Review: DAUGHTERS OF BATAVIA, Stefanie Koens

• 
  
  This edition read as an e-book on Libby supplied by my local library
  
  
  
• ISBN: 9781460766163
• ISBN-10: 1460766164
• Published: Harper Collins Publishers, AU, 29th July 2025
• Number of Pages: 384
• winner Banjo Prize for fiction
• Longlisted for Best Debut Fiction in the Indie Book Awards 2026 

Synopsis (publisher)

A woman searching for answers in her own life finds them - and much more - in the wreckage and haunting stories of the Batavia shipwreck. The powerfully moving historical debut from the winner of the Banjo Prize for Fiction. 

Two women. One shipwreck. And four centuries of secrets.

Shortly before Christmas in 2018, Tess McCarthy, a hard-working English teacher who never does anything out of the ordinary, flies to Western Australia's remote Abrolhos Islands. She is in search of answers - both to the infamous Batavia shipwreck and her personal family crises.

Amsterdam, 1628. Saskia, an orphaned young Dutchwoman, boards Batavia with relatives, bound for a new and potentially dangerous life in the East Indies - only for her world to first collide with Aris Jansz, the ship's reluctant under surgeon.

Tess, Saskia and Aris - their lives linked by secrets that span generations - carry the baggage of past losses and the uncertainty of their futures. And, in the most unlikely circumstances, they find qualities that echo through centuries: faith, acceptance, and love. 

My Take

The story of the wreck of the Batavia on Houtman's Abrolhos was told to me when I was quite young. I thoroughly enjoyed this re-telling with its dual time frames. We slipped easily between the present and 400 years ago. The characters in both were well presented and the stories were credible.

My rating: 4.6

About the author

Stefanie Koens grew up in Perth, reading, writing and dreaming of stories. As a teenager she won prizes in the Mary Durack Young Writers Award, then studied English, History and Education at Notre Dame University. She loves bringing local history to life and capturing family stories.  

 

 

Review: THE CAT, Georges Simenon

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on Kindle (Amazon)
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0F1R19JDK
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin, Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 6, 2025 
  
• Originally published 1967
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 154 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1802068962 
• translated by Ros Schwartz 

Synopsis (Amazon)

An acerbic tale of marital warfare and emotional estrangement, in a brilliant new translation

In the oppressive silence of the sitting room, the woman finally smoothed out the paper and, without putting on her glasses, read the two words her husband had written:

The cat.

Amidst the din of their Parisian neighbourhood, Émile and Marguerite live in total silence. After a hasty marriage in their sixties, their uneasy peace was shattered when Émile’s beloved cat mysteriously disappeared and was later found dead. Branding his wife the culprit, Émile’s retaliation against Marguerite’s cherished parrot sparked a silent battle of wills. Now they live parallel lives, communicating only through spiteful notes, mocking glances and mute accusations. As their suspicion and resentment mount, this bitter game of psychological warfare becomes a twisted necessity, binding them together in a relentless cycle of torment from which there can only be one escape.

First published in 1967, The Cat is a masterful exploration of marital discord, loneliness and the absurdity of human relationships, painting a vivid portrait of two souls trapped in quiet desperation. 

My Take

A novella or a long short story rather than a full length novel, this explores loneliness and incompatibility within a marriage that both partners have come to too late. The marriage appears to come to grief over the poisoning of Émile’s beloved cat but in fact it was doomed long before that. Simenon makes the reader feel how loveless the marriage is. There are just too many other obstacles. 

I've read this as Simenon is one of the authors our U3A Crime Fiction Reading group is exploring in 2026. 

