Tag: Australian Author

Quick Review – Never a Hero by Vanessa Len

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Fantasy, Quick Review, Young Adult4 Comments

Never A Hero Cover

Publisher: Allen & Unwin (Trade Paperback – 29 August 2023)

Series: Only a Monster – Book Two

Length: 475 pages

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Amazon

New Australian fantasy author Vanessa Len follows up her outstanding debut with her second book, Never a Hero.

Back in 2022 I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Vanessa Len’s awesome debut novel, the young adult fantasy Only a Monster.  This amazing and clever read saw a young woman find out that she was a monster, part of a community of people who can travel through time by absorbing the life force of ordinary humans.  When her crush is revealed to be a deadly monster hunter determined to destroy her and everyone she loves, she is forced to flee through time to try and save her family.  I loved the unique concept that Len came up with in her debut, and the resulting story was powerful, compelling, and very moving, especially as the author finished it off with a major twist and some heartbreaking decisions.  Only a Monster proved to be so damn good, and it ended up being one of my favourite debuts and Australian novels of 2022.  As such, I was quite excited when I saw that Len had a sequel to Only a Monster coming out last year, and I really enjoyed the unique way that she chose to continue her brilliant narrative.

Plot Synopsis:

This sequel to the contemporary fantasy Only a Monster will take Joan deeper into the monster world, where treacherous secrets and even more danger await.

Despite all of the odds, Joan achieved the impossible. She reset the timeline, saved her family – and destroyed the hero, Nick.

But her success has come at a terrible cost.

She alone remembers what happened. Now, Aaron, her hard-won friend – and maybe more – is an enemy, trying to kill her. And Nick, the boy she loved, is a stranger who doesn’t even know her name. Only Joan remembers that there is a ruthless and dangerous enemy still out there.

When a deadly attack forces Joan back into the monster world as a fugitive, she finds herself on the run with Nick – as Aaron closes in.

As the danger rises – and Nick gets perilously closer to discovering the truth of what Joan did to him – Joan discovers a secret of her own. One that threatens everyone she loves.

Torn between love and family and monstrous choices, Joan must find a way to re-gather her old allies to face down the deadliest of enemies, and to save the timeline itself.

Vanessa Len’s stunning Only a Monster trilogy continues with this second instalment, a thrilling journey where a secret past threatens to unravel everyone’s future.

Len comes up with quite an outstanding story for Never a Hero that hits the ground running fast and never lets up with the feels, action and deadly reveals.  The story starts with Joan living in a slightly different world thanks to her manipulations of the timestream, where her former love interest, Nick, has no memory of who she is or that he used to be a monster hunter.  However, an attack by the agents of the Monster Court forces her to once again jump back into that world to try and unravel a deadly conspiracy hinted at in the first novel.  However, this time she is the expert, dragging along the very human Nick, who quickly learns about the monster world as Joan desperately tries to keep him from remembering his deleted past as a monster hunter.  At the same time, her former ally from the first book, Aaron Oliver, has no idea who she is and is instead leading the hunt for her.

The resulting story proves to be quite exciting and intense, as the protagonists stay on the run, connecting with old allies and trying to discover why they are being chased and what deadly new plot has impacted their lives.  While there are some deliberate similarities with the first book, Never a Hero goes in some different directions, especially as Joan is aware of what it means to be a monster.  The book really goes in some interesting directions, and I loved how Len chose to wrap everything up.  The conclusion has so many heartbreaking revelations about the characters’ pasts, and the resulting secrets will shake readers to the core.  I love how well Len set up many of these reveals, and it was great to get a satisfying pay-off to some of the secrets and questions left unanswered in Only a Monster.  Never a Hero ends on a big and ground-shaking note, hinting at a big final novel that will push the characters to their limits.

