Sanctuary by Garry Disher

 

First Line: It's a Tuesday evening and you're watching Caught Out on YouTube.

Grace has been a thief since she was a child. She's a good thief, taught by experts. But it's not the life she wants. It's a solitary life, always watchful, always on the move. She wants to change.

When a run-in with an old associate has her lying low in a small rural town, Grace finds an antiques shop with a timid but friendly owner who has a room for rent. This may be the perfect opportunity for Grace to have that new life. 

But dangerous men are looking for her, and she should never let her guard slip because no matter how far she runs, her past comes right along with her.

~

Australian author Garry Disher never disappoints, and Sanctuary is proof of that.  

For some reason, I've always had a penchant for reading about career thieves, and the character of Grace had me hooked from the moment I met her. Her voice drew me right in. Grace has been a thief since childhood, specializing in small, high-value items. She was taught by experts, and the identity of one or two of those experts may surprise you. She's not proud of being a thief, but it's the only way she knows how to live. Needing to feel better about herself, she loses herself in books and music whenever she can. When she finds the small town antiques shop owner, Erin, she sees her chance for a normal life, and I was certainly cheering her on. It's amazing how sympathetic this woman is, and if she taught me anything, it's that a life of thievery is exhausting. I'd never want to try it. Reading about it is enough for me.

To keep the pace fast and the blood pumping, there are characters devoted to finding Grace with varying degrees of menace, including one mediocre police officer who's always been overlooked. The twists and turns are plentiful and kept me guessing.

If you're in the mood for a fast-paced character study, I recommend Sanctuary. I bet you'll be cheering for Grace, too.

Sanctuary by Garry Disher

eISBN: 9781613168097

The Mysterious Press © 2026

eBook, 312 pages

Standalone Thriller

Rating: A

Source: NetGalley

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

 

First Lines: It's interesting to note that there are two groups of people who are rarely, if ever, suspected of murder. These groups are elderly women and little girls.

When her neighbor turns up dead in their quiet Melbourne suburb, whispers begin to swarm around 81-year-old Elsie Fitzpatrick. Why should the neighbors be whispering about Elsie? She's grumpy, fiercely independent, never without a sarcastic comment, and minds her own business. But someone found out her secret.

Elsie hasn't always been Elsie. At one time, she was Mad Mabel Waller, Australia's youngest convicted murderer-- a secret she's kept buried for decades.

That is, until 7-year-old Persephone moves in across the street. Full of opinions, questions, and no sense of personal boundaries, she sets her sights on Mabel and refuses to be deterred. With a 7-year-old shadow, a neighbor who seems to have it in for her, the police sniffing around, and the media circling like vultures, Mabel does the only thing she can: she takes matters into her own hands. 

~

The first two sentences of Sally Hepworth's Mad Mabel told me that I was in for something special. By page five, I was in love with Mabel. Perhaps it was because I identified with her a bit, but I loved her voice and her grumpy, sarcastic wit. I lost count of the times I laughed out loud at one of Mabel's comments. 

But there's more to Mabel than being a sharp-tongued, grumpy old lady. As she told her story to two young podcasters, my heart broke for her. The more I read, the more I wanted a Happily Ever After for her. Was I under her spell? You bet.

The marvelous thing about Mad Mabel is that the entire cast of characters shines. They aren't static or cardboard. They change before our eyes, and they hold surprises for us. Not only did the characters hold surprises, but the plot did, too. One of the characters seemed a bit "off" to me, and by the book's end, I was miffed that I didn't guess the truth about the person.

If you're in the mood to be charmed by a character to the point where you'd move heaven and earth to bring her joy; if you're in the mood for a story where you have a little trouble putting all the puzzle pieces into the correct places, well, there's only one thing to do: read Mad Mabel.

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

eISBN: 9781250284556

St. Martin's Press © 2026

eBook, 348 pages

Standalone Thriller

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Last One Out by Jane Harper

 

First Line: He had been here, that was clear from the marks in the dust.

Just a handful of residents remain in Carralon Ridge, once a thriving rural village in New South Wales. For the past ten years, its houses and buildings have been bought up and left to rot by a mining company operating at its borders.

Five years ago, Ro lost her son. Sam vanished while visiting Carralon Ridge during a break from college. Sam loved the town and had been working on an oral history to preserve its legacy before it vanished altogether.