My rating: 4.4

I've also read

• 4.4, MAIGRET & the MAN on the BOULEVARD
• 4.5, MAIGRET & THE HEADLESS CORPSE
•  4.3, PIETR THE LATVIAN
• THE LATE MONSIEUR GALLET
•  4.4, THE RULES OF THE GAME
•  4.2, THE MAN WHO WATCHED THE TRAINS GO BY
•  4.3, THE CARTER OF LA PROVIDENCE
•  4.3, LOCK NO 1. Maigret #18
•  4.0, MAIGRET IN NEW YORK
•  4.2, A MAN'S HEAD 

Review: THE CUT THROAT TRIAL, S.J. Fleet

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0F74L6DHV
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Picador, Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 29, 2025
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 440 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1761773204 
• THE FIRST LEGAL THRILLER FROM THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING SECRET BARRISTER WRITING AS S. J. FLEET 
  

Synopsis (Amazon)

It is one of the biggest trials of the year. Three seventeen-year-old boys are accused of the brutal murder of an elderly teacher on New Year's Eve.

Each boy denies it.
Each points the finger at the other two.
But they can’t all be innocent.

The three defence barristers have only one job: to persuade the jury that their client is not guilty. But they’re up against a prosecutor who needs to win the case, no matter the cost.

Because when the game is murder, the competition is deadly.

Launching a brilliant new voice in crime fiction, a criminal barrister with an incomparable insider’s knowledge, The Cut Throat Trial is the most gripping thriller of the year. 

My Take

I have thought very hard about the implications of starting this year's reviews with book with a rating of 5.0, but have decided that I really can't give it less.

The story involves a British murder trial where a jury is required to give a verdict of guilty or not guilty against each of 3 teenagers accused of murdering an elderly retired teacher. The narrative is very detailed and is told from multiple points of view: of the judge, the prosecutor and the defence lawyers, as well as the accused. It is virtually a "warts and all" narrative, considering what has influenced each of the boys, what is disclosed to the jury, what the verdicts were and why, and then what really happened.  It successfully puts the reader in the position of a member of the jury, trying to come to the right decision. 

This book reminded me very strongly of DICE by Claire Baylis in which a jury in New Zealand is required to give the verdict on several charges in a rape case involving four teenagers. That novel focussed on the points of view of the jury.

My rating: 5.0 

About the author

S.J. Fleet is the pen name of The Secret Barrister, a bestselling author and junior barrister specialising in criminal law.

They write for many publications and are the author of the award-winning blog 'The Secret Barrister'. They regularly appear in national print and broadcast media, and in 2020 Channel 4 News produced a four-part documentary series, The Secret Barrister: Disordered Justice.

Their debut book, The Secret Barrister: Stories of The Law and How It's Broken, was a Sunday Times number one bestseller and spent more than a year in the top-ten bestseller charts. It won the Books Are My Bag Non-Fiction Book of the Year award and was shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year and the Specsavers Non-Fiction Book of the Year. 

Happy New Year 2026

 Click on the image to see a Jacquie Lawson card

 

Review: THE SEA HOUSE, Louise Douglas

• 
  This edition a large print version from my local library
  
• First published in Great Britain in 2024 by Boldwood Books
• ISBN 978-1-83751-649-0
• 472 pages  

Synopsis (Publisher)

A mysterious bequest and the legacy of a tragic love – only one person can unravel the hidden secrets of the past before it’s too late…

When Elisabeth Quemener dies she leaves a small parcel with the instructions that it must only be opened by Astrid Oake. The trouble is, no one knows who Astrid Oake is…

Elisabeth’s family turn to Touissants detective agency for help but, when Mila Shepherd and Carter Jackson try to track Astrid down, their frustration soon mounts. Their only clue is a photo of two young women holding the hands of a tiny child. The women are smiling but Mila is haunted by the sadness in their eyes. Is this Astrid and Elisabeth and if so, who is the child? And why are there signs everywhere in Elisabeth’s home that the old woman was frightened despite her living a quiet life with no known enemies?

As Elisabeth and Astrid’s story slowly unfolds, Mila feels the walls of her home The Sea House closing in. And as the secrets finally begin to reveal themselves, she is ever more determined to carry out Elisabeth’s final wishes. Because what is inside that unprepossessing parcel might just save a life…

Louise Douglas is back in the Brittany seaside town of Morranez with a heart-stopping, heart-breaking, brilliantly written and utterly compelling mystery!

