Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve People of all ages who value our wildlife will undoubtedly love the story of Flipper and Finnegan. Based on the events following the oil spill off Phillip Island in Victoria in 2001, it focuses on two little penguins who belong to the smallest of this species of bird. Unsuspecting of the
An Interview with Richard McHugh – author of The Cutting Richard McHugh lives near the ocean in Sydney with his partner and their children. He argues cases, makes photographs and writes. He published his first novel, Charlie Anderson’s General Theory of Lying, in 2015. The Cutting is his second novel. Richard McHugh calls his book The Cutting. The
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders What if your father told many tales of the Second World War, but somehow the real story was elusive, with three obscure years? What if he was sworn to secrecy, but you are intensely curious about the events that took place in those malignant times? This was the dilemma facing Neil
Reviewed by Gerard Healy This interesting novel, by Natasha Pulley, is set in Russia in 1963. The story begins in a Siberian gulag in winter where Valery, or zek (prisoner) 745 as he’s known, has spent six years of his ten-year sentence. Through his scientific knowledge, personality and ruthless actions, he has a relatively privileged
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve The Unbelieved may be her first fiction book, but Vikki Petraitis has written a crime novel that has all the hallmarks of a writer most accomplished in the genre. The plot is cleverly shaped, with a web involving fraud, murder and violence. The setting is a small town, Deception Bay, where
Reviewed by Richard Tutin Journalism and journalists are constantly in the spotlight. Whether it is watching the nightly television news or reading the various newspapers in their paper or digital forms, we are constantly hearing or reading the results of the journalistic craft. Journalists have come under attack in recent times as societies grapple with
Reviewed by E. B. Heath Bobby Palmer’s debut novel, Isaac and the egg, deserves to be approached with a fresh mind in order that the storyline unravels as the author intended. Therefore, this review will not contain plot details, only say the themes are of love, loss, grief and recovery. It can also be said
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve Children’s books perform so many valuable tasks. They can foster a love of reading, entertain, banish boredom, and sometimes educate and reassure. The Golden Swift fulfils all of the above. A delightful mix of fantasy, fact and plot, it will have wide appeal to middle school children. In the second of
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke This story by Jules Van Mil epitomises many of the migrants to Australia after the World Wars who leave behind their homeland to travel to the other side of the world in the hope of a better life. In 1950, Avril Montdidier, a young French woman, did just this. She had
Reviewed by Gail McDonald Ash Barty, after her successful tennis career, joined forces with Jasmin McGaughey in writing a series of books for young readers which were each illustrated by Jade Goodwin. The books focus on Ash’s love of sports trying karate, softball, netball and gymnastics, but none of them gives her that tingly feeling
Reviewed by Gail McDonald Dancing with Memories was written by Sally Yule with this being her inaugural book. Sally is Managing Director of Humble Access an organisation focussed on Executive Coaching, governance and consultancy in Health and Aged Care. The book was written in consultation with Professor Ralph Martins and Maggie Beer with a portion
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve From its arresting title Maror – bitter herbs – to its final pages, this is an unforgettably powerful saga of life in Israel in the last four decades of the twentieth century. It is a sweeping portrayal of violence, corruption and chaos threaded through by veins of humanity. Lavie Tidhar has
Reviewed by Gail McDonald Sibéal Pounder is the author of two previous much-loved and seriously stylish children’s fiction series, Witch Wars and Bad Mermaids. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, she worked for the Financial Times. Sibéal is also a talented illustrator and lives in England. Neon’s Secret Universe takes the reader on a journey
Reviewed by Rod McLary The debut novel by Tom Pitts has its origin in two songs he wrote [Tom is a musician as well as a writer] which is reflected in the lyricism which imbues the novel. Narrated in the first person by twenty-eight-year-old Matt Lacey while recovering in a mental health facility from a
Reviewed by Richard Tutin Democracies have been around for a long time. Community members gathering to express their views and make decisions that affect their life and future goes back in one form or another to ancient times. While we often think that ancient Athens was the first to order its life in this way,