Now, Ro has returned to be with her husband and daughter on the anniversary of Sam's disappearance. Soon, she suspects that something important was overlooked in his case. Nothing can stop Carralon Ridge from dying, but someone wants to make sure that its secrets die with it.

~

Several years ago, my husband and I spent many days searching out and visiting old ghost towns from one end of Arizona to the other. It was lots of fun, a great way to explore the state, and very educational as well. Reading Jane Harper's Last One Out reminded me of those times. 

I felt the dust of Carralon Ridge seep into every pore and crevice of my body. It blurred my vision, and the blazing sun made me want to reach for my sunglasses.  In other words, Harper's setting is superb. Here in Arizona, entire towns have been swallowed whole by mining companies in search of gold and copper, so it was easy for me to visualize this Australian town slowly being put to death.

However, Harper doesn't just give readers an incredibly evocative setting; she populates it with multi-faceted characters. After her son's disappearance, Ro's family fell apart, and when she returns to join her husband, Griff, and daughter, Della, for a remembrance ceremony for Sam, she can't resist revisiting the last places her son was known to visit. As she moves from place to place and talks with the town's remaining inhabitants, readers get to know her-- and them-- and become just as invested in learning the truth of her son's disappearance. 

Harper has proven to be a master of creating settings, characters, and plots that get under my skin. Last One Out is a must-read for those who like to be swept away in the pages of an absorbing story.

Last One Out by Jane Harper

eISBN: 9781250291400

Flatiron Books © 2026

eBook, 336 pages

Standalone Thriller

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

The White Girl by Tony Birch

 

First Line: Odette Brown rose with the sun, as she did each morning.

For thirteen years, Odette Brown has quietly raised her granddaughter, Sissy, on the outskirts of Deane, a small rural Australian town. As far as Odette is concerned, the quieter their lives, the better. Sissy is a fair-skinned Aboriginal child, and welfare authorities remove such children from their families. But Odette's world could be destroyed by the arrival of a cruel-eyed, by-the-book policeman. It's going to take every bit of Odette's courage and cunning to keep her granddaughter out of the hands of the government-backed Sergeant Lowe.

~

I was immediately swept away into the world of Australia's post-colonial past when I began reading Tony Birch's The White Girl. Australia's treatment of the Aborigines mirrors that of the U.S. government's treatment of Native Americans. In Australia, the policy of separating Indigenous children from their families is now referred to as the Stolen Generations, and Odette Brown is desperately trying to keep her granddaughter from vanishing into an uncaring government's maw.

Odette lives on the outskirts of a rural small town where Aborigines are only permitted in town on Saturday mornings between eight and noon when they are allowed to shop at the company store. Tony Birch had me walking down the road, side by side with Odette. He had me worrying about her bright little granddaughter, who was still so naive about the world she lived in. When by-the-book Sergeant Lowe came to town, it soon became apparent that he loved having the power of life or death over people. Birch's writing is so evocative, so powerful, that I not only cared for Odette and Sissy, I not only worried about them, but I became very angry over how they were forced to live.

One passage in particular broke my heart: "The first children of the mission had been buried in nameless unmarked graves...The only indicators of the presence of the children beneath the earth were the wildflowers that revealed themselves each year. The seeds had been sown by mothers."

The White Girl is so incredibly powerful that it will remain with me for a long, long time. Read it.

The White Girl by Tony Birch

eISBN: 9780063213548

Harper Via © 2022

eBook, 272 pages

Historical Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Catching Up on Book Reviews

 

Here I've been, chugging along posting just one book review per week. I know that you know that's just the tip of the iceberg, although I do admit to reading much less when Denis was in the hospital and our niece Karen was here. So... it's time to do a little catching up. 

These will be short reviews. I'll provide links to Amazon in each title in case you want to learn more about any of the books. Let's get started!

The Girl in Cell A by Vaseem Khan

eISBN: 9781399707725

Hodder & Stoughton, Ltd. © 2025

eBook, 515 pages

Standalone Thriller

Rating: D+

Source: Net Galley

My Thoughts: This standalone thriller is a departure for one of my favorite authors. 

Orianna Negi was convicted of murder at the age of seventeen. She's always maintained her innocence, even though she has dissociative amnesia. Released from prison on parole, she returns to Eden Falls to uncover the truth, no matter the cost.

