Review: THE BLUFF, Joanna Jenkins

• 
  This edition made available to me by my local library as an e-book on Libby
• ISBN 9781761470646
  
• Publisher Allen & Unwin, 4 March 2025
• #2 in Ruth Dawson series

Synopsis (publisher) 

From the bestselling author of How to Kill a Client comes a page-turning rural thriller of loyalties and lies, murder and greed.

People like Dash didn't die. He was only what? Mid-thirties? Well off. Adored. By some anyway. World at his feet. Well, Myddle at his feet, which was his world.

Ruth Dawson has taken a break from big city law to fill in for a few months for an old mate in Myddle. How hard can it be? she thinks. Turns out, very hard.

So when Ruth hears the front door of her office open, she's expecting a weird demand, or a question she doesn't know the answer to... but it's Bea Baulderstone's mum, worried that she hasn't seen her seventeen-year-old daughter for five days, and Constable Gazza Parker is refusing to report the girl missing. Easily fixed, thinks Ruth, and heads off down Myddle's main street to charm Gazza into action.

But Victoria Baulderstone was right: Gazza doesn't care. That is until Dash Rogers is found at his farm gate, dead from a gunshot wound, and suddenly the town is very interested in Bea's whereabouts.

And it's not just Bea who can't be found. Dash's wife Evie is AWOL too.

Then Troy, Evie's protégé and Bea's only friend, also smoke-bombs.

An unputdownable thriller of deception and greed, The Bluff reveals an enmeshed web of family and community loyalties, set in the lush rural hinterland of east coast Australia. 

My Take

This story presents in a challenging fashion with multiple points of View (labelled) and a carefully structured timeline (also labelled), revealing the chronology of events in the manner of a jigsaw puzzle.

The second in the Ruth Dawson series, and Ruth is required to protect vulnerable young people against a charge of murder. She is holding fort for a colleague on sabbatical in the rural town of Myddle. His practice encompasses all aspects of the law rather than the corporate law that Ruth is accustomed to. Myddle is the town that Roscoe, her former boss and partner has retreated to after the collapse of their law firm in the first novel in this series.

A very engaging novel. 

My rating: 4.7

I've also read

4.5, HOW TO KILL A CLIENT - #1

4.7, BAD NEIGHBOURS - #3 

Review: HENRIETTA WHO? Catherine Aird

• 
  this edition supplied in large print by my local library
  
• Published in UK by Chivers Large Print 2000
• ISBN 0-7540-4124-7
• 247 pages
• #2 Sloan and Crosby series

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)

After her mother is found dead on a quiet road, possibly the victim of a hit-and-run, events and revelations lead Henrietta to wonder if her mother's death was accidental or murder. 

My Take

A short novel, almost a novella, but a police procedural from a much underestimated Golden Age author.

Henrietta Jenkins lives with a widowed mother in a small village. She is approaching her 21st birthday and is at university. Her mother is killed crossing a road and the police determine it is murder. Henrietta get a rude shock when she finds out the woman she has called her mother is not, and that there is some doubt about who she actually is.

A quick and interesting read. 

My rating: 4.5  

I've also read

4.3, DEAD HEADING

4.4, HIS BURIAL TOO

4.3, A LATE PHOENIX 

Review: THE MARGARET CODE, Richard Hooton

• 
  this edition from my local library
  
• published 2025 by Sphere
• ISBN 978-1-4087-3103-1
• 337 pages 

Synopsis (publisher) 

In this bittersweet, hilarious, and suspenseful crime debut, a grandmother with a failing memory teams up with her grandson to solve the mysterious murder of her friend and neighbor.

Margaret Winterbottom, 89, has lived on Garnon Crescent her entire life—except for a few years she never talks about. She knows all the neighbors: their lives, their hopes, their heartbreaks. Only recently, Margaret’s memory isn’t what it used to be. She’s sure Barbara, her best friend and neighbor, told her something very important . . . but what?
       ​When Barbara is found dead in an apparent homicide, Margaret is determined to recover the missing memory. Margaret and her grandson, James, begin investigating, but soon strange things begin happening in her home—objects moving and cropping up in odd places, the television turning on by itself. Some believe her memory is worsening, but Margaret knows somebody wants her out of the way because she holds the key to solving the case—if only she could recall where she put it . . . 

My Take

In some ways an amusing cozy, and in other ways Margaret's predicament gets very close to the bone. Margaret has a hidden past that she has not told her family about and a brother who has not been around for some time. But she keeps thinking that she is glimpsing him. 

When her grandson James begins to work on a school project about his grandmother, Margaret and he begin an investigation into who killed Barbara, and also to recover Barbara's last words to Margaret.

A good read. 

My rating: 4.4

About the author

Richard Hooton has received numerous prizes for his short fiction. After a career in journalism, Richard now works in communications. The Margaret Code, his debut novel, is inspired by the author’s relationship with his grandmother, who died of Alzheimer’s when he was a teenager. Richard lives in Manchester, England. 

