercier (whose book I also missed for review*). And I must confess, this book stayed with me after I turned the last page. In fact, the night I finished the book it somehow became muddled in a work-related dream I was having and I woke very discombobulated.

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Book review: Burning Mountain by Darcy Tindale

May 3, 20252 min read

One of the things I really liked about her debut novel, The Fall Between was that it reminded me that most crimes are committed by those who are desperate or stupid rather than psychotic or plain evil. Burning Mountain by Darcy Tindale, the second in her series featuring Detective Rebecca Giles, is very much the same. It’s centred around an eighteen year old mystery—the disappearance of a teenage boy—but features those involved in the past and present and reminds us that mistakes or idiotic actions can have unexpected, and dire, repercussions.

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Book review: 2 Sisters Murder Investigations by James Patterson and Candice Fox

March 17, 20253 min read

2 Sisters Murder Investigations by James Patterson and Candice Fox is the second in the series featuring lawyer turned investigator Rhonda Bird and her (now) sixteen year old half-sister Barbara (Baby). It’s been over three years between books and though I did enjoy the first, I liked this more. I was very drawn to Baby’s character in the first book but here Rhonda plays a more pivotal role. I should also mention that there are fewer (barely any) references to Rhonda’s weight… which bothered me (and other readers) in the first book.

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Book review: The Bad Bridesmaid by Rachael Johns

January 24, 20253 min read

I requested The Bad Bridesmaid by Rachael Johns as soon as I’d finished reading her 2024 release, The Other Bridget, which I read belatedly after hearing Rachael talk about it at a local author visit to my little seaside town. I tend not to read romance novels unless it’s romantic suspense but was a huge fan of Bridget Jones’s Diary (the book) and loved that Bridget Jones (the librarian) was an avid reader and constantly quoted books of all genres. The Bad Bridesmaid is a loose sequel to The Other Bridget, featuring one of the more endearing characters, Fred (aka Winifred) – fellow librarian and wannabe writer.

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Book review: Blood Pact by Fiona McIntosh

January 7, 20252 min read

Blood Pact by Fiona McIntosh is the sixth in the series featuring DCI Jack Hawksworth. I’ve mentioned in the past that Aussie author McIntosh sets this in the UK with Jack working for New Scotland Yard but there’s always an Australian connection or two. This is another outstanding addition to the series and McIntosh is doing a great job, mixing up the cases on offer and balancing regular players (like Jack, his boss Carol and work partner Kate) with newcomers, often bringing new skills into the mix.

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Book review: The Other Bridget by Rachael Johns

November 16, 20243 min read

I hadn’t sought out The Other Bridget by Rachael Johns when it was first published because I assumed it would be too ‘romancy’ for me. I’m not a fan of romance novels though I certainly churned through Sweet Dreams books at high school, my grandmothers’ Mills & Boons in my late teens / early twenties. And… I LOVED Bridget Jones’s Diary (the book) when I first read it over 24 years ago. I remember it vividly as I was living overseas and borrowed it from a colleague, reading it cover to cover late at night, cackling all of the way through.

I went to hear (and see) Rachael speak when she visited my hometown recently with a friend (who told me how much they adored The Other Bridget). I hadn’t known too much about it but hearing Rachael talk about THIS Bridget Jones – a librarian – and her references to a love of reading and books of all genres I decided to get a copy. And yes, I did so despite its length as I tend to whinge about any book that’s over 400 pages and this is almost 500 pages-long. But surprisingly it didn’t drag at all. I practically inhaled it in two evening (bathtime) sittings – both extended as I didn’t want to put it down.

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Book review: Kind of, Sort of, Maybe, But Probably Not by Imbi Neeme

February 16, 20243 min read

I very much enjoyed Imbi Neeme’s 2020 novel, The Spill which featured two sisters and was centred around family relationships and things left to fester. But it has to be said I loved her new release Kind of, Sort of, Maybe, But Probably Not even more. It offers readers flawed but very very likeable and engaging characters, including those floating around the periphery and it features a couple of young women going through some life changing moments, negotiated as they try to uncover an old mystery.

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Book review: Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder by Kerryn Mayne

February 21, 20233 min read

I assumed Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder by Kerryn Mayne was going to be cosy crime fiction. Given the title. But it isn’t. It’s actually an at-times funny but also bittersweet story about loss, grief and abandonment as well as friendship, joy and acceptance. The book’s namesake, Lenny (Helena), is an absolute delight in the same way Eleanor Oliphant, Grace Atherton and Susan Green all were.

I was smitten from the very first line, sharing the opening chapter on social media because I was deep in like. And an oversharer.

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