At 515 pages, The Girl in Cell A needed some editing. There were too many twists, too many turns, too many about-faces, and the book's length gave me plenty of time to tire of them all. If I'd warmed up to Orianna, I might've enjoyed the book more, but she left me cold. So did the rich and powerful Wyclerc family. (I think I've reached my saturation point on entitled rich folk.) The only reason why I kept reading was to find out the truth. In that, I was just as stubborn as Orianna. 

 

The Irish Convict by M.J. Lee

ASIN: B0CFFDRJRD

M.J. Lee © 2023

eBook, 287 pages

Genealogical Mystery, #10 Jayne Sinclair

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

My Thoughts: M.J. Lee's genealogical mysteries consistently impress me. With his main character, Jayne Sinclair, he consistently centers engrossing mysteries around puzzles that can be unearthed when researching family history. 

In The Irish Convict, Jayne is in lockdown in Australia, and she agrees to research a well-known family's history. It should be easy, but it isn't. I love watching this character uncover the truth. Having helped my grandmother and mother in researching our own family history, I also know that she's giving valuable tips to anyone who might want to do the same. As always, I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power

eISBN: 9780063281110

William Morrow © 2023

eBook, 304 pages

Multi-generational Fiction

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

My Thoughts: A Council of Dolls covers almost two hundred years in the lives of Indigenous women, from the ancestral lands of the Lakota to twentieth-century Chicago. Readers learn of the lives of Sissy (born 1961), Lillian (born 1925), and Cora (born 1888) in part through the stories of the dolls they carried.

From life on their ancestral lands to Indian boarding schools to inner city Chicago, I found this book to be compulsive reading and, at times, emotionally draining. 

The Verifiers by Jane Pek

eISBN: 9780593313800

Vintage Books © 2022

eBook, 336 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #1 Claudia Lin

Rating: C+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

My Thoughts: Claudia Lin is used to disregarding the expectations of her domineering Chinese mother, and she's certainly used to keeping secrets from everyone in the family. A lifelong mystery reader, Claudia believes she's landed her ideal job with Veracity, a referrals-only online-dating detective agency. When a client vanishes, Claudia breaks protocol to investigate and uncovers personal and corporate deceit.

I liked Claudia well enough; she has a penchant for comparing things to various books that I found enjoyable ("That man is harder to read than Finnegan's Wake"). I also enjoyed the insider's look at online dating services. But... there was something about the book that just didn't make me want to read more. 

City of Destruction by Vaseem Khan

eISBN: 9781399707671

Hodder & Stoughton © 2024

eBook, 359 pages

Historical Mystery, #5 Malabar House

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

My Thoughts: After gunning down a man trying to assassinate the defense minister at a political rally, Detective Persis Wadia is tasked to hunt down the assassin's co-conspirators. Britain's MI6 immediately shunts her to the sidelines, but she rapidly picks up another case.

I really enjoy Khan's series set after India's Independence and the Partition. City of Destruction shows Persis learning a bit of spycraft as well as the relationship between Great Britain and India at this time. She's finally beginning to learn how to work as part of a team, but I am tiring of her knowingly running into danger without backup. Of course, this behavior can be laid at the feet of her fellow (male) officers, most of whom believe she has no business being there. This is a good, fast-paced read, even though it has a few too many (albeit excellent) similes.

Follow Me to Africa by Penny Haw

eISBN: 9781728295466

Sourcebooks Landmark © 2025

eBook, 304 pages

Historical Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

My Thoughts: This dual-timeline historical novel was a match made in heaven for me. Inspired by the life of paleoanthropologist Dr. Mary Leakey, Follow Me to Africa moves from 1930s London to the Serengeti plains of 1980s Tanzania.

Seventeen-year-old Grace Clark's mother just died, and now she's been sent to help a father she barely knows on an archaeological dig at Olduvai Gorge. Here she meets the indomitable Mary Leakey, a scientist and rebel. With the help of Lisa the cheetah, Mary encourages Grace to think for herself, to choose what she wants to do before someone else does it for her, and she's stuck in a life she doesn't want. The friendship between Mary and Grace, the archaeology, the wildlife... marvelous. (And the Author's Notes and bibliography are must-reads.) I hadn't read a book by Penny Haw before, but now I'll be looking for more.

Am I all caught up now? Ummmm... nope! But I will get there eventually. Promise!

Did I tempt you with any of these books? Have you already read any of them? Which ones? What did you think of them? Inquiring minds would love to know!

Kinglake-350 by Adrian Hyland

 

First Line: We were lucky at first.

 

Adrian Hyland's Kinglake-350 is the riveting account of Black Saturday, February 7, 2009-- the day the most devastating wildfire in the country's history swept through "the great fire triangle of south-eastern Australia... the most fire-prone location on Earth."

Hyland is a master craftsman who knows how to tell a tale. I became a fan of his mysteries Moonlight Downs and Gunshot Road and soon learned to get my hands on anything he's written. 

 

Hyland brings his considerable skill in fiction to Kinglake-350. I am no stranger to the subject of this book. Arizona has had more than its share of devastating wildfires, but I couldn't believe the sheer amount of information in the pages of this book. (And they weren't presented as dry, yawn-inducing facts.) Caught in your house during a wildfire? Don't shelter in the bathroom. Dirt can, and does, catch fire. Yes, there is such a thing as black rain. Hyland also goes into climate change, global warming, weather patterns, and government agencies trying to shift blame. I can see your eyes start to glaze over with those last topics, but this man weaves all that into the narrative in such a way that my interest never flagged. 

However, the backbone and the towering strength of Kinglake-350 lies in the people that devastating fire touched. There were many heroes that day; Acting Sergeant Roger Wood was only one of them. I think one of the vignettes that I remember best was the woman who, trying to keep the fire from destroying buildings, took pity on a shocked and staggering kangaroo, giving it a cooling shower with her hose. It's these personal details that made my heart beat faster. That made me try to turn the pages as fast as the fire was consuming everything in its path. 

Kinglake-350 is absolutely marvelous, and one of the best books I've read this year. Adrian Hyland has done it again.

Kinglake-350 by Adrian Hyland

eISBN: 9781921834738

The Text Publishing Company © 2011

eBook, 272 pages

 

Non-Fiction

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

The War Nurses by Anthea Hodgson

 

First Lines: 17 October 1945. Maisie Shipley put down her copy of The Daily News and gazed out her kitchen window, momentarily taken an ocean away, to the jungles of Sumatra, and to a beach on a small tropical island.

 

In 1941, country girls Minnie Hodgson and Margot McNee board a ship in Perth, Australia, and sail to Singapore, keen to experience a life of adventure and excitement as nurses doing their bit during wartime.

When the Japanese attack and Singapore falls, they board the Vyner Brooke to escape. The ship is bombed and sinks. In the mayhem, Minnie, Margot, and the friends they've made are separated. One group finds themselves in prisoner-of-war camps for the duration, while the other washes ashore on Bangka Island to meet a fate that should never be forgotten.

~

The War Nurses, inspired by the author's own family history, is a sensitively-written story of friendship, courage, and endurance. It is based on the true events of the Bangka Island Massacre, and not only does it have the power to inform and inspire, but it can also break your heart. I've read non-fiction accounts of the things nurses were forced to endure in Southeast Asia during World War II, and Hodgson's novel ranks right up there with them. 

The author's notes and acknowledgments at the end of the book let readers know important facts and how she pieced together the story. The mind boggles at what these women were forced to endure and at how they managed to use their wits and courage to survive in unbelievable circumstances. (One of the things that made the nurses' situation even worse was that they were not considered to be prisoners of war. They were merely "internees" and not given any of the paltry "extras" prisoners of war were allowed. This really put their creativity to the test.)

As sad and horrifying as The War Nurses could be, I also found it heartwarming to read how important and life-affirming friendship was to these women, and what they would do to endure, to live to tell others of what really happened.

 

The War Nurses by Anthea Hodgson

eISBN: 9780143779117

Michael Joseph © 2023

eBook, 401 pages

 

Historical Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Paradise by Patricia Wolf

 

First Lines: She wakes with a start. Her bedroom is dark, too dark, and her heart is thumping hard in her chest. She can hear something.

 

Detective Sergeant Lucas Walker of the Australian Federal Police has been sent to Surfer's Paradise on the Gold Coast to conduct some seminars while he recuperates from an injury he sustained in his last investigation. It's not a bad gig, since his father's friend set him up in a very nice apartment right on the beach. 

