AustCrimeFiction | Australia & New Zealand Crime Fiction Reviews since 2006
1,030 FOLLOWERS
Well it's basically a database of Authors and Books from Australasia (Australia, New Zealand, and nearby areas) AND a blog AND a running commentary (on the rare occasions when I feel brave enough to post an article). It's also the place where I post book reviews. A big percentage of the books I read will be from local authors (books that are covered under Books & Writers here).
AustCrimeFiction | Australia & New Zealand Crime Fiction Reviews since 2006
2d ago
REVIEW
The Mystery Writer, Sulari Gentill
Reviewed By
Karen Chisholm
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
In Sulari Gentill’s new novel, aspiring writer Theo and her brother Gus become embroiled in increasingly bizarre conspiracy theories. Full Review at Newtown Review of Books
BOOK DETAILS
BOOK INFORMATION
Author
Sulari Gentill
ISBN
9781761152238
Year of Publication
2024
BLURB
She needs to write the ending ... before she meets hers.
Theo has one dream – to become a bestselling author. Determined to make her mark in the literary world, she heads to the US on a whim ..read more
AustCrimeFiction | Australia & New Zealand Crime Fiction Reviews since 2006
6d ago
REVIEW
The Beacon, P.A. Thomas
Reviewed By
Karen Chisholm
Friday, March 22, 2024
A disgraced son of a powerful Australian media tycoon, the traumatised daughter of a small town newspaper editor, coincidentally owned by the aforementioned tycoon. One is sent to "learn the ropes of journalism" / ie been kicked down the line, the other is in town after something sent her legal career into free fall. Then the local newspaper editor dies in a seeming shark attack and things get messy.
Byron Bay does have a reputation for being a laid back, holiday destination, pumped full of influencer t ..read more
AustCrimeFiction | Australia & New Zealand Crime Fiction Reviews since 2006
6d ago
REVIEW
The Day That Never Comes, Caimh McDonnell
Reviewed By
Karen Chisholm
Thursday, March 21, 2024
The second book in the Dublin Trilogy (which I'm is actually the 2nd published, but the 6th in the "trilogy", so between this and Adrian McKinty's trilogy which isn't, Ireland obviously does trilogies differently). Anyway, THE DAY THAT NEVER COMES, is also the name of a song by Metallica (or so I'm told), for whatever that's worth, but in the context of this book it's a line from a firey session in front of a crowd of really pissed off citizens of Dublin:
"When is the day when those ..read more
AustCrimeFiction | Australia & New Zealand Crime Fiction Reviews since 2006
1w ago
REVIEW
Deep in the Forest, Erina Reddan
Reviewed By
Karen Chisholm
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
As is the way of the world, there have been quite a few crime fiction books recently that delve into the world of cults, the people that get caught in them, and those trying to get them out. DEEP IN THE FOREST is a slightly different twist on that. It's the story of a small town outcast, who via some coincidental work connections, and the fact that she lives very near the community known as the Sanctuary, finds herself pulled too far into their world.
Charli Trenthan is an outsider in her ho ..read more
AustCrimeFiction | Australia & New Zealand Crime Fiction Reviews since 2006
1w ago
REVIEW
Home Before Night, J.P. Pomare
Reviewed By
Karen Chisholm
Monday, March 18, 2024
If you were a resident of Melbourne (or any larger city I suppose), the announcement of one of the many COVID lockdowns was a sudden jolt to the nervous system.
What JP Pomare has done, in HOME BEFORE NIGHT, is add an extra layer of complexity when Lou realises her son Samuel isn't going to make it home by the cut off time of 8pm, supposedly staying with his girlfriend instead. She's not handling that particularly well, having not been at all convinced by the girlfriend on initial meeting ..read more
AustCrimeFiction | Australia & New Zealand Crime Fiction Reviews since 2006
3w ago
REVIEW
Halfway House, Helen FitzGerald
Reviewed By
Karen Chisholm
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Helen FitzGerald is one of those authors who really knows how to write engaging and very offputting central characters that you care about, despite their obvious failings, flaws, and downright stupidity from time to time. As is the case in HALFWAY HOUSE where central character Lou O'Dowd is .. well ... quite something.
Infuriating, annoying and quite beguiling, she's part ingénue, part ruthless user, and oddly extremely sympathetic and relatable. Maybe it's the wide eyed devil may care"edness ..read more
AustCrimeFiction | Australia & New Zealand Crime Fiction Reviews since 2006
3w ago
REVIEW
I Am Behind You, John Ajvide Lindqvist
Reviewed By
Karen Chisholm
Thursday, February 29, 2024
The thing with any novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist is to remember the stages of reading.
Stage One is always, oh wow, why do I take so long to pick up these books. This is just amazing.
On the whole his work is amazing. It's horror sure, and that's something I'd normally go out of my way to avoid, but it's his version of horror, which always has something extra. It's not just about the shock, it's about the why's and where's of human behaviour, and the how did we get here's. Or ..read more
AustCrimeFiction | Australia & New Zealand Crime Fiction Reviews since 2006
1M ago
REVIEW
To The River, Vikki Wakefield
Reviewed By
Karen Chisholm
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
I can almost feel a collective intake of breath when many crime fiction fans read a blurb that includes mention of "a brave dog". So right up front, the dog's fine. In other news, this is a very interesting novel that uses a mostly female viewpoint for a story that has a past as well as a present.
Sabine Kelly disappeared many years ago, after confessing to setting the fire that killed nine people in a remote caravan park 12 years ago. Since that time she's been living life on the run, hiding ..read more
AustCrimeFiction | Australia & New Zealand Crime Fiction Reviews since 2006
1M ago
REVIEW
A Better Class of Criminal, Cristian Kelly
Reviewed By
Karen Chisholm
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
There's a quote on the blurb for this book which goes:
Guy Ritchie meets Elmore Leonard – this is a fast-paced humorous crime thriller with splashes of dark and sinister
Which is where I could leave this review because it sums it up perfectly.
Fast paced: A BETTER CLASS OF CRIMINAL belts along, mind you that's a word worth keeping in mind, there's belting violence aplenty here which comes at the reader like a battering ram.
Humorous: If you like dark, cynical, pointed and ..read more
AustCrimeFiction | Australia & New Zealand Crime Fiction Reviews since 2006
1M ago
REVIEW
Death Off Camera, B.M. Allsopp
Reviewed By
Karen Chisholm
Monday, February 19, 2024
Book number five in the Fiji Island Mystery series featuring local rugby hero, now policeman Inspector Joe Horseman and his team, this time investigating the death of a fit young reality TV star who dies most unexpectedly on a small island off the coast of Fiji, in the middle of filming a wildly popular show which features, for the first time, a Fijian contestant.
Readers who are new to this series would be able to step in at any point as the author here plays very fair with just enough p ..read more