Journalist Sleuths
Who better than newshounds to uncover mysteries and track down murderers? Three Melbourne authors, Christine Gregory, Laraine Stephens, and Madeleine Cleary, talk about how and why journalists make such superlative investigators with former journalist and crime author Dr Liz Porter. Read more
A love song to gritty Dublin: Louise Milligan
On the sands of Shellybanks, where tides can quickly turn treacherous, journalist Kate Delaney once nearly drowned. Years later, reeling from a violent crime that has upended her life in Melbourne, she returns to Dublin to comfort her beloved aunt Dolores—only to discover Dolores has her own buried trauma. Shellybanks, the novel, is a haunting tale of secrecy and survival, charting how two women find strength in each other as they reckon with Ireland’s hidden histories and the scars that endure across generations.
The new mother as sleuth: Penny Tangey
Who would think that Rhyme Time at the local library would end with a piercing scream and murder? New mum Frida finds herself part of an unlikely group of sleuths investigating. For this month’s Author Spotlight, Narrelle M. Harris spoke to Melbourne librarian (and mother), Penny Tangey, about What Rhymes with Murder?
Win a copy of Kill Your Boomers or Happy Woman
Ultimo Press is generously donating ten copies of Kill Your Boomers, and ten copies of Happy Woman for the Crime Stack for April. Kill Your Boomers by Fiona Wright is an audacious book that asks just how far you will go to get your dream house (or at least a one-bedroom flat without mushrooms growing in the bathroom). Happy Woman by Abby Corson focusses on Gwynne Hogg, an enviable woman, until she discovers her beloved dad is a serial killer. Join now and be in the running.
Red Herrings
Catch up with the latest crime events from around the nation. Already there are lots of crime events happening, especially in Quuensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Whatever the time, whatever the season, don’t forget that a book is the perfect gift. It offers so much reading pleasure as well as supporting authors and the publishing industry.
Murder Monday: Lainie Anderson
For Murder Monday, Sisters in Crime’s Jacq Ellem spoke to acclaimed Adelaide author, Lainie Anderson. Her two crime books are The Death of Dora Black and Murder on North Terrace, both published by Hachette Australia, and both featuring the real-life character, Kate Cocks, who, in 1915, became the first policewoman in the British Empire employed on the same salary and with the same powers of arrest as men.
Vale Lauren Henderson, Tart Noir Queen
Sisters in Crime Australia is mourning the death of Tart Noir Queen, Lauren Henderson, who was our international guest at the inaugural SheKilda convention in 2001. She was only 59. She enthralled us and had a lot to say, including some sharp words about ABC broadcaster, Phillip Adams.
Cut a long story short
Grabbing a copy of Scarlet Stiletto: The Seventeenth Cut (ed. Phyllis King), the e-book collection of winning stories in the recent 32nd Scarlet Stiletto Awards, is the perfect answer to reading quandaries. Fourteen ripper reads for only $5.
A victory for the neurodivergent community: Sandra Thom-Jones takes out the top award in Sisters in Crime’s 32nd Scarlet Stiletto Awards
Winning first prize and the coveted trophy in Sisters in Crime’s 32nd Scarlet Stiletto Awards is a victory, according to Sandra Thom-Jones, was always told that “autistic people can’t write fiction because we’re not imaginative or creative.”
New Reviews
Every month Sisters in Crime brings you new reviews from women who write criminally good books.