Review: THE WICKED SISTER, Karen Dionne

• 
   this edition supplied by my local library
  
• published by Sphere (Amazon) 2020
• ISBN 978-0-7515-6742-7
• 285 pages 

Synopsis (publisher)

A startling novel of psychological suspense, as two generations of sisters try to unravel their tangled relationships between nature and nurture, guilt and betrayal, love and evil.

You have been cut off from society for fifteen years, shut away in a mental hospital as punishment for the terrible thing you did when you were a child.

But what if nothing about your past is as it seems?

For a decade and a half, Rachel Cunningham has chosen to lock herself away in a psychiatric facility, tortured by gaps in her memory and the certainty that she is responsible for her parents' deaths. But when she learns new details about their murders, Rachel returns, in a quest for answers, to the place where she once felt safest: her family's sprawling log cabin in the remote forests of Michigan.

As Rachel begins to uncover what really happened on the day her parents were murdered, she learns - as her mother did years earlier - that home can be a place of unspeakable evil, and that the bond she shares with her sister might be the most poisonous of all.. 

My Take

Several ghastly threads in this novel: at least one of the women in this story is a psychopath but which one? Other reviews have labelled it atmospheric, chilling, thrilling. It is all of those things and more. Is it credible? I hope not, but part of me suspects that is possible.

What do you do if you learn that your daughter is a psychopath? How do you protect and manage her? And others?

My rating: 4.5 

I have already read 4.4, THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER 

Review: THEY DO IT WITH MIRRORS, Agatha Christie

• 
  This edition read on my Kindle (AmazonAU)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0046RE5H2
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 14 October 2010
• Originally published 1952, THEY DO IT WITH MIRRORS (aka MURDER WITH MIRRORS) -Miss Marple
• Book 6 of 12 
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 227 pages
• The foreword says that the original publication was used as the basis of this e-copy. I note here that it was appallingly produced, with passages repeated, and an incredible number of typos.

Synopsis  (AmazonAU)

A shocking crime
A mansion filled with suspects

Ruth Van Rydock can’t shake the feeling that something terrible is going to happen to her sister at Stonygates house.

Her old school friend Jane Marple decides it’s time to pay a visit.

But this grand Victorian mansion isn’t just a family home – it’s also a correctional facility for wayward young men.

And when something terrible does indeed happen, Miss Marple must face her most eccentric cast of suspects yet.

Never underestimate Miss Marple

From the Back Cover

Miss Marple senses danger when she visits a friend living in a Victorian mansion which doubles as a rehabilitation centre for delinquents. Her fears are confirmed when a youth fires a revolver at the administrator, Lewis Serrocold. Neither is injured. But a mysterious visitor, Mr Gulbrandsen, is less fortunate – shot dead simultaneously in another part of the building.

Pure coincidence? Miss Marple thinks not, and vows to discover the real reason for Mr Gulbrandsen's visit.

Agatha Christie does it all with suspense in this intricately plotted mystery.

My Take

It is 14 years since I last read this title as part of Agatha Christie Reading Challenge and now I am re-reading it as part of this year's selection for my U3A Agatha Christie Reading group. After we meet to discuss the book we will watch the ITV production.

I think the group will find a number of things to discuss.
Among them:

• The setting - how does Christie establish this? What comments does she make about how the world has changed?
• What would Lewis Serracold like to establish? What do you think of his idea of "transportation"?
• What does the title of the book mean? Was it a phrase you were familiar with?
• How do the police treat Miss Marple?
• What does Miss Marple mean when she says the sitting room is like a "stage"?
• Are there too many red herrings? Too many characters?
• What "facts" are untrue?
• Why did Gulbrandsen come to Stonygates? Why was he killed and who killed him? How did he ensure his own murder?
• Was justice done? 

My rating: 4.4

My earlier review

Handy Wikipedia summary 

All my Agatha Christie reads.  

Review: THE DEPTHS, Yrsa Sigurdadottir

• 
  this edition supplied by my local library
  
• first published in Icelandic in 2023
• Translated from Icelandic to English by Victoria Cribb
• Published by Hodder & Stoughton UK 2026
• ISBN 9-781399-722964
• 363 pages 
• Black Ice #3 

Synopsis (publisher)

Just how low do people sink to get away with murder?

A human skull unearthed on the outskirts of Reykjavík.
A neighbourhood dispute turned deadly.
A daughter, trapped at sea, looking for answers.

What police officers Týr and Karó don’t know is that these events are all linked through a terrible tragedy, many years ago, when a trawler caught fire on the waves, the crew trapped inside.

The answers lie buried at the bottom of the cold Icelandic Sea. 

My Take

You always know that these three separate stories will coincide but part of the cleverness of the plot is that it is almost impossible until the last act to see how. And meanwhile the stories develop, get lives of their own. And you hang in there because you know somehow IT will happen.

