Crime Scene: JUNE WRIGHT. An appreciation by Karen Chisholm
June Wright is one of the early writers who forged a way for the current vibrant Australian crime fiction scene. Unfortunately the crime novels of June Wright have been largely forgotten and unavailable for many years. That situation is now being rectified,...
MARGARET POMERANZ and PHILIPPA WHITFIELD POMERANZ Let’s Eat: A cookbook celebrating film, food and family. Reviewed by Jeannette Delamoir
This charming volume gives us a combination of food, occasions, glamorous name-dropping and glorious places, all mixed up with the closeness and fun of family. Film critic Margaret Pomeranz appeared on SBS and the ABC for almost 30 years, the longevity...
ROBYN CADWALLADER The Anchoress. Reviewed by Linda Funnell
From its medieval cell this debut novel soars into the light. In 1255 a young Englishwoman, Sarah, chooses to become an anchoress – that is, to be walled up in a cell adjoining the Church of St Juliana in the village of Hartham in the English Midlands. Immediately...
PATTI MILLER Ransacking Paris: A year with Montaigne and friends. Reviewed by Jeannette Delamoir
This memoir provides a multi-dimensional and complex picture of the author. Patti Miller introduces her memoir of a year spent writing in Paris with a quote from Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592), here translated as: ‘Bees ransack flowers here and flowers there, but...
Crime Scene: KATHERINE HOWELL Tell the Truth: An Ella Marconi novel. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
This is the end – for now – of the Ella Marconi series by Australian thriller writer Katherine Howell. In 2007 paramedic Katherine Howell caused quite a stir in crime-fiction fan circles with the release of her debut novel Frantic. Detective Ella Marconi made her...
EILEEN ORMSBY Silk Road. Reviewed by Lou Murphy
A toxic mix of timing and questionable ethics: the fascinating true story of the dark web’s most famous site. Silk Road is a story about a trade route, a trade route equivalent to the Silk Road network established during the Han dynasty of China, which linked the...
JULIET MARILLIER Dreamer’s Pool: Blackthorn and Grim 1. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
A bargain for a healer’s life is struck amid simmering anger and revenge in the first instalment of this new epic fantasy. This fine fantasy novel opens with the main characters, Blackthorn and Grim, in a brutal prison, filthy, demoralised and damaged, both physically...
SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM Warning: The story of Cyclone Tracy. Reviewed by Kathie Rea
What happened to Darwin, and the response to it, sends a warning as we prepare for more extreme weather events. This Christmas Eve marks 40 years since Cyclone Tracy flattened the city of Darwin. Christmas decorations and dazed half-naked people amid the ruins of...
JOAN LONDON The Golden Age. Reviewed by Robyne Young
At its heart The Golden Age is about transformation, both for its characters and their culture. Joan London’s first novel, Gilgamesh, delivered a remarkable reading experience and a master class in writing. Inspired by the world’s oldest known poem of the same name,...
JILL JOLLIFFE Run for Your Life: A memoir. Reviewed by Kylie Mason
The author of Balibó turns her focus on herself with this gripping examination of how a traumatic childhood shapes an entire life. How long does it take to see your own story? For Jill Jolliffe, it was only after a lifetime of reporting the experiences of people in...
Crime Scene: HONEY BROWN Through the Cracks. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
Honey Brown moves to the city and suburbs for her new thriller, shedding light into some very dark corners. Psychological thrillers are an interesting reading prospect. Often very confrontational, the best of these sorts of books should generate a definite reaction in...
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