MARYROSE CUSKELLY The Cane. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
Maryrose Cuskelly’s novel seems to have taken Arthur Conan Doyle’s maxim to heart: ‘When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.’ Cuskelly was born in Queensland, where there were several high-profile child...
BARRY MAITLAND The Russian Wife. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
The fourteenth instalment of Barry Maitland’s groundbreaking Brock and Kolla crime series is also the last. Scottish-born, English-raised and, since 1984, Australian-based, Barry Maitland published the first Brock and Kolla novel, The Marx Sisters, in 1994. On his...
HOLLY THROSBY Clarke. Reviewed by Sally Nimon
Holly Throsby’s third novel takes inspiration from a notorious real-life missing persons case. What would you do if you believed someone was a murderer? You don’t have proof, necessarily, but you have witnessed a series of events that seem to add up to an...
JOHN KERR The Big Folbigg Mistake: extract
Did Kathleen Folbigg kill her babies? John Kerr makes the case for taking another look. In 2003 Kathleen Folbigg was convicted of killing her four children: Caleb, 19 days old (1989); Patrick, 8 months old (1991); Sarah, 10 months old (1993); and Laura, 19 months old...
KIRSTY MANNING The Paris Mystery. Reviewed by Ann Skea
The glamour of prewar Paris is the backdrop to a murder in this new novel from the author of The Lost Jewels. Drums rolled. The orchestra struck opening chords as the elegant hostess, Lady Eleanor Ashworth, stepped into the spotlight dressed in a black tulle Chanel...
VIKKI PETRAITIS The Unbelieved. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
After more than 25 years of writing true crime, Vikki Petraitis turns her hand to fiction. Australian true crime author Vikki Petraitis won the inaugural Allen and Unwin crime fiction prize for The Unbelieved, her first fictional outing. And while this is fiction, it...
GILLIAN McALLISTER Wrong Place, Wrong Time. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
British crime writer Gillian McAllister’s new novel explores time travel as crime prevention. Time loops are everywhere these days. Groundhog Day might have popularised them (and in doing so entered the popular vernacular) but the narrative conceit has now gone...
JANE CARO The Mother. Reviewed by Jessica Stewart
Jane Caro’s new novel deals frankly with coercive control. Though I knew the gist of the issues raised by The Mother before I began – I’d read the devastating stories of victims of domestic violence, watched the news, and thought I understood the issues – this...
JOHN DARNIELLE Devil House. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
In John Darnielle’s new novel, a true crime writer confronts the limits of the genre. John Darnielle may be best known as the lead singer of the American indie folk rock band the Mountain Goats, but he is also the author of two previous novels, Wolf in White Van...
CHRIS GILL Boy Fallen. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
Set in small-town New Zealand, Boy Fallen is beautifully written and elegantly plotted crime fiction. Auckland Detective Brooke Palmer returns to her home town of Taonga to support her best friend Lana when the body of Lana’s teenage son is found at the base of the...
GARRY DISHER Consolation. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
Australia’s leading writer of rural crime fiction, Garry Disher, has been quietly crafting an excellent series set in the dry wheatbelt of South Australia. This latest instalment won the 2021 Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction. There are three books now in the...
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