28 March 2014

Review: VISITATION STREET, Ivy Pochoda

  • Format: Kindle (Amazon)
  • File Size: 602 KB
  • Print Length: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Sceptre (July 18, 2013)
  • Sold by: Hachette Book Group
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B00BQDC7MO
Synopsis (Amazon)

Summer in Red Hook, Brooklyn, a blue collar neighbourhood where hipster gourmet supermarkets push against tired housing projects, and the East River opens into the bay. Bored and listless, fifteen-year-old June and Val are looking for some fun. Forget the boys, the bottles, the coded whistles. Val wants to do something wild and a little crazy: take a raft out onto the bay.

But out on the water, as the bright light of day gives way to darkness, the girls disappear. Only Val will survive, washed ashore semi-conscious in the weeds.

June's shocking disappearance will reverberate in the lives of a diverse cast of Red Hook residents. Fadi, the Lebanese bodega owner, trolls for information about the crime. Cree, just beginning to pull it together after his father's murder, unwittingly makes himself the chief suspect - although an elusive guardian seems to have other plans for him. As Val emerges from the shadow of her missing friend, her teacher Jonathan, Juilliard drop-out and barfly, will be forced to confront a past riddled with tragic sins of omission.

In VISITATION STREET, Ivy Pochoda combines intensely vivid prose with breathtaking psychological insight to explore a cast of solitary souls, pulled by family, love, and betrayal, who yearn for a chance to escape, no matter the cost.

My Take

First of all I'm going to say this is not really crime fiction although crimes are committed in the novel's background. It is more an exploration of how one girl copes with the disappearance of her friend, of what makes up the community of Red Hook on the waterfront in Brooklyn, of how residents work to create community cohesiveness, and the lengths that someone will go to to pay a debt.

Ivy Pochoda creates a vision of a community that is haunted by the ghosts of the past. Sometimes the voices of the past reach out and keep the people of the present anchored there.
There was a passage that I particularly liked:
    He understands what keeps Gloria in Red Hook. It’s not what is here now, but what was here back when—the history being buffed and polished away in the longshoreman’s bar. 
    As he crosses from this abandoned corner of the waterside back over to the Houses he becomes aware of the layers that form the Hook—the projects built over the frame houses, the pavement laid over the cobblestones, the lofts overtaking the factories, the grocery stores overlapping the warehouses. 
    The new bars cannibalizing the old ones. The skeletons of forgotten buildings—the sugar refinery and the dry dock—surviving among the new concrete bunkers being passed off as luxury living. The living walking on top of the dead—the waterfront dead, the old mob dead, the drug war dead—everyone still there. 
    A neighborhood of ghosts. It’s not such a bad place, Cree thinks, if you look under the surface, which is where Gloria lives.
Hovering on the horizon is the imminent arrival of the Queen Mary II, promising great things for Red Hook, and in the long run failing to deliver.

This is a book that will provide many engrossing talking points.
My rating: 4.6

 See review on Reactions to Reading

Progress report: 2014 Aussie author challenge

Yesterday, having completed 12 crime fiction titles by Aussie authors this year, I thought I had completed what I considered to be the first stage of the challenge.

Then I read the fine print:

Read and review 12 titles written by Australian Authors of which  
-at least 4 of those authors are female,
-at least 4 of those authors are male,
-and at least 4 of those authors are new to you;
- At least 6 fiction and at least 2 non-fiction,
and at least 3 titles first published in 2013 or 2014. 
The bits I've coloured are the bits I have completed with my 12 books.
As you can see I have some way to go.

