by NRB | 28 Mar 2019 | Crime Scene, Fiction |
This second novel in the DS Cormac O’Reilly series cements Irish-born, Australian-resident Dervla McTiernan as one of the up and coming stars of crime fiction in both countries. DS Cormac O’Reilly of the Garda was introduced to readers in the highly...
by NRB | 16 Oct 2018 | Crime Scene |
Cold-case detectives are everywhere these days, but the latest creation from Garry Disher, Alan Auhl, is not as straightforward as some might expect. It makes sense that at some stage Garry Disher would mesh the traditional ethical ideals of many of his police...
by NRB | 28 Sep 2018 | The Godfather: Peter Corris |
Peter Corris, the ‘Godfather of Australian crime fiction’, died in his sleep on 30 August 2018. His Godfather columns have been part of the Newtown Review of Books from the beginning, and we feel his loss keenly. Following are some tributes that were given at his...
by NRB | 12 Dec 2017 | Crime Scene |
The Lone Child focusses on character development, imbued with sadness, longing, regret and loss. Following on from her stunning debut novel, What Came Before, Anna George has created another claustrophobic and compelling character study of somebody struggling with the...
by NRB | 5 Sep 2017 | Crime Scene |
Emma Viskic explores difference, and its consequences, in this sequel to Resurrection Bay. Even before Viskic’s debut novel Resurrection Bay won the 2016 Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction and an unprecedented three Davitt Awards, readers were impatiently...
by NRB | 18 Oct 2016 | Crime Scene |
Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil engages many of today’s pressing political issues within a well-crafted crime fiction plot. Melina Marchetta’s seventh novel, a realist crime story aimed at adults, is a switch from her previous fantasy and Australian-based YA books....
by NRB | 26 Jul 2016 | Crime Scene |
Two Australian thriller writers have each set their latest novels amid the beauty and danger of Antarctica. Antarctica is one of the planet’s last great wilderness areas – for some, a place ripe for plundering, for others, an area that must be protected. Ann...
by NRB | 28 Jun 2016 | Crime Scene |
Inspired by the true events surrounding an unsolved murder, Dark Fires Shall Burn is set in Sydney’s Newtown in the aftermath of World War II. The title of Anna Westbrook’s debut novel is wonderful. Based around a stanza from the Australian poet Dorothy...
by NRB | 10 May 2016 | Crime Scene |
A Murder Without Motive is an intriguing and compelling true crime with much to say about the Australian suburbs and the national psyche. Martin McKenzie-Murray, the Saturday Paper’s chief correspondent, has written a gripping true crime story about a murder that...
by NRB | 1 Apr 2016 | Giveaways |
We have a copy of Cath Ferla’s debut crime novel Ghost Girls to give away. To win, simply email us at editors@newtownreviewofbooks.com.au by 6pm tonight (April 1st) with your name and address and ‘Cath Ferla’ in the subject line. As we cannot afford...
by NRB | 31 Mar 2016 | Crime Scene |
Steeped in the smells and sounds of Sydney’s Chinatown, weighted by the sinister atmosphere of a private world of terrible crimes, Ghost Girls is a remarkable debut novel. The combination of plot, character and setting in Ghost Girls is perfectly balanced, and the...
by NRB | 17 Mar 2016 | Crime Scene |
This taut, beautifully written Australian crime fiction debut takes a fresh approach. This is about three deaths. Actually more, if you go back far enough. I say deaths but perhaps all of them were murders. It’s a grey area. Murder, like beauty, is in the eye of the...
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