Len did an outstanding job following up her amazing debut here in Never a Hero, and this was another intense and moving character-driven read that expertly built on the elaborate story of her first book.  This was a great piece of young adult fantasy fiction that will attract both a mature teenage audience as well as older fans of inventive fantasy fiction.  While written in the same style as Only a Monster, Never a Hero definitely has a different feel to it, mainly because Len is weaving in some complex and inventive additional time travel elements.  In particular, the protagonist is forced to manoeuvre through a different world brought on by the changes to timeline she made at the end of the last book.  There is a constant reintroduction of supporting characters, locations and events, often in a much different context as the protagonist tries to work out the consequences of her actions.  At the same time, the reader is also treated to some additional lore surrounding the various monster families and there is some substantial and imaginative world building as a result.  I love how effectively and effortlessly Len utilised these complex fantasy concepts throughout her second novel and it really enhances an already exciting and memorable story.  While Len does work to make Never a Hero more accessible to new readers, the focus on differing timelines and alternate characters does slightly restrict who is going to enjoy this book.  I personally would strongly recommend reading the first novel before diving into Never a Hero, and that is honestly the best way to enjoy this story.

One of the best aspects of Never a Hero was the amazing character work of Len, who did an amazing job bringing together several intense and compelling story arcs around her excellent protagonists.  The main three characters of the book, Joan, Nick and Aaron, each have impressive appearances and scenes in Never a Hero, and what was particularly great about them is that they were so different from their prior appearance in Only a Monster.  Thanks to the time manipulations, each of them experiences an interesting new narrative in this book, and Len works this into the overall narrative of the book extremely well.  Joan, the only one who effectively remembers the prior events, is burdened by all manner of guilt, not only because of her monster heritage but because she killed off a version of Nick in the previous novel.  This guilt and despair only grows as the novel continues, especially when she realises the true consequences of her actions.  At the same time, Joan is constantly trying to hide the evil of her species from Nick, while also trying to come to terms with the other dramatic changes and revelations in her life.

The other two major characters, Nick and Aaron, also have some amazing sequences in this book.  Nick, who spent the previous novel hunting Joan as a monster hunter, is reborn for this book as a normal teen with a happy home life.  However, he is soon forced back into the world of monsters when he and Joan are attacked, and it was fascinating to see him experience everything from the other side, especially as a single wrong move from the other characters could turn Nick back into a ruthless killer.  Len also dives into the complex past around Nick’s various incarnations, and I deeply appreciated the tragic story about how he became a killer.  Aaron, on the other hand, is a monster from a noble family who was a reluctant ally to Joan in the previous book, before something else formed between them.  However, in Never a Hero, Aaron remembers nothing about this adventure or Joan, and instead he finds himself hunting her.  This was an outstanding move from Len, as readers of the first book had grown to care for Aaron, so it was jarring to see him evil again in this sequel.  The author wove quite an interesting storyline around Aaron, especially when it came to his connection with Joan, and there were some amazing scenes where the protagonist tried to bring him back onside by using secrets she previously learned from him.  These three characters and their unique personal stories formed a powerful emotional heart to Never a Hero, especially when combined with the excellent supporting cast and a wonderfully wicked villain.

Never a Hero proved to be quite an impressive and outstanding follow-up to Vanessa Len’s epic debut.  This amazing young adult fantasy novel had me quite enthralled and I loved the clever and powerful ways Len continued her unique narrative.  Len is truly proving to be one of Australia’s best new fantasy authors and I cannot wait to see how she wraps this series up with her next amazing novel.

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Ripper by Shelley Burr

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Thriller6 Comments

Ripper Cover

Publisher: Hachette Australian (Trade Paperback – 30 August 2023)

Series: PI Lane Holland – Book Two

Length: 344 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Impressive rising Australian crime fiction star Shelley Burr follows up her amazing debut with the complex and addictive rural murder mystery, Ripper.