 

His recovery is going so well that he's feeling restless and asks the local police if he can help in any way. He's asked to take a look at the execution-style murder of a small-time drug dealer, but while he's working that case, he finds himself drawn into the big case that has everyone's attention. A young mother was brutally murdered and her little daughter was left in a coma in a house invasion gone tragically wrong.

 

As Walker lends a hand, a case from his own past resurfaces, yet it's the plight of little Gabby that has his attention. Walker is determined to find her mother's killer before that person returns to get rid of the only witness: Gabby herself.

 

~

 

After reading Patricia Wolf's first Lucas Walker mystery, Outback, I looked forward to reading this second installment. For the most part, I was happy with Paradise-- happy to learn a bit about another part of Australia, and happy to tag along with Lucas Walker for a while. 

 

Lucas Walker is a very likable character, and in Paradise, he's grieving over the death of his beloved grandmother, the woman who raised him.  He's also recuperating from injuries sustained in Outback-- something that I will be referring to again. This man is intelligent, persistent, compassionate, and empathetic. Now, you see those first two characteristics a lot, but you seldom see the last two used to describe a male police officer, and it's refreshing.

Since Walker is not supposed to be working on the case involving the little girl, Gabby, he has to fly beneath the radar in his attempts to gather crucial information. One of his sources is Barbara, the German police officer in Berlin whom he met in Outback. I liked the interactions between the two even though Walker was risking a lot bringing Barbara into the investigation in any size, shape, or form. 

There are two mysteries to solve in Paradise. One involving drugs and people Walker dealt with in the previous book and the investigation concerning the murder of Gabby's mother. Both suffered from an initial glacial pace. I don't always have a good track record concerning drugs, and I have to admit that I was tired of it all and hoped there could be a bit of deus ex machina so these prime examples of pond scum would all just disappear. I know. No such luck. As for the second mystery, I found the killer's identity extremely easy to deduce; all that was left was learning how the person did it.

Although I did have problems with the pacing and the drugs, overall I did like the book and am looking forward to book three. And as for that third book, I'm hoping Walker can have a nice injury-free vacation in Germany. I don't think his body can take much more abuse.

 

Paradise by Patricia Wolf

eISBN: 9781471411717

Embla Books © 2023

eBook, 370 pages

 

Police Procedural, #2 Lucas Walker mystery

Rating: B

Source: Net Galley 

Exiles by Jane Harper

 

First Lines: Think back. The signs were there. What were they?

 

When federal investigator Aaron Falk arrives in a small town deep in the southern Australian wine country, he's all set to assume godparent duties for his friend's baby. It doesn't take him long to understand that he's needed for more than that.

 

This marks the one-year anniversary of Kim Gillespie's disappearance. One year ago in the midst of the teeming crowds of a popular annual festival, Kim tucked her baby safely into her stroller, then left it behind-- disappearing into the crowd to never be seen again.

 

Kim's teenage daughter Zara is convinced that someone knows something about her mother's disappearance and puts out a call for information during this year's festival. Aaron and his old buddy Raco find that they can't leave the case alone.

 

Falk is welcomed into the close-knit circle of Kim's family and friends, and questions begin to arise as hidden truths begin to emerge. This vacationing police officer is determined to find out what made a devoted mother abandon her baby. What really happened to Kim Gillespie?

~

 

Although Exiles unfolds very slowly, I was completely drawn in by the story. However, that's no real surprise because Jane Harper has a tendency to do that to me. It takes time for Aaron Falk to become enmeshed in the close-knit circle of missing woman Kim Gillespie's family and friends. And they're a very welcoming bunch-- especially since Falk is to be the godfather of the newest little addition to the group.

Everyone has a story. Everyone has an opinion of both Kim herself and what would make her simply disappear into thin air. Kim's teenage daughter Zara's battle to learn what happened to her mother is poignant, laced as it is with both a child's heartbreak and teenage obstinate prickliness. Moreover, Falk learns that Zara's friend Joel has also lost a parent under rather mysterious circumstances. And while Falk searches for answers, he's also finding good reason to re-evaluate his own life, both personally and professionally.  

 

Exiles is just the sort of mystery character-driven readers are going to love. Personal histories. Emotions. Motivations. Evasions. Harper's red herrings are superb. Not only was I led down the wrong garden path, but I also discovered that I wasn't even in the right garden. 

