Review: THE HITWOMAN'S GUIDE TO REDUCING HOUSEHOLD DEBT, Mark Mupotsa-Russell

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle 
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D9GKWJ87
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Affirm Press, Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 27, 2024
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 313 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1923046962 

Synopsis (Amazon)

"I met my husband on the same day I committed my very last murder. There's a joke in there somewhere, about ending two men's lives.'
Olivia Hodges used to do horrible things - back when she worked for a Spanish crime syndicate - but she fled that life and moved home to Australia, building a family in the hippie, hipster community of the Dandenong Ranges.

When a small-time criminal gang brings tragedy to her family, superstitious Olivia believes it's the universe demanding payment for her crimes. She wants revenge, but has to get it without adding to her karmic debt. So she creates situations where these bad men get themselves killed through their anger, ego and greed - all while trying to mislead the cops long enough to finish what she started.

My Take

Olivia Hodges is a retired assassin living a life of seeming innocence with her family in the Dandenong Ranges, when she learns what it is like to be a victim. Her elder daughter is a accidentally killed, collateral in a robbery that goes wrong. Olivia decides to take revenge, using her skills to track down the driver and passengers in the car that caused her daughter's death. The police become suspicious that she is not telling them all that she knows, and then the tables turn and she becomes the hunted. 

Hard to say that I enjoyed this book. 

My rating: 4.5

About the author

Mark Mupotsa-Russell is a writer living on Wurundjeri Country in the Yarra Ranges. His debut noir thriller, The Hitwoman's Guide to Reducing Household debt, won the 2023 Affirm Press Mentorship Award and is out now! Before writing novels, he was a screenwriter, film reviewer, cocktail columnist, PR consultant and communications adviser in the suicide prevention sector.

Mark was previously shortlisted for the Text Prize, won a screen development grant from Screen Australia and had screenplays optioned. He lives among the trees with his Therapist-superstar wife, hilarious son and a moodle majestically-named ‘Mufasa’. When not writing he obsesses about movies and martial arts.

Review: MISCHANCE CREEK, Garry Disher

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0F495RSCY
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Text Publishing, Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 30, 2025
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 372 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1923059535
• Book 5 of 5: The Paul Hirsch mysteries

Synopsis  (Amazon)

Hirsch is checking firearms. The regular police audit: all weapons secured, ammo stored separately, no unauthorised person with keys to the gun safe. He’s checking people, too. The drought is hitting hard in the mid-north, and Hirsch is responsible for the welfare of his scattered flock of battlers, bluebloods, loners and miscreants.

He isn’t usually called on for emergency roadside assistance. But with all the other services fully stretched, it’s Hirsch who has to grind his way out beyond the Mischance Creek ruins to where some clueless tourist has run into a ditch.

As it turns out, though, Annika Nordrum isn’t exactly a tourist. She’s searching for the body of her mother, who went missing seven years ago. And the only sense in which she’s clueless is the lack of information unearthed by the cops who phoned in the original investigation.

Hirsch owes it to Annika to help, doesn’t he? Not to mention that tackling a cold case beats the hell out of gun audits and admin…

My Take

Another lovely treat from Garry Disher. The Hirsch series is set in South Australia just north of the Barossa Valley. Years ago Paul Hirschausen blotted his copy book, was stripped of his rank, and became a lone police constable at Tiverton. He does all the usual things a solitary cop would do but occasionally other things a bit more adventurous. 

In this series we've seen him develop in the role, and show himself not just competent  but conscientious and thoughtful, with a few detective skills thrown in. There is a strong Australian flavour not just to the characterisation but also to the settings and plot lines. Local concerns and issues are to the fore too.

My rating: 4.7

I've also read

4.7, WYATT

4.8, WHISPERING DEATH

4.7, BLOOD MOON

4.2, THE HEAT

4.5, SIGNAL LOSS

4.7, HER

4.9, UNDER THE COLD BRIGHT LIGHTS

4.7, KILL SHOT

5.0, BITTER WASH ROAD - Hirsch #1 - aka HELL TO PAY

5.0, PEACE- Hirsch #2

5.0, CONSOLATION - Hirsch #3

4.7, DAY'S END- Hirsch #4

4.8, THE WAY IT IS NOW

4.8, SANCTUARY

4.7, THE WAY IT IS NOW 

Review: LEGACY, Chris Hammer

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on Libby, provided by my local library 
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Allen & Unwin, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 30 September 2025
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 491 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1761507359
• Book 4 of 4 ‏ : ‎ Martin Scarsden

Synopsis (Publisher) 

Martin Scarsden flees an assassination attempt but lands in even more trouble with a deadly family feud leaving him at death's door in Chris Hammer's next blockbuster crime novel.

MARTIN SCARSDEN IS ON THE RUN. WILL THE DESERT SAVE HIM – OR BURY HIM?

The blast hits them, a shock wave ... glass smashing ... Somewhere a woman screams. A second explosion, and Martin looks towards the hall, what's left of it, flames roaring and smoke pouring skywards.

Someone is targeting Martin Scarsden. They bomb his book launch and shoot up his hometown.

Fleeing for his life, he learns that nowhere is safe, not even the outback. The killers are closing in, and it's all he can do to survive.

But who wants to kill him and why? Can he discover their deadly motives and turn the tables?

In a dramatic finale, Martin finds his fate linked to the disgraced ex-wife of a football icon, a fugitive wanted for a decades-old murder, and two nineteenth-century explorers from a legendary expedition.

Martin Scarsden's most perilous, challenging and intriguing assignment yet. 

My Take

An excellent read. Highly recommended. There is a lovely interweaving of 19th century Australian history with current events. A story about legacy on so many levels. And a lovely Australian flavour. 

Chris Hammer is certainly an author to watch out for.

