THE PALAZZO
A thoroughly good read. This is a clever story of murder, relationships, and betrayal. You will be totally immersed in an exotic setting in Italy as you try and figure out “whodunnit”.
women crime writers
THE LADIES ROAD GUIDE TO UTTER RUIN
They’re back! If you haven’t encountered the ill-mannered ladies yet, you are unfashionably behind. With plenty of adventure, crime and action as well as a splash of romance, The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin is an absolute delight.
Sisters in Crime: Defying the Tyranny of Distance — A New WA Chapter Unites Women Crime Writers and Crime Readers
Sisters in Crime WA will debut at the Big Sky Readers and Writers Festival in Geraldton in October 2025. The festival has warmly welcomed the initiative, and the group is thrilled to be part of the event. You’ll catch the Sisters speaking on Saturday 25 October, 4-6 pm, at Batavia Brewery, 60 Fitzgerald Street, Geraldton. Free . You can also stay on a meal,
Win a copy of Hot Ground
Fremantle Press is generously donating twenty copies of Hot Ground by Lisa Ellery for this month’s Crime Stack. Detective Jessy Parkin – sent to policing purgatory in the aftermath of a tainted investigation – is tasked with finding Max Cochrane, a veteran prospector who has vanished into thin air.
On the Beat
Police procedurals have been a staple of crime fiction since Wilke Collins’ The Moonstone in 1868. Australian women crime writers continue in the grand tradition, but adding new elements – women detectives, deadly small-town secrets, and different takes on violence against women.
A stolen baby, a stolen corpse, and a missing woman are at the centre of the novels by Vikki Petraitis, Sarah Bailey, and Rachel Givney – and the authors will reveal all to Philomena Horsley.
THE SUMMER GUESTS
This is Tess Gerritsen at the top of her game, a fabulous read. Maggie is a retired spy, a member of a “book club”, The Martini Club in Maine. When a young girl disappears near the lake, the Martini Club can’t help themselves. Off they go!
WHISKY VALLEY
From the intriguing Echo Lake, Rose McHugh, curious historian-turned-detective, returns to solve her next compelling mystery in the moody Southern Highlands.
A missing violinist. A rising flood. A race against time. Intrigue, music and danger collide in Whisky Valley.
After nearly being murdered last year, Rose McHugh battles anxiety as she uses her investigative skills to find her son’s best friend, a famous violinist who is missing along with his priceless violin.
There’s Nothing Like a Dame: Denise Mina & Bloody Scotland
Sisters in Crime’s roving reporter Lucy Sussex is attending the crime festival Bloody Scotland in September. As a taster, a wee dram, she interviewed Tartan noir author Denise Mina who has produced twenty award-winning crime novels, plus plays, comics, and graphic novels since 1996.
We are All Guilty Here
The wonderful Karin Slaughter never lets us down.
A small town where everyone knows everyone. But nobody knows the truth.
Emmy Clifton has lived here all her life. She thinks she knows her neighbours. She’s wrong.
She thinks it’s just another hot summer night: a night like any other. She’s wrong.
When her best friend’s daughter asks for help, she thinks it’s just some teenage drama. She thinks it can wait. She’s never been more wrong in her life.
The Hollow Girl
A stunning literary suspense novel.
A safe haven for lost girls? Or a breeding ground for revenge?
It’s 1973 and Detective Sergeant Eleanor Smith is finally assigned her first homicide case. A woman’s body has been discovered at Harrowford Hall, a home for unmarried mothers deep in the Victorian countryside.