Book Reviews

I am about to head to America to attend the Bouchercon Crime Fiction Convention in Nashville, and have been doing some Australian pre-spring cleaning: looking back over the books I have read so far this year and sorting through the releases for the rest of the year. In doing so… Read more: SPRING CLEANING – THE BEST CRIME NOVELS AND THRILLERS OF 2024 …. SO FAR!

Three enjoyable books by British crime writers to start your September 2024 reading off with. Pauline Rowson is a real stalwart of the British crime writing scene. With over thirty books to her credit she has been turning out reliable enjoyable mysteries, often with a maritime setting, for around twenty… Read more: NEW BRITISH CRIME SEPTEMBER 2024: LEE CHILD, ANN CLEEVES AND PAULINE ROWSON

From Antarctica to outback Australia to North America and a remote Irish Island, the crime and thriller releases for September roam across the world, and also cover a diverse range of styles and themes. September is always a big month for new books, as publishers start putting out their early… Read more: MURDER AND MAYHEM FROM AROUND THE WORLD – NEW CRIME RELEASES FOR SEPTEMBER 2024

The best crime fiction has always tackled pressing social and political issues, and shone a light on the dark corners of society, without smothering the plot in diatribe. Over recent months we have seen novels from a diverse range of authors, including Michael Robotham, Tony Park, S. A. Cosby and… Read more: AUSTRALIAN CRIME FICTION 2024: NEW BOOKS BY NATALIE CONYER and DAVID WHISH-WILSON

George Easter has just sent out the latest issue of his Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine (No. 104) and it is another great issue packed full of reviews and interesting information. The magazine is now up to 104 issues, which is a remarkable achievement by George, especially in this day and age when… Read more: DEADLY PLEASURES MYSTERY MAGAZINE – NEW ISSUE AUGUST 2024!

This week in the Canberra Weekly I review three new rural Australian crime novels by Gabriel Bergmoser, Hayley Scrivenor and Margaret Hickey. Gabriel Bergmoser has quickly established himself as one of Australia’s most exciting crime thriller writers. The first two books in his series about the nomadic Maggie, The Hunted and The Inheritance were… Read more: CANBERRA WEEKLY 8 AUGUST 2024: NEW BOOKS FROM MARGARET HICKEY, HAYLEY SCRIVENOR and GABRIEL BERGMOSER

Bob Langley’s The Churchill Diamonds, (Sphere, 1986), is the sort of historical adventure novel that you do not see much of these days. Predominantly set in the Sudan in 1898, it is a enjoyable romp that offers plenty of action, and a bit of a twist towards the end. Langley… Read more: FORGOTTEN THRILLERS: THE CHURCHILL DIAMONDS By BOB LANGLEY

Welcome to the August wrap-up of things happening in Australian and New Zealand crime fiction. There is a bit of news this time, mainly around awards and events, plus a mix of short reviews and previews. Hope you find it interesting. NEWS We are entering Awards Season and the main… Read more: DOWNUNDER CRIME UPDATE, AUGUST 2024: NEWS, REVIEWS AND PREVIEWS

The enthusiasm for Australian outback crime shows no sign of diminishing. Rural locales continue to dominate in recent crime fiction releases, from the Adelaide Hills of Garry Disher’s excellent Sanctuary, to rural north eastern New South Wales in Dinuka McKenzie’s Tipping Point to the small rural town at the centre… Read more: AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK NOIR 2024: NEW BOOKS BY MARGARET HICKEY AND GABRIEL BERGMOSER

Fans of clever, twisty crime fiction will greatly enjoy these new releases by Steve Cavanagh, Duane Swierczynski and Catherine Steadman. Steve Cavanagh’s books about New York ex-conman turned lawyer Eddie Flynn are always a twisty, fun read and his latest adventure, Witness 8 (Headline, 1 August 2024), is no exception.… Read more: TWISTS, COURTROOM ACTION AND A HIBERNATING SERIAL KILLER: NEW 2024 CRIME BY STEVE CAVANAGH, CATHERINE STEADMAN AND DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI