Review: THE FIRST LAW OF THE BUSH, Geoff Parkes

• 
  This edition from my local library
  
• published Penguin 2026
• ISBN 978-1-76134-931-7
• 346 pages 

Synopsis (Publisher)

Set in the 1990s in New Zealand’s King Country, The First Law of the Bush is the scintillating new rural noir from the author of When The Deep, Dark Bush Swallows You Whole.

It’s a beautiful day to be alive, Bill Dickerson thought, seconds before he tumbled from the viaduct onto the jagged rocks below . . .

His awful death made national news. But still, one year on, Bill’s widow Carol has received no explanation about what happened. Was it suicide? An accident? Maybe murder?

So Carol hires lawyer Ryan Bradley in her fight for justice. Ryan has just returned to the remote town of Nashville after ten years away, so he’s in no position to turn down work.

Except the case seems hopeless from the start. Bill’s employer is denying responsibility, Carol’s friends are shunning her, and the only witnesses – co-workers Gav Coates and Wati Reynolds – can shed no light on the tragic fall. Even Senior Sergeant ‘Stinger’ Nettle is too busy turning a blind eye to Wati’s illegal schemes to dig deeper into the death.

But in small towns, nothing is quite what it seems. And for one Nashville resident the wrong question will come at a deadly price . . .

My Take

An engrossing read. The real reason for Bill Dickerson's death comes as a total surprise. The plot is well constructed with a number of sub-plots that are well executed. An author to watch and I will certainly be reading his debut title., When the Deep, Dark Bush Swallows You Whole.

My rating: 4.8

About the author

Born and raised in rural New Zealand, Geoff Parkes now lives in Melbourne. For the last twelve years he’s written a weekly opinion column for The Roar, Australia’s leading on-line sports website. He is the author of two crime novels, When the Deep, Dark Bush Swallows You Whole and The First Law of the Bush.

Review: ROAD CLOSED, Leigh Russell

• 
  This title read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00796E9IM
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ No Exit Press, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 30 May 2010
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 355 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781842434260
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1842434260
• Book 2 of 24 ‏ : ‎ DI Geraldine Steel 

Synopsis (Amazon)

When a man dies in a gas explosion, the police suspect arson. The Murder Investigation Team are called in to investigate.

The case takes on a new and terrible twist when a local villain is viciously attacked.

As the police enquiries lead from the expensive Harchester Hill estate to the local brothel, a witness dies in a hit-and-run.

Was it coincidence - or cold-blooded murder?

My Take

What a good series to have discovered. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this, the second in the series, and look forward to the next. The plots are pleasingly complex, the characters well drawn, and the scenarios believable. 

My rating: 4.6 

I've also read 

4.4, CUT SHORT - #1

4.4, JOURNEY TO DEATH (Lucy Hall #1) 

Review: THE IN CROWD, Charlotte Vassell

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (AmazonAU)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CLKZMT6D
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Faber & Faber, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 2 April 2024
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 433 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0571376247
• Book 2 of 3 ‏ : ‎ Detective Inspector Caius Beauchamp
• WINNER OF THE EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL 2025  

Synopsis (AmazonAU)

Being in is everything.

Calliope Foster is standing, Pimms in hand, under tasteful bunting at a Richmond garden party. She's here to toast her best friend's engagement.

Being out is murder.

Meanwhile, just a stone's throw away, police are pulling a body out of the river Thames. The drowning appears to be a tragic accident - but as Detective Inspector Caius Beauchamp is about to discover, the death is connected to this gathering of who's who in a way that could very well spell scandal.

There may be a wedding to plan, but a dead body will unravel even the best-laid plans . . .

My Take

 

Perhaps my enjoyment of this novel was too drastically affected by the fact that it is #2 in in the series, but to be honest I think I was too much turned off by the disclaimer "Agatha Christie meets Made in Chelsea in this witty and addictive whodunnit". Those of you who follow my blog know that I object particularly to the "coat-tails" syndrome, and in this case I saw little in this novel to remind me of, or to pay tribute to, Agatha Christie.

In fact I found this novel tedious reading. Hence my rating.

 

My rating: 3.3

 

About the Author
Charlotte Vassell studied History at the University of Liverpool and completed a Masters in Art History at SOAS, University of London, before training as an actor at Drama Studio London. Other than treading the boards Charlotte has also worked in advertising, executive search, and as a purveyor of silk top hats.

Review: THE NEW NEIGHBOURS, Claire Douglas

• 
  this edition a trade paperback from my local library
  
• published Penguin Random House 2025
• ISBN 978-1-405-95764-9
• 391 pages 

Synopsis (publisher)

Lena overhears a conversation she shouldn’t have.

She’s sure her new neighbours – the Morgans – are planning a crime.

Her family say she’s mistaken.
They are a lovely, friendly couple.
She should forget it.

Yet Lena can’t.

And the more she investigates,
the worse her suspicions.

But Lena hasn’t counted on one thing.

A secret from her own past. One the Morgans seem connected to.

And which puts Lena in terrible danger . . .

My Take

I've found that I have always enjoyed stories by Claire Douglas, and this one did not disappoint, even if slightly more complex than I had expected to be. Still, a satisfying read. 

