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 

Review: HOW TO SOLVE YOUR OWN MURDER, Kristen Perrin

• 
  this edition a paperback published in 2024 by Quercus
• borrowed from my local library
  
• ISBN 978-1-52943-006-6
• 376 pages  

 Synopsis (publisher)

FRANCES ALWAYS SAID SHE’D BE MURDERED.
SHE WAS RIGHT.

In 1965, Frances Adams was told by a fortune teller that one day she’d be murdered. Frances spent the next sixty years trying to prevent the crime that would be her eventual demise. Of course, no one took her seriously – until she was dead.

For Frances, being the village busybody was a form of insurance. She’d spent a lifetime compiling dirt on every person she met, just in case they might turn out to be her killer. In the heart of her sprawling country estate lies an eccentric library of detective work, where the right person could step in and use her findings to solve her murder.

When her great-niece Annie arrives from London and discovers that Frances’ worst fear has come true, Annie is thrust into her great-aunt’s last act of revenge against her sceptical friends and family. Frances’ will stipulates that the person who solves her murder will inherit her millions.

Can Annie unravel the mystery and find justice for Frances, or will digging up the past lead her into the path of the killer?

My Take

Set in two time frames, one of them narrated in diary format, this was a challenging novel for the author to pull off well. In my opinion, it could have done with much stricter editing. There were far too many characters for the reader to keep track of, and too many red herrings.

The two time frames are 60 years apart. In the first, in 1965, at the Castle Knoll Country Fair, Frances Adams has her fortune told and we are informed that the fortune will dictate the rest of her life. Sixty years later she calls some of her family together to reveal how her estate will be disposed of. Before they come together she is dead. Her will sets her inheritors against each other in a race to solve her murder.

Sixty years earlier a baby was born, and one of her friends disappeared. In the intervening period some of her contemporaries have of course died and other families have been augmented. This introduces an incredible level of complexity. Annie, her great-niece, does not know who to trust, and neither does the reader. 

My rating: 4.0 

About the author

Kristen Perrin is originally from Seattle, Washington, where she spent several years working as a bookseller before moving to the UK to do a master’s and a PhD. She lives with her family in Surrey, where she can be found poking around vintage bookstores, stomping in the mud with her two kids, and collecting too many plants. How To Solve Your Own Murder is her debut adult novel.  

Review: BAD NEIGHBOURS, Joanna Jenkins

• 
  this edition published 2026 by Allen & Unwin
• ISBN 978-1-76147-401-9
  
• 384 pages

Synopsis (publisher) 

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

Ruth Dawson finds her ideal living space in an Art Deco building in Potts Point, The Lumen. A twenty-minute walk from her office in the city, the apartment boasts parquetry flooring, a wall of books and Harbour Bridge views from the sofa.

It's perfect until Ben, the homeless guy, dies under the corrugated iron lean-to in the garden where he lived.

The residents of The Lumen do little to hide their relief. They can cease their half-hearted attempts to find an acceptable solution to 'the Ben problem', and return to more important issues.

They're not happy when Ruth brings in a detective. But she's certain Ben was poisoned, and one of her neighbours knows it too.

My Take

I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller, a murder mystery with a touch of satirical humour. Ruth Dawson makes an interesting if reluctant sleuth, and the variety of characters who inhabit The Lumen keep the brain engaged with possible solutions.

I will certainly be reading more by this author. 

My Rating: 4.7

About the author

Joanna Jenkins grew up on a small farm in country Queensland. After graduating from the University of Queensland with degrees in English Literature and Law, she practised as a solicitor, including for many years as a partner of an international law firm. She now writes full-time. Married with three sons, Joanna lives in Brisbane. Her debut novel, How to Kill a Client, was published in 2023. The Bluff, her second novel, was published in 2025. 

Review: RESURRECTION BAY, Emma Viskic

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on Libby through my local library
  
• first published 2016
• my review 2016  
• Finalist for the CWA (Crime Writers’ Association) Gold Dagger
• Finalist for John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger Awards
• 2016 WINNER OF THREE DAVITT AWARDS: Best Adult Novel, Best Debut Book, Readers’ Choice Award
• 2016 WINNER OF THE NED KELLY AWARD for Best First Fiction
• It was iBooks Australia’s Crime Novel of the Year and shortlisted for the UK’s prestigious Gold Dagger and New Blood Dagger Awards, and the US Barry Award.  
• Libby Reads ANZ (Zoom discussions August 2026) 

Synopsis (publisher)

Caleb Zelic may be deaf, but he knows how to read people better than anyone. When his childhood friend is brutally murdered while helping him on an insurance case, Caleb vows to find the killer. But he can't do it alone. Caleb and his business partner Frankie, an ex-cop, start with one clue: Scott, the last word the victim texted to Caleb.

But chasing the elusive Scott leads them back to Caleb's hometown of Resurrection Bay. And it's here he learns that everyone – including his murdered friend – is hiding something. And the deeper he digs, the darker the secrets ... 

My Take

I originally read this title very soon after it was first published. I am re-reading it so I can sit in on a Zoom meeting being held by Libby Reads ANZ (Zoom discussions August 2026). After re-reading the book, I think that I probably underestimated how good it actually was back in 2016. The plot is quite complex and has a couple of turnings that really nothing warns the reader about. It certainly has won, and been short-listed for, a number of local and even international awards.

One question I would like the author to answer in the Zoom discussion is why she made Caleb deaf. 

My rating: 4.6 

I've also read

4.3, RESURRECTION BAY
4.3, AND FIRE CAME DOWN
4.2, DARKNESS FOR LIGHT  

Review: THE QUIET KILL, Robert Bryndza

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on Kindle (AmazonAU)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0GF8KRSZK
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Raven Street Publishing, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 7 July 2026
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 378 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1914547386
• Book 1 of 2 ‏ : ‎ Detective Jamie Day

Synopsis (AmazonAU)

The start of a thrilling new crime series from Robert Bryndza, the multi-million bestselling author of the Detective Erika Foster and P.I. Kate Marshall series.

Winter, 1987. Detective Jamie Day arrives in London determined to prove himself. After years policing a quiet seaside town, his promotion to the Metropolitan Police feels like the opportunity he has been waiting for.

But the capital is a very different world.

On his first day in plain clothes, Jamie makes a grim discovery: the dismembered body of a young man, left in a dark corner of the city. What should have been a routine first shift quickly becomes the beginning of a major murder investigation.

Then another victim is found.

As winter deepens, young men are being killed late at night across London, their bodies discovered in eerily similar circumstances. The detectives soon realise they may be hunting a serial killer.

Working alongside a tough and experienced team, Jamie must prove he belongs while navigating the pressures of a high-profile investigation. But as the case grows darker, the killer’s pattern begins to emerge. And if they don’t stop him soon, another body will be waiting in the shadows.

The Quiet Kill, is the latest page-turner from multi-million bestselling author Robert Bryndza, so gripping it will keep you reading long past bedtime.

My Take

I jumped at the opportunity to begin a new series with this author.  In contrast to his earlier two series the central figure is a young male detective, new to London. Detective Constable Jamie Day is dropped into the beginning of a series of grisly murders on his first day on the job. Jamie is raw and inexperienced and anxious to learn. 

It is 1987, fear of AIDS is at its height, and the technology revolution is still about to impact: pagers not mobile phones and criminals are a little harder to track. I think the author does a good job of recreating the world of 40 years ago.

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

Erika Foster

• 4.6, DARK WATER - #1
• 4.8, THE NIGHT STALKER - #2
• 4.8, THE GIRL IN THE ICE - #3
• 4.8, LAST BREATH - #4
• 4.7, COLD BLOOD - #5
• 4.6. DEADLY SECRETS - #6
• 4.7, LETHAL VENGEANCE - #8

Kate Marshall

• 4.7, NINE ELMS - #1
• 4.7, SHADOW SANDS - #2 
• 4.6, DARKNESS FALLS - #3 

Review: MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL, Kerry Greenwood

• 
  this edition published by Allen & Unwin 2025
• ISBN 978-1-76087-934-1
  
• 308 pages
• #25 in the Phryne Fisher series 

Synopsis (publisher)

The indefatigable Miss Phryne Fisher returns to solve what may be her most puzzling murder.
When Phryne Fisher is invited to Bendigo to witness the investiture of her old friend Lionel, who is being made a Bishop, her expectations of the solemn and dignified ceremony do not include a murder.

Phryne quickly involves herself with perspicacious local Constable Watson and eagle-eyed Detective Inspector Mick Kelly as they identify the murder victim - an overzealous deacon with a nose for trouble.

Applying her quick wits and magnetic charm, Phryne and her expanding team of sleuths discover murky layers of church politics, social scandals and business scams and blackmail. Soon, various suspects begin to populate a long list, each with excellent motives to kill.

Meanwhile the clock is ticking ... Will Phryne be able to bring to light the proof she needs before the murderer strikes again or disappears completely? 

My Take

A friend who is about to be inducted as the Bishop of Bendigo asks Phryne to attend his induction because he wants to discuss something with her. His predecessor had some concerns that had been raised by his Dean. But before the ceremony is over the Dean is dead, stabbed in the heart as he sat in his pew. And of course no one saw a thing!

Phryne and Dot become part of the investigation unravelling a number of themes which of course end up being connected.  

This the author's last novel, not only the last in the Phryne Fisher series, but is also posted posthumously. Check the article about her on Wikipedia. 

My rating: 4.4

I've also read 

• MURDER ON A MIDSUMMER NIGHT - #17
• TRICK OR TREAT
• FORBIDDEN FRUIT
• 4.3, DEAD MAN'S CHEST -#18
• 4.4, COOKING THE BOOKS
• 4.3, TAMAM SHUD
• 4.8, UNNATURAL HABITS - #19
• 4.3, MURDER AND MENDELSSOHN - #20
• 4.5, MURDER IN WILLIAMSTOWN - #22 
  

4.5, A QUESTION OF DEATH - anthology of short stories set in 1928

Review: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, Agatha Christie

• 
  This edition read on my Kindle (AmazonAU)
  
• Book 10 of 38: Hercule Poirot
• originally published 1934
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0046H95PO
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 14 October 2010
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 289 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0007422579
• (aka MURDER IN THE CALAIS COACH) 

Synopsis (AmazonAU)

Agatha Christie’s most famous murder mystery.

Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside.

Isolated and with a killer in their midst, detective Hercule Poirot must identify the murderer – in case he or she decides to strike again.

My Take

 
I  have read this story several times before, but this time for discussion with my U3A Agatha Christie Reading Group. We have read several Poirot mysteries now.

In this one, Hercule Poirot carries out an investigation into the murder on the Orient Express of a man who has escaped the penalty for murder himself by bribery. He works with two other people: M. Bouc, the director of the railroad company, and Dr Constantine. At the end of the investigation he propounds two solutions. 

I think there must have been considerable outcry amongst readers about the final solution, but to me it also fits in with other solutions Poirot makes in other stories. 

In a sense Poirot is working against the clock. The train has been stopped by snow on the track, and they must decide whether the murderer is still on the train, and whether any of the passengers are involved in the murder. Against his usual practice Poirot looks for evidence by questioning all the passengers and by looking in their luggage for clues. As he does in a number of other books he makes a list of questions that he needs answers to, and as the answers emerge, he settles for a scenario that satisfies him. 

I have reviewed this novel several times: here.

Historical reference:  it seems to me that Christie must have had the Lindbergh abduction in mind when she wrote this book. See the Wikipedia entry.

My rating: 4.6

Check my reading of other Christie novels.