In 2022 I had the very great pleasure of reading Shelley Burr’s debut novel, Wake.  An awesome book that followed two compelling protagonists as they investigated an infamous missing persons case in a small Australian town, Wake really had me hooked from the get go.  Wake ended up being one of my favourite debuts and favourite pieces of Australian fiction in 2022, and I have been eager to see how Burr would follow that up for a while.  Burr did not disappoint, as she recently released an intriguing sequel, Ripper (also released as Murder Town).

Seventeen years ago, the small town of Rainier was rocked by a series of brutal killings that saw three people murdered and the infamous killer captured in a heroic effort by the police.  Thanks to these tragic events, Rainier is now known as an infamous murder town, with people far more interested in checking out the site of the Rainier Ripper’s trial of destruction rather than the town’s quaint charm and bush location.

Now, after years of neglect and changing economic times, Rainier is starting to financially fail.  The town’s only hope might be a dark tourism company that is eager to exploit Rainier’s infamous name.  However, when the tour operator is brutally killed in the same location as one of the Ripper’s victims, it opens old wounds and forces the locals, long traumatised by the events of that massacre, to uncover long buried secrets.

Gemma Guillory knows everything about the Rainier Ripper, especially as her teashop was the location of the original Ripper’s final killing.  When the new murder occurs, Gemma is brought back to her painful past and is determined to discover whether this new crime was done by a copycat or if the real Rainier Ripper escaped justice years before.  Receiving unlikely help from incarcerated investigator Lane Holland, Gemma begins to chip away at years of secrets and lies she didn’t even know surrounded her.  But is Gemma truly ready for the truth, especially as a dangerous killer is still hiding in town, waiting to kill again?

I really enjoyed Ripper and felt that it was a fantastic follow-up to Burr’s first novel.  I deeply appreciated the complex, moving and character driven murder mystery storyline at Ripper’s centre, especially as it forced its complex protagonist to simultaneously look at events in the past and current concerns.

The book starts off very strong, with a flashback to the original killings, followed by a good recap of the events that made Rainier infamous, and some excellent set up around the current day town, including the proposal to start a dark tourism company and some of the personal problems impacting the key locals.  Naturally, things get dark quickly, as a new body is found in the same location of one of the Rainier Ripper’s victims, and the population of Rainier, especially primary protagonist Gemma Guillory, is dragged back into their complex history.  The following story is very powerful, as the protagonist begins to dive back into her towns past to try and find the killer, which also forces her to look at those closest to her in a new light.  At the same time, the returning protagonist from Wake, imprisoned investigator Lane Holland, is tasked by his prison warden to interrogate the Rainier Ripper to determine if he has any additional information about the case.

Burr moves Ripper’s intriguing plot along at a quick pace, and I liked how complex and intricate the mystery soon became.  Solving the crime involves a great mixture of current intuitions about the key characters, memories of the past, and interrogations by Holland in prison.  The mystery branches off into some interesting places, and the protagonists need to do some emotionally charged digging to find out what really happened.  The resulting solutions to the mystery are very clever, and Burr did a wonderful job laying down subtle but effective clues throughout the main body of the book.  I really enjoyed how there wasn’t just one solution, but multiple secrets and reveals that had to come to light for the full truth to be revealed, and there was an outstanding domino effect of revelations and twists.  I cannot emphasise enough just how impressive this full range of reveals was, and Burr did a great job weaving together the solutions into one moving and complex narrative.

I think Burr hit the right blend of mystery, excitement and character storylines in Ripper, and the author ensured that everything moved along at an exciting and enjoyable clip.  I really enjoyed how much of the story relied on diving into the complex lives of the key Rainier residences, and the author balanced some interesting character storylines in both the present day and in the past.  This was especially true of main character Gemma Guillory, and her return to the past, coupled with revelations around the lies of her loved ones, added some powerful emotion to the story.  If I had one complaint, it would probably be that Burr worked a little too hard to insert Lane Holland into the plot.  While I do appreciate that Burr is trying to set up an ongoing series with Lane Holland as the connecting character, the plot of Ripper might have been a bit sleeker without him.  Still, it was fun getting a sequel to Wake and I’m very keen to see what exciting mysteries Burr cooks up in the future.

