CANBERRA WEEKLY 24 JULY 2025: NEW CRIME FICTION BY D.V. BISHOP, MARGARET HICKEY and P. A. THOMAS
This week in the Canberra Weekly I reviewed three new crime novels by ‘Downunder’ authors P. A Thomas, D. V. Bishop and Margaret Hickey.
First up is Carnival Of Lies, (Macmillan, 1 July 2025), by New Zealand author D. V. Bishop.
This is the fifth novel in Bishop’s highly acclaimed series about Cesare Aldo, a detective in Renaissance Florence. Praised for their authentic historical detail and compelling plots, the Aldo novels are always a treat for crime readers.
In the Canberra Weekly I said:
“D. V. Bishop’s Carnival Of Lies takes his popular sixteenth century Italian detective Cesare Aldo from his beloved Florence to the city of masks, Venice.
It is the winter of 1539. Aldo is no longer part of the Otto, the city police, but is now working for Cosimo de’ Medici, the powerful Duke of Florence. Employed to protect the Duke, Aldo finds himself tasked with retrieving Cosimo de’ Medici’s stolen personal diary, which could have catastrophic consequences in the wrong hands. A quest which takes him to Venice, where he has no allies and many enemies. An exquisitely plotted and thoroughly enjoyable historical thriller.”
This probably my favourite of the Cesare Aldo novels, and has a more brisker pace than the earlier ones.
Carnival Of Lies was released in Australia on 1 July 2025 and in the United Kingdom on 26 June 2025. Thanks to the publisher and the Canberra Weekly for a copy of the book for review.
P. A. (Paul) Thomas made a sound entry into the ranks of Australia’s crime writers with his first book, The Beacon. He has now followed it up with the equally lively and engaging The Sunbaker (Echo, 1 July 2025).
In the Canberra Weekly I said:
“Local Canberra readers tired of the winter chills, will enjoy being taken to the much warmer climes of the Byron Bay region in P. A. Thomas’ second novel The Sunbaker.
Newcomer to the region, forensic pathologist Nicola Fox, is shocked to find a dead sunbaker in the backyard of her holiday house. She is more concerned, however, when she becomes the police’s chief suspect in the sunbaker’s murder. In desperation she turns to local journalist Jack Harris for help. Jack has proven skills as an investigator from Thomas’ first book, The Beacon, but this time around he is in greater danger. Good fun.”
The Sunbaker takes a relatively light hearted approach to the crime novel. It stretches credibility at times, but is an enjoyable tale.
The Sunbaker was released in Australia on 1 July 2025. Thanks to the publisher and the Canberra Weekly for a copy of the book for review.
I really enjoyed Margaret Hickey’s last novel, The Creeper, and thought that it was the best thing that she has done. She has maintained that good standard with her latest novel, An Ill Wind (Penguin, 1 July 2025), which once again takes topical rural issues and views them through a detective novel lens.
In the Canberra Weekly I said:
“Margaret Hickey’s An Ill Wind opens in gruesome fashion with the discovery of a body hanging from the blade of a wind turbine on the outskirts of a Victorian farming town. The dead man is Geordie Pritchard, a rich local philanthropist and owner of a controversial wind energy farm. Detective Sergeants Belinda Burney and Will Lovell initially suspect suicide, until Pritchard’s widow screams murder and has the death threats to prove it.
Margaret once more does a very good job of using the crime novel to explore contemporary issues that reveal the tensions in small rural towns undergoing change. A solid slice of bush noir.”
An Ill Wind was released in Australia on 1 July 2025. Thanks to the publisher and the Canberra Weekly for a copy of the book for review.
Here is a link to my review of Margaret’s The Creeper: https://murdermayhemandlongdogs.com/australian-outback-noir-2024-new-books-by-margaret-hickey-and-gabriel-bergmoser/
So three entertaining crime novels for your July/August reading. I thought that Carnival Of Lies was probably the best of the three, but all are very enjoyable.