Reviews

Independent reviews of recently released fiction, non-fiction and kids’ books.

Magazine Issue DateD1.24.05 May 2024

Nuclear War: A scenario by Annie Jacobsen

Nuclear War: A scenario by Annie Jacobsen

Once we are warned of a nuclear attack, we prepare to launch,’ former secretary of defence William Perry tells us. ...
The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M Cain

The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M Cain

First published in 1934, the same year as Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express and Ngaio Marsh’s debut A ...
Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid 

Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid 

While this tiny book (127 pages) is not your usual gripping McDermid thriller, it’s a well-told story of a strong ...
Red River Road by Anna Downes

Red River Road by Anna Downes

Is it safe for a woman to travel alone around Australia? That is the premise of Red River Road. As you arrive at ...
A Plant-based Farmhouse by Cherie Hausler

A Plant-based Farmhouse by Cherie Hausler

Cherie Hausler has had a remarkable career pioneering plant-based foods from small-scale production in her Barossa ...
Table for Two by Amor Towles

Table for Two by Amor Towles

Any new release from Amor Towles is eagerly anticipated. To have six short(ish) stories plus a novella in one book ...
Beatrix Bakes: Another Slice by Natalie Paull

Beatrix Bakes: Another Slice by Natalie Paull

Following on from her success with Beatrix Bakes comes Natalie Paull’s newest creation, Beatrix Bakes: Another ...
Return to Blood by Michael Bennett

Return to Blood by Michael Bennett

This is the second book in the crime series featuring Hana Westerman. While it may be beneficial to have read the ...
The Beauties by Lauren Chater

The Beauties by Lauren Chater

The Beauties transports the reader to the 1660s, and the court of Charles II. It is the story of a woman, Emilia, ...
Gone by Glenna Thomson

Gone by Glenna Thomson

Rebecca Bundy has failed to return home on the last day of school in 1984. She had a fight with her mother and as ...
Butter by Asako Yuzuki 

Butter by Asako Yuzuki 

Crime fiction fans craving something a little quirky and different in among the vast feast the genre has been ...
Why Do Horses Run? by Cameron Stewart

Why Do Horses Run? by Cameron Stewart

Although well written, this is not an uplifting story. Ingvar is a man haunted by his failures. When tragedy ...
Monument by Bonny Cassidy 

Monument by Bonny Cassidy 

It’s tempting to assign a binary split to fiction and non-fiction. If fiction is fabrication, then non-fiction ...
Radiant heat by Sarah-Jane Collins 

Radiant heat by Sarah-Jane Collins 

A bushfire rages in the Victorian countryside. Sheltered under sodden woollen blankets is the protagonist, Alison. ...
Mrs Hopkins by Shirley Barrett

Mrs Hopkins by Shirley Barrett

Once described by The New York Times as ‘a pragmatic Australian with an offbeat take on the world’, the late ...
Saltblood by Francesca de Tores

Saltblood by Francesca de Tores

Mary Read was never allowed to be herself. Born a girl in 1685, she is forced by her mother to assume the identity ...
Dinosaur in My Pocket by Ashleigh Barton & illustrated by Blithe Fielden   

Dinosaur in My Pocket by Ashleigh Barton & illustrated by Blithe Fielden  

James loves two things. The first thing is dinosaurs. Everything from Diplodocuses to Velociraptors. The second ...
Birds of a Feather by Rhianna King

Birds of a Feather by Rhianna King

The bond between grandparents and grandchildren is a special one. And it’s a lifeline for Beth Dwyer, who feels ...
The Dinner Party by Rebecca Heath

The Dinner Party by Rebecca Heath

It became known as the dinner party from hell. It was 1979 in suburban Adelaide. Four couples from a sleepy ...
Once a King: The Lost memoir of Edward VIII by Jean Marguerite Tippett

Once a King: The Lost memoir of Edward VIII by Jean Marguerite Tippett

After Edward VIII abdicated, he spent the rest of his life trying to find another good sinecure. At one point he ...
Vladivostok Circus by Elisa Shua Dusapin 

Vladivostok Circus by Elisa Shua Dusapin 

There’s a special magic about a circus. Even today, with digitally enhanced, technology generated entertainments ...

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