Ripper by Shelley Burr was another outstanding and compelling read from a talented, rising Australian author.  This second rural Australian murder mystery from Burr was extremely compelling and featured an intense narrative, loaded with great twists and complicated characters.  I had a brilliant time getting through Ripper and it was one of the top pieces of Australian crime fiction I read last year.

Murder Town (alternate Ripper) Cover

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Quick Review – The Hidden Book by Kirsty Manning

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Drama, Historical Fiction, Quick Review3 Comments

The Hidden Book Cover

Publisher: Allen & Unwin (Trade Paperback – 29 August 2023)

Series: Standalone

Length: 312 pages

My Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Amazon

Australian author Kirsty Manning presents an emotionally charged and compelling historical drama that follows a beleaguered group of protagonists during and after the horrors of World War II with The Hidden Book.

Plot Synopsis:

Europe, 1940

 Imprisoned in the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, Spanish fighter and photographer Mateo Baca is ordered to process images of the camp and inmates for a handful of photo books being made for presentation to top Nazi figures. Just five books in total, or so the officials think …

Mateo manages to make a secret sixth book and, with the help of a local woman, Lena Lang, it remains hidden until the end of the war.

Australia, present

 When thirteen-year-old Hannah Campbell’s Yugoslavian grandfather, Nico Antonov, arrives in Australia to visit his family, one of the gifts he brings with him is an intriguing-looking parcel wrapped in calico cloth which Roza, Hannah’s mother, quickly hides.

Later, Hannah sneaks off in search for the mysterious package. She is horrified to find in it a photo book full of ghastly historical photographs of a terrible place full of people suffering.

At first Hannah has little context for what she sees, but over the years as she experiences love, grief and trauma, she understands what these photos came to mean, for herself, her freedom and for those who risked their lives to ‘bear witness’ to history.

A startling story of clandestine courage and treachery in World War Two, and how we must meet and overcome our pasts to move into our futures.

This was a great piece of historical fiction from Manning, who has written several other intriguing novels in this genre over the years.  The plot of The Hidden Book is interesting as it combines a harrowing story of people caught up in the Holocaust with a complex narrative of a young person trying to understand the horrors they came from.  Half the novel follows several characters either imprisoned at the Mauthausen concentration camp, or living in the surrounding area, as they work together to record and smuggle out pictures of the atrocities being perpetrated against them.  The second storyline follows Hannah, the grandchild of one of the characters from the first storyline, who grows up in Australia, constantly wondering about the secrets of her grandfather’s book of pictures, and who finds her life defined by it.

Both of these storylines are interesting in their own way, and I think that Manning did a pretty good job of bringing them together into a fantastic overall story.  The half of the book, set in Mauthausen, is suitably dark and nerve-wracking, as you are constantly bombarded by the fear and determination of the characters imprisoned there in one shape or another.  This part of the book is an interesting retelling of real historical events surrounding Mauthausen, and Manning brings together a great group of characters here, including a sadistic camp commandant and a family of anti-Nazi locals who are afraid the Nazis will find out about their mentally impaired daughter.  This compelling and dark storyline serves as an excellent basis for much of The Hidden Book’s plot, and it leads into the second plot line extremely well.

This secondary plotline involves the character of Hannah Campbell finding her grandfather’s photo album covering the atrocities at Mauthausen and spending the rest of her life trying to make sense of them.  While I am not the biggest fan of historical dramas that rely on descendants finding old material from their ancestors (it is a bit of an overused story device), Manning presented some interesting storylines around it.  In particular, she uses it as a key part of Hannah’s coming-of-age storyline, as she experiences the highs and lows of life from childhood to parenthood.  Manning tells a great story of growing up in Australia, including country living and city life, and while parts of this storyline is are very frustrating, and it serves as an interesting counterbalance to the Holocaust tale while also providing insights into how the younger generations view the Holocaust and how knowing your history and change your present.

