Women crime writers are in the spotlight, being interviewed about their books, their lives and more.
For this month’s Author Spotlight Deborah Challinor, a prolific author from across the ditch, spoke to Robyn Walton about her new historical novel, Black Silk & Sympathy (HarperCollins, 2024), set in Sydney in the 1860s – with a very unusual sleuth. She has had an interest in cemeteries and mourning and funeral traditions forever, she says. In 2018 she received a New Zealand Order of Merit award for services to literature and historical research.
For the June Author Spotlight, Poppy Gee spoke to Toowoomba author, Nikki Mottram, about her twisty plots, the rollercoaster ride of the publishing industry, and the thrill of visiting her publisher’s office for the first time. Like her debut novel Crows Nest, her just-published novel, Killarney, is a gripping, small-town mystery with the kind of tightly crafted surprises that make you flick back the pages to see the plot mechanics with fresh eyes.
For the May Author Spotlight, Natalie Conyer spoke to Perth author and global publishing sensation, Dervla McTiernan, about her latest novel, What Happened to Nina?
She says that Dervla McTiernan bends the conventions of crime fiction as far as they will go, and still produces a powerful, page-turning, thrilling look at murder and its consequences. We know the victim, and the killer, from the start. Our attention is, instead, focused on how the families of both these people react, and on how far parents will go to protect their children.
For the April Author Spotlight, Natalie Conyer, spoke to Lisa Medved about her debut novel. The Engraver’s Secret. Lisa, an Australian author, lives in the Haque but will be visiting Australia and speaking at Sisters in Crime’s Melbourne event, Reimaging the Sleuth, on Friday 19 April, 8pm. Natalie says that you’d hardly know that The Engraver’s Secret is Lisa Medved’s debut novel: it’s a complex mix of art and crime, a novel about families, and an exciting what-if mystery.
For the March Author Spotlight, Sydney author Natalie Conyer spoke to fellow Sydneyite B.M. Allsopp about Death Off Camera, the fifth book in her popular Fiji Islands Mysteries series, starring policeman and rugby legend Joe Horseman. Here the death of a contestant in a Survivor-like reality series is the start of a thorny investigation for Horseman and his team. Impressive for its realistic portrayal both of life in Fiji and reality TV, Death Off Camera is a satisfying, engrossing treat for crime fiction lovers.
Lily Malone’s book, The Waterhole was shortlisted for the Debut award in the 2022 Davitt awards. The book opens with the discovery of skeletal remains in regional Western Australia. Marley West—small town detective—leads the investigation, which uncovers complex family secrets and the need for debts to be paid.
To solve the case, Marley must unravel the murky past of three people and gain their trust: two brothers, Bill and Jack, and the then-young teacher Annette, who was posted to their town during the Vietnam War.
For the first time, pioneering, prize-winning Sysney author, Marele Day, has put herself on the page. Reckless blends memoir, adventure and crime, and explores the nature of risk and friendship. In it Marele writes about her past, her friendship with the ‘shapeshifter’ Jean Kay, and her investigation into his part in a multi-million-dollar heist. Reckless is a memoir and its structure more closely mirrors how memory works – events in the present trigger memories of the past.
For this month’s Author Spotlight, Robyn Walton spoke to US crime writer, Marjorie McCown, about her debut novel, Final Cut (Crooked Lane Books, 2023) that draws on her 30 years in costume design in Hollywood. Costume design, she says, is about storytelling.
A lot has been written about the German occupation of France and the French Resistance. But what Belinda Alexandra was interested in what happened after the Germans left, and the French people who had collaborated and those who resisted had to face each other. She also wanted to bring the story home. Australia was relatively untouched by war, compared to Europe, but one million servicemen and women had participated in the armed services in some way and their lives were never the same.
The Interpreter, Brooke Robinson’s debut novel, explores the power of language to bring – or avoid – justice. Its protagonist, Revelle Lee, is a court interpreter in London. She’s supposed to be impartial, in order to change the course of a trial she intentionally mistranslates a couple of words. The result is a compelling, twisty thriller.