My rating: 4.9

I've also read

• 4.7, SCRUBLANDS - Martin Scarsden #1
  
• 4.4, SILVER - - Martin Scarsden #2
• 4.6, TREASURE & DIRT - aka OPAL COUNTRY - Detective Nell Buchanan #1 
• 4.7, TREASURE & DIRT - re-read
  
• 4.8, THE TILT - aka DEAD MAN'S CREEK - Detective Nell Buchanan #2
• 4.8, SCRUBLANDS - re-read
• 4.8, THE SEVEN - aka COVER THE BONES - Detective Nell Buchanan #3
• 4.6, THE VALLEY - aka BROKEN RIVER - Detective Nell Buchanan #4 

Review: THE HALLMARKED MAN, Robert Galbraith

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DS571XMN
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sphere, Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 2, 2025
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 908 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1408723777
• Book 8 of 8 ‏ : ‎ Cormoran Strike  

Synopsis   (Amazon)

A dismembered corpse is discovered in the vault of a silver shop. The police initially believe it to be that of a convicted armed robber - but not everyone agrees with that theory. One of them is Decima Mullins, who calls on the help of private detective Cormoran Strike as she's certain the body in the silver vault was that of her boyfriend - the father of her newborn baby - who suddenly and mysteriously disappeared.

The more Strike and his business partner Robin Ellacott delve into the case, the more labyrinthine it gets. The silver shop is no ordinary one: it's located beside Freemasons' Hall and specialises in Masonic silverware. And in addition to the armed robber and Decima's boyfriend, it becomes clear that there are other missing men who could fit the profile of the body in the vault.

As the case becomes ever more complicated and dangerous, Strike faces another quandary. Robin seems increasingly committed to her boyfriend, policeman Ryan Murphy, but the impulse to declare his own feelings for her is becoming stronger than ever.

A gripping, wonderfully complex novel which takes Strike and Robin's story to a new level, The Hallmarked Man is an unmissable read for any fan of this unique series. 

My Take

After reading the blurb, you don't need me to tell you much about the plot. I will comment though on how long this book is -900 pages - how complex the plot is, and how the strands seemed to multiply, and how it took me all of 2 weeks to read. There was a lot of extra information to take in, quotations from various authors at the beginning of each chapter and selected bits about freemasonry. (I did feel that some of this information was extraneous and could have been edited more tightly.) The number of staff working for the agency has multiplied and relationships have become very complex.

But, for all that, I never thought of giving up. And I'm ready for the next in the series, whenever it happens.

My rating: 4.7

I've also read

5.0, THE CUCKOO'S CALLING #1 

4.5, THE SILKWORM  #2

4.6, A CAREER OF EVIL  #3

4.7, LETHAL WHITE - #4

4.8, TROUBLED BLOOD- #5 

5.0, THE RUNNING GRAVE -#7

Review: A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED, Agatha Christie

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• Originally published in 1950
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004APA52O
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins, Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 14, 2010
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 321 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0007422524
• Book 5 of 12 ‏ : ‎ Miss Marple Mysteries

Synopsis  (Amazon)

An ordinary village
A shocking announcement

One morning the villagers of Chipping Cleghorn wake to find a strange notice in their papers:

‘A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6.30pm.’

Suspecting this is just a joke, they gather for some evening entertainment.

Then a gunshot is heard.

In desperation, the police turn to an old lady whose hobbies are gardening, gossiping – and solving murders.

After all, old ladies know better than anyone exactly what goes on in quiet English villages…

Never underestimate Miss Marple

My Take

No-one really expects a murder to actually take place at at Little Paddocks at 6.30 pm as the newspaper advertisement predicted. All the curious neighbours expect it to be one of those new fangled Murder parties. Even less do they expect the victim to be someone they have never met.

So the shooting death is the beginning of a complex plot, eventually solved by Miss Marple with contributions by a new-to-us policeman, Inspector Craddock. Miss Marple has been highly recommended to Craddock by the Chief Constable, and this is another novel where Miss Marple colludes with a police constable to set a honey trap to catch the murderer.

Miss Marple makes her appearance courtesy of a friendship with yet another member of the clergy whom  she comes to visit. The setting is just after World War II and there are a number of references to the effect of the war on English society and economy, as well as the influx of foreigners and refugees into England after the war. These really do have the effect of making Agatha Christie a largely unrecognised social commentator.

I've read this book for the umpteenth time, but this time for discussion with my U3A Agatha Christie discussion group.  

My rating: 4.5

Other reviews I've written: here, and here

Reviews of Agatha Christie Novels.  

Review: THE WAKE, Yrsa Sigurdardottir

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• Translated from Icelandic to English by Victoria Cribb
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DKBLKQLK
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hodder & Stoughton, Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 9, 2025
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 410 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1399722902
• Part of series ‏ : ‎ The Black Ice  

Synopsis (Amazon)

Five friends. One devastating reunion. The new thriller from the legendary Icelandic bestseller (The Black Ice)

AMONG THE MOURNERS AT A FUNERAL, ONE OF IS THEM IS A KILLER...

A group of young professionals travel to the Westman Islands off the coast of Iceland to attend an old friend's wake. Their reunion soon turns into a living nightmare, as the memories of a party they attended at university, and desperately tried to forget, come rushing back.

When two bodies are found on a rocky beach close to the refurbished lighthouse keeper's house that the group had stayed in, medical examiner Iðunn is sent to provide the local police assistance.

For Iðunn, who grew up on the island, this takes her back to the heart of her complex family and the ghosts of her own past she would prefer to keep at bay.

But as the deadly secrets soon become insurmountable, can any of them escape unscathed?

My Take

What a tangled web! The author makes the read work overtime to get the sequence of events sorted out.

The events take place in the last week of January but there is a very convoluted time frame, and at least two settings. Nor are the chapters in order. It reminded me at the beginning of a choose your own adventure book, but once where the author had taken the finished chapters and shuffled them into a semi-random order. Not quite - but you get my drift.

Idunn is Iceland's only pathologist and she is sent off to the Westmann Islands to work out what has happened, and how there are so many dead bodies. 

Four days earlier a group of friends arrived by ferry from Reykjavic to attend the funeral of a friend whom they haven't seen since they were students at university in the capital 7 years before. They are not clear about how she has died and they are all avoiding thinking too much about when they last saw her.

In 4 days time 4 of them will be dead, and the investigation will begin.

An incredibly complex story, so many strands. It really puts this author on another plane in crime fiction.

This is #2 in the Black Ice series, and we meet up with part of the investigation team who featured in the previous novel CAN'T RUN, CAN'T HIDE

My rating: 4.8

I've also read

• 4.8, SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME
• 5.0, THE SILENCE OF THE SEA 
• 4.8, WHY DID YOU LIE? 
• 4.9, THE PREY 
• 4.5, THE DAY IS DARK 
• 4.8, CAN'T RUN, CAN'T HIDE - #1 from the Black Ice series 

Review: THE QUEEN OF POISONS, Robert Thorogood

• 
   read as an e-book
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HQ, Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 18, 2024
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008567323 
• Book 3 of 5: The Marlow Murder Club 

Synopsis (Amazon) 

Who killed the Mayor? It’s up to the Marlow Murder Club to find out…

Geoffrey Lushington, Mayor of Marlow, dies suddenly during a Town Council meeting. When traces of aconite – also known as the queen of poisons – are found in his coffee cup, the police realise he was murdered. But who did it? And why?

The police bring Judith, Suzie and Becks in to investigate as Civilian Advisors right from the start, so they have free rein to interview suspects and follow the evidence to their heart’s content, which is perfect because Judith has no time for rules and standard procedure. But this case has the Marlow Murder Club stumped. Who would want to kill the affable Mayor? How did they even get the poison into his coffee? And is anyone else in danger? The Marlow Murder Club are about to face their most difficult case yet … 

My Take

Thoroughly enjoyable, like catching up with old friends, although I've discovered I have missed reading a couple of the 5 published so far. Lots of red herrings and little puzzles to solve. Nice cozy reading.

My rating: 4.5 

I've also read

• 4.6, THE MARLOW MURDER CLUB - #1
• 4.4, MURDER ON THE MARLOW BELLE - #4  

Review: MELALEUCA, Angie Faye Martin

• This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle
• 
  ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DPGPBPG5
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HQ Fiction, Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 1, 2025, Harper Collins
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 419 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1867270898 

Synopsis (Amazon)

A country town, a brutal murder, a shameful past, a reckoning to come... The injustices of the past and dangers of the present envelop Aboriginal policewoman Renee Taylor, when her unwilling return to the small outback town of her childhood plunges her into the investigation of a brutal murder.

Renee Taylor is planning to stay the minimum amount of time in her remote hometown - only as long as her mum needs her, then she is fleeing back to her real life in Brisbane.

Seconded to the town's sleepy police station, Renee is pretty sure work will hold nothing more exciting than delivering speeding tickets. Then a murdered woman is found down by the creek on the outskirts of town.

Leading the investigation, Renee uncovers a perplexing connection to the disappearance of two young women thirty years earlier. As she delves deeper and the mystery unfurls, intergenerational cruelties, endemic racism, and deep corruption show themselves, even as dark and bitter truths about the town and its inhabitants' past rise up and threaten to overwhelm the present...

Authentic, gripping crime drama from a bright new voice in fiction.

My Take

A detective in Brisbane, Renee Taylor has taken an appointment as a constable in the small outback Queensland town she grew up in, coming home to care for her mother.

She is only back at work for a few days when a young woman's body turns up near a creek on the outskirts of town. Nobody comes forward to identify the girl, no-one has seen her before. Doing some research Renee comes across the story of two aboriginal girls who disappeared thirty years earlier, and from then on the story continues in two time frames. Renee becomes the detective in charge of the current murder case and the author presents the story of the two missing girls. In some ways Renee doesn't know as much as we the readers do.

 Although the camp that the girls had lived in has long gone, their families are still in the town, and in some ways attitudes have not changed much over the thirty years.  An engaging novel with some interesting threads.

Be sure to read the Author Note at the end of the novel. 

My rating: 4.5

About the author
Angie Faye Martin is a writer and editor of Kooma, Kamilaroi and European heritage. With a Bachelor of Public Health from the Queensland University of Technology and a Masters of Anthropology from the Australian National University, Angie spent many years working in policy roles in state and federal government before launching Versed Writings in 2019. Her work has been published in Meanjin, Garland, The Saltbush Review and The Rocks Remain. She is a member of the First Nations Australia Writers Network and accredited with the Institute of Professional Editors. Melaleuca is her debut novel. 

Review: THE LAST THROW, Rhys Dylan

• 
   This edition read on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CWCR9N4R
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wyrmwood Books, Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 16, 2024
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 337 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915185242
• Book 13 of 18 ‏ : ‎ DCI Evan Warlow Crime Thriller 

Synopsis  (Amazon)

This time, it's more than personal.

Within the tranquil confines of a west Wales village, peace gives way to pandemonium as a trivial theft transforms into a devastating tragedy.

DCI Evan Warlow confronts what initially appears to be a straightforward case, only to find himself ensnared in a web of deceit. And when a routine press assignment also exposes a team member to a malevolent scheme, chaos begins to spiral.

From idyllic coastlines to rugged peaks, Warlow races across diverse landscapes in pursuit of answers and to foil a deadly adversary. In an electrifying narrative of suspense and sacrifice, he must forge unconventional alliances to tilt the scales in his favour before it's too late.

Prepare for yet another spellbinding police procedural that will keep you glued to the pages long after midnight.

My Take

Another good read in this series. Some threads tied off and new ones begun. One of their team is abducted by a very nasty killer and then the search is on. There is a side plot of a robbery at a cheap jack store when a store assistant dies. But all is not as it seems.

This series really needs to be read in order and you can see from the list below that I am playing catch up. I am really hooked! The plots are good and the character development is excellent.  