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

4.6, THE COUPLE AT NO. 9

4.6, JUST LIKE THE OTHER GIRLS

4.7, LAST SEEN ALIVE 

4.5, THEN SHE VANISHES 

Review: UNIFORM JUSTICE, Donna Leon

• 
  This edition a book from my local library
  
• Published by Penguin Books 2004
• ISBN 978-0-09-953665-9
• 326 pages
• #12/33 in the Brunetti series  

Synopsis (publisher)

When a young cadet is found hanged at a military academy, Commissario Brunetti's investigation entangles him in the strange and stormy politics of Venice's powerful elite

Neither Commissario Brunetti nor his wife Paola have ever had much sympathy for the Italian armed forces, so when a young cadet is found hanged, at Venice's elite military academy, Brunetti's emotions are complex: pity and sorrow at the death of a boy close in age to his own son, and contempt and irritation for the arrogance and high-handedness of the boy's teachers and fellow students.

The young man is the son of an ex-politician, a man of an impeccable integrity all too rare in Italian politics. But as Brunetti - and the indispensable Signorina Elettra - investigate further, no one seems willing to talk. Is this the natural reluctance of Italians to involve themselves with the authorities, or is Brunetti facing a conspiracy of silence?

My Take

This case sits very badly with Guido Brunetti. He can't accept that a 17 year old with his life before him would commit suicide, and he doesn't like the way his fellow students are so non-commital about the boy. Brunetti also thinks there is something very wrong with the reaction of the boy's father to his son's death.

A very thought provoking read which tells you a lot about Brunetti's principles and the way the system works. 

My rating: 4.7 

I've also read

ABOUT FACE

THE GIRL OF HIS DREAMS

THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY

4.4, A QUESTION OF BELIEF

4.5, BEASTLY THINGS

4.4, QUIETLY IN THEIR SLEEP

3.9, THE JEWELS OF PARADISE

4.8, DRAWING CONCLUSIONS

4.5, DRAWING CONCLUSIONS, Donna Leon - abridged audio version

4.6, DEATH IN A STRANGE COUNTRY

4.7, BY ITS COVER

4.5, THE GOLDEN GOOSE

4.8, THE WATERS OF ETERNAL YOUTH

4.5, FALLING IN LOVE

4.8, EARTHLY REMAINS

4.6, TRANSIENT DESIRES - #30

4.7, SO SHALL YOU REAP - #32 

4.6, GIVE UNTO OTHERS - #31

4.6, A REFINER'S FIRE - #33 

 

Review: NOT QUITE DEAD YET, Holly Jackson

• 
  This edition a trade paperback supplied by my local library
  
• Published by Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House UK, 2025
• ISBN 978-0-241-75369-9
• 430 pages 

Synopsis (publisher)

In seven days Jet Mason will be dead.
Twenty-seven years old, she’s back living with her parents, waiting for her life to begin. She’ll do it later, she always says. Her parents have their doubts. Until, on the night of Halloween, Jet is violently attacked by an unseen intruder. She suffers a catastrophic brain injury. The doctor is certain that within a week, she’ll suffer a deadly aneurysm.

Jet never thought of herself as having enemies. But now she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her ex-best friend turned sister-in-law, her former boyfriend. She may only have seven days – if she even makes it that long – but Jet is absolutely determined to finally prove her doubters wrong.
Jet is going to solve her own murder.

My Take

Effectively Jet Mason is dead, or she will be about 7 days after an assailant struck her on the head in her own home. And Holly is determined to find out who "killed" her. Time is short, and the search is not something that Jet can put off which is what she usually does.

So we the readers are along with Jet for the ride, piecing the evidence together, willing her to live long enough to solve the mystery. An unusual scenario.

My rating: 4.6

About the author

Holly Jackson (born 6 December 1992) is a British author of mystery novels. She is best known for her A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series. 

Review: THE BIG FOUR, Agatha Christie

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (AmazonAU)
  
• Originally published 1927
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FZLLJ87M, Publisher ‏ : ‎ Zenith Velvet Ink Publishing, 3 November 2025
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 260 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-1070126516
• Book 5 of 38 ‏ : ‎ Hercule Poirot 

Synopsis (AmazonAU)

Four ruthless masterminds. One brilliant detective. A conspiracy that spans the world.
When a mysterious visitor collapses at Hercule Poirot's doorstep, the great detective is drawn into a web of international intrigue unlike anything he has faced before.

Behind a series of murders, kidnappings, and coded messages lies the sinister organization known only as The Big Four — a secret alliance plotting to dominate the world through power, fear, and manipulation.
With Captain Hastings by his side, Poirot must match wits against the most formidable enemies of his career — including a criminal genius whose intelligence rivals his own.

The Big Four combines Christie's razor-sharp plotting with the tension of an international thriller, delivering relentless twists, deadly traps, and a mystery that tests the limits of Poirot's legendary "little grey cells."

My Take

I was surprised how much I enjoyed re-reading this novel for at least the fourth time. This time I have read it for discussion with my U3A Agatha Christie reading group.

It is set after the First World War which has not ended in the sort of peace that the "winners" have envisaged, and in particular world politics seem to be destined to dominated by forces of evil. In particular an international intrigue of four people, three of whom Poirot has identified, but the identity of Number 4 is a puzzle, a chameleon whose physical characteristics appear to be different each time he makes an appearance. 

To me the Poirot who features in this story is a stronger, almost younger, character than the man who appears in later novels. He is also held in high regard by those who "matter" in international governments, and certainly the Big Four regard him as important opponent, someone who needs to be dealt with.

The novel apparently began life as a series of short stories featuring Poirot with a connecting theme, although in same cases the connections are tenuous. It was then turned into a full length book and published after Christie's disappearance and re-appearance in 1926, and the resultant publicity seems to have ensured that it was a sales hit.

I found the Wikipedia article useful. 

My previous reviews are here and here 

My rating: 4.4 

All my Agatha Christie reviews.