Highly recommended. 

My Rating: 4.7

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 - Black Ice #1

4.8, THE WAKE - Black Ice #2  

Review: TRUTH TRUTH LIE, Claire McGowan

• 
  this edition published by Thomas & Mercer 2024 (an imprint of Amazon Publishing)
  
• supplied by my local library
• ISBN-13: 9781662513862
• 330 pages 

Synopsis  (publisher)

Everyone here has killed someone.

There is no way off this island.

You will all either kill or be killed here.

One of these statements is a lie. But which one?

Amira’s less than thrilled to be spending the weekend with her husband’s university friends. Two of them are hosting a joint fortieth on a private Scottish island, with vintage champagne, expensive gifts, and soaks in the wood-fired hot tub. Despite the luxury, Amira knows she’s going to feel left out, not to mention freezing cold and cut off.

When they decide to play ‘two truths and a lie’, anonymously posting three statements about themselves into a box, years of resentment start bubbling to the surface. And then an extra slip of paper emerges, scrawled with three chilling threats. Who wrote it? And are two of the statements really true—have they all been responsible for someone’s death?

With no phone reception and no way off the island, the group are trapped here until the end of the weekend. And as tension rises and secrets are spilled, they can’t shake the feeling that they’re not the only ones here. Is someone watching them? Someone who wants them dead? Or is it one of them who has murder in mind?

My Take

A variant of a plot used by Agatha Christie, and more recently a number of others. A group of people dropped on an island supposedly to enjoy themselves but right on the first night things begin to go wrong, plans backfire, and one dies. And then things get even worse.

A rather chilling thriller which has the reader guessing. For the record, I got most of it right but there was one little bit that I didn't "see". 

My rating: 4.6

About the author
Born in Northern Ireland, Claire published her first novel in 2012, and has followed it up with many others in the crime fiction genre and also in women’s fiction (writing as Eva Woods). Writing thrillers for Thomas & Mercer, she has sold over a million books and has had several number-one bestsellers. She ran the UK’s first MA in crime writing for five years, and regularly teaches and talks about writing. Her first non-fiction project, the true crime book The Vanishing Triangle, was released in 2021. She also writes scripts and has several original projects in development for TV, as well as having four radio dramas broadcast. Several of her novels are in development as television series. She lives in London and would love to hear from readers via her website (www.clairemcgowan.co.uk) or on Twitter (@inkstainsclaire), Instagram (@clairemcgowanwriter) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/ClaireMcGowanAuthor) 

Review: A DISORGANISED DEATH, Simon Brett

• 
  this edition from my local library
  
• published by Severn House 2026
• #5 in the Decluttering series
• ISBN 987-1-4483-1469-0
• 178 pages

Synopsis (publisher)

Ellen Curtis – professional declutterer, amateur sleuth and woman of a certain age – hunts for a missing will with a killer bequest in this gripping mystery from the original king of British cosy crime, Simon Brett.

Professional declutterer Ellen Curtis doesn’t do house clearances. So when Tamara Nicklin, owner of a local gastropub, asks Ellen to clear her late father’s house, she’s not interested . . . even when Tamara admits that the real reason she wants to hire Ellen is to find his missing will.

Then Ellen discovers Tamara’s husband has plans for the house. Plans Tamara doesn’t know about. And it’s clear to Ellen that this is the right job for her, after all.

Ellen dives in, and what she finds in the dead man’s house soon makes her wonder if Tamara’s father really fell down the stairs, or if he was pushed. Can she sort through the secrets and lies to find not just the missing will – but the truth? 

My Take

This is another book that takes the reader into a world with which they are probably not all that familiar, but a scenario that is becoming more common in today's culture, where most of us have simply accumulated and accumulated. Many resort to a mini-skip on the front lawn, but for others willing to pay, the services of a declutterer are required to ensure that nothing important is lost.

There are two stories in this novel, both dealing with a search for a will, and then making sure the right will is actioned.

Perhaps once again I have come into this series from the wrong end. This is #5. My own advice to readers is always to start at #1 and to allow the author to share their character development with you. I didn't particularly "take to" the main character Ellen nor to the members of her immediate family. I can see where the author is laying ground for more in the series, so I should go back and read earlier titles some time. 

