Random House Australia Archives

Book review: You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes

April 16, 20213 min read

I’m generally a quick reader but You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes, the latest in the series featuring the charming psychopath Joe Goldberg, took me a long time (ie. several sittings) to read.

I’m not sure if I wasn’t sufficiently engaged, or if it’s because her style of writing requires significant focus and I can’t skim as I’m wont to do.

Despite that I enjoyed this book, certainly more than the second in the series, Hidden Bodies which I found to be rather inconsistent – in terms of its plot and pacing.

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Author visit with Jacqueline Harvey

March 15, 20173 min read

The media release from Penguin Random House Australia describes former-teacher now full time author Jacqueline Harvey as a ‘superstar children’s author’. I don’t have kids and am obviously not in her target audience but my local bookshop owner and another bookseller on Facebook told me her books are hugely popular.

When I met the very affable author she was in the midst of a book tour along the coastal areas of southern Queensland, appearing at schools and in bookstores. She’d already had school visits in Maryborough and Hervey Bay by the time I lumbered into her appearance at Mary Ryan’s in Hervey Bay to promote the 15th book in her Alice-Miranda series.

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Book review: Darkest Place by Jaye Ford

February 16, 20162 min read

Darkest Place is the sixth novel by Australian author Jaye Ford and continues her tradition of creating strong likeable female characters amidst a swirling backdrop of secrets and half-truths.

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Book review: Fall by Candice Fox

November 26, 20154 min read

Fall by Candice Fox is the third instalment in her series featuring detectives Eden Archer and Frank Bennett. Fox’s award-winning debut, Hades, published in January 2o14, achieved a myriad of acolades here in Australia. And rightly so.

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Book review: Eden by Candice Fox

November 20, 20143 min read

I haven’t read Candice Fox’s first book Hades, but I’ve heard a lot about it. I’ve confessed before that I rarely read Australian books – particularly crime fiction. I suspect it’s combination of things but predominantly because I read to ‘escape’ and would far prefer to be taken to the dark corners of London or alleys of New York City than the salubrious streets of down-town Brisbane (for example!).

However, I’m really really glad I got the chance to read Fox’s second book Eden.

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Book review: Can You Keep a Secret?

August 21, 20143 min read

I really enjoyed Caroline Overington’s last novel No Place Like Home, the first of hers I’d read. As well as an entertaining read, it provided some thought-provoking social commentary on topical issues – immigration and cultural stereotyping.

Her latest release, Can You Keep a Secret, similarly directs our attention to a range of current concerns, such as how much of ourselves we expose online.

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Book review: No Place Like Home

October 6, 20132 min read

Here in Australia, the issue of refugees is a biggie. Well… particularly in the minds of our politicians, mainstream media and those who listen to talkback radio. Unfortunately much of what people believe about refugees and asylum seekers is based on scaremongering and misinformation*.

In reality, our intake of refugees pales in comparison to many countries. We rank 69th on the list of refugees per capita (taking 1 per 1000 people). Wow, no wonder we have to worry about all of those asylum seekers and refugees clogging up our hospital waiting lists and causing traffic problems. (Yes that was sarcasm Sheldon. #obscureBBTreference)

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