Currently: 12 - still need one more male author, 2 new to me authors, and 2 non-fiction.
  1. 4.4, DEATH OF A SWAGMAN, Arthur Upfield -M
  2. 3.9, HANK OF HAIR, Charlotte Jay -F
  3. 4.5, ARMS FOR ADONIS, Charlotte Jay -F
  4. 4.5, THE DYING BEACH, Angela Savage -F
  5. 4.5, THE DONOR, Helen Fitzgerald -F, 2013
  6. 4.3, THIN BLOOD, Vicki Tyley - F, N
  7. 4.7, I CAME TO SAY GOODBYE, Caroline Overington - F, 2013
  8. 4.7, GETTING WARMER, Alan Carter -M, 2014
  9. 4.4, DRIVE BY, Michael Duffy - M, N, 2013
  10. 4.8, FATAL IMPACT, Kathryn Fox - F, 2014
  11. 4.4, DEATH BY BEAUTY, Gabrielle Lord - F,
  12. 4.5, BLOOD SECRET, Jaye Ford - F, 2013
The Aussie Author Challenge 2014 is being hosted at Booklover Book Reviews

25 March 2014

Review: BLOOD SECRET, Jaye Ford

Synopsis (publisher)

Nothing ever happens in Haven Bay, which is why Rennie Carter – a woman who has been on the run for most of her life – stayed there longer than she should.

However, that illusion of security is broken one night when Max Tully, the man she loves and the reason she stayed, vanishes without trace.

Rennie, though, is the only person who believes Max is in danger. The police are looking in the wrong places, and Max's friends and his business partner keep hinting at another, darker side to him.

But Rennie Carter understands about double lives – after all, that's not even her real name …

And she has a secret too – a big, relentless and violent one that she's terrified has found her again … and the man she loves.

My Take

This is the third novel written by Jaye Ford that I've read and I have enjoyed them all. Each has taken a realistic scenario, if a little embroidered to hype up the tension, and put them in an Australian setting that I can relate to.

The structure remains interesting as Rennie puts together the circumstances of Max's disappearance and then fits them into various scenarios, discarding them one by one. The ultimate solution is the one she really doesn't want to believe. The story is layered. The further we read the more layers are peeled back and we learn of both Rennie's and Max's back stories.

Throw in too Max's fourteen year old son who has run away from his mother who has gone for a holiday to Cairns. Hayden decides not to go with her and turns up just after his father has disappeared. He and Rennie have to work hard to get on.

So, a very readable book. My rating: 4.5

My other reviews
4.4, BEYOND FEAR
4.5, SCARED YET? 

22 March 2014

Review: SAINTS OF THE SHADOW BIBLE, Ian Rankin - audio book

 Synopsis (Audible.com)

Rebus is back on the force, albeit with a demotion and a chip on his shoulder. A 30-year-old case is being reopened, and Rebus's team from back then is suspected of foul play. With Malcolm Fox as the investigating officer are the past and present about to collide in a shocking and murderous fashion?  

My Take

John Rebus is out of retirement, back in C.I.D. no less, but on sufferance. He is meant to be taking care of record keeping and paper work but gets himself assigned to Siobhan Clarke. But now she is a Detective Inspector and he is only a Detective Sergeant, so she rules the roost, or does she?

Three cases run concurrently - one that Malcolm Fox has pulled out of old files that appears to be police corruption from the first team that Rebus was assigned to as a constable, the second case a dead mini cab driver fished out of the river with foul play suspected, and the third a female university student who has crashed her car on the verge of the freeway.

Rebus is assigned to Fox's office to assist with the investigation of his old colleagues and though Rebus is inclined to cast Fox in the role of the enemy he comes to see that they share a lot of similar values. Siobhan Clarke carries an olive branch between the two, but as usual Rebus is a bit obstinate.

There is an emphasis on how policing has changed - methods used decades ago to extract confessions are no longer acceptable and the Attorney General is determined that any miscarriage of justice in the past will be rooted out and corruption eliminated. But on the other hand other characters recognise that John Rebus gets results and describe his methods as "good old-fashioned policing."

An excellent read.