My rating: 4.4

I've also read

BLOOD AT THE BOOKIES
THE POISONING IN THE PUB
4.4, THE SHOOTING IN THE SHOP
4.3, SO MUCH BLOOD
4.2, A DECENT INTERVAL
4.5, BONES UNDER THE BEACH HUT
4.2, GUNS IN THE GALLERY
4.6, THE CORPSE ON THE COURT
4.3, THE STRANGLING ON THE STAGE
4.2, THE CINDERELLA KILLER
4.5, THE TOMB IN TURKEY
4.4, CHARLES PARIS: MURDER UNPROMPTED
4.2, CHARLES PARIS: CORPORATE BODIES
4.4, THE KILLING IN THE CAFE
4.4, THE LIAR IN THE LIBRARY

Major Bricket series

• 4.4, MAJOR BRICKET AND THE CIRCUS CORPSE -#1
• 4.4, MAJOR BRICKETT AND THE BODY IN THE BELL TOWER -#2 

Review: HOW TO KILL A CLIENT, Joanna Jenkins

• 
  this edition a paperback from my local library
  
• published 2025 ( first published 2023)
• Allen & Unwin
• ISBN 978-1-76147-137-7
• 384 pages
• 2023 Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Novel (nominee) : How to Kill a Client 

Synopsis (publisher)

'Everyone is going to say what a great guy and a great lawyer he was. He wasn't. He was a prick … And a shithouse lawyer.'

Gavin Jones is dead at thirty-nine. As an in-house lawyer who controlled millions of dollars in fees per year, he was legal firm Howard Greene's biggest client and wielded that power with manipulative contempt. But he saved his worst behaviour for women, at work and at home.

The partners of Howard Greene relied on his favour to fund their lavish lifestyles. If sycophantic admiration of the man was all it took to secure work from Gavin, that's what they delivered.

But no one liked Gavin. The list of those who suffered from his cruelty was long enough to include pretty much everyone who had contact with him. So who actually killed him?

A fast-paced and wickedly funny thriller about power and revenge set in the pristine towers of capitalism, How to Kill a Client is a scorching debut straight out of tomorrow's headlines.

My Take

I am reading these books all out of order, having read #3 in the series first. 

This novel is quite a heavy, almost academic read, the setting a world with which most of us are not familiar. Ruth Dawson is a founding member of a law firm Howard Greene, recently returned to work after the death of her husband when he is hit on the road while cycling. 

Ruth agrees to move to Brisbane to the branch of the law firm, where some big projects will bring in millions. One of their clients is Gavin Jones, a mysogynist, who is not above appropriating the work of others and presenting it as his own. When he belittles the work of one of the newish female partners of Howard Greene she fantasises about a way to kill him and then shortly afterwards he dies. When the police investigators identify his death as murder, it becomes obvious that there are many who had a motive.

I can see that, having read #3 in the series first, I am going to have some problems in keeping Ruth's timeline straight.

There is no doubt that the author is one to add to my "watch" list.  

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.7, BAD NEIGHBOURS  - #3

Review: THE WATER'S EDGE, Karin Fossum

• 
  This title made available as an e-book by my local library on Libby
  
• #8 in the Inspector Sejer series
• Published in 2009 by Random House
• Translated into English from Norwegian by Charlotte Barslund 

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)
A married couple, Reinhardt and Kristine Ris, are out for a Sunday walk when they discover the body of a boy and see the figure of a man limping away. They alert the police, but not before Reinhardt, to Kristine's horror, kneels down and takes photographs of the dead child with his cell phone. 

Inspectors Konrad Sejer and Jakob Skarre begin to make inquiries in the little town of Solberglia. But then another boy disappears, and an explanation seems more remote than ever. Meanwhile, the Ris's marriage starts to unravel as Reinhardt becomes obsessed with the tragic events and his own part in them.  

My Take

It is nearly 10 years since I have read a book by this author and I had forgotten how good they are. It was almost meeting up again with old friends.

Karin Fossum is a Norwegian author and her novels owe a lot to the atmospheric setting. In many ways the novels are police procedurals but they also are related to themes of modern times: in this case paedophilia, and what leads some men to target children. Sejer and Skarr are methodical and sensitive. In a side-theme Kristine Ris is trapped in a loveless marriage to a man she has come to both fear and hate.

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

• BLACK SECONDS
• BROKEN
• THE WATER'S EDGE
• 4.9, BAD INTENTIONS
• 5.0, THE CALLER
• 4.7, I CAN SEE IN THE DARK
• 5.0, THE DROWNED BOY
• 4.7, HELLFIRE

Review: DEAD MED, Freida McFadden

• 
  this title from my local library
  
• published by AmazonAu 2024
• 460 pages
• originally published Suicide Med 

 Synopsis (AmazonAu)

 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden comes an electrifying medical thriller, Dead Med, originally published as Suicide Med.

"All I can think about is how pathetic it would be to die in the anatomy lab. The last thing I want is to become one of the dead bodies."

When Heather McKinley dreamed of becoming a doctor, she imagined curing sick kids and sporting pink stethoscopes. She never anticipated the sleepless nights, grueling exams, and endless labs. And she certainly never knew that her medical school earned the nickname Dead Med thanks to the tragic history of students overdosing on illegal drugs.

But Heather would never consider doing anything like that. That is, until her longtime boyfriend dumps her, she finds herself failing anatomy, and her world starts to crumble.

Everyone has a breaking point.

Then, on the night before the final exam in anatomy, a shot rings out through the hallways of Dead Med.