I enjoyed how well these two separate and distinctive storylines come together throughout the course of The Hidden Book.  The intensity, conflict and drive for survival in the historical part of the novel is well offset by a different layer of emotion in Hannah’s life story, and I liked the constant looks back to the past.  This proved to be a fast-paced and easy to read novel, and I liked the blend of characters, historical elements and two very different background settings that emerged.  Despite all that, I didn’t get amazingly emotionally invested in the plot, and I think parts of Hannah’s storyline slowed down the pacing at times.  Overall, I thought that The Hidden Book by Kirsty Manning was an intense and compelling read that I had good time with.  An excellent read for fans of historical drama, especially those that combine dark pasts and hopeful futures into powerful character driven narratives.

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Vendetta by Sarah Barrie

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Thriller8 Comments

Vendetta Cover

Publisher: HQ (Trade Paperback – 15 November 2023)

Series: Lexi Winter – Book Three

Length: 392 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

One of Australia’s most impressive crime fiction authors, Sarah Barrie, returns with the third book in her gritty Lexi Winter series, Vendetta.

For the last couple of years one of my favourite new Australian crime fiction series has been the Lexi Winter books by Sarah Barrie.  Set in Sydney and central New South Wales, the series follows Lexi Winter, a vigilante hacker who bears a massive and righteous hatred for child molesters.  The first book in the series, Unforgiven, saw Lexi attempt to take down a serial killing paedophile with connections to her complex past in a dark and bloody read.  This first book in the series served as a great introduction to Lexi and her police supporting characters, while also giving some fantastic insights into the events that formed her.  The second book, Retribution, saw Lexi as a newly initiated police officer who still broke the rules, especially when it came to hunting down her nemesis and destroying everyone who helped him.  The first two books in this series are so damn good, and I have been keen to see how this series would continue.  I recently got my wish as I just finished off the third book in the series, Vendetta, which proved to be an exceptional and dark read.

After taking down a notorious crime family, maverick rookie police officer and occasional vigilante hacker Lexi Winter is riding high.  However, a sudden phone call is going to take her down a dark path that will force her to revisit some of the worst parts of her past.  Two old friends she owes deeply are in trouble with a well-connected local motorcycle club, Chaos Reigns, and the only way Lexi can save them is to go undercover and pretend to work for the gang.

However, as Lexi begins her new assignment, she finds herself confronting a long-hidden ghost from her past.  Years ago, Lexi found a family with another outlaw motorcycle club, the Combat Crew, who harnessed her natural talent with computers and taught her every dirty trick she knows.  With members of Combat Crew making up the senior levels of Chaos Reigns, Lexi finds herself forced to deal with hardened criminals who know more about her troubled history than anyone else.  Forced to assume her old persona, Lexi works to once again earn their trust, but not everyone is convinced that she is on the level, especially when her connections with the police are discovered.  Worse, members of her police team are convinced that her undeclared past with Combat Crew makes her too much of a liability and soon Lexi’s loyalties are tested like never before.

But suspicions and secrets are the least of Lexi’s problems when she finds herself in the middle of a series of explosive attacks aimed at the members of Chaos Reigns.  The former president of Combat Crew, Arthur Cronin, has been released from prison and is more than willing to blow up anyone he feels was responsible for the murder of his wife and child.  Caught between deranged bikies and suspicious friends, Lexi must use all her skills to survive and save who she can.  But as the case takes more from her and more of her colleagues begin to turn on her, Lexi will be forced to finally decide where her loyalties belong and what side of the law she truly exists on.

Sarah Barrie continues to showcase why she is one of Australia’s fastest rising crime fiction stars with another powerful and gritty read.  Vendetta had one of the strongest plots of the entire Lexi Winter series so far, as not only did it present the reader with a great murder mystery/thriller plot but it also featured some intriguing character work.  Barrie does an excellent job of moving the plot of Vendetta away from the previous novels, and the interesting redirect towards a motorcycle club, a firm favourite villain organisation in Australian crime fiction, makes for an interesting change of pace.