For those of you who haven't read one of Jane Harper's books, I urge you to rectify your oversight. Exiles may be the third book featuring Aaron Falk, but it does well as a standalone. Get yourself a copy and dive right into a marvelous tale.

Exiles by Jane Harper

eISBN: 9781250874863

Flatiron Books © 2023

eBook, 320 pages

 

Police Procedural, #3 Aaron Falk

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

Outback by Patricia Wolf

 

First Line: Rita is watching the temperature gauge creep towards the red.

 

Detective Sergeant Lucas Walker is on compassionate leave to take care of his dying grandmother in the small Australian outback town of Caloodie when he's asked to help out on a case involving two missing German backpackers.

 

Walker can't figure out why he's been asked to work the case because chances are excellent that the two young people decided to opt out of hard farm work to head back to the Queensland coast where they can enjoy the sand and surf.

 

Walker is soon joined by the older sister of one of the backpackers, who is a detective herself on the Berlin police force. She's flown to Australia and is desperate to find her sister before it's too late.

 

Having worked in the organized crime unit of the Australian Federal Police, Walker soon becomes convinced that there's more going on than meets the eye in this missing persons case, but the presence of the German police officer can often be a hindrance as she becomes impatient and goes her own way, knowing little of the people or her surroundings. 

~

Author Patricia Wolf gives readers an excellent sense of the vast distances and the landscape of the Australian outback. She's also created a very interesting main character in Lucas Walker. As a child, he was raised by his grandmother until his mother decided she was ready for parental responsibility which is when he moved to the United States for ten years. He came back to Australia and joined the Federal Police, spending several years as an undercover cop. 

His sidekick in Outback is Detective Sergeant Barbara Guerra, a member of the Berlin police force and the daughter of parents who escaped the Pinochet regime in Chile. Her missing sister has always had the tendency to get into trouble, and Barbara has always had the tendency to bail her out of it. Her primary objective, once she arrives in Australia, is to convince the police-- including Walker-- that her sister, Rita, is really missing and in danger. The local law enforcement has seen too many instances of young people changing their travel plans and then not getting in touch with friends and family because the cell phone reception is extremely poor there.

 

The interplay between Walker and Guerra kept the story moving along, and I enjoyed watching the German trying to cope with the unforgiving climate. There is a lot more going on than merely a missing persons case, too. All in all, Outback is a compelling story, and I'm hoping to see more of Lucas Walker in the future.

Outback by Patricia Wolf

eISBN: 9781471411700

Embla Books © 2022

eBook, 349 pages

 

Police Procedural, #1 DS Lucas Walker

Rating: A-

Source: Net Galley

Canticle Creek by Adrian Hyland

First Line: She heard the siren scream out over the valley and her father came hopping from the workshop, pager in one hand, boot in the other.

 

Young Adam Lawson had a devil-may-care grin that could charm anyone as he searched for fun and adventure in his small-town Australian world. Although he'd had more than one scrape with the law, police officer Jesse Redpath likes Adam and believes that he is finally turning his life around. 

 

When word comes to her that Adam is dead and that local law enforcement thinks he murdered his girlfriend Daisy Baker and then killed himself, Jesse doesn't believe it. She takes some time off from her job in the dry Northern Territory and heads down to Victoria and a very different landscape in Canticle Creek.

 

Jesse has proven she has an eye for the telling detail that's often overlooked by everyone else. She spots inconsistencies, and her seemingly endless awkward questions soon ruffle quite a few feathers there in Canticle Creek. As the temperatures rise, the land bakes, and the wilderness encircling the town becomes a tinderbox, Jesse is about to learn how the dark pasts and long-buried secrets she's uncovering can explode into a firestorm. 

~

Over ten years ago, I fell in love with two books by Adrian Hyland featuring half-white, half aborigine, Emily Tempest, an amateur sleuth who solved a couple of crimes in the Australian Outback. These books were Moonlight Downs (APA Diamond Dove) and Gunshot Road. How good were they? When no further books by Hyland made an appearance, I went into a sort of prolonged mourning. When I stumbled across a review of Canticle Creek on Kerrie's Mysteries in Paradise blog, I was stunned. Once I'd recovered, I hurried to get my hands on a copy of the book.

