Category: Book Review

A vortex of despair gradually drifting away into a black hole of unreconciled guilt and anguish envelops Lisa Fulbrook as she struggles to come to terms with the violent death of her flat mate and best friend Ali. Both were victims of a knife crime committed by their one time friend Fergus and it’s now … Continue reading “Dare to Remember by Susanna Beard”

A deadly explosion in Gibraltar’s dry dockyard was never going to divert attention from the Battle of Britain and the few defending the many in their balletic aerial battles witnessed by a never say die generation. But this seemingly innocuous blip on the second world war radar comes back to haunt the dying embers of … Continue reading “A Thousand Cuts by Thomas Mogford”

Imagine Tony Robinson and his Time Team shifting their focus from archaeology to palaeontology, travelling back to the 19th century and setting up camp on the American frontier – this could take reality tv back to the future and in the process breathe life into prehistoric times. A stretch of the imagination undoubtedly but in … Continue reading “Every Hidden Thing by Kenneth Oppel”

Necromancy is suggestive of sorcery and black magic but in Lily’s House this gateway to the afterlife is initially more subtle and understated before assuming a deeper significance as the family tree unravels with Jen struggling to accept her grandmother’s death and its mystical fall out. The seaside setting imbues the story with golden hues … Continue reading “Lilly’s House by Cassandra Perkins”

Sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll might not provide obvious comfort to victims of abuse but in Doctor Natalie King we are confronted with a forensic psychiatrist whose approach to mental healthcare is more black book than text book. In a race to reveal the injustice of a seemingly tainted underclass the Ducatti riding maverick … Continue reading “Medea’s Curse by Anne Buist”

A bohemian existence that challenges the social norms of pre-war Melbourne society is given innocent perspective by the childhood friendship of Eva Trentham and Lily as they live an often feral but intellectually stimulating existence in a nascent artistic commune In this boot camp for developing talent Evan Trentham is the Simon Cowell of his … Continue reading “The Strays by Emily Bitto”

Matt Wilven’s immersive writing style could well result in a spell of intensive therapy as the reader is taken on an incursive journey into the head of a father struggling to deal with the sense of loss brought about by the death of his son. Vince’s filial dependency on Charlie is replaced in grief by … Continue reading “The Blackbird Singularity by Matt Wilven”

Down and Outs rehabilitating themselves by living off the land paints an incongruous picture of back to basics self help but in these bucolic surroundings we see the Good Life descending into a testosterone fuelled version of Lord of the Flies. Don’t be fooled by this seemingly green oasis in an urban sea of grey … Continue reading “Wild Life by Liam Brown”

Miles Platting is a man whose ambition is driving his love affair with the commercial power of language. However his conscience is desperately clinging to the coat tails of his naming rights agency’s vision of transforming the material fortunes of a town by rebranding its identity from the meaningful and permanent to the lightweight and … Continue reading “Lingua Franca by William Thacker”