Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve Architecture provides an interesting and informative backdrop to this gripping novel of obsession and paranoia. Together they add a suspense which at times is twisted and can be frustrating to the reader. Design is the most obvious element of architecture but is, Woods states, about ‘constraints: budget, boundaries, building envelopes.’ The
Reviewed by Rod McLary This debut novel by Irish writer Edie May Hand is a breathtaking read from beginning to end. I have seldom read a first book which encompasses both the breadth and depth of a story about family, pervading violence, and ultimately survival so well and so engrossingly. From the first sentence –
Reviewed by Rod McLary Douglas Stuart has an enviable track record with his writing. His debut novel Shuggie Bain won the Booker Prize in 2020 after being rejected by 32 publishers and the author’s second novel Young Mungo was listed as one of the best books of 2022. And now his third book maintains the
Reviewed by Rod McLary The Hope is the third book in a trilogy – the first two being The Forcing and The Descent – each one providing a vivid and rather frightening vision of the future of the world and its people. Fortunately, The Hope offers some glimmer of hope of a way – a
Reviewed by Ian Lipke When Karly Lane’s name appears on the cover of a newly published book, serious readers of light fiction can buckle into their chairs and prepare to be entertained. Where There’s Smoke is just another example of ‘good’ fiction. This is a tale about second chances. It examines what might happen if
Reviewed by Gayle Williams Sarah Clutton’s The Bookshop of Buried Pasts is a beautifully crafted exploration of love, loss, hope, and the long shadows cast by secrets buried across six decades. The narrative moves seamlessly from 1960s Cambridgeshire to the present‑day NSW Southern Highlands, and finally to the windswept shores of the Shetland Islands, creating
Reviewed by Ian Lipke A charming story in many respects. Stella Quinn pens the tale of a young schoolteacher newly appointed to a school. Her focus of interest is students in years nine and ten. Filled with trepidation Felicity Miles had heard unpleasant things about the principal Nigel McKinlay, and although Felicity was blessed with
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Dandelion is Dead is the debut novel by Rosie Storey. It is set in London in 2025 and is a modern love story with dating apps and sexual freedom. Various apps and their use of acronyms for different kinks and desires are mentioned within the storyline. It is a time where
Reviewed by Rod McLary An older woman suddenly goes missing – not at home, unreachable by phone, no warning to her daughter – what has happened? Not an unfamiliar trope for crime mysteries but The Missing Mother is no crime mystery. It is a psychological thriller which engages you from the very first line –
Reviewed by Antonella Townsend Sam Beckbessinger presents an entertaining version of a supernatural horror in her debut adult novel, Femme Feral, a howling commentary on modern society from a female perspective. The main protagonist, Ellie, juggles work in the tech industry creating apps for guided meditations, and runs a household consisting of a vague, well-meaning
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve The seductive charm of Provence, a beautifully crumbling old house, a group of strangers coming together for two weeks and there to discover hidden talents or realise a method in producing a best-selling book…… it is a scenario straight from many a struggling writer’s dream. Kat Hale has written a novel
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve The deep connection to the natural world is beautifully and movingly realised in Inga Simpson’s collection of different stories which are linked by the passion they contain. In the longer eponymously titled one, the uncompromising nature of a relationship is a reflection of a wider view of the world. The two
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke With the title of this book, Life Drawing, sharing the cover with the back view of a naked woman, one might assume that this book is about that aspect of art. However, this debut novel by Emily Lighezzolo is at heart a love story. Set in Brisbane with the main characters
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve Pakistan has not been renowned for its modern literature, which could bring its vibrant culture teeming with a kaleidoscope of stories to an appreciative international readership. For example, A Suitable Boy together with many others brought the colourful humour of Indian life, to millions. They were highly praised and often won
Reviewed by Colleen McLennan The author, Kathy Lette, has had a long literary career. She has written twenty books which have been translated into nineteen languages, and has worked in television as a presenter, written a book which was made into a film and TV mini-series as well as writing columns for newspapers and magazines.