My Take

In many ways a romantic thriller.  I struggled at first to get my head around the background to this story. Mila Shepherd has come to Brittany to look after her niece Ani whose parents died mysteriously at sea two years earlier. Mila's sister's body was found soon after the disaster but her brother in law's body has turned up recently in a local cave. The evidence found in the cave raises questions about how he died.

Mila is working for her stepmother at the Touissants detective agency which specialises in tracking people down. 

When Elisabeth Quemener dies she leaves a small parcel with the instructions that it must only be opened by Astrid Oake. The trouble is, no one knows who Astrid Oake is… 

The search for Astrid Oake takes Mila to England where Astrid's family was killed in a tragedy nearly 20 years earlier.

The plot gets better as it goes on, and eventually I really became invested in working everything out. 

My rating: 4.4

About the author
Louise was born in Sheffield but has lived in North Somerset for the past 20 years. She has three beautiful sons, and lives with her partner, who works in construction. 

Review: THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS, Agatha Christie

• 
  this edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08XB5JYLR
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ AC Press, Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 16, 2025
• Originally published 1925
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 605 pages - this rather inflated, more like 400 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9895623426
• Book 1 of 4: Superintendent Battle 

Synopsis  (Amazon)

Little did Anthony Cade suspect that an errand for a friend would place him at the center of a deadly conspiracy. Drawn into a web of intrigue, he begins to realize that the simple favor has placed him in serious danger.

As events unfold, the combined forces of Scotland Yard and the French Sûreté gradually converge on Chimneys, the great country estate that hides an amazing secret... 

My Take (heavily reliant on an earlier review)

I don't appear to have read this novel as often as many other Christie novels. There are elements that I feel are rather weak, lots of red herrings, and a huge number of characters.

I have re-read it this time for discussion with my U3A Agatha Christie Reading Group in 2026.

I note also that at the time of reading this novel has been published for 100 years. The plot and its themes are perhaps a little dated, certainly some of the "romantic" dialogue seemed to be. On the other hand I am struggling to think of other authors who published over 100 years ago, that we are still reading. 

CHIMNEYS begins in Bulawayo, Africa, when Jimmy McGrath runs across his old friend Anthony Cade. Jimmy has in his possession a manuscript that needs to be delivered to a publisher in London by a particular date. He also has a bundle of incriminating love letters that he wants returned to the person who wrote them. He can't take them himself as he on the hunt for some gold.
Cade agrees to take on both tasks, and travels to London by steamer in the guise of James McGrath.

One of elements of this story is political intrigue related to the kingdom of Herzoslovakia in the Balkins. Its last king was assassinated seven years earlier and the kingdom has been a republic ever since. However the heir to the throne is attempting to claim it back. The Herzoslovakian links in the story become important because the manuscript is the memoir of a former Prime Minister.

The action moves to London and then on to Lord Caterham's country house Chimneys, where a murder takes place. Christie's search for a suitable protagonist continues. THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS marks the appearance of yet another, this time a Scotland Yard detective, Superintendent Battle. He is assigned to this case because of the importance of Chimneys, which is apparently often used as a pleasant meeting place for affairs of state. We are told Battle is a man of "ripe experience", and there certainly seems an attempt to give him a modicum of intelligence, and to allow him at times to be a step or two ahead of others in his understanding and intuition. On the other hand he is often poker-faced and expressionless.

Other people who will appear in later novels are Caterham's daughter Eileen Brent (Bundle) and Bill Eversham, a young clerk from the foreign office. Colonel Melrose makes a cameo appearance as the Chief Constable although in later stories and novels he will be the Coroner.

The novel is possibly set I think in "real time". There is a reference to European nations rebuilding for the past 7 years, which seems to indicate a passage of time since a cataclysm, possibly the Great War. There is however no other reference to those events. There is also a reference to the previous, assassinated, queen of Herzoslovakia having claimed Romanov connections.
Perhaps I am mistaken and the setting is actually in the period just before World War I when the Balkans was in great turmoil. Another point in favour of this earlier period is the reference to Bertillon measurements as a means of identifying a person. These were measurements taken of various parts of the body: a system in common use in France in the late 19th century.

