CATHERINE JINKS Panic. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
In her new novel, Panic, Catherine Jinks provides a timely take on online mobs, conspiracy theorists, and sovereign citizens. Bronte is a young woman who, along with most of her generation, records pretty much everything about her life online. One drunken rant,...
MARTINE KROPKOWSKI Everywhere We Look. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
Martine Kropkowski’s debut crime fiction delves into the devastating consequences of the epidemic of violence against women. Melissa, Bridie and Cassandra are friends, bonded over the sorts of things that connect young mothers – pressure, expectation, exhaustion and...
RONNI SALT Gunnawah. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
Ronni Salt’s debut is historical crime fiction at its best, with a strong sense of place and time and wonderful characters at its core. Ronni Salt will be well-known to denizens of what was Twitter, now X, and followers of independent media. A pseudonym that has...
JUNE WRIGHT Mother Paul series. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
June Wright has faded from view, but in 1948 her novel Murder in the Telephone Exchange outstripped sales of Agatha Christie in Australia. Between 1948 and 1966, Australian author June Wright published six mystery books, raised six children, and maintained a marriage...
IAIN RYAN The Dream. Reviewed by Ben Ford Smith
Iain Ryan’s latest novel continues his fascination with 1980s Queensland and the tentacles of corruption that captured police and politicians. The Gold Coast, 1982: Queensland is deep in recession and mired in corruption reaching from the premier all the way down to...
BENJAMIN STEVENSON Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret. Reviewed by Naomi Manuell
The author of Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone returns with another witty homage to the Golden Age of crime fiction. There’s a whiff of unseriousness around some whodunnits. Many readers still think of the form as stuck in detective fiction’s Golden Age with...
ANNA DOWNES Red River Road and LISA KENWAY All You Took From Me. Reviewed by Justine Ettler
These two new crime thrillers from Australian writers Anna Downes and Lisa Kenway bring fresh takes to the genre. Writers groups are an increasingly popular way for new and established novelists to workshop and complete their manuscripts. It’s always been difficult...
CLAIRE SUTHERLAND The Crag. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
In Claire Sutherland’s debut crime novel, a body is found on an isolated track on the Wimmera Plains, where Mount Arapiles towers over all. Anybody who has ever spent any time in the Wimmera around Gariwerd (the Grampians) in Victoria will know how striking the...
AOIFE CLIFFORD It Takes A Town. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
In Aoife Clifford’s third novel, the death of a local celebrity brings two old schoolmates together to answer some troubling questions. In a small town, news spreads, and in this particular small town – Welcome by name, though not always by nature – glamorous Vanessa...
GARRY DISHER Sanctuary. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
A new crime novel by Garry Disher is always exciting. In Sanctuary, he introduces a new protagonist: a female lone wolf. Meet Grace. She’s a very good thief, having been taught by experts and practising since she was a kid. Specialising in small, high-value...
IAIN RYAN The Strip. Reviewed by Ben Ford Smith
The new novel from the author of The Spiral and The Student delivers a noir excursion into the underbelly of the Gold Coast in the 1980s. Steeped in corruption, incompetence, and alcohol, 1980s Queensland seems like the perfect setting for a distinctly Australian...
Recent Posts
ANNE SEBBA The Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz. Reviewed by Justine Ettler19 June 2025British historian Anne Sebba’s account of the Nazi death camp describes the [ … ]
CHRISTOPHER CLAREY The Warrior: Rafael Nadal and his kingdom of clay. Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck17 June 2025The French Open may be over for another year, but Roland-Garros will always [ … ]
STEVE MINON First Name, Second Name. Reviewed by Ben Ford Smith12 June 2025Winner of a Queensland Literary Award, Steve MinOn’s debut novel charts the [ … ]
EMILY TESH The Incandescent. Reviewed by Robert Goodman11 June 2025Emily Tesh’s magical fantasy is as much about the art of teaching as it is [ … ]