The school has claimed yet another casualty. One of Heather's classmates has done the unthinkable, and before her desperate 911 call even connects, it will happen again.

And the night is just beginning.

My Take

The story follows the lives and interactions of students studying a year of anatomy at the DeWitt Medical School. Five students are thrown together working on one cadaver. The school has the reputation of being riddled with drug abuse and stress brought on by the demands of their studies. We see the same events from a number of points of view.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.5, THE TENANT

4.5, DO NOT DISTURB 

4.5, WANT TO KNOW A SECRET?

4.7, DEAR DEBBIE 

4.6, THE HOUSEMAID 

4.6, NEVER LIE 

4.6, THE BOYFRIEND 

Review: THE BUTLER, Clare Mackintosh

• 
  This edition from my local library
  
• Published in 2026 by Podium Publishing
• ISBN 979-8-3470-0926-8
• 199 pages  

Synopsis (Amazon)

The South of France is stunning, though not without its imperfections, from pickpockets to burglars to the occasional cold-blooded killer. But in his twenty-five years of service, Baxter—with a spotless reputation as a polished, well-mannered butler—has never run into any issues catering to the ultrawealthy. Until now.

Baxter’s latest assignment is at Villa Sérénité, where Alec Prescott is hosting a colorful cast of characters, including his ex-wife, his much younger lady friend, and some Hollywood hotshots, after the Cannes Film Festival. But it doesn’t take long for a week of sun, wine, and a family birthday celebration to devolve into bickering and backstabbing. And soon, secrets aren’t the only thing floating to the surface . . .

When one of the guests is found dead in the villa’s glittering pool, the unflappable Baxter must assist the gendarmes in determining who’s responsible. With some standing to gain and others motivated to take it away, fingers are pointed in all directions. A good butler is expected to see everything and say nothing—but what if he too becomes a target?

My Take

The family from hell is celebrating a 21st birthday until one of them ends up on the bottom of the pool. The local police don't have much time to solve the murder but they tell the remaining members of the family they can't leave until the murderer is nabbed. There is a touch of humour when Baxter the butler enlists a local pickpocket to help him work out who committed the murder.  

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

• 4.6, I LET YOU GO
• 4.4, LET ME LIE 

Review: SOFTLY CALLS THE DEVIL, Chris Blake

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on Libby through my local library
  
• Publisher: Bonnier Books UK, 352 pages
• Release date: November 4, 2025
• Formats: OverDrive Read
• ISBN: 9781786585417 

Synopsis (publisher) 

Things are going well for Matt Buchanan. After some hard times, life is peaceful as sole-charge constable for the small, isolated settlement of Haast on New Zealand's wild West Coast. He's made friends among the locals, won their trust. He keeps their little world safe. And he's working in spectacular surroundings - the fierce Tasman Sea, the dense beech forest, the dark, cold swamps, the snowy Southern Alps.

But then his much-loved predecessor, Gus, is discovered beside a river with a bullet through his head. He'd been looking into a disturbing murder-suicide from 1978: the parents' bodies were found, but not their daughter's. Suspecting a darker truth, Matt is certain the answers can't be too far away in this close-knit community. 

How does former forest service ranger Liam, with his gang links, fit into the story? What about Joe, the alcoholic hermit whose knowledge and intelligence seem so at odds with his appearance and lifestyle?

Tensions rise, there are more deaths, people are threatened, memories surface of a cult that went horribly wrong ... Even when support arrives, Matt finds himself pursuing a case that's well outside his remit and is taking him to places he'd sooner not revisit. Also part of an increasingly terrifying situation are an over-curious journalist and a woman who could be someone special.

Matt has managed to shun his own demons, and is desperate not to face them again, but when confronted by the devil himself, he must take action, rediscover something of the person he was - for his own sake and to save those he loves.
This is the work of an award-winning master storyteller. Fast-moving, spare, compelling and rich in laconic humour, Softly Calls the Devil will grab you from the first page and refuse to let go. 

My Take

This is basically a police procedural with a distinctive rural New Zealand flavour. Matt Buchanan has been a metropolitan CIB detective but is now a sole-charge constable in an isolated rural community. 

His predecessor has been found dead and Matt discovers the case he was looking into was a cold case from 25 years earlier: a murder suicide where a young girl went missing and was never found. The case appears to have been linked to a nearby hippy community but the police investigation got nowhere.

The rural setting and the time frame of the original case provide tantalising elements which reach out into the present.

My rating: 4.6

About the author

Chris Blake was born and raised in Auckland. He served briefly in the New Zealand Army's Reserve Force before joining the New Zealand Police in 2006.

His debut novel, The Sound of Her Voice (published under the pseudonym Nathan Blackwell), was a double finalist in the 2018 Ngaio Marsh Awards for best novel and best first novel. Chris was an assistant storyboarder for season two of the crime drama television series, The Gulf, released in 2021.