This is a novel in which many characters are not who they seem to be, beginning with Anthony Cade who poses as Jimmy McGrath. There are many who are leading a double life, and it becomes difficult for the reader to decide who is on whose side.

There are elements in THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS that really don't work all that well. The idea of an arch criminal which first appeared in THE MAN IN THE BROWN SUIT makes an
appearance, as does the idea of conspiracy and secret societies, in this case the Society of the Red Hand. The Koh-i-noor diamond, part of the British Crown Jewels since 1858, makes a puzzling appearance.

This is also a novel in which Christie shows that she doesn't really care if the reader has all the information, that we should expect that she will keep cards up her sleeve to be revealed in the final denouement. The novel is full of red herrings, and at the end we ask ourselves if we had enough information to solve the mystery. A pattern that is becoming a trademark in her novels even by this, the 5th one, is that in the final pages the cast of characters will be gathered and all will be revealed.

I wouldn't rate this as one of her best novels, although at the time of publication it was well received. It feels rather over-populated with characters, heavily reliant on ideas of conspiracy, intrigue and political upheaval, with some romantic elements. 

On the other hand, I had worked out the answer to the central mystery about half way through, but failed dismally on the identity of King Victor.

My rating: 4.0

My Agatha Christie reviews

Review: I AM PILGRIM, Terry Hayes

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00D3NSDVO
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Transworld Digital, originally published 2013
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 705 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1448170609
• An Amazon Best Book of the Month, June 2014
• a bestselling Richard & Judy Book Club pick  

 Synopsis (Amazon)

The astonishing story of one man's breakneck race against time to save America from oblivion.

A FATHER PUBLICLY BEHEADED. Killed in the blistering heat of a Saudi Arabian public square.

A YOUNG WOMAN DISCOVERED. All of her identifying characteristics dissolved by acid.

A SYRIAN BIOTECH EXPERT FOUND EYELESS. Dumped in a Damascus junkyard.

SMOULDERING HUMAN REMAINS. Abandoned on a remote mountainside in Afghanistan.

PILGRIM. The codename for a man who doesn't exist. A man who must return from obscurity. The only man who can uncover a flawless plot to commit an appalling crime against humanity.

My Take

I seem to be reading long books lately. Here is another one.

I would classify it as a thriller rather than my usual crime fiction.  But despite its length, there wasn't a moment when I considered stopping. Those who have called it a page turner are right.

It brings together a number of seemingly disconnected stories against a background of events that we are very familiar with and that have shaped our world in the last thirty or so years. 

Highly recommended. 

My rating: 4.6

About the author

Terry Hayes is a highly reputed English-born author from the United States, who likes to write mystery and thriller novels. He is also a noteworthy screenwriter and producer, best known for his collaborations with the production house of Kennedy Miller. 
Author Terry was born on October 8, 1951, in England. Before getting worldwide recognition as a writer of mystery novels, author Terry used to originally work as a journalist in New York. He was involved in this profession for a considerable amount of time. On one occasion he got the chance to meet the popular Hollywood director named George Miller while he was doing the novelization of the plot of the 1979 famous movie Mad Max. After a few more unexpected meetings, the two began going along well. When they became acquainted with each other very well, author Terry was hired by George Miller to help him in developing the script for the sequel of Mad Max, called Mad Max 2.
Author Terry also wrote an unused screenplay of the popular Hollywood film called Planet of Apes in the year 1994. The script was titled as ‘Return of the Apes’. 

As an author, Terry made his debut in the year 2013 with the release of his novel titled as ‘I Am Pilgrim’. This book was published by the Transworld publication. Just after one month of the release of the book, its film rights were acquired by the production company of Metro Goldwyn Mayer. The production also hired author Terry for adapting the plot of the novel into the screenplay of the film.