The Scent Of Murder by Felicity Young

Author: Felicity Young Publisher: Harper Collins ISBN: 978 0 7322 9802 9 Review By: Lesley Vick Book Synopsis: The Scent of Murder, the third book in the historical mystery series involving autopsy surgeon Dr Dody McClelland, is a fascinating exploration of the period as well as a very satisfying crime plot. Set in the time of the suffragist movement there …

Read more

Drowned Vanilla by Livia Day

Author: Livia Day Publisher: Deadlines Copyright Year: 2014 ISBN: 9781922101013 Review By: Lesley Vick Book Synopsis: Drowned Vanillais book two of the Café La Femme series – a culinary crime novel. The ice cream obsessed Tabitha regrets her earlier entanglement with solving crime in A Trifle Dead. She is now focussed on developing all ice cream flavours (except vanilla which everyone …

Read more

Northern Heat by Helene Young

Author: Helene Young Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia Review By: Sandy Curtis Book Synopsis: Northern Heat builds suspense the way the cyclone that threatens Cooktown makes its presence felt – slowly at first, then with tendrils of heat and tension that swirl around the characters, drawing the reader into a world of lies, violence and murder. Conor Woods has …

Read more

Love You To Death by Megan Norris

Author: Megan Morris Publisher: Five Mile Press ISBN: 9781743461266 (pbk) Review By: Suzanne Bozorth-Baines Book Synopsis: Once again, journalist and 2008 Eliminating Violence Against Women Media Award (EVA) winner, Megan Norris turns her skills to writing true crime with the story of the attempted murder of Chris Soteriou. Beginning the story with the attack of Soteriou after his lavish 40th …

Read more

The Herb Gardener by Maris Morton

Author: Maris Morton Publisher: Odyssey Books Copyright Year: 2014 ISBN: 978-1-922200-08-2 (pbk) Review By: Suzanne Bozorth-Baines Book Synopsis: Maris Morton, winner of the Copywrite Limited Agency (CAL) Scribe Fiction Award in 1910, has written a new novel that incorporates a couple of her past vocations. The story revolves around the heroine Joanna and her love interest Chris and the murder of …

Read more

Tell The Truth by Katherine Howell

Author: Katherine Howell Publisher: Mac Millan Copyright Year: 2015 Review By: Sue Turnbull Book Synopsis: Katherine Howell understands the mechanics of a good thriller. Start with a crisis then rachet up the anxiety while muddying the waters. In Howell’s Tell the Truth, the crisis concerns the disappearance of a young female paramedic, whose car is discovered in a parking lot …

Read more

eSide by Goldie Alexander

Author: Goldie Alexander Publisher: Five Senses Education Pty Ltd, 2013 Copyright Year: 2013 Review By: Marie Lakoumentas (Year 7 student) Book Synopsis: What a mystery! Goldie Alexander has certainly caught me intrigued in this novel with all the beautiful and descriptive language used. The adventure and justice drive in best friends, Melody and Sam leads them on all sorts of …

Read more

Present Darkness by Malla Nunn

Author: Malla Nunn Publisher: Xoum Publishing Copyright Year: 2014 Review By: Sue Turnbull Book Synopsis: South Africa during the 1950s and the fissures of apartheid run deep. People are divided not just by race, but also within themselves, and Detective Sergeant Emmanuel Cooper embodies all the contradictions. Of course there’s a crime, several in fact, to get things moving. A …

Read more

Beams Falling by P.M. Newton

Author: P.M. Newton Publisher: Penguin Copyright Year: 2014 Review By: Angela Savage Book Synopsis: Beams Falling is a powerful book that explores trauma and its legacy in the guise of a police procedural. The central character is Detective Nhu ‘Ned’ Kelly, the child of an Anglo-Australian veteran and his Vietnamese wife who were killed in front of their children, their …

Read more

Blood Secret by Jaye Ford

Author: Jaye Ford Publisher: Random House Australia Copyright Year: 2013 ISBN: 9781742756776 Review By: Sandy Curtis Book Synopsis: Jaye Ford’s title of master of psychological suspense is well-deserved. Blood Secret is a taut thriller that draws the reader into the lives of Rennie Carter and Max Tully. After spending most of her life on the run, never staying more than six …

Read more