My rating: 4.7

I've also reviewed
THE COMPLAINTS
DOORS OPEN
HIDE & SEEK
4.4, BEGGARS BANQUET
4.4, WITCH HUNT - writing as Jack Harvey
4.5, THE FALLS
4.7, THE IMPOSSIBLE DEAD
4.8, STANDING IN ANOTHER MAN'S GRAVE 

20 March 2014

Review: DEATH BY BEAUTY, Gabrielle Lord

  • Hachette Australia
  • ISBN 9780733627309
  • $32.99
  • Paperback - C Format
  • September 2012
  • 400 pages
Synopsis (Publisher)

Australia's queen of crime fiction, Gabrielle Lord, is back with a chilling new novel. A 'vampire' is stalking the streets, attacking beautiful young women; some are murdered days later, others aren't touched again. Gemma Lincoln, PI, begins to see a pattern - but can she convince the authorities to take action before another life is lost?

How far would you go to look young and beautiful?
A young woman is attacked, she claims, by a vampire . Two more are found dead and hideously disfigured. A journalist goes missing after visiting Sapphire Springs Spa. And it's up to Gemma Lincoln, PI, to find out what is going on.

In her first week back on the job after maternity leave, finding a balance between investigating brutal crimes, caring for baby Rafi and making time for herself and Mike is all too much. Something has to give, but not while a third woman s life is in danger.

As she moves closer to tying the crimes together, Rafi disappears. Facing a mother's worst nightmare, Gemma discovers what she is prepared to do to save her son.

My Take

Other Australian female authors in the past, Kerry Greenwood and Jennifer Rowe to name a couple, have set their murder mysteries around a beauty farm. So what Gabrielle Lord is doing in a sense is giving it a modern take - treatments implementing DNA and modern surgery techniques.

Add too a couple of extra elements - beautiful girls being drugged by a vampire - their memories ensuring no-one will believe them, thinking they are drug-induced; and a young woman returning to work with a young child to care for.

Gemma Lincoln has this idea that she will be able to slowly re-immerse herself in her investigative work, but the nature of her job, and Gemma's own character, ensure that a slow resumption is just not an option. Young mothers reading DEATH BY BEAUTY will find themselves wishing that they had all the backup resources that Gemma has. Add to that the fact that Gemma is living with a man who is not the baby's father, and things become complicated.

Gabrielle Lord has been occupying her time with writing YA thrillers and this is the first Gemma Lincoln novel for 5 years. It shows that Lord has not lost the touch and kept up with the times. I didn't like Gemma Lincoln any the more for it - but that is probably just the way she strikes me.

The story is a chilling one about how much money there is in the industry of helping women retain their beauty and even making them look 10 years younger.

My rating: 4.4

I've reviewed
BABY DID A BAD BAD THING
DEATH DELIGHTS (Jack McCain)
DIRTY WEEKEND (Jack McCain)

Gemma Lincoln series (Fantastic Fiction)
1. Feeding the Demons (1999)
2. Baby Did a Bad Thing (2002)
3. Spiking the Girl (2004)
4. Shattered (2007)
5. Death By Beauty (2012)

16 March 2014

14 March 2014

Progress Report - British Reading Challenge 2014

British Books Challenge 2014 hosted by Feeling Fictional

The aim is to read at least 12 books by British authors. As I've said before, this is really not much of a challenge for me as I read so much British crime fiction, so the challenge is really just a way of keeping my records.


I have already completed my initial target of 12 books, and so will continue record keeping for the remainder of the year to see how my total compares with last year when I read 51 books by British authors.

  1. 4.6, BLOOD FROM STONE, Frances Fyfield
  2. 4.4, THIRD GIRL, Agatha Christie
  3. 4.6, THE FUNERAL OWL, Jim Kelly 
  4. 4.8, LIFE AFTER LIFE, Kate Atkinson
  5. 4.6, BLOODLAND, Alan Glynn 
  6. 4.1, THE DIVIDED CHILD, Ekaterine Nikas
  7. 4.5, DEATH SURGE, Pauline Rowson
  8. 4.4, NOWHERE TO GO, Iain Rowan
  9. 4.8, BITTER WATER, Gordon Ferris
  10. 4.5, BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMBS, Agatha Christie
  11. 4.4, ENDLESS NIGHT, Agatha Christie
  12. 4.4, MURDER IN THE MEWS, Agatha Christie
  13. 4.8, DYING FALL, Elly Griffiths - audio book
  14. 4.6, THE MINOR ADJUSTMENT BEAUTY SALON, Alexander McCall Smith

13 March 2014

Review: THE MINOR ADJUSTMENT BEAUTY SALON, Alexander McCall Smith

  • published 2013
  • ISBN 978-1-4087-0431-8
  • 248 pages
  • #14 in the No 1. Ladies Detective Agency series
Synopsis (Publisher: Little, Brown)

As Botswana awaits the familiar blessing of the rains and the resumption of the eternal cycle, seismic upheaval is taking place at the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

Not only is Mr J. L. B. Matekoni attempting to reform himself into a modern husband, but after her marriage to Phuti Radiphuti, Mma Ramotswe's challenging but irreplaceable associate Mma Makutsi has joyful news.

With the arrival of an heir to the Double Comfort furniture empire and Mma Makutsi busy with motherhood, Mma Ramotswe must tackle tea-making and detective work alone. Well-known troublemaker Violet Sephotho may or not be behind a smear campaign against the Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, and a dispute over the will of a local dignitary points to a shocking family secret. But the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is resilient and adaptable, and change brings salutary lessons: that our enemies are not always obvious, that a snake under the bed may be an ally, and that a mother's love conquers all.

My Take

The ability of these cozies to delight never ceases to amaze me. I was thinking after I finished this one that you rarely see a body and almost never sight blood. Most of the "cases" the agency takes on are domestic issues. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency has been operating for some years now and although it charges fees, rarely makes a profit when costs are taken into consideration. Many of the investigations they take on do not actually come in through the door, but result from people consulting Precious Ramotswe on a casual basis as she does or shopping or sits at the market drinking coffee.

THE MINOR ADJUSTMENT BEAUTY SALON is all about relationships. Mma Makutsi's maternity leave brings Precious Ramotswe to a realisation of how much she enjoys Grace's company. Her absence in the office causes a temporary depression which sparks Mr J. L. B. Matekoni to consider how he can become a more modern husband and he has a disastrous experience in a night course he decides to attend. Mma Ramotswe takes on an inheritance investigation and misses her friend and associate when she looks for someone to bounce her ideas off.

The ending of THE MINOR ADJUSTMENT BEAUTY SALON and the knowledge that there will be another in the series will delight followers. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

My rating: 4.6

I've also reviewed
TEA TIME for the TRADITIONALLY BUILT
THE MIRACLE AT SPEEDY MOTORS

THE DOUBLE COMFORT SAFARI CLUB
4.5, THE SATURDAY BIG TENT WEDDING PARTY
4.5, THE LIMPOPO ACADEMY OF PRIVATE DETECTION 

10 March 2014

Review: FATAL IMPACT, Kathryn Fox

  • published by Pan Macmillan Australia 2014
  • ISBN 978-1-74261-232-4
  • 389 pages
  • review copy supplied by publisher
  • #7 in the Anya Crichton series
Synopsis (Publisher)

When a girl's dead body is found in a toy box, forensic physician and pathologist Anya Crichton joins the police hunt in her home state of Tasmania for the child's missing mother and sister.

Staying with her increasingly erratic mother, Dr Jocelyn Reynolds, Anya fears the long shadow of her sister Miriam's disappearance has finally driven her mother past the brink of sanity. But Anya soon discovers that Jocelyn is keeping a deadly secret.