The main story proves to be an intricate and compelling mixture of character driven narratives as the plot jumps across several excellent characters, most of whom were introduced in the prior novels.  The story primarily follows troubled protagonist Lexi Winter who is forced to go undercover in a motorcycle club to save some old friends.  Initially pretending to be a criminal, Lexi soon finds her cover blown and must work all sides as she tries to retain both the trust of her police colleagues and her old associates.  Having the protagonist forced back with the bikies who trained her was a masterstroke from Barrie, and I loved how conflicted it made both her and the reader, as you don’t know which way she’s going to turn.  Barrie really hammers home the importance of Lexi’s chapters by showing everything from her perspective in the first person, and you really feel connected to her adventure as a result.  The author makes things even more interesting by introducing a crazed bikie leader seeking revenge, internal police politics making things difficult for Lexi, and personal conflicts amongst the protagonists finally coming to the surface in some damaging ways.

The last half of Vendetta is probably the best.  After the great set-up at the start, Lexi is fully imbedded in Chaos Reigns and is committing all manner of criminal acts for them.  Watching Lexi at her worst was so damn powerful, especially as she appears to turn on her friends, and the resulting drama, anger and conflict made for some excellent reading.  You are constantly on your edge of your seat as the various story elements start to come together and the police start to close in on Lexi, Chaos Reigns’ criminal actions, and the mad bomber.  Things get pretty dark at times, and Barrie works in some big twists.  I saw a few of these coming, but the main reveals at the end were cleverly hidden and well set up in the first half of the book.  I loved the exciting and compelling end to the plot that allowed the protagonist to really shine and setting up some interesting future adventures.  Everything about this story was extremely awesome, and I really got invested in the high-stakes plot and the deeper personal aspects that resulted as well.

Despite the central crime being unconnected to the main series antagonist, Vendetta was a great Lexi Winter novel that masterfully moved the series and characters along.  I honestly think that the series needed a book with a different investigative target at this point in the ongoing narrative, and it builds up anticipation for the next interaction with the main villain in future entries.  The change in focus also allows Vendetta to be enjoyed more as a standalone novel than the second book, although I did notice a few minor plot gaps from the previous entries that Barrie could have done a better job exploring.  Barrie also continues some of the prevailing themes of the previous book, including comparisons between vigilantism and official police work, as Lexi tries to decide what side of the law best works for her to get her required revenge.  Naturally, those readers who checked out the prior novels are probably going to get a lot more out of Vendetta, and indeed it helped to explain certain character actions from the previous book that never quite made sense to me.  However, Vendetta is honestly a great and gritty piece of Australian fiction anyone can enjoy.

Once again, a major highlight of this series is the outstanding cast of compelling and damaged protagonists, each of whom has their own unique stories.  This is particularly true of the series’ titular protagonist, Lexi Winter, who Barrie has turned into quite a conflicted and complex figure.  We have already seen quite a lot of Lexi’s dark past in the previous books, especially in Unforgiven, and Vendetta builds on this extremely well, giving us insights into her criminal past, including the origins of her hacking abilities.  I loved how well this past was explored and featured throughout Vendetta, and it gave this already fantastic character some extra layers, especially it explores why she is more reliant to do things on her own then go through official channels.  This complex past with the motorcycle club ensured that Lexi had a particularly compelling and exciting storyline in Vendetta as she finds herself caught between her prior loyalties and the friends she made in the last two books.  As such, the reader spends much of the story unsure whose side Lexi is truly on, especially when key police characters turn against her, and I was constantly on the edge of my seat waiting to see how this would turn out.  I think Barrie resolved this extremely well, as Lexi’s strong moral compass always guided her along the right path, and I also enjoyed how parts of Lexi’s narrative come full circle, especially when she finds herself a protégé.  There is also some intriguing examination of Lexi’s view on relationships and love, much of which is impacted by her past, and I appreciated the compelling and mostly tasteful way that Barrie explored this.  I cannot wait to see how Lexi’s story continues in the future, as she is without a doubt the best character in the series.