Oh, Adrian, how much I've missed you!

This writer can set a scene with a mere sentence or two that can transport you directly to Australia: "A flock of rainbow lorikeets burst out of a scribbly gum and whirled overhead" or "... a weatherboard church that had gone to meet its maker." I loved reading Jesse Redpath's reactions to a climate in Canticle Creek that is so much different than the one she's used to in the Outback.

Even more, I loved her observations of the people she met, their behavior when answering her probing questions, and what signs she found in the landscape around her. Through Jesse, Hyland can even answer the question, "Can dirt burn?" Another favorite part of Canticle Creek? A forthright teenager everyone calls Possum. She's going to be a force of nature when she grows up. I was firmly planted in Jesse Redpath's world each and every time I opened this book and began to read.

If you've read and enjoyed books like Jane Harper's The Dry or Chris Hammer's Scrublands, I think it's a safe bet that you're going to like Adrian Hyland's writing. He is incredibly talented at blending compelling stories with memorable characters and vivid settings. If only he wrote more!

 

Canticle Creek by Adrian Hyland

eISBN: 9781761150357

Ultimo Press © 2021

eBook, 309 pages

 

Police Procedural, Standalone

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

The Murder Mystery Book Club by C.A. Larmer

 

First Line: Everything was ready.

 

Alicia Finlay's first book club experience was not a good one, but instead of giving up, she decided to form her own. Advertising the old-fashioned way (in the newspaper), she finds six people with a similar penchant for the writings of Agatha Christie to join her Murder Mystery Book Club.

 

The club has barely begun when one of the members goes missing. Concerned for the woman's safety-- especially since her husband isn't at all worried-- the club members begin their own investigation in order to find her and make sure she's all right.

 

~

 

I was tempted by The Murder Mystery Book Club because it's a cozy mystery written by an Australian author and set in Sydney, Australia. It seems that writers in other countries are testing the waters of the cozy genre, and I have to admit that I'm curious. In this instance, C.A. Larmer has written an enjoyable, light-hearted mystery that has readers roaming the beaches and various neighborhoods of Sydney in their search for a missing woman.

The book has a varied cast of characters: Alicia Finlay, magazine editor and book club founder; her sister, Lynette, who works in a restaurant and is a first-rate cook; the handsome Dr. Anders whose interest in Agatha Christie lies in her use of poisons; Missy, the chatterbox librarian; Claire, the fashionista who owns a vintage clothing shop; gay paleontologist Perry; and Barbara, the miserable socialite. I found the group to be a strong one, and their varied personalities and strengths should bode well for an entire series. An added bonus is their sharing of information with the police. None of that amateur "I know better than the trained professionals" in this book.

Other factors making this book an enjoyable read: its ties to Agatha Christie's life and writing and Larmer's descriptions of various Sydney neighborhoods. There's very little Australian slang in the book, so readers not familiar with the Land Down Under shouldn't find themselves confused. I did find Missy's tendency to call people "possum" amusing, probably because that was my grandfather's nickname among his cronies. My favorite phrase in the book that I'll be using in the future? "I feel like a third nostril sometimes..." Love it!

If you're in the mood for an Agatha Christie-tinged, light-hearted read, C.A. Larmer's The Murder Mystery Book Club should be a good choice. Get that pot of tea ready!

The Murder Mystery Book Club by C.A. Larmer

(APA The Agatha Christie Book Club © 2014)

eISBN: 9780648800958

Larmer Media © 2021

eBook, 215 pages

Cozy Mystery, #1 Murder Mystery Book Club mystery

Rating: B

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Opal Country by Chris Hammer

 

First Line: The night is perfect for ratting.

 

When big-city Detective Sergeant Ivan Lucic arrives in Finnegans Gap to investigate the death of an opal miner, he feels as though he's landed on another planet-- a planet filled with wind, dirt, and blast furnace heat. His local partner in the investigation is Detective Constable Navelle Buchanan, and her insight into the area is invaluable. 

 

Nothing is straightforward, neither about the man's death nor the person who found him. In this desolate outback town, police struggle to maintain order. Opal mines are ransacked by thieves. Religious fanatics recruit vulnerable youngsters, and the rich? Well, the rich always seem to do whatever they want.

Finnegans Gap has proved tough on the police. It's ended one police officer's career and damaged others, and now allegations have been made against both Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan. But the two are relentless, and there's one thing that the people of Finnegans Gap must learn: nothing stays buried forever.

~

Chris Hammer is an Australian author who's been on my radar for a couple of years, and since I love opals, Opal Country persuaded me that this is where I needed to jump in and test the waters.

Ivan Lucic is a fascinating, multi-faceted character. His introduction to the climate in Finnegans Gap made me smile, desert dweller that I am, and his driving skill on dirt roads made me laugh out loud. There's a subplot involving his partner, Detective Inspector Morris Montifiore, that he's got to be wary of since the workings of any police force's "internal affairs" are serious. Lucic is well-described as " a lone wolf forced to tend a flock," It can chafe him when he realizes that he has to keep Nell Buchanan in the loop, and that there are people in Finnegans Gap for whom he has a duty of care. He's also got a gambling problem that almost made me roll my eyes until Hammer worked his magic on it.

Nell Buchanan is another fascinating character. She's relatively new on the job and has faced her share of misogyny, but she's incredibly dedicated and intuitive. However, she can also be incredibly thoughtless. These two form a very interesting partnership.

As an American of a certain age, I have to admit being thrown each and every time one of the bad guys was mentioned by name. Why? Because the name is Bullwinkel, that's why. I kept hearing Boris and Natasha muttering away about "Moose and Squirrel" in my ear. Ah well. The name certainly didn't stop him from being a five-star slimeball. 

As Lucic and Buchanan fought their way to the truth and Opal Country concluded in a good old-fashioned shootout, I gained a hearty respect for the mayor of Deadmans Well. That's one very important thing I learned about Chris Hammer: never dismiss one of his characters. You never know what they're capable of (other than surprising you). 

Hammer's setting took me right into Australia's opal country and gave me a nice, twisty mystery to solve alongside some amazing characters. I'll be back for more.

Opal Country (APA Treasure and Dirt) by Chris Hammer

ISBN: 9781472272966

Wildfire © 2022

Hardcover, 512 pages

 

Police Procedural

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon UK.

The Survivors by Jane Harper

 

First Line: She could-- almost-- have been one of The Survivors.

 

Twelve years ago, teenage Kieran Elliott made a mistake that resulted in the death of his beloved older brother and another young man from their small village on the southern coast of Tasmania. Now he's back with his partner, Mia, and their young daughter, Audrey, to help his mother get ready to move house. Kieran's father's rapidly advancing dementia is too much for her to cope with any longer. But when the body of a young woman is found on the beach, another storm begins to brew on the horizon, a storm of long-buried secrets and questions that were never answered.

 

~

 

The central theme of The Survivors is guilt. Kieran Elliott has been living with it for twelve long years, knowing that his decision to ignore the weather cost the lives of his brother and his brother's best friend, both very popular young men in their small village. No one's come right out and said so, but Kieran knows they all believe he's the one to blame. When a young artist from Canberra is found dead on the beach, the stage is set for readers to find out exactly what happened to her and what happened on that fateful day of the storm. The village was hard hit because not only did two young men die, but a young girl went missing as well, and instead of digging for the truth, it seems they all banded together in silence to ease everyone's pain. Well... that didn't work very well, did it?

 

Jane Harper does some interesting things with this story. It's the first time I remember reading a book that involves a young father who spends a lot of time carrying his baby daughter strapped to his chest while he's conducting an impromptu investigation, and that one detail tells readers a lot about his character.

The Survivors also shows the corrosive power of guilt. Kieran isn't the only one feeling guilt over what happened over a decade ago, and each person has reacted to it in different ways. Although the resolution of the tale took me by surprise, it shouldn't have; Harper planted clues all along the way.

There is a lot to like about The Survivors, and I am a huge Jane Harper fan, but I just couldn't warm up to this book like I did the others. I found it hard to connect to the characters, and the plot didn't engage me until the artist's death made Kieran wonder if there were ties between it and what happened twelve years ago. No, it's not quite up to her others like The Lost Man, but even Hank Aaron didn't hit it out of the park every time he swung the bat. I look forward to her next book with great anticipation.

 

The Survivors by Jane Harper

eISBN: 9781250232410

Flatiron Books © 2021

eBook, 320 pages

 

Standalone Thriller

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley