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...
MYKAELA SAUNDERS Always Will Be. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
Mykaela Saunders’ stories imagine a future where the connection to land and culture is central. Mykaela Saunders won an Aurealis award for her exciting and thought-provoking anthology of First Nations speculative fiction This All Come Back Now. In the same year her...
BENJAMIN STEVENSON Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect. Reviewed by Michael Jongen
Benjamin Stevenson’s sharp eye and love of the crime genre are on display in this follow-up to Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone. After the success of his last novel Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, Benjamin Stevenson has returned with a sequel of...
CHRISTOS TSIOLKAS The In-Between. Reviewed by Jessica Stewart
The new novel from the award-winning author of The Slap and Damascus is a story of starting over. The In-Between is a story of two men, older and scarred by life, who know that they still have much to offer. They are looking to share the second half of their lives...
TRENT DALTON Lola in the Mirror. Reviewed by Michael Jongen
Homelessness, a mother and daughter on the lam – Trent Dalton’s third novel sprinkles magic dust on Brisbane’s grim underbelly. I was bothered by Lola in the Mirror. I enjoyed Trent Dalton’s earlier novels Boy Swallows Universe and All Our Shimmering Skies, and Lola...
ADRIAN HYLAND The Wiregrass. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
In Adrian Hyland’s latest crime novel, Jesse Redpath is back, stationed in a new town during a time of stormy weather. The much anticipated follow-up to Canticle Creek, The Wiregrass is set in the temperate rainforest area of Victoria in the fictional town of...
ROBYN DAVIDSON Unfinished Woman. Reviewed by Mary Garden
Robyn Davidson’s memoir delves into her family relationships and provides a window onto the ongoing trauma of sibling abuse. Robyn Davidson is best known for her international bestseller Tracks, about her trek across 2700 kilometres of Australian desert in 1977. Her...
SHELLEY PARKER-CHAN He Who Drowned the World. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
Shelley Parker-Chan’s award-winning tale of an alternate ancient China continues in He Who Drowned the World. ‘… the most dangerous person in a game is the one nobody knows is playing.’ Dive back into the fascinatingly complex alternate ancient China of Shelley...
BRENDAN RITCHIE Eta Draconis. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Winner of the 2022 Dorothy Hewett Award, Brendan Ritchie’s third novel is set in a dystopian Western Australia, the landscape pummelled by meteor showers. Elora closed her eyes and waited for the flashes of light to dissolve. It took longer these days. Hours...
SD HINTON The Brothers. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
SD Hinton’s debut novel uses the structure of a thriller to explore myriad responses to trauma. Jake Harlow is a decorated Special Forces veteran, returned from a tour in Afghanistan that went horribly wrong for him. Captured by the Taliban, he was mentally and...
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