In addition to Lexi, Vendetta features a brilliant and compelling cast of additional characters, many of whom have appeared in prior novels in the series.  Barrier introduces some great development and personal drama to surround these characters and it works to enhance the already powerful story.  Detective Senior Sergeant Finn Carson is once again very solid as the male lead of the book, and Barrie makes good use of his unique friendship/relationship with Lexi to build up some serious drama as he tries to work out her actions and motivations.  Lexi’s mentor, Detective Inspector Rachael Langly, also proves to be compelling figure in Vendetta, especially as, after going to bat for Lexi time and time again, it looks like her protégé has turned on her.  Finally, I was particularly happy that we got some further developments around Detective Sergeant Lisa “Cass” Cassidy.  Cass was an interesting inclusion in the second novel, although for some unexplained reason her main character attribute was being dismissive and hostile towards Lexi.  Barrie expanded on this in Vendetta, as Cass was revealed to have a hidden connections to Lexi’s past which is explored in this current case.  As such, Cass spends much of the book trying to hide her involvement with Lexi and her prior mistakes involving the bikies.  This adds some major fire and drama to the plot, and while Cass proves to be one of the more unlikable characters in the story Barrie masterfully paints her as a victim, and I deeply appreciated her journey and the deeper pain behind her actions.  Throw in a great collection of bikies and other criminals, including her old mentor and protector, and the intense personal connections in Vendetta really jump up, resulting in an outstanding read.

Sarah Barrie continues to showcase why she is one of Australia’s best current crime fiction authors with the outstanding third Lexi Winter book.  Featuring a particularly strong story that takes the reader on a dark journey in both the past and the present, Vendetta is a great read that had me hooked all the way to the end.  Loaded with violence, bad decisions and damaged characters, Vendetta one of Barrie’s best novels yet and I cannot recommend it enough.

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Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Comedy/Satire, Murder Mystery16 Comments

Everyone on this Train is a Suspect Cover

Publisher: Michael Joseph (Trade Paperback – 17 October 2023)

Series: Ernest Cunningham – Book Two

Length: 318 pages

My Rating: 4.75 out 5 stars

Amazon

Impressive Australian author Benjamin Stevenson returns with another hilarious and outstanding murder mystery that once again acts as a clever homage to the classics with Everyone on this Train is a Suspect.

Over the last few years, one of the most consistently enjoyable authors of Australian crime fiction has been the remarkably talented Benjamin Stevenson.  Best known prior to his writing career for his comedic work with his brother James, Stevenson adapted well to crime fiction and made his first impression with his debut novel, Greenlight.  Also released as Trust Me When I Lie and She Lies in the Vines, Greenlight was an outstanding read, and Stevenson quickly followed it up with the cool sequel Either Side of Minute.  While both of these books had great murder mystery plots with some unique twists to them, I think Stevenson didn’t truly display his writing ability until his next novel; Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone.

Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone was an exceptional 2022 novel that saw a fictional murder mystery expert try to solve a classic locked room murder that was likely committed by a member of his notorious family, each of whom has killed someone in the past.  Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone was so damn good as not only did it feature a clever case but Stevenson excelled at producing a very funny novel in his unique style that parodied the classics of the genre.  Due to its entertaining and meta storytelling, Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone was such a joy to read and it ended up being one my favourite pieces of Australian fiction in 2022.  As such, I have been eager to see what Stevenson would produce next, and while I was initially a little surprised to see that he would be writing a sequel to Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone, it was something that really excited me.  This sequel, Everyone on this Train is a Suspect, was one of my most anticipated releases for 2023, and I had another outstanding time getting through it.