Review: DARK DESERT ROAD, Tim Ayliffe

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on Libby through my local library
  
• Pub Date: 6 January 2026, Echo Publishing Australia
• Extent: 400 pages
• Ebook ISBN: 9781786587220 

 Synopsis (publisher)

A fugitive sister. A dangerous father. A terror cell hiding in plain sight.

Kit McCarthy hasn't seen her identical twin sister, Billie, in more than a decade.

The sisters don't see eye to eye, which is understandable, considering Kit's a police officer and Billie followed their violent father into a life of crime.

Kit is no angel. Burnt out by years working in child protection, she has been accused of using excessive force in the arrest of a violent drunk. Kit has just been ordered to take time off work when she gets a frantic message from Billie, telling her she has a young son and that somebody is trying to kill her.

And then Billie disappears.

Determined to find her estranged sister, Kit's only lead comes after visiting their father in prison. Malcolm McCarthy claims Billie married a former United States Marine and has been living with a group of sovereign citizens in the desert country of the New South Wales Riverina.

Kit's journey to find Billie takes her through shuttered towns destroyed by drought, where everybody owns guns, nobody talks to cops, and people get lost for a reason.

Out here a war is brewing between a ruthless bikie gang and a separatist community that is re-engaging with society in the most violent way.

Kit will risk everything to find her sister and the nephew she never knew she had.

But does Billie really want to be saved?

My Take

A very confronting story, revealing to the reader a section of the Australian population that I am not familiar with.

Issues: extremism, sovereign citizens, social fracture, anti-government conspiracies. 

Tightly plotted. Most of the characters you would hope never to meet. It felt very credible. An author I have never read before.

My rating: 4.7

About the author

Tim Ayliffe is an award-winning author whose thriller novels have been informed by his 25-year global career as a journalist. He writes about crime, espionage, extremism and the global power games at play in the 21st Century. He has been the Managing Editor of Television and Video for ABC News and also Executive Producer of News Breakfast. He is the author of the ‘John Bailey’ series including The Greater Good, State of Fear, The Enemy Within, Killer Traitor Spy – which won the People’s Choice Award at the 2024 Danger Awards – and The Wrong Man. Tim's thrillers are also in development for TV. He lives in Sydney.  

REview: WHY DIDN'T THEY ASK EVANS, Agatha Christie

• 
  This edition read as an e-book
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0046A9MZO (AmazonAU)
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 14 October 2010
• Originally published 1934, (aka THE BOOMERANG CLUE)
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 305 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0007422906 
• my earlier review 

 Synopsis (AmazonAU)

 When a man plunges down a cliff, two adventurous young friends decide to find his killer…

While playing an erratic round of golf, Bobby Jones slices his ball over the edge of a cliff. His ball is lost, but on the rocks below he finds the crumpled body of a dying man. With his final breath the man opens his eyes and says, ‘Why didn’t they ask Evans?’

Haunted by these words, Bobby and his vivacious companion, Frankie, set out to solve a mystery that will bring them into mortal danger…

My Take

 I have read this story for the umpteenth time for discussion with my U3A Agatha Christie discussion group.  I think I covered the main discussion points in my earlier review on this blog which I posted over 15 years ago.

The story has a large cast of characters and the plot gets quite complicated and messy.

The Wikipedia account is helpful. 

Here are the discussion points which I intend to raise:

• the rather obvious class differences between the characters
• the fact that both Bobby and Frankie are rather gullible in the way they react to other characters
• and the fact that eventually they owe their lives to the person they both have a pretty low opinion of.
• the romantic element - more than one romance.
• the irony that the character "Evans" is actually a person that Bobby should have thought of first (although, to be fair, she had changed her name) 
• what was the motive for the murder? 
• What did you think of the murderer getting away with it? Was justice done?
• When the book was first published what would readers have liked or not liked? 

After our discussion we  will watch a television version which introduced Miss Marple (portrayed by Julia McKenzie) into the story. 

My rating: 4.4 

All my Agatha Christie reviews.  

Review: PAPER CAGE, Tom Baragwanath

• 
  This edition an e-book from Borrowbox through my local library
  
• Published 30 August 2022, Text Publishing
• ISBN 9781922791023
• Extent 320pp 

 Synopsis (publisher)

Winner of the 2021 Michael Gifkins Prize, this thrilling debut unravels a series of mysterious child abductions in a small New Zealand town.

Masterton isn’t a big town. The community’s tight, if not always harmonious. So when a child goes missing it’s a big deal for everyone. And when a second kid disappears, the whole town’s holding their own children that little bit tighter.

Lorraine doesn’t have kids, but she has a nephew. She’s holding him a bit tighter, too, because she works for the police, and she knows they don’t have any idea.

Lo’s not a cop, she’s a records clerk. She sits out back among the piles of paper, making connections, remembering things. Working things out that the actual cops don’t want to hear about.

