CANBERRA WEEKLY 4 JANUARY 2024: SUMMER HOLIDAY READING!
This week in the Canberra Weekly, I reviewed three enjoyable novels ideal for a summer’s read on the beach or by the pool.
First up was a charming modern Australian romance novel that moves between Sydney, Mudgee and India.
In the Canberra Weekly I said:
“Fans of charming, romantic comedies with plenty of wit, will devour Karina May’s captivating Never Ever Forever.
Rosie Royce, still missing her errant childhood sweetheart, Wes, gives up her high-pressure Sydney marketing career for a laidback radio job in rural Mudgee. It seems like being a nice change, but things do not go smoothly as Rosie has to deal with a handsome, but infuriating, co-host, a school reunion, the return of Wes and a chaotic work trip to India. Full of engaging episodes and plenty of smiles, Never Ever Forever is a slickly written and highly entertaining summer read.”
Destination thrillers, wherein a small group of friends become stranded in a remote location with a killer, are currently one of the hottest trends in crime fiction. It is a genre that former Australian resident Hannah Richell, dives wholeheartedly into with The Search Party, (Simon & Schuster, 3 January 2024).
It is a well constructed novel that makes good use of flashbacks, alternating viewpoints and police interviews to tell the story about a disastrous weekend.
In the Canberra Weekly I said:
Destination thrillers, wherein a small group of friends become stranded in a remote location with a deadly killer, are currently one of the hottest trends in crime fiction. Former Australian resident Hannah Richell, dives wholeheartedly into the genre with her latest novel, The Search Party.
Five old friends reunite for an idyllic glamping holiday on the rugged Cornwall coast, but tensions soon rise when a storm leaves them stranded and someone goes missing. A clever, well-constructed crime story that uses multiple points of view to seamlessly move between the police investigation, the survivors, and the catastrophic weekend. A good piece of summer escapism.
Fans of crime novels with a heavy dose of domestic suspense and family drama, will like this one.
Iain Ryan closed out the 2023 Australian crime fiction year, with one of the strongest entries of the year. The Strip, (Ultimo Press, 13 December 2023), is a tough, no-holds barred tale of corruption, crime and a particularly nasty killer set against a credibly realised background of the Gold Coast in 1980.
In the Canberra Weekly I said:
“Finally, those who prefer gritty crime fiction will greatly enjoy The Strip by Iain Ryan.
Set on the Gold Coast in 1980, it is a fast moving tale that evokes the police novels of James Elroy. When a local doctor is brutally murdered, Detective Constable Lana Cohen joins the notorious Strike Force Diablo, which is filled with corrupt and inept cops seemingly incapable of solving a string of murders. Carefully navigating a sea of corruption, Lana teams up with the tarnished Henry Loch as they search for a killer in the Strip’s dark recesses. Aussie crime fiction does not get much better than this!”
I was really impressed with The Strip. The characters are gritty and credible and Ryan skilfully captures the mood of the early 1980s, and the flood of corruption and unregulated policing that was overwhelming Queensland. It also has a well crafted story that rushes to a tough climax. If it had come out a little earlier, it would have featured in my top crime novels of the year list.
As I said above, Aussie crime fiction, particularly of the noir variety, does not get much better than this!
The above reviews can also be viewed on the Canberra Daily sire, along with other book reviews: https://canberradaily.com.au/book-talk-three-enjoyable-novels/
So three very different books to get your 2024 reading off to a good start.