Hachette Australia Archives

Book review: The Shark by Emma Styles

March 17, 20263 min read

I met Aussie-raised England-dwelling Emma Styles in person when I attended Theakston Crime Writing Festival a few years ago, but The Shark is the first novel I’ve read of hers. I had heard of her debut… No Country For Girls of course, which was well-received by readers and much lauded by critics.

I almost didn’t request this, assuming it was about a killer shark (as opposed to the warm-blooded fuzzy kind!!! 🙄 ) as I am traumatised as a result of reading a copy of Jaws when I was WAAAAY too young.* Happily it’s not. About a shark that is. Less happily for the victims of a serial killer dubbed ‘the shark’ of course… named thus as the injuries on victims is reminiscent of a shark attack.

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ARC review: The Gambler by JP Pomare

February 4, 20262 min read

The Gambler by JP Pomare is the second of the Kiwi-born author’s books to feature PI Vince Reid. I was one of those who read The Wrong Woman in 2022 and commented that I liked him and would love to see him again and… voila, Pomare reinvigorates him 18 months after the events of the previous outing (albeit four years in human-years). Given the events I’m watching unfold unfold on Twitter half a world away, this is a timely read Vince is asked to look into the motive behind a shooting at a political rally and we venture into the world of American politics and those dwelling in the red or blue corner of the political jousting ring.

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Book review: Darkrooms by Rebecca Hannigan

January 11, 20262 min read

Darkrooms by Rebecca Hannigan was a mixed bag for me. I didn’t particularly like either of our two lead characters…. though Hannigan doesn’t try to make them particularly sympathetic or likeable. And the plot itself felt a little disjointed. At times it felt obvious where it was heading and who was responsible for the disappearance of 9 year old Roisin (I should mention the book’s title doesn’t help), but then we’d be given new information that was inconsistent with what we thought we knew or what we were told. And at one stage the guilty party confesses which felt somewhat anticlimactic. Though Hannigan does throw in an unexpected twist or two.

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Book review: Eden by Mark Brandi

June 28, 20252 min read

I must confess I had no idea that Eden by Mark Brandi was a follow-on from his 2017 award-winning novel Wimmera. I recognised the name when it was mentioned in the novel but hadn’t remembered the plot of the book so ‘Tom’ (and the crime for which he was imprisoned) wasn’t familiar at all when I launched into this. It didn’t matter but I did wonder if I might have engaged a little more with him had I remembered our previous outing. I certainly liked him – though he was frustrating and the direction he was heading was akin to the proverbial train wreck looming in slow motion.

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Book review: The White Crow by Michael Robotham

June 21, 20253 min read

The White Crow by Michael Robotham is the second in the Philomena McCarthy series, featuring the young cop from a family known to dabble in organised crime. Again it’s the antics of her father and uncles that put her career in jeopardy but at the same time, when the so-called rubber hits the road, Edward McCarthy will always put his daughter ahead of his own safety and any money to be made from nefarious means. And I must confess I’m a sucker for soft-hearted bad-guys.

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Book review: See How They Fall by Rachel Paris

April 6, 20253 min read

See How They Fall by Rachel Paris is an addictive debut novel taking readers into the somewhat warped world of the mega-rich. And we’re introduced to those born into it, those who marry into it, and those who suffer the consequences of falling into its orbit.

The events here take place through the eyes of Skye, an artist who married into the Turner family, and Mei O’Connor, a detective whose life has imploded as a result of a cheating boyfriend, forcing her to move in with her judgemental mother who’s just been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

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Book review: How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin

March 26, 20252 min read

How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin is the second in the series featuring Annie Adams, who inherited her aunt’s fortune and the Gravesdown family mansion following Frances’s murder in the first book in the series. Annie is a wannabe crime writer but forced back to amateur sleuthing here when someone is killed in her kitchen. And we also link back to the first book in the series through the victim – the fortune teller who told Frances (when only aged 16) that she would (one day) be murdered.

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Book review: 17 Years Later by JP Pomare

July 30, 20242 min read

17 Years Later by JP Pomare is another book featuring a podcaster reinvestigating a historical crime. Here however, justice has been served and the man found guilty has been in jail for 17 years. Award-winning podcaster Sloane Abbott is intrigued nonetheless as there seems to be some obvious evidence overlooked at his trial. Also in his favour is the fact the convicted killer maintains his innocence when (had he pleaded guilty) he might have already been released on parole.

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