Plot Synopsis:

6 WRITERS. 5 DETECTIVES. 4 DAYS. 3 WEAPONS. 2 MURDERS. 1 TRAIN…

When the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each other. Obviously, that didn’t pan out.

The program is a who’s who of crime-writing royalty:

the debut writer (me!)
the forensic science writer
the blockbuster writer
the legal thriller writer
the literary writer
the psychological suspense writer.

But when one of us is murdered, six authors quickly turn into five detectives. Together, we should know how to solve a crime.

Or commit one.

How can you find a killer when all the suspects know how to get away with murder?

Stevenson once again presents an outstanding and wildly entertaining Australian crime fiction novel that proves impossible to put down.  Thanks to his impressive story and wonderfully distinctive style for this series, Everyone on this Train is a Suspect was a particularly funny novel that takes some fun shots at classic murder mysteries, modern crime fiction and the publishing world at large.

I absolutely loved the story Stevenson came up with for Everyone on this Train is a Suspect, which essentially traps his returning protagonist, Ernest Cunningham, on the Australian version of the Orient Express with a group of other famous crime fiction authors.  Ernest, who has achieved a certain amount of literary fame writing a true-crime book about the familial murder he solved, is the somewhat ostracised newcomer to the group and is currently suffering from writer’s block.  Hoping to gain inspiration from meeting some of his fellow authors, most of whom are homages to famous crime fiction authors (Ian Rankin and Patricia Cornwell, for example), Ernest instead finds himself caught up in another deadly murder, this time involving suspicious writers, greedy publishers, scheming agents, angry mega-fans and other fun figures from the literary world.  The resulting plot is extremely fun, as an obsessed Ernest attempts to solve the crime, only to encounter additional murders, opposition from his fellow writers, unique interactions, and all manner of ridicule.

This entire story is really well written, as it features all the elements that made Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone great, including a clever mystery, outrageous characters and an irrepressible sense of humour.  Just as with Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone, Everyone on this Train is a Suspect is told in the form of a true-crime book written by the protagonist as he recounts the events that unfolded aboard the train.  I really enjoyed this fun and clever way of writing the story, especially as the character of Ernest has such an amusing and satirical outlook on life and murder mysteries.  The author also believes in challenging the classic ways of writing crime fiction and providing clues to the reader, and as such the book is loaded with a ton of hints from the protagonist about who the killer is and the events to come.  For example, he indicates how many times he is going to mention the killer’s name early on and then keeps a running countdown going throughout the book to narrow down the suspect pool.  In addition, several characters’ fates, actions and other clues are mentioned well in advance, just to heighten anticipation.  While you would imagine that this would spoil much of the plot, I felt it honestly enhanced it, as you eagerly wait to see how these events occur or try to keep track of who is being talked about and in what context.  Stevenson also does not always play it fair with these hints, with a few flagrant mistruths sprinkled through by the protagonist to mislead the reader, although this is all done in good fun.

As such, by the time you get to the second half of Everyone on this Train is a Suspect, you are really invested in the overall mystery that Stevenson has cooked up.  All the various clues, hints and other interesting story details have been cleverly built up and you are eager to see how everything unfolds.  There are a few hilarious set pieces loaded here, including an unnecessary chase sequence, a failed denouement gathering, and some major misunderstandings, all of which add to the chaotic nature of the plot.  This exciting and funny story also makes great use of its iconic background setting of the Ghan, one of Australia’s most famous trains, and Stevenson works in some fantastic personal drama for the protagonist who finds that crime solving and romance do not mix.  The eventual solution to the mystery is just great, as it blends multiple motivations, character histories and various subtle clues in an outstanding way.  Even all the overt clues that the protagonist had been directly feeding the reader come into play, although not always in the way you would expect it to.  This leads to an intense and memorable conclusion, which I thought wrapped things up nicely, especially with that fun twist designed to surprise readers familiar with first-person stories.

As with Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone, this second novel serves as a great homage and parody of classic murