Reviewed by Rod McLary At the outset, I should declare that I have read almost all the Dr Kay Scarpetta novels by Patricia Cornwell. Consequently, I come to this review with a slight bias in the author’s favour. However, to balance that bias, I consider that not all the Scarpetta novels are equal – some
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke The reader of this latest book by Kathleen Glasgow is told that more than twenty million people in the United States struggle with substance abuse each year…that statistic begins with users at age twelve…and that’s only what has been documented (379). The author who, in her first book Girl in Pieces,
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve Thrillers, that supremely popular of fiction genres, produce such an array of title that a book must be outstanding in order to captivate the discerning reader. Barry Maitland has written more than a dozen books which mostly feature David Brock and his respected colleague, Kathy Kolla. From The Marx Sisters, his
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Jesse Redpath is a policewoman in a small Northern Territory town that services a vast, geographical district. She knows her people, their strengths and weaknesses. When she hears that a former member of her town Adam Lawson has murdered Daisy Baker and then killed himself in a car crash on a
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Kyle Harper has written a history, a most unusual history. He does not tell of events that occurred at some specific date but chooses to write in a grand sweep that places events in non-specific contexts such as ‘Mammals in a Microbe’s World’, or he stirs readers’ imaginations in defining the
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke For most of her life, children’s author and illustrator Kate Pankhurst had no idea she was distantly related to Emmeline Pankhurst, and a cousin of the suffragette’s direct descendants. It seems that she, like her forebear, has the drive and determination to record the contribution women have made in game-changing discoveries and
Review by Richard Tutin How often have we thought about escaping from our current life situation? It may be getting a new job, moving to a new town or just having a different style of life from the one we are currently locked into. This edition of the Griffith Review has contributions from writers who
Reviewed by Rod McLary Most readers would be familiar with the abduction of Helen of Sparta [perhaps better known later as Helen of Troy] which led to the Trojan War – and with Achilles the hero of the war and the greatest of all the Greek warriors. Achilles was the son of Peleus, King of
Reviewed by Gerard Healy A delightful children’s story by Jackie French, with illustrations by Bruce Whatley. Here we have a family droving cattle along the dusty back-blocks of Australia on Christmas Eve, 1932. Young Joey, the son, wonders if Santa will find them, while his older sister Ellie knows that it could be difficult this
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve It is no wonder that this latest book by Ann Patchett has inspired unanimous praise and enthusiastic responses from those who have read this as a ‘hugely enjoyable conversation with a particularly brilliant friend.’ She is one of the current 250 members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and
Reviewed by Rod McLary The title of this fine example of American noir is evocative to say the least. Its meaning is brought to life by the protagonist Stanton Carlisle when he says: ‘this [the alley] was all there was any time, anywhere, just an alley and a light and the footsteps spanging on the
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders What did the Ottomans ever do for us? Best known for harems, sieges of Vienna and Armenian genocide, their history has largely come to us through a European lens. A lens that has often reduced the Ottoman Empire to a series of clichés and myths that fail to acknowledge the intricacies
Reviewed by Gerard Healy Another delightful children’s book from Ashleigh Barton and Martina Heiduczek, who previously collaborated on What Do You Call Your Grandpa? (2020) and What Do You Call Your Grandma? (2021). This latest book follows the same pattern, with a double-page spread for each topic, that is made up of a clever rhyming
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Many writers use the framework of several complete strangers coming together in a particular location for their stories. During their stay the reader becomes privy to some of their innermost fears and incidents which have been weighing them down. In her latest book, The Long Weekend, Fiona Palmer chooses to use
Reviewed by Rod McLary Jack Heath’s first crime novel for adults and the first of three featuring Timothy Blake – Hangman – was published in 2018. Timothy was engaged as a consultant for the FBI in Texas. He has acute skills for ‘reading’ a crime scene and observing what other investigators had missed or overlooked.