Sara Hood
When I read true crime, I often have to remind myself that this is a real person’s life. They lived and breathed, loved and were loved. This was not a problem in The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron. Vikki Petraitis never loses sight of the women. They are why she is writing and why she has doggedly pursued this case for decades. I’m grateful for the work that she has done and the grace with which she has done it.
Whilst on the surface, Smother is a legal thriller, it is way more than that. The book looks at relationships that come in all shapes and sizes and how we need to nurture these at all stages of life. This is a must-read – an enjoyable and thought-provoking story.
Like, Follow, Die was hard to put down. A thrilling exercise of dot connecting to work out who was responsible, and for what. I was mesmerised from the first page, but the climax was so intense, I couldn’t read quickly enough. I flew through the pages, my heart pounding, cooking dinner totally forgotten. I thoroughly recommend you read Like, Follow, Die, not just for an incredible crime story, but also as a reminder. Beware.
As I write its only March, but I am willing to bet that Good Boy will be one of my top reads for this year. I doubt that any other book will break my heart so very exquisitely – and that is not a spoiler re the ending, for there is heartache and redemption seeded through every page.
The Reunion is a fantastic debut novel by Bronwen Rivers. It’s is about friendship, the connection between mother and child, and the lengths and depths someone will go to protect their secret and hide their true identity from not only themselves, but those closest to them. A truly captivating and spellbinding read.
Murder in the Cathedral has Kerry’s familiar light touch, her humour, and her love of history. It is a book to be read slowly and savoured. Then when you have finished, find a copy of Cocaine Blues and take the journey with the Honorable Phryne Fisher all over again.
In Melbourne, autumn is around the corner and winter is closing in. Lucky crime readers! This is a corker – the kind of book that says: fire up the kettle or uncork the wine, whatever’s your jam, turn on the reading lamp, curl up and devour. It really is a lot of fun.
Author: Carmel Taylor Publisher: Tachygraph Publishing Reviewer: Karin Kos Welcome to 1955 in Melbourne where rattling trams are a constant mode of transport, Carlton cafes were not allowed to serve alcohol, and that new painting Collins St, 5pm by John Brack is on display at the National Art Gallery of Melbourne and creating quite the …
From the very opening lines of Broken Country, the reader is faced with unravelling the mystery of who has been murdered, why and as the narrative continues, just who is on trial for murder. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Broken Country, and whilst there were times where I felt the devastating loss that Beth was experiencing, the uplifting ending and the chance to experience happiness once again, left me feeling very satisfied, and as though I was leaving the characters in a better place than when I found them. Amazon book of the year.
The case that stopped a nation? How can it be written about in a way that is not exploitative or voyeuristic? Well, like this. This is a sensitive, compelling and elegantly written narrative, ‘looked at’ in a way that is simultaneously familiar and ground-breaking. This is ‘bearing witness’ that is indeed more than ‘just perving’.