Older, wiser. . . and solving crimes: Alison Goodman

Global best-selling author, Alison Goodman, asks if we have noticed a quiet revolution happening on our bookshelves and television screen. She’s talking about the rise and rise of the older woman amateur sleuth.
Twenty years ago, she would have been pressed to name more than Miss Marple as an example, but now we have Elizabeth and Joyce from the Thursday Murder Club, the new Marlow Murders team in the books by Robert Thorogood, Agatha Raisin in the books by MC Beaton, and Susan Ryeland in the Magpie Murders series, to name just a few.

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Murder Monday: Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

For the June Murder Monday, Sisters in Crime’s Jacq Ellem spoke to Yrsa Sigurdardottir, the best-selling author who has helped put Icelandic crime writing on the world map. Yrsa Sigurðardóttir has authored a successful award-winning crime series of books based around the central character of Thora Gudmundsdottir, who is a lawyer and single mother of two children. She has also written, to critical acclaim, several stand-alone thrillers and horror novels.

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24th Davitt Awards: Readers’ Choice Vote opens 14 June

Voting for Sisters in Crime’s Davitt Readers’ Choice Award opens to financial members from 14 June.
An impressive 152 books are competing in Sisters in Crime’s 24th Davitt Awards for the best crime and mystery books. Six Davitt Awards will be presented at a gala dinner at South Melbourne’s Rising Sun Hotel on Saturday 31 August by award-winning author and global publishing phenomenon, Sulari Gentill. Voting closes Wednesday 31 July, 11.59 pm. The Davitts are again supported by Swinburne University of Technology.

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Deep in your subconscious: Erina Reddan

Erina Reddan was writing a book on cults – the one that eventually became Deep in the Forest (Pantera Press) a crime thriller about secrets, lies and cults. Not having any first-hand knowledge of cultliving, Erina started researching. What she found was so explosive that she had to do more and more to corroborate what her brain could barely compute . . .

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Small-town secrets: Nikki Mottram

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.

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Donna M Cameron, The Rewilding

For the June Crime Stack, Transit Lounge has kindly offered 20 copies of The Rewilding by NSW writer, Donna M Cameron. The Crime Stack is a benefit for Sisters in Crime members. Every month there are 20 books to win in a random draw of members. Join now and be in the running for a complimentary paperback copy of The Rewilding, both an electrifying cat-and-mouse-chase and an odd couple love story.

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Murder Monday: Fleur McDonald

For the May Murder Monday, Sisters in Crime’s Jacq Ellem spoke to WA regional author, Fleur McDonald who has more than 20 novels to her credit and has sold more than 850,000 copies. All of Fleur’s novels are set in regional Australia and she’s often called the “Voice of the Outback”. She was writing rural noir before it was a concept. Fleur’s storylines draw inspiration from having lived and worked on farms for much of her life and she now owns 4050ha farm east of Esperance.

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How far do you go to protect your children? Dervla McTiernan

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.

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