My rating: 4.5 

I've also read

4.6, THE ENGINE HOUSE - #1

4.5, CAUTION: DEATH AT WORK -#2

4.6, ICE COLD MALICE - #3

4.5, SUFFER THE DEAD - #4

4.6, GRAVELY CONCERNED - #5 

4.5, A MARK OF IMPERFECTION - #6

4.5, BURNT ECHO - #7 

4.6, A BODY OF WATER - #8

4.5, LINES OF INQUIRY - #9 

4.5, NO ONE NEAR - #10 

4.6, THE LIGHT REMAINS - #11

4.6, A MATTER OF EVIDENCE - #12 

4.6, THE BOWMAN - #15 

Review: PREY, Vanda Symon

• 
   this edition a library book from my local library
  
• large print from Aurora Large Print published 2024
• ISBN 9-781399-171014
• 329 pages 
• #6 in the Sam Shephard series 

• ***SHORTLISTED for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger***

  ***SHORTLISTED for Best Paperback in the Barry Awards***

  **SHORTLISTED for the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel** 

Synopsis (publisher)

On her first day back from maternity leave, Detective Sam Shephard is thrown straight into a cold-case investigation – the unsolved murder of a highly respected Anglican Priest in Dunedin.

The case has been a thorn in the side of the Police hierarchy, and for her boss it’s personal.

With all the witness testimony painting a picture of a dedicated church and family man, what possible motive could there have been for his murder?

But when Sam starts digging deeper into the case, it becomes apparent someone wants the sins of the past to remain hidden. And when a new potential witness to the crime is found brutally murdered, there is pressure from all quarters to solve the case before anyone else falls prey.

But is it already too late…? 

My Take

When she returns to work after 6 months maternity leave, Sam's boss makes sure she feels that she is an imposition by giving her a cold case to work on. 25 years ago his wife's father died on the steps of his church in Dunedin. 

I thoroughly enjoyed getting re-acquainted with Sam Shephard. She is feisty and strong as well as intuitive. 

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

• OVERKILL
• THE RINGMASTER
• CONTAINMENT
•  4.8, BOUND 

Review: THE PUNISHMENT SHE DESERVES, Elizabeth George

• 
  This edition read on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B074SKLHD1
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hodder & Stoughton, Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 20, 2018
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 706 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1444786637
• Book 20 of 21 ‏ : ‎ Inspector Lynley 

Synopsis 

When a Member of Parliament shows up at New Scotland Yard requesting an investigation into the suicide of the son of one of his constituents in the beautiful town of Ludlow, the Assistant Commissioner sees two opportunities in this request: the first is to have an MP owing him a favour, and the second is to get rid of Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, whose career at the Met has been hanging by a thread for quite some time. So he assigns Havers to the case and for good measure partners her with the one person who shares his wish to see the back of her, Detective Chief Superintendent Isabelle Ardery.

But Ardery has her own difficulties. She is not happy to be sent away from London and as a result is in a rush to return. This causes her to overlook certain uncomfortable facts. Soon, the case is opened again and this time, it is Lynley who must accompany Havers to Ludlow, with little more than a week to save the Met's reputation and Barbara's job. And the more they investigate, the more it looks as if the suicide was part of a much more sinister pattern of events.

My Take

I have actually read this book before but brain-fade ensured that I didn't remember much of it except the general premise that here was Barbara Havers in trouble again. I have seen all the TV versions so am not  really sure what I've watched and what I've read.

I'd also forgotten that when you take on reading an Elizabeth George novel you are committed to a BIG read. Initially I got a large print copy from the library but took it back when I discovered it was almost 900 pages in length and almost impossible to hold. So then I bought a Kindle copy and read it on a number of devices. That has taken me a week to read.

What has struck me about the novel is how complex it is, how many subplots there are, and how difficult it is to determine when the various strings of the plot are going to merge, and also how many unexpected events there are. 

In reality I have enjoyed the challenge of reading this novel and aim to continue the series at some stage, but on my Kindle. 

My rating: 4.7

I've also read

CARELESS IN RED
4.6, BELIEVING THE LIE
3.9, THE EDGE OF NOWHERE
4.3, THE PUNISHMENT SHE DESERVES 

Review: A MATTER OF EVIDENCE, Rhys Dylan

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CSBVCX35
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wyrmwood Books, Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 23, 2024
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 322 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915185228 
• Book 12 of 18: DCI Evan Warlow Crime Thriller 

Synopsis (Amazon)

One wrong does not justify another

In the desolate landscapes of SENTA, the Bannau Brycheiniog army training grounds, DCI Warlow and his seasoned investigators find themselves ensnared in a deadly game of shadows.

A man, recently released from prison after a 20-year wrongful conviction, is discovered dead, igniting a storm of doubt and suspicion. As long-buried secrets claw their way to the surface, the line between truth and deception blurs. With everyone involved in the original case now a potential suspect, they must tread carefully and confront the crimes of old as well as the present.

As the stakes escalate, can Warlow decipher the puzzle of the past before the present claims another victim?

Edge of the seat crime fiction. 

My Take

Twenty years ago the Welsh justice system had failed Mark Morgan, convicting him of attempted rape without evidence. Eventually he was released without compensation, but now final justice has eluded him. Someone has murdered him. As always plenty to challenge Evan Warlow, and the reader's brain, in this investigation.

This series has developed an interesting structure: individual cases embedded within a long ongoing investigation in which police officers are unwittingly assisting the cause of evil.

There are other ongoing strands which link these novels into a continuum, and characters are steadily developed as life goes on. 

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

4.6, THE ENGINE HOUSE - #1

4.5, CAUTION: DEATH AT WORK -#2

4.6, ICE COLD MALICE - #3

4.5, SUFFER THE DEAD - #4

4.6, GRAVELY CONCERNED - #5 

4.5, A MARK OF IMPERFECTION - #6

4.5, BURNT ECHO - #7 

4.6, A BODY OF WATER - #8

4.5, LINES OF INQUIRY - #9 

4.5, NO ONE NEAR - #10 

4.6, THE LIGHT REMAINS - #11

4.6, THE BOWMAN - #15

Review: THE LIGHT REMAINS, Rhys Dylan

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• Book 11 of 18, DCI Evan Warlow Crime Thriller
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CMPBB6CM
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wyrmwood Books, Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 30, 2024
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 326 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915185204 

Synopsis  (Amazon)

The games people play…

When a revered sports legend falls victim to a brutal home invasion, a nation is shaken to its core. Outrage swells and the press and powers that be demand answers.