Until the new investigator, Hayes, arrives from Wellington, and realises Lo’s the only person there with answers to any of his questions. Which is just as well—because the clock is running down for the children of the town.

Both a nail-biting thriller and a beautifully written, acutely observed portrait of a community, Paper Cage is the prize-winning debut from young New Zealand novelist Tom Baragwanath.

My Take

Always difficult to write crime fiction set in your home town.  The community is concerned with the disappearance of three children and Lorraine knows the clock is ticking. 

Themes covered: low socio-economic effects, simmering race relations, gang-related violence and drug and alcohol-fuelled suburban culture. The abducted children are from fragmented families and haven't had the best start in life, but they are loved. Their families are bewildered by what has happened, and the police seem to think their abduction is the result of gang warfare. 

Sections of the story are narrated by different points of view, and the style and the language, particularly local idioms, were at times a challenge for the reader.

Lucky Thing by Tom Baragwanath (Text Publishing) is on the longlist for best novel 2026  Ngaio Marsh Awards.

My rating: 4.6

About the author

Tom Baragwanath is originally from Masterton, New Zealand, and now lives in Paris with his young family. His first novel, Paper Cage, was published by Text to international acclaim. 

Review: MAJOR BRICKET AND THE BODY IN THE BELL TOWER, Simon Brett

• 
  this edition from my local library
  
• published by Constable in 2026
• ISBN 978-1-40872-133-9
• 242 pages 

Synopsis (publisher) 

For Major Bricket, attending church in his village of Stunston Peveril in Suffolk is a good way to keep up with the village gossip. Having only recently retired from a career where he was privy to many international secrets, the Major likes to stay in the know.

Events take a turn one Sunday though when, after the morning service, Major Bricket notices the door to the bell tower open... and finds a body at the bottom of the stairs.

The dead man is dressed in a suit and dog collar. But who is he? And could someone in Stunston Peveril have killed him?

Perhaps predictably, most of the village residents seem more concerned with the Parish Council flower arranging rota than the mysterious corpse.

Major Bricket will have to rely on his long-nurtured detection skills, and his trusted friends Nga Luong and Rod, to solve the case.

My Take

Not quite so cozy as the first in the series: a little more violence occurs when Major Bricket is hunted down by an old Eastern European opponent. Bricket's partnership with local restaurant owner Nga Luong and teenager Rod Enright is developing nicely as are the local characters added into the story. This is a series you will need to read from the beginning. I am enjoying the quirky nature of the story.

My rating: 4.4

I've also read

BLOOD AT THE BOOKIES
THE POISONING IN THE PUB
4.4, THE SHOOTING IN THE SHOP
4.3, SO MUCH BLOOD
4.2, A DECENT INTERVAL
4.5, BONES UNDER THE BEACH HUT
4.2, GUNS IN THE GALLERY
4.6, THE CORPSE ON THE COURT
4.3, THE STRANGLING ON THE STAGE
4.2, THE CINDERELLA KILLER
4.5, THE TOMB IN TURKEY
4.4, CHARLES PARIS: MURDER UNPROMPTED
4.2, CHARLES PARIS: CORPORATE BODIES
4.4, THE KILLING IN THE CAFE
4.4, THE LIAR IN THE LIBRARY

Major Bricket series

• 4.4, MAJOR BRICKET AND THE CIRCUS CORPSE -#1 

Review: MAJOR BRICKET AND THE CIRCUS CORPSE, Simon Brett

• 
  this edition supplied by my local library
  
• published Constable 2025
• ISBN 978-1-40872-130-8
• 232 pages
• #1 Major Bricket Mystery

Synopsis (publisher) 

Introducing a new, but not-so-amateur, sleuth from another peaceful English village with an alarmingly high death rate! The first mystery in a new cosy series from one of the world's favourite crime writers - perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Janice Hallett, Robert Thorogood and M. C. Beaton.
_______________________

Meet Major Bricket, an infrequent resident of Highfield House in Stunston Peveril, Suffolk. In the past the Major's work assignments, frequently in foreign countries, have prevented him from spending much time there and a result, there is an air of mystery around him while everyone in the village speculates on the nature of his occupation.

But now the Major has retired and has come home for good in his open-topped little red sports car... and what a homecoming it is, for lying spreadeagled on his lawn in the summer sunshine is the corpse of a clown.

The circus is in Stunston Peveril for the annual village fair, yet none of their quota of clowns is missing - or at least, nobody is saying. Could the body be that of an unfortunate early guest at the village's highlight of the social calendar, the Fincham Abbey Costume Ball?

Fortunately Major Bricket's past clandestine career means that he is now very well placed to solve the mystery of the dead clown on his camomile lawn . . . 

My Take

The beginning of a new series of cozies, with a couple of characters who have had a history in espionage, but are now apparently retired. As always with Simon Brett: interesting characters, and mysteries that are sufficiently engaging without being over the top or too noir, plus slightly quirky humour.

