Reviewed by Ian Lipke Detective Sergeant Anastasia Brown suffers heartbreak and humiliation. Her ex-boyfriend cannot handle her promotion above him, and her superior officers consider a woman in the force to be out of her place. Ana, upset as she is, welcomes the chance to do well in this new community where a man has
Reviewed by Gayle Williams Stuart MacBride’s Blood, Rust, and Steel is yet another reminder of why he remains one of Britain’s most accomplished crime writers. The next instalment in the spin‑off from the Logan McRae series, the novel centres on Acting Detective Inspector Roberta Steel — one of MacBride’s most distinctive and compelling anti‑heroes. After
Reviewed by Ian Lipke It’s not a new idea. Writers of many generations have considered the tale that is told when a young innocent decides to fix a worldwide problem only to discover that her colleagues are not as innocent as she first thought. Now, an innocent girl is on the run. Meg Maher joins
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Set in 1930s Paris, this book has a cover that suggest dark deeds in mind, and characters with poison in their souls. Actually, it is a romp, ‘a glorious historical mystery of murder, fashion, food, secrets, and danger’ in the French capital in that exciting era of 1938. At a glitzy
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Fleur McDonald is a name associated with fine writing, a name that almost guarantees an enjoyable time for the reader. I wondered, therefore, just what I was dealing with when I’d read the first eighty-eight pages of The Witness. Only one salient point was made in the early part of the
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Australian author, Kate Solly, has published two novels in her ‘Paradise Heights’ mystery fiction series. The latest, The Paradise Heights Miniature Railway Bust-up, was released in April 2026. Her first book – Tuesday Evenings with the Copeton Craft Resistance –was a stand-alone novel. These stories are based around a craft group who
Reviewed by Ian Lipke The latest book by David Baldacci, Hope Rises, presents all that it promises. We are assured that the hero, FBI informant Walter Nash will tread into dangerous waters when he tangles with master criminal Victoria Steers. Under her direction the once gentle and sensitive Nash discovers he has a hidden, lethal
Reviewed by Rod McLary Detective Inspectors Georgie Lennox and Richard Stewart from Police Scotland return in this new crime thriller set in the Scottish Highlands. It is indeed an atmospheric and bleak narrative. While it is a stand-alone novel, there are a number of references back to The Wolf Tree – the author’s debut novel
Reviewed by Rod McLary Set in Cottesloe Beach and surrounds in Western Australia, this novel could not take place in a more beautiful setting but the storyline is at odds with the setting. The Shark is about a serial killer who targets teenage girls and the two teenage girls who are determined to track him
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke John McMahon, the author of Inside Man, is an American crime writer of some renown. Among his work is a series based on a particular group within the FBI. The series known as Head Cases highlights Gardner Camden and the PAR team (Patterns and Recognition). Their job is to identify peculiarities
Reviewed by Rod McLary J P Pomare’s previous novels – of which there are seven – are generally set in Australia or New Zealand. A number of them have won awards including the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best First Novel for Call Me Evie [2018]; and Tell Me Lies [2020] was shortlisted for both the
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Steven Carroll first wrote about a Detective Sergeant Stephen Minter in his novel, Goodnight, Vivienne, Goodnight. This character was the son of Austrian Jews who were detained in England as enemy aliens and tragically died while interned. Now, he reappears in The Afterlife of Harry Playford, where he has a greater
Reviewed by Clare Brook Writers are advised to begin a work with a strong ‘hook’ – an intriguing sentence designed to incite reader curiosity. Sarah Bluett has managed to do this in the title of her debut novel, The Other Side of Death, who among us would not want a peek behind that particular curtain.
Reviewed by Ian Lipke I wonder how frequently a member of a young generation is so moved by their grandfather’s apparent abilities as to cast him into something extraordinary. At least it can be invigorating to find one example. The author, Masateru Konishi, is sufficiently experienced to pen a story that is believable, a story
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Fleur McDonald’s latest book, The Missing, took me a little while to get to know the key players and how they would fit together in the story. In the Prologue we meet a group of teenagers, in an isolated town, who get together in an old building out of town, sharing