DCI Evan Warlow, fresh from a well-earned vacation, is thrown into the cauldron to lead the investigation. But the victim, despite his iconic status, has secrets of his own.

Amidst the chaos of jealousy and rivalry that swirls around the case, a darker underbelly emerges. The pursuit of truth transforms into a gripping hunt, but whose truth is the team hunting?

Something else lurks in the labyrinth of deception. Something vile and twisted that could strike again at any moment... unless it’s found.

Another fast paced, gripping, police procedural that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

My Take

I continue to thoroughly enjoy this series. Each new story contains not only the continuing story of DCI Evan Warlow and his team but also human interest elements related to one or more members of the team.

Evan has just returned from a short holiday with family in Western Australia. He has the importance of family on his mind.

The new case in hand is the apparent burglary of the house of a elderly man, one a Welsh rugby star, once a household word. Ronnie Probert was bashed severely during the burglary, and the case becomes murder when he dies of his injuries. He was much wealthier than anyone had thought and so the motive of the burglary is one of the considerations.

This series is best read in order. They are really police procedurals.

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

4.6, THE ENGINE HOUSE - #1

4.5, CAUTION: DEATH AT WORK -#2

4.6, ICE COLD MALICE - #3

4.5, SUFFER THE DEAD - #4

4.6, GRAVELY CONCERNED - #5 

4.5, A MARK OF IMPERFECTION - #6

4.5, BURNT ECHO - #7 

4.6, A BODY OF WATER - #8

4.5, LINES OF INQUIRY - #9 

4.5, NO ONE NEAR - #10 

4.6, THE BOWMAN - #15

Review: THE MOVING FINGER, Agatha Christie

• 
  This edition read on my Kindle (Amazon) 
  
• Originally published 1942
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0046H95SG 
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins, Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 14, 2010
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 243 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0007422470 
• Book 3 of 12: Miss Marple Mysteries  

Synopsis (Amazon)

A malicious letter
A tragic death
A village filled with suspects

Nothing ever happens in the sleepy village of Lymstock.

Until letters accusing the villagers of unspeakable acts start to appear.

They try to dismiss them as a cruel hoax, but then one of the recipients is found dead. The letter next to her body reads simply, ‘I can’t go on’.

As fear spreads among the villagers, Jane Marple must uncover who is writing these letters – before anyone else is hurt.

Never underestimate Miss Marple

 My Take

This is at least the 4th time I have read and reviewed this novel. I have re-read it for discussion with my U3A Agatha Christie Reading Group.

Jerry Burton and his sister Joanna have come to Lymstock for a quiet life. Jerry has been seriously injured in a plane crash. But things are bubbling below the surface in Lymstock with someone sending Poison Pen letters. The police have their theories but eventually two people die and the Vicar's wife invites a friend to stay who happens to be Jane Marple. 

I'm sure my group will find plenty to discuss including the fact that Miss Marple makes a pretty late appearance in the novel and then really has only a small amount of time "on the stage". 

The plot takes, in my view, an unexpected twist at the end, and also has a romantic element.

 

My rating: 4.4 

Previous reviews here and here and here

My Agatha Christie novels 

Review: THE BODY IN THE MARSH, Nick Louth

• 
   this edition read as an e-book on Libby, supplied by my local library
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Canelo, Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 1, 2018
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 380 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1788631455
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1788631457
• Book 1 of 12 ‏ : ‎ DCI Craig Gillard Crime Thrillers 

Synopsis

A woman goes missing - and for the detective, this time it's personal.

Criminologist Martin Knight lives a gilded life. But then his wife Liz disappears. There is no good explanation and Martin goes on the run.

To make things worse, Liz is the ex-girlfriend of DCI Craig Gillard who finds himself drawn into the investigation.

Is this a missing-person case or something more sinister? How dark can the truth be?

My Take

This novel is anything but straightforward. At times it strains the bounds of credibility but nevertheless the plot engages. Plenty of red herrings, plenty of times when you can say what if? and definitely not a cosy.

My rating: 4.5

About the author

Nick Louth is a bestselling writer of thriller novels, investment commentator, and an award-winning financial journalist, hailing from Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. He is famous for writing humor, comedy, thriller, mystery, and nonfiction stories. Louth is particularly well known for writing the Bernard Jones diaries series, the DCI Craig Gillard series, several standalone novels, and one widely popular nonfiction book. He is known to have sold more than half a million copies of his books. Louth’s books have appeared on top of the Kindle charts in the UK multiples times and have been translated into as many as 6 different languages. Before making his debut in the field of writing fiction in 2007, he worked as a foreign correspondent for the news agency Reuters. He was also a frequent contributor to MSN, Financial Times, and many other financial magazines on a freelance basis.

Author Louth graduated from the London School of Economics in 1979. After working as a freelancer for a few years, he joined Reuters in 1987. While catering to his duty in foreign correspondence, Louth came across an experience at a 1992 Amsterdam medical conference that inspired him to write his first fiction novel. It was eventually published in 2007 under the title of Bite and reached the top spot of the UK Kindle bestseller in 2014. The book remained on the number one spot for several weeks and sold nearly 500 thousand copies. In the area of financial journalism, Louth has been working freelance since 1998. He has contributed to Investors Chronicle, Money Observer, Financial Times, etc., and has published 7 books based on finance. Author Louth is happily married and currently resides in Lincolnshire. He spends most of his time writing thriller novels and manages some time off from his writing projects to be with his family. 

Review: THE IMPOSSIBLE FORTUNE, Richard Osman

• 
  This edition read on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DJ1TQH16
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin, Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 25, 2025
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 409 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1405975629 
• Book 5 of 5: Thursday Murder Club Mysteries  

Synopsis (Amazon)

Who's got time to think about murder when there's a wedding to plan?