When tests conclude a virulent strain of food poisoning was responsible for the child's death, the outbreak begins to spread. Anya pairs up with Internal Affairs detective Oliver Parke to unravel the sinister connections between the fatal epidemic, a covered-up study, the shady deals of a multinational corporation and the alleged murder of a local scientist. Anya has strayed into a high-stakes game so dangerous the players will kill to keep it quiet. With time running short, Anya must uncover the truth before she is silenced - permanently.

My take

I've long been a fan of Kathryn Fox's work, and this novel did not disappoint me. As always Kathryn has combined interesting issues, excellent research, and a well plotted mystery that makes the pages just fly past. Although the character of Dr. Anya Crichton has now been developed over a span of seven novels, there is nothing to stop a reader from beginning with this one.

The setting of the novel is Tasmania with the issues of genetic modification of stock and products and foreign ownership of Australian land and industries running strongly in the background. Anya initially goes to Tasmania to give an address at a conference and then intends to pay a quick visit to her mother who lives near Launceston. She first of all gets caught up with the disappearance of a mother and her child, and then her father's wife becomes critically ill. Her visit to her mother is extended when she finds her mother is not well, and then her mother's neighbour dies.There is lots going on and the writing is fast paced.

My rating: 4.8

I've also reviewed
BLOOD BORN
4.6, DEATH MASK
COLD GRAVE

My mini-review for MALICIOUS INTENT - my rating 4.7

Dr. Anya Crichton has recently struck out to work on her own as a freelance forensic pathologist. 
Work is a bit hard to find but she is gaining a reputation as a credible courtroom authority. She is not without friends in the police, the New South Wales State Forensic Institute, and among the criminal barristers. Something about the apparent suicide of Clare Matthews doesn't sit quite right: the fact that, a nun, she disappeared shortly before she was due to take her vows, that she suicided by jumping off the Gap, that she was 6 weeks pregnant, and that she had strange fibres in her lungs. And now another case with similarities crops up: Fatima Deab overdoses on heroine after being missing for some days and her lungs contain the same fibres. Debut publication by Australian author. It is obvious to the reader that Kathryn Fox has a lot to say, lots of issues that she wants to make us aware of, and sometimes this novel takes on a bit of a didactic tone. But the plotting is so good, the tension so well built that by the end I could forgive her anything! 

About the author:
Kathryn Fox is  a medical practitioner with a special interest in forensic medicine. She has worked as a family physician, medical journalist and freelance writer. Her debut novel received international acclaim and won the 2005 Davitt award for best crime novel. This is her seventh novel following Malicious Intent, Without Consent, Skin and Bone, Blood Born, Death Mask and Cold Grave.

7 March 2014

Review: DRIVE BY, Michael Duffy

  • Format: Kindle (Amazon)
  • File Size: 657 KB
  • Print Length: 296 pages
  • Publisher: Allen & Unwin (July 24, 2013)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B00E4A839M
Synopsis (Amazon)

'If The Godfather was set in Sydney today, it would be about the Lebs. But brothers, lots of brothers. Fathers don't matter anymore.' Detective Inspector Brian Harris

John Habib is the mechanic son of a Muslim Lebanese-Australian crime family in Sydney's Western suburbs. His oldest brother is in a maximum security prison, his middle brother is becoming increasingly fundamentalist, and his younger brother Rafi is on trial for a murder he swears he didn't commit. John has no reason to disbelieve Rafi but there are things going on in the family that he just doesn't understand. Why has his brother taken control of the family away from their father? Are the police really trying to set up Rafi? And what is the compelling evidence they say will put him away? John sets out to prove Rafi's innocence in the face of his predatory older brothers and some Lebanese-hating cops.

Bec Ralston is a good detective who doesn't know why she's been ordered to attend Rafi's trial. She was previously thrown off the investigation for voicing the opinion that Rafi might be innocent. As the court case goes badly wrong, she finds herself torn between her loyalty to the senior police she respects and the truth.

