The worst review I ever got was back in my academic days. My MA thesis, Aborigines and Europeans in Western Victoria from First Contact to 1860, a typically cumbersome title, was published in 1967 by the Institute of Aboriginal Studies in Canberra...
Emotion, reaction, damage and recovery are at the core of B Michael Radburn’s dark thrillers. In 2011 The Crossing arrived in the Australian crime fiction landscape, combining aspects of the supernatural with the story of Taylor Bridges as he dealt...
Metafiction is pushed to the limit in Dear Mr M, a sardonic and self-conscious thriller. This is a multilayered story told with conviction through multiple viewpoints: the jaded downstairs neighbour of ageing bestselling author Mr M, the writer...
Christmas? Already? Yes, it’s time to get festive with the first of our five NRB Christmas giveaway bundles. To go in the draw, email editors@newtownreviewofbooks.com.au with CHRISTMAS #1 in the subject line and your name and address in the...
I must have written hundreds of book reviews. I cut my teeth at the business when I was an academic, reviewing books in the fields of my own research – race relations in Australia and the Pacific. I was lucky; these were popular areas of research...
The distinctive flavour of le Carré’s writing is unmistakeable from the first page of The Pigeon Tunnel. This review is of the audio version of the book. That format has given me an extra insight into the abilities of David Cornwell, aka John...