It’s been a quiet year for the Thursday Murder Club. Joyce is busy with table plans and first dances. Elizabeth is grieving. Ron is dealing with family troubles, and Ibrahim is still providing therapy to his favourite criminal.

But when Elizabeth meets a wedding guest who fears for their life, the thrill of the chase is ignited once again. A villain wants access to an uncrackable code and will stop at nothing to get it. Plunged back into their most explosive investigation yet, can the gang solve the puzzle and a murder in time?

My Take:

 Joyce's daughter Joanna is getting married and Elizabeth is still not really herself. And then at the wedding itself comes an action which brings the Thursday Murder Club a task, after almost a year of inaction. And the old team prove that they've still got it, despite the failings that come with their advancing years. 

There were times when I found this latest incursion into geezer lit both challenging and exasperating.  I struggled at times to remember the background to each character, but thank goodness it all came together at the end. 

My Rating: 4.4

I've also read

4.5, THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB  - #1

4.3, THE MAN WHO DIED TWICE - #2

4.6, THE BULLET THAT MISSED - #3

4.8, THE LAST DEVIL TO DIE - #4

4.5, WE SOLVE MURDERS

Review: THE MOTHER, Jane Caro

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09MQ3PN1W
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Allen & Unwin, Australia, Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 1, 2022
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 365 pages  

Synopsis (Amazon)

From the Walkley Award winning journalist, social commentator and author comes a gripping domestic thriller with a moral dilemma at its core.

'A timely, tense and important story that takes you to the heart of a toxic relationship, fighting to get free.' Michael Robotham

Just like the garden, the fuse box, the bills, bin night and blown light bulbs, this was just something else she'd now have to take care of herself.

Recently widowed, Miriam Duffy is a respectable North Shore real estate agent and devoted mother and grandmother. She was thrilled when her younger daughter Ally married her true love, but as time goes by Miriam wonders whether all is well with Ally, as she moves to the country and gradually withdraws, finding excuses every time Miriam offers to visit. Their relationship has always had its ups and downs, and Miriam tries to give her daughter the distance she so clearly wants. But is all as it seems?

When the truth of her daughter's situation is revealed, Miriam watches in disbelief as Ally and her children find themselves increasingly vulnerable and cut off from the world. As the situation escalates and the law proves incapable of protecting them, Miriam is faced with an unthinkable decision. But she will do anything for the people she loves most in the world. Wouldn't you? 

My Take

An absolutely engrossing book. You begin to suspect halfway through where it is heading, and then whammo! 

Two issues stuck out for me. First of all the changes to her life that Miriam has to face when her husband suddenly dies, too young. And then the domestic violence that Ally faces.

Highly recommended.  Make sure you read the author's notes at the end.

My rating: 4.9

I've also read  4.8, LYREBIRD 

Review: THE FINE ART OF INVISIBLE DETECTION, Robert Goddard

• 
   Read as an e-book through my local library on Libby 
  
• Published: 30 November 2021, Penguin Australia
• ISBN: 9780552172622
• Pages: 384 

Synopsis (publisher)

Umiko Wada has recently had quite enough excitement in her life. With her husband recently murdered and a mother who seems to want her married again before his body is cold, she just wants to keep her head down.

As a secretary to a private detective, her life is pleasingly uncomplicated, filled with coffee runs, diary management and paperwork.

That is, until her boss takes on a new case. A case which turns out to be dangerous enough to get him killed. A case which means Wada will have to leave Japan for the first time and travel to London.

Following the only lead she has, Wada quickly realises that being a detective isn't as easy as the television makes out. And that there's a reason why secrets stay buried for a long time. Because people want them to stay secret. And they're prepared to do very bad things to keep them that way...

My Take

Umiko Wada has plenty of opportunity to practice her detective skills, trained by her boss, who is killed, apparently through their involvement in their current case. He has already handed an element of the case to her and she decides to go ahead with the investigation, which involves her travelling to London to meet up with a stranger on behalf of a Japanese woman whose husband refuses to allow her to leave Japan.

Quite a convoluted plot and I thought it was an unusual one for Goddard, although I haven't read one of his books for a couple of years. Wada make as unusual and as a middle-aged Japanese woman, almost "invisible" as she tracks people down. 

My rating: 4.5 

I've also read

NAME TO A FACE

4.5, LONG TIME COMING

4.4, FAULT LINE

4.3, BORROWED TIME

4.0, ONE FALSE MOVE

Review: LYREBIRD, Jane Caro

• 
  this edition a paperback published 2025 by Allen & Unwin Australia
  
• 360 pages
• ISBN 978-1-76147-153-7 

Synopsis (publisher)

Lyrebirds are brilliant mimics, so if they mimic a woman screaming in terror and begging for her life, they have witnessed a crime. But how does a young, hung over PHD student and a wet behind the ears new detective, convince anyone that a native bird can be a reliable witness to a murder, especially when there is no body and no missing person?

And what happens when they turn out to be right?
A sound froze her blood. A woman. A woman screaming in pure terror. Screaming and sobbing—begging—out here, in this desolate place.

Twenty years ago, ornithology student Jessica Weston panicked when she heard a woman screaming for her life in the remote Barrington Tops. Her relief, when she discovers that it is a lyrebird making the sounds, is profound. She is thrilled to have caught his display on video. Then she remembers—lyrebirds are mimics. Whatever the wild creature has heard must have really happened, and happened nearby.

Jessica takes her video to the police. Despite support from newly minted detective, Megan Blaxland, with no missing person reported and no body, her evidence is ridiculed and dismissed.

Twenty years later, a body is unearthed, just where Jessica said it would be.

Horrified they let the case go cold, Jessica, now an associate professor, and Megan, recently retired but brought back to head up the investigation, reunite and join forces. They are determined to find the killer, whatever it takes. What they don't realise is that they are not just putting their lives in danger, but also the lives of those close to them . . . 

My Take

This is my first novel by Jane Caro and I can tell already it won't be my last. I read this one in one day which is unusual for me.

The starting point is arresting: a lyrebird imitating the cries of a murder victim. No body found at the time. And then twenty years on, a body is found at that location. And the realisation that what the lyrebird imitated really happened.

