Reviewed by Ian Lipke Suny’s monumental work is not the first to attempt to tell the story of how a young seminarian became the horrific butcher who left this world in 1953. Such misbegotten luminaries as Leon Trotsky and Isaac Deutscher made attempts that are viewed with some degree of askance today. Robert Tucker made
Reviewed by Rod McLary Trent Dalton’s first book – Boy Swallows Universe – was a best-seller and may soon be made into a film. Partly based on the author’s life, the book told the story of Eli and is one of love, family and coming-of-age – all told with a touch of magic. The magic
Reviewed by Ian Lipke The third volume of the Atlee Pine trilogy is called Daylight. Readers can find out for themselves why this name was chosen. It is significant that not one of the critiques I have read so far makes any attempt to explain the title. Atlee Pine, an FBI agent, is still taking
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve The title suggests skimming through Science in the way an intrepid surfer rides the waves. This lavishly illustrated book offers far more, from the much admired and loved Australian icon, Dr Karl. Surfing involves a passion for the sport. None can deny that the enthusiasm and knowledge Dr. Karl imparts has
Reviewed by Ian Lipke I have lost count of the number of novels Michael Connelly has written. I can remember such classic stories as The Poet and The Scarecrow. I remember claiming that with these books, Connelly had peaked, when in fact he was just getting started. With the publication of Fair Warning, I thought
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve A child with imagination, who loves drama, theatre, adventure, AND dogs, will love Pierre’s Not There. This delightful piece of escapism was inspired by the author, Ursula Dubosarsky our Children’s Laureate, having the good fortune to accidentally visit the Queen’s theatre in Versailles when she was much younger. Following a ferry
Reviewed by Ian Lipke There seems little doubt that Sophie Hannah is the right person to continue Agatha Christie’s literary legacy. The current publication is not identical with Christie’s work, but the differences are so slight that they are hard to grasp, let alone define. Christie’s stories were intelligent and timeless. There is nothing ‘just
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders To read Mosul is to take a journey into another world. In fact, it is several worlds that are connected by terrorism and war. At once secret, brutal, tragic, and chaotic, the worlds are populated by heroes and villains – most of whom are troubled individuals with axes to grind and
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke The prologue to The Great Escape from Woodlands Nursing Home, with its juxtapositioning of a fall from a rickety ladder with the drift into an anaesthetic induced sleep, was an interesting introduction to this novel. Dr Joanna Nell, the author of this book, spent a considerable amount of time in nursing homes
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke On first reading the prologue to this book I was immediately struck by similarities between this cast of characters and that of an earlier novel by the same author, The Perfumer’s Secret. Yes, one was about perfume and the other champagne but the setting in Europe, family dynamics, brothers vying for
Reviewed by Rod McLary The title of this novel – Snow – evokes whiteness and purity. Evocations which are reinforced by continued references to snow and its appearance; such as ‘expanses of unbroken whiteness on all sides’ [3], ‘the snow was deep’ [66], and ‘a glittering shell of hoar frost [123]. But beyond – or
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve In her latest mystery, not one murder but three deaths in Daylesford confront the beautiful detective who has twenty solved criminal investigations to her credit in prior adventures. Phryne Fisher, famed for her many abilities including having an impeccable fashion sense, sets off with Dot, her ingenuous assistant, who, to Phryne’s
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Inspiration guided the person who coined the title of this memoir. Son of the Brush allows the writer to give the reading public information about the writer’s famous father – his virtues and vices, likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses while making available information about himself, one of the recognized business
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve In negotiating the twists and complexities of a crime committed in South Africa’s Orange Free State, the esteemed British journalist, Andrew Harding, has produced a detailed account that is scrupulously balanced. He avoids any judgments and political or historical bias. Instead, his book, These are not gentle people, is a portrayal
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Di Morrissey was one of the first 21st century writers to realise that people were ready for books set in Australia. The Thorn Birds was the most memorable of any earlier examples. Since then many writers have brought the Australian landscape to readers through their various novels. Since publishing her first,