My Take

To be honest, this was not an easy read for me. It is a little outside the fringes of the genre that I usually read, and felt alarmingly close to the style of true crime, which is not surprising considering the author's background (see the note about the author below).

I struggled first of all with the three time frames that the action bounced between. The more I read though, the better this got, and I was more easily able to identify the time frame and location. The narrative voice was a little easier to handle, although there are mainly three narrators: Bec Ralston, the part Aboriginal detective constable; John (Jabber) Habib who seems to be the only "honest" person in the Habib family; and Karen Mabey the Crown Prosecutor.

I did struggle with back story and with trying to piece together what had preceded Rafiq Habib's trial. Working out why Bec Ralston has been attached to this trial after initially being removed from the investigative team was another challenge. And then about three quarters of the way through, a bombshell drops which challenges all you think you have learnt to that point. Looking back on the novel now though, it seems that almost nothing can be taken at face value, and almost nobody is what they purport to be. And the problem is that almost everybody takes on the role of unreliable narrator. The problem is compounded by the huge amount of detailed information that the reader must try to absorb.

But I am mindful that if you are a reader of true crime or enjoy Australian noir crime fiction, then you will probably like DRIVE BY.

My rating: 4.4

About the author
Michael Duffy is a former court and crime reporter for several newspapers in Sydney Australia whose work led to the true crime books Call Me Cruel and Bad, the story behind the television series Underbelly: Badness.
He now writes crime novels, the first two being THE TOWER and THE SIMPLE DEATH. Drawing on his work as a journalist and radio presenter, his novels embrace contemporary themes such as globalisation and voluntary euthanasia.
DRIVE BY, about the war on drugs, was published in 2013. It introduced part-Aboriginal detective Bec Ralston.

See also the author's website.

6 March 2014

Progress Report: Vintage Mystery Bingo

I've been making some progress in this meme hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block, but, as you can see, I have nothing like straight lines on either card yet.
I'm rather pleased with my card "manipulation" using Gimp though.

* All books must be from the mystery category (crime fiction, detective fiction, espionage, etc.).  The mystery/crime must be the primary feature of the book--ghost stories, paranormal, romance, humor, etc are all welcome as ingredients, but must not be the primary category under which these books would be labeled at the library or bookstore.
*Challengers may play either the Silver Age or Golden Age Card—or both.
*BINGOS may be claimed by completing all spaces in a row--horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.  You may also claim a “Four Corner” BINGO by reading a book for each of the four corners plus two more spaces—any two.  A valid BINGO must have six complete spaces.
This post will be my record for the challenge and I aim to update it as I read and review the books.

Golden Vintage - books written before 1960


6 books to be read
  1. THE LATE MONSIEUR GALLET, Georges Simenon, published 1931 - one translated work
  2. THE NURSING HOME MURDER, Ngaio Marsh, published 1937 - One Medical Mystery
  3. MURDER IN THE MEWS, Agatha Christie, published 1937 - a short story collection
  4. DEATH OF A SWAGMAN, Arthur Upfield, published 1945 -  a man in the title
Silver Vintage: books written 1960 - 1989


6 books to be read
  1. 4.4, THIRD GIRL, Agatha Christie published 1966 - book with a Woman in the title
  2. 3.9, A HANK OF HAIR, Charlotte Jay,  published 1964 - by an author with a pseudonym
  3. 4.4, ENDLESS NIGHT, Agatha Christie, published 1967 - has been made into a movie
  4. 4.5, BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMBS, Agatha Christie, published 1968 - a detective team
  5. 4.5, ARMS FOR ADONIS, Charlotte Jay, published 1961 - set anywhere except USA or UK

3 March 2014

What I read in February 2014

I was on a cruise ship for the last month and that gave me plenty of reading time.
I used my Kindle and the Kindle App on my iPad.

