MARINA YUSZCZUK Thirst. Reviewed by Ann Skea

MARINA YUSZCZUK Thirst. Reviewed by Ann Skea

Argentinian writer Marina Yuszczuk puts her twist on the vampire novel in Thirst, set amid Buenos Aires’ oldest cemetery. There’s something defiant about how she doesn’t look away when I fix my eyes on her. Her dark hair is a long, tangled mess; she looks like a bag...
MINETTE WALTERS The Players. Reviewed by Ann Skea

MINETTE WALTERS The Players. Reviewed by Ann Skea

Minette Walters’ new historical novel features a consummate spy in the aftermath of an ill-fated seventeenth-century English rebellion. A man of Royal descent stepped ashore this day in our fair port of Lyme Regis. Handsomely attired, he declared himself to be Duke of...
EMILY MAGUIRE Rapture. Reviewed by Ann Skea

EMILY MAGUIRE Rapture. Reviewed by Ann Skea

The author of Love Objects and An Isolated Incident turns to historical fiction to tell the story of a young ninth-century woman whose quest for knowledge will not be denied. Rapture is a romance. Not just because it follows the love and passion of an unconventional...
RODNEY HALL Vortex. Reviewed by Paul Anderson

RODNEY HALL Vortex. Reviewed by Paul Anderson

Rodney Hall has won the Miles Franklin Award twice (Just Relations, The Grisly Wife); his new novel is a panoramic alternative history of the twentieth century. Queen Elizabeth II visited Brisbane on 9 March 1954 as part of her longest-ever Commonwealth tour. A...
TIM WINTON Juice. Reviewed by Robert Goodman

TIM WINTON Juice. Reviewed by Robert Goodman

Tim Winton’s new novel dives into a post-climate-change world where violence seems the only solution. The opening of Tim Winton’s new novel Juice cannot help but put readers in mind of Cormac McCarthy’s seminal work The Road. A man, possibly an ex-soldier, and a young...
EMILY TSOKOS PURTILL Matia. Reviewed by Ann Skea

EMILY TSOKOS PURTILL Matia. Reviewed by Ann Skea

Emily Tsokos Purtill’s debut novel ranges across continents to tell the stories of five generations of Greek women. Sia’s quick Greek lesson: µári – máti  :  eye; also a small jewellery charm, usually blue with a black dot, worn to protect the...