The Wrong Hand – Jane Jago

Review by Andrew Jelbart Publisher: Penguin 2016 Synopsis We all make mistakes. Moments that change us and the path we are on irrevocably. For Rachel Allen it was the moment that she let her son’s hand slip from hers. For Danny Simpson and Graham Harris it was the moment one of them took it. Seven …

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Murder in Mt Martha – Janice Simpson

Review by Ann Byrne Hybrid Pubishers 2016 Synopsis In 1953, a small dog leads his owner to the mutilated, dead body of a young girl. The senseless and brutal homicide not only shakes up the small seaside town of Mt Martha, but also begins an Australia-wide manhunt for the callous murderer. However, the witness testimonies …

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A Time to Run by J.M Peace

Reviewed by  Moraig Kisler. Pan Macmillan Australia, 2015. Synopsis The hunt is on. A madman is kidnapping women to hunt them for sport. Detective Janine Postlewaite leads the investigation into the disappearance of Samantha Willis, determined not to let another innocent die on her watch. The killer’s newest prey isn’t like the others. Sammi is …

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As Time Goes By by Mary Higgins Clark

Reviewed by Lesley Vick. Simon & Schuster, 2016 Synopsis Journalist Delaney Wright is on the brink of stardom after she begins covering a sensational murder trial for the evening news. She should be thrilled, yet her growing desire to locate her birth mother consumes her thoughts. When Delaney’s friends offer to look into the mystery …

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The kept woman by Karin Slaughter

Review by Lesley Vick. Century, 2016 Synopsis A body is discovered in an empty Atlanta warehouse. It’s the body of an ex-cop, and from the moment Special Agent Will Trent walks in, he knows this could be the most devastating case of his career. Bloody footprints leading away from the scene reveal that another victim …

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The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

Review by Lesley Vick. Bantam Press, Ontario Limited 2016 Synopsis You never know what’s happening on the other side of the wall. Your neighbour told you she didn’t want your six-month-old daughter at the dinner party. Nothing personal, she just couldn’t stand her crying. Your husband said it would be fine. After all, you only …

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Emerald Springs by Fleur McDonald

Reviewed by Celia Jelbart Arena:  Allen and Unwin, 2015 Synopsis After finishing university, Amelia Bennett returns to her home town. Determined to lose her old reputation for being scatty, she works hard to prove herself as the treasurer of the local rodeo committee. Flushed with triumph on the evening of the best rodeo in the …

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Indigo Storm by Fleur McDonald

Review by Diana Olsberg Arena: Allen & Unwin, 2016 Synopsis When Ashleigh decides to flee her controlling husband, Dominic, she knows he’ll hunt her down. The only way to escape is to disappear and reinvent herself. Changing her name to Eliza and driving by night, she is drawn to the tiny rural town of Blinman. …

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Kakadu Sunset by Annie Seaton

Review by Diana Olsberg Pan Macmillan Australia 2015 Synopsis Helicopter pilot Ellie Porter loves her job. Soaring above the glorious Kakadu National Park, she feels freed from the heavy losses of her beloved family farm and the questions around her father’s suicide. But when a search-and-rescue mission on the boundary of the older property reveals …

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Out of the Ice – Ann Turner

Review by Suzanne Bozorth-Baines Simon and Shuster 2016 Synopsis When environmental scientist Laura Alvarado is sent to a remote Antarctic island to report on an abandoned whaling station, she begins to uncover more than she could ever imagine. Reminders of the bloody, violent past are everywhere, and Laura is disturbed by evidence of recent human …

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