There are 20 books in the following list and a real smorgasbord of styles.
If you are looking for Australian authors, there are 5 of them here.
I managed to do quite a bit of reading for the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge.
My Pick of the Month was DYING FALL by Elly Griffiths.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig


We arrived home yesterday and are now doing the catchup thingy: the unpacking and washing first of course, then the shopping.

And soon I'll make a start on bring all my memes and challenges up to date.
I read a lot of books in the last 7 weeks and have actually managed to post reviews for nearly all of them, despite dodgy internet connections for the last month.

Now comes the housekeeping for my blog.
I hope I don't bore you to death as I bring my various lists up to date.

Review: DEAD CAT BOUNCE, Peter Cotton

Published in 2013 by Scribe
ISBN 978-1-9-2207-2542

Synopsis (Scribe)

A federal election campaign is thrown into chaos when a popular government minister goes missing and then turns up dead on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin.

With Detective Darren Glass and the Australian Federal Police on the case, the investigation into the minister’s murder quickly becomes entangled in a game of high-stakes politics. And all the while, the body count mounts.

Glass’s suspects include some of the most powerful people in the land. With the nation in shock and wanting answers fast, Glass has to negotiate a murky world of shifting allegiances, half-truths, and finger pointing, where everyone has a motive for murder.

And no one is safe — not even the prime minister. As election day nears, Glass risks everything for a breakthrough in the case, and his life is soon hanging by a thread. But if he thought he’d hit rock bottom, he was wrong …

My Take

Federal elections are only a fortnight away in Australia and in Canberra Susan Wright, the Minister for the Environment goes missing. After three days her body is found near Lake Burley Griffin. It seems that with Minister Wright's death the government's chance of re-election has evaporated.

Darren Glass and his boss, Assistant Commissioner Len McHenry of the Australian Federal Police, are making slow progress when a second person goes missing - this time Alan Proctor, a senior adviser in the Prime Minister's Office. 

By this time Glass has already upset the Prime Minister and the Police Commissioner, and it seems he may be thrown off the case. But fortunately for him McHenry values his insight and he survives.

And it is beginning to look as if Susan Wright's death may just bring the electoral bounce that PrimeMinister Michael Landsdowne needs.

Peter Cotton has managed to pull off one of those rare achievements - a political thriller that keeps the reader guessing all the way. As the election gets closer and closer the investigation becomes murkier and it is evident that the origins of the first murder go back a couple of decades, to events that occurred when Landsdowne and Wright were in Opposition.

Oh, and by the way, you never do really find out the "flavor" of the government, and that really doesn't seem to matter.

The structure of the novel is unusual - mainly Darren Glass' narration, interspersed with television commentary by a female "Live Cam" journalist, and daily provocative blog comments by another political commentator.

If you are a non-Australian reader, I'm not sure that the enjoyment of the novel hinges on an understanding of the Australian political system. In fact I'm pretty sure it wouldn't. It is very well written, particularly for a debut novel, and held my interest to the end.

My rating: 4.8

About the author
Peter Cotton has been the media advisor to three federal cabinet ministers, worked as a foreign correspondent for the ABC, been a senior reporter on the ABC’s AM and PM programs, and had stories published in most major print outlets in Australia. Dead Cat Bounce is his first novel.

1 March 2014

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month February 2014

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month 2014

Many crime fiction bloggers write a summary post at the end of each month listing what they've read, and some, like me, even go as far as naming their pick of the month.

This meme is an attempt to aggregate those summary posts.
It is an invitation to you to write your own summary post for February 2014, identify your crime fiction best read of the month, and add your post's URL to the Mr Linky below.
If Mr Linky does not appear for you, leave the URL in a comment and I will add it myself.

You can list all the books you've read in the past month on your post, even if some of them are not crime fiction, but I'd like you to nominate your crime fiction pick of the month.

That will be what you will list in Mr Linky too -
e.g.
ROSEANNA, Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo - MiP (or Kerrie)

You are welcome to use the image on your post and it would be great if you could link your post back to this post on MYSTERIES in PARADISE.


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