Allen & Unwin Archives - Page 3 of 23

Book review: The Valley by Chris Hammer

September 28, 20243 min read

The Valley by Chris Hammer is the fourth in the Ivan Lucic / Nell Buchanan series and again the former journalist offers an investigation that becomes personal with Nell discovering a link to a murder victim. And again Hammer is able to combine a whodunnit with social commentary on the (former) logging industry and its workers clashing with environmentalists; the impact on mining as well as mother nature on their surrounds; the need to balance the environmental AND economic sustainability of small communities; also moving into ecotourism, clean energy and pumped hydro.

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Book review: The Last Trace by Petronella McGovern

July 18, 20243 min read

I was taken on a walk down memory lane to my old life in international development in The Last Trace by Petronella McGovern, as our lead character is a water engineer who’s dedicated his life to providing safe drinking water in developing countries. But he’s back home in his parents old house with his visiting son when this opens and avoiding work calls and emails so seemingly on more than an extended break.

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Book review: Shock Waves by Fleur McDonald

April 4, 20242 min read

Shock Waves by Fleur McDonald is the latest book in the ‘young’ Detective Dave Burrows series. He also features as a second character in a present day series and I suspect this one must be getting close to catching up to that as I note he first appeared in 2009.

Here his mentor and boss Bob has been undergoing cancer treatment and is off work. Despite that (and because Bob is bored) Dave involves him on a work trip checking stock but enroute they get waylaid after hearing about an explosion at council offices.

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Book review: All The Words We Know by Bruce Nash

March 6, 20243 min read

All The Words We Know by Bruce Nash was my first experience with the Australian author’s work and I was completely smitten. And for me the magic here lies in the prose. Or very specifically in the narration by 80 something year old Rose – a former teacher, now struggling with her memory. And words.

I very much adored a book I read in 2014 called Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey featuring an elderly woman with dementia. That book was also written from her point of view so we experienced her world.

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Book review: Body of Lies by Sarah Bailey

February 20, 20242 min read

Just when we thought Gemma Woodstock’s story was over, she’s back in Body of Lies. Well that’s to say Sarah Bailey gave Gemma a well-earned rest while she wrote The Housemate, which was published in 2021. But she’s back. In Smithson with Mac her babydaddy, her new baby Scarlett and son Ben. She’s on maternity leave though and grappling with a decision about when and whether to return to her job – in Smithson or elsewhere. She knows she’s uprooted Mac and feels guilty about that. And now he’s distracted and Gemma fears the worst.

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Book review: Glenrock by Lee Christine

February 2, 20242 min read

I was initially disappointed that Glenrock by Lee Christine wasn’t going to feature some of the characters from her earlier work but very much enjoyed those she introduced here and now hope to see / meet them again. She introduces a few plot lines – something that sometimes frustrates me if they ultimately connect in a very nebulous way, but that’s not the case here. She offers two or three distinct storylines that are all connected and merge in a way that isn’t contrived or coincidental. Rather there’s an obvious causal relationship that effortlessly (and tragically) plays out.

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Book review: Whenever You’re Ready by Trish Bolton

January 28, 20243 min read

Whenever You’re Ready by Trish Bolton is a bittersweet tale of family and friendships and of love and loss. I read this as my mother’s 80th birthday neared and was a little sad that there’s even any question about older women’s worth or how much living septuagenarians might have left.

And of course that’s the thing about age; 30, 50 or 70 seems old… until you’re there. And 10, 15, 20 seems young… unless you’re there. I recall finishing high school and looking at the year 8 students thinking we NEVER looked that young. And now I look at staff in stores and they look like they’re 12.

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Book review: Alibi by Lynda LaPlante

January 7, 20242 min read

Alibi by Lynda LaPlante was originally published in 1998 as Trial & Retribution II and I initially wondered if it’d been revised as there’s mention of someone using a mobile phone. I dug into the recesses of my mind to recall if mobile phones were around back then and think they were…. but only just. And given there’s hefty use of home answering machines I decided it is safe to say it hasn’t been updated but remains firmly set in the late 1990s.

It’s listed as the second in the Trial and Retribution series which was inspired by the TV show of the same name and a reminder what a force LaPlante was in TV-land back then and how ground-breaking her work was!

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