Reviews

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

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Two Daughters by Alison Edwards 

Two Daughters by Alison Edwards 

Alison Edwards’ debut novel is a story of fate, where two people from opposite sides of the world who, despite ...
Smoke by Michael Brissenden

Smoke by Michael Brissenden

Smoke is a story of a young woman’s strength in the face of misogyny and extensive corruption in her department in ...
A Lesson in Dying by Ann Cleeves

A Lesson in Dying by Ann Cleeves

Ann Cleeves takes us back 34 years to the first book in her ‘Inspector Ramsay’ series. Macmillan has reissued A ...
The Trials of Marjorie Crowe by C S Robertson

The Trials of Marjorie Crowe by C S Robertson

Burn the witch. History doesn’t repeat but it often rhymes, as they say, and in Scottish author C S Robertson’s ...
Lie With Me by Philippe Besson

Lie With Me by Philippe Besson

Lie With Me is most probably autobiographical. The narrator (as disclosed on the back cover of the book) is the ...
Return to Sender by Lauren Draper

Return to Sender by Lauren Draper

This story starts dramatically with the main protagonist and narrator, Brodie, trespassing and being chased up a ...
An Education in Malice by S T Gibson

An Education in Malice by S T Gibson

The story opens on Laura Sheridan, a poetry ingenue at a private, all-girl’s boarding school. She meets the ...
The Little Clothes by Deborah Callaghan

The Little Clothes by Deborah Callaghan

Audrey is a people-pleaser who never receives credit for the help she gives. She’s a clever lawyer, indispensable ...
Black Silk and Sympathy by Deborah Challinor

Black Silk and Sympathy by Deborah Challinor

Tatiana (Tatty) Caldwell lives in 1860s London. She is the daughter of an odd couple: her father, a successful ...
If You Go by Alice Robinson

If You Go by Alice Robinson

Esther wakes, aware of being connected to wires, tape over her lips and eyes, hands tied down, and a tube down her ...
Murder in My Backyard by Ann Cleeves 

Murder in My Backyard by Ann Cleeves 

In this second novel in the ‘Inspector Ramsay’ series, Ann Cleeves takes us back 33 years. Alice Parry is killed ...
Sing Her Down by Ivy Pochoda

Sing Her Down by Ivy Pochoda

A few years ago, king of LA crime writing Michael Connelly recommended Ivy Pochoda’s Wonder Valley, a ...
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

After loving Mellor’s debut, Cleopatra & Frankenstein, I was eager to tuck into her new book, Blue Sisters. ...
Hurdy Gurdy by Jenny Ackland

Hurdy Gurdy by Jenny Ackland

At the beginning of Hurdy Gurdy a character asks, ‘Why is the world so bad … why isn’t it more fun?’ While ...
Another Man’s Poison by Ann Cleeves

Another Man’s Poison by Ann Cleeves

Before Vera, before Jimmy Perez, and even before Inspector Ramsay, Ann Cleeves had Molly and George Palmer-Jones ...
17 Years Later by J P Pomare

17 Years Later by J P Pomare

Hugely popular Australian true crime podcaster Sloane Abbott is on a high after winning a prestigious award and ...
Together We Fall Apart by Sophie Matthiesson

Together We Fall Apart by Sophie Matthiesson

Matthieson’s debut novel gives an insightful look into the life of a young Australian woman, Clare. Growing up in ...
The Honeyeater by Jessie Tu 

The Honeyeater by Jessie Tu 

Fay is an academic and translator who specialises in Modern Taiwanese-to-English literary translations. For all ...
Killarney by Nikki Mottram

Killarney by Nikki Mottram

This is the second book in the series for child protection worker, Dana Gibson. A missing boy, a hit-and-run, and ...
Free by Meg Keneally

Free by Meg Keneally

Born into poverty, Molly Thistle possesses a spirited character and sense awareness from the outset. She is ...
The Lyrebird Lake Ladies Choir by Sandie Docker

The Lyrebird Lake Ladies Choir by Sandie Docker

After the death of her husband, now single mum Hannah and her son, Leo, arrive in Lyrebird, homeless. Hannah is ...

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