Not as good in my books as the Fethering Mysteries, but it is early days yet. 

My rating: 4.4

BLOOD AT THE BOOKIES
THE POISONING IN THE PUB
4.4, THE SHOOTING IN THE SHOP
4.3, SO MUCH BLOOD
4.2, A DECENT INTERVAL
4.5, BONES UNDER THE BEACH HUT
4.2, GUNS IN THE GALLERY
4.6, THE CORPSE ON THE COURT
4.3, THE STRANGLING ON THE STAGE
4.2, THE CINDERELLA KILLER
4.5, THE TOMB IN TURKEY
4.4, CHARLES PARIS: MURDER UNPROMPTED
4.2, CHARLES PARIS: CORPORATE BODIES
4.4, THE KILLING IN THE CAFE
4.4, THE LIAR IN THE LIBRARY 

Review: EVIL IN HIGH PLACES, Rory Clements

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on BorrowBox through my local library 
  
• Published: 25 November 2025, by Viking Fiction
• ISBN: 9780241728178
•  Pages: 416  

Synopsis (Publisher)

THE CLOSER YOU GET, THE FURTHER YOU HAVE TO FALL.

Munich, 1936. All eyes are on the Bavarian capital for the upcoming Olympic games. As athletes fight for gold and the Nazis fight for power, Detective Sebastian Wolff faces a battle of his own.

A famous actress has disappeared and Wolff has been ordered to find her, fast. But Elena Lang is no ordinary film-star: she is the mistress of Joseph Goebbels - Hitler's right-hand-man in the party that Wolff despises.

But corruption runs deep in Munich and Elena is just the first to go missing. In a search that will take him from high society to the city's darkest corners, Wolff is about to learn just how easily the hunter becomes the hunted: this is a city on the brink of war, and some enemies are better left alone.

Walking the tightrope between justice and jeopardy, Evil in High Places is the gripping new historical thriller from the million-copy-bestseller, Rory Clements.

My Take

An excellent historical crime fiction set in 1936, Munich, in the lead up to and during the Olympics. Hitler has given orders that nothing is to detract from the image that Germany is attempting to display to the world of the success of Nazism: no violence, and particularly no crime  or murders.

So Detective Seb Wolff is faced with problems when first of all a famous actress goes missing, and then a body is discovered, brutally murdered in the nearby forest. His superiors re-iterate that no-one can learn of either events: nothing must contravene Hitler's orders.

There is a mixture of real and fictional characters, real and fictional events, but we come away with the feeling that we better understand how things were in 1936.

My rating: 4.8

About the author
Rory Clements writes full time in a quiet corner of Norfolk. He was raised all over the world while his father served in the Royal Navy, an experience that went on to inspire Rory's beloved historical thrillers.

Previously a journalist for various papers, he is now a Sunday Times bestselling author, two-time winner and three-time nominee of the CWA Historical Dagger Award. His books have sold over 1 million copies to date. 

Review: COLD RIVER, Margaret Hickey

• 
  this edition from my local library
  
• published by Penguin Random House Australia 2026
• ISBN 978-1-76135-111-2
• 353 pages

Synopsis (publisher)

Deep in the mountains, secrets grow deadly . . .

Senior Constable Sally White knows how easily hikers can go missing in Victoria’s High Country. But there’s something about the disappearance of Louis Taylor, a young man lost up Mount Viking, that’s not sitting right with her.

Louis was an aspiring journalist, researching the illegal tobacco trade – also known as chop chop – that was once so prevalent in the area. And the last person he interviewed before his hike has just met a gruesome end . . .

But with no other leads, and with the search winding down, Sally is forced to accept the young man died in a tragic accident.

Until she learns of another missing persons case that bears striking similarities. Astrid Marlowe, a young lawyer, vanished in the same mountains two years earlier.

Were Louis and Astrid simply unlucky hikers lost in the treacherous terrain? Or did they both stumble into something – or someone – they shouldn’t have? 

My Take

This author was a "discovery" just four years ago and now her books are in the "not to be missed" category. This book is a stand-alone, set in the Victorian High Country, and I wouldn't be surprised if it eventually becomes the first in the series.

It hits on themes seen elsewhere: corruption in the Victorian police, the drug trade, and the close-connectedness of rural communities.

Sally White comes to rural policing with something that should be an advantage: her stepfather is the Assistant Commissioner, and a distinct disadvantage: her father is a criminal who has done time. But she loses on all fronts. 

Sally is young, impetuous, and enthusiastic and she loves her job.That often gets her into trouble. Her bosses think she needs watching.

Highly recommended. If you get a chance to hear Margaret talk, make sure you take it. 

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.7, CUTTER'S END - Mark Ariti #1

4.6, STONE TOWN - Mark Ariti #2

4.5, BROKEN BAY - Mark Ariti #3 

4.8, CREEPER

4.6, AN ILL WIND 

4.4, RURAL DREAMS - short stories