The plot becomes much more complex than we might have predicted: the original cop is called out of retirement to take on the case, the person who first recorded the lyrebird's mimicry is involved, and their personal lives are explored. 

A satisfying read.

My rating: 4.8 

About the author

Jane Caro AM is a Walkley award-winning Australian columnist, author, novelist, feminist, public education activist and social commentator. She was awarded the B&T Women in Media Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. Once upon a time, she was a multi-award-winning advertising copywriter and an academic. These days, she is a full-time writer, novelist, speaker, MC and TV, radio and media pundit. She has published thirteen books, including the bestselling novel The Mother. Lyrebird is her second novel for adults. 

Review: THE WILL OF THE STANDING STONES, AG Barnett

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• A Hammond & Circle Mystery Book 1
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C8TWMC91
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oddmoor Press, June 20, 2023
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 236 pages

Synopsis (Amazon)

A 1920's historical mystery whodunnit 

Someone has the will to murder…

1920’s England – A group of strangers gathers at an isolated house for the reading of a will. Tensions rise as the mysterious Mr. Badala’s fortune comes with unexpected conditions.

Cut off from civilization by a raging storm, the guests must uncover the truth when one of them dies in an apparent accident. As paranoia and accusations mount, it becomes clear that there is far more at play than a simple inheritance.

In a battle of wits and wills, the group must navigate secrets and lies to survive.

My Take

The scenario described in the blurb made this sound a more attractive read than it turned out to be.  It had too many characteristics of a "first" novel: too much convolution, too many deaths, and a central character who was a really poor judge of character. The setting of the standing stones had almost no relevance to the plot.

My rating: 3.2

About the author

AG Barnett lives in Oxfordshire with his wife, daughter, three ridiculous spaniels, and four frizzle chickens. 

Review: HIGHWAY 13, Fiona McFarlane

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CYZKF3C1
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Allen & Unwin, July 30, 2024
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1761189234 
• WINNER - 2025 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Fiction
• WINNER - 2025 Story Prize
• SHORTLISTED - 2025 Australian Book Industry Award for Literary Fiction Book of the Year
• SHORTLISTED - 2025 Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction

Synopsis (Amazon) 

In 1998, an apparently ordinary Australian man is arrested and charged with a series of brutal murders of backpackers along a highway. The news shocks the nation, bringing both horror and resolution to the victims' families, but its impact travels even further - into the past, as the murders rewrite personal histories, and into the future, as true crime podcasts and biopics tell the story of the crimes.

Highway 13 takes murder as its starting point, but it unfolds to encompass much more: through the investigation of the aftermath of this violence across time and place, from the killer's home town in country Australia to the tropical Far North, and to Texas and Rome, McFarlane presents an unforgettable, entrancing exploration of the way stories are told and spread, and at what cost. 
In overlapping stories, Highway 13 explores the reverberations of a serial killer's crimes in the lives of everyday people. A brilliant and illuminating account of loss and its extended echoes across an entire society.

My  Take

An intriguing collection of 12 overlapping stories all related in some way to the murder of backpackers along an Australian highway. The stories vary in methodology and style, nor are they presented sequentially, although we are given years to place them in, and at times the author makes the reader work hard to establish the connection to the original backpacker-murder scenario.

I don't think it would really matter what order you read the stories in, although perhaps I am mistaken there.  What is interesting to me is the way each story contributes to the reader's knowledge and understanding of how people were affected by the (fictional) backpacker murders.

Highly recommended. 

My rating: 4.9 

About the author

Fiona McFarlane’s first novel, The Night Guest, won several prizes including the Voss Literary Prize and a New South Wales Premier’s Award. It was also shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, Miles Franklin Literary Award, and Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction, among others. She is also the author of a short-story collection, The High Places, which won the International Dylan Thomas Prize. Her stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Zoetrope: All-Story, and Best Australian Stories. Her second novel, The Sun Walks Down, will be published in Australia (October 2022), the United States (February 2023), and the UK (March 2023).

McFarlane grew up in Sydney, Australia and now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she teaches at the University of California, Berkeley. Her website

Review: LINES OF INQUIRY, Rhys Dylan

• 
  This edition read on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C7CVK6NY
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wyrmwood Books, Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 5, 2023
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 354 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915185167
• Book 9 of 18 ‏ : ‎ DCI Evan Warlow Crime Thriller 

Synopsis  (Amazon)

One of our own...

DCI Evan Warlow believes that murder is a cardinal sin. Even when the victim is a drug dealing, money-laundering criminal. But when a police officer is shot in the same incident at a tranquil beach near Tenby in South Pembrokeshire… Suddenly it’s personal. What appears, on the surface, to be a falling out between partners in crime soon spirals into an operation involving gang warfare and a great deal of money.

But even Warlow is not prepared for what lurks beneath the surface of this most terrible of crimes. The truth, hidden under a tangled knot of lies, will lead him to a terrifying conclusion, and that most dangerous of beings; a killer with nothing left to lose.

Another fast paced, gripping police procedural that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. 

My Take

Another strong episode in this very readable series. One person found dead in a remote location, two police shot, one critically. Warlow's team is landed with a new member, a former under cover cop looking for a permanent placement. But there is something about him...

The business partner of the dead person goes into hiding, and their business seems to have been doing remarkably well.

I really enjoy the puzzles these stories provide.   

My rating: 4.5 

I have read

4.6, THE ENGINE HOUSE - #1

4.5, CAUTION: DEATH AT WORK -#2

4.6, ICE COLD MALICE - #3

4.5, SUFFER THE DEAD - #4

4.6, GRAVELY CONCERNED - #5 

4.5, A MARK OF IMPERFECTION - #6

4.5, BURNT ECHO - #7 

4.6, A BODY OF WATER - #8

4.5, NO ONE NEAR - #10 

4.6, THE BOWMAN - #15

Review: THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY, Agatha Christie

• 
  Originally published 1942
• This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0046H95MC
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins, Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 14, 2010
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 227 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0007422173
• Book 2 of 12 ‏ : ‎ Miss Marple Mysteries

Synopsis (Amazon)

A young woman found murdered
A scandal in the making

When Mrs Bantry wakes to find a body in her library, there’s only one woman to call: her good friend Jane Marple.

But she hasn’t called her old friend for comfort.

The body in her library has been murdered and Miss Marple is so very good at solving murders.

Her investigations uncover a scandal far darker than either of them could have imagined, and this time she may be out of her depth.

Never underestimate Miss Marple 

My Take

I've lost count of how many times I have read and reviewed this novel. I am re-reading it for discussion with my U3A Agatha Christie Reading group. 

This novel was published 12 years later than the previous Marple, MURDER AT THE VICARAGE. That novel had had a mixed reception and Christie's readers were not too sure about Miss Marple. Christie has published prolifically in that time: 30 novels and sets of short stories in that 12 years, both in the Uk and America.

The time frame of the THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY was about 3 years later. Characters who appeared in the previous novel such as Colonel Melchett and the vicar and his wife make a appearance that gives a feeling of continuity. But this time new characters and friends appear: the Bantrys who live at Gossington Hall, and Sir Henry Clitherington retired head of Scotland Yard.

The body of a young woman, strangled, has appeared overnight on the hearth rug of the library at Gossington Hall and while she is actually unknown to the Bantrys, rumours are flying thick and fast in St. Mary Mead, and, as they say, mud sticks. While Dolly Bantry, an avid reader of murder mysteries, is thrilled in a way to have a murder on her doorstep, she also realises the dangers to their status and reputation that this event threatens. 

The identity of the dead girl is quickly established and the investigation is wisely moved by Dolly Bantry away from her home when she and Jane Marple move to the hotel where the girl worked as a dancer. Another body, this time in a local quarry in a burnt out car complicates the case as does the discovery of an old man's infatuation with the dead girl. Quite a complex plot, lots of red herrings. I wonder how many of my U3A group will pick the culprit?

My rating: 4.5

Earlier reviews and here

See all my Agatha Christie book reviews here    

Review: AFTER THE FIRE, Henning Mankell

• 
   This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01MY54W9Q
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage Digital, Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 5, 2017
• Marlaine Delargy (Translator) 
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 401 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1473524903
• Book 2 of 2 ‏ : ‎ Fredrik Welin 

Synopsis ((Amazon)

LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA INTERNATIONAL DAGGER 2018

The final novel from the bestselling author of the Inspector Wallander mysteries

Fredrik Welin is a seventy-year-old retired doctor. Years ago he retreated to the Swedish archipelago, where he lives alone on an island. He swims in the sea every day, cutting a hole in the ice if necessary. He lives a quiet life. Until he wakes up one night to find his house on fire.

Fredrik escapes just in time, wearing two left-footed wellies, as neighbouring islanders arrive to help douse the flames. All that remains in the morning is a stinking ruin and evidence of arson. The house that has been in his family for generations and all his worldly belongings are gone. He cannot think who would do such a thing, or why. Without a suspect, the police begin to think he started the fire himself.

My Take

Coming into this book, I am already familiar with Henning Mankell as the creator of Kurt Wallander but I am not sure that, despite having seen two television series based on those books, I have read many of them.

I am reading this book for discussion with my U3A Crime Fiction Reading Group.

I wasn't aware that this book was the second in a series, but the first was written 8 years earlier. What I have noticed is that  his most recent book was written 3 years prior to this one, and that Mankell died from cancer in 2015 and this one was published posthumously two years after his death.

While I was reading this book, prior to knowing all of the above, I was constantly wondering why Mankell had written it. It is not really crime fiction although at least one crime had been committed. Fredrik Welin's house was burnt down and he escaped death narrowly. Later it seems that there is an arsonist at work, as other houses are also burnt down, The puzzle of who the arsonist is is eventually solved.

But there are other issues too: his relationship with those around him, how he survives now his house has gone, why he stopped practicing as a doctor, his strange relationship with his daughter.

If I was answering my own question, what is on the author's mind?  I would answer that Welin is approaching 70, and he is thinking about life, death, effects of age, love and relationships, and I think Mankell is facing the same issues himself, but we now know that he was dying of cancer.

It is far from Henning Mankell's best book but it certainly make you think. Read more about him on Wikipedia. 

My rating: 4.4

I've also read

THE PYRAMID
THE MAN FROM BEIJING
5.0, THE FIFTH WOMAN
4.5, AN EVENT IN AUTUMN 

Books by Henning Mankell (Fantastic Fiction)

Series

Joel Gustafson
   1. A Bridge to the Stars (1990)
   2. Shadows in Twilight (1991)
   3. When the Snow Fell (1996)
   4. The Journey to the End of the World (1998)

 

Kurt Wallander
   0. The Pyramid (2008)
   1. Faceless Killers (1991)
   2. The Dogs of Riga (1992)
   3. The White Lioness (1993)
   4. The Man Who Smiled (1994)
   5. Sidetracked (1995)
   6. The Fifth Woman (1997)
   7. One Step Behind (1997)
   8. Firewall (1998)
   9. Before the Frost (2004)
   9.5. An Event in Autumn (2014)
   10. The Troubled Man (2011)
   Wallander's First Case (2014)

 

Sofia
   1. Secrets in the Fire (2000)
   2. Playing with Fire (2002)
   3. The Fury in the Fire (2009)
     aka Shadow of the Leopard 

 

Fredrik Welin
   1. Italian Shoes (2009)
   2. After the Fire (2017)

 

Novels

   The Rock Blaster (1973)
   The Return of the Dancing Master (2003)
   Chronicler of the Winds (2006)
   Depths (2006)
   Kennedy's Brain (2007)
   The Eye of the Leopard (2008)
   The Cat Who Liked Rain (2008)
   The Man from Beijing (2010)
   Daniel (2010)
   The Shadow Girls (2012)
     aka Tea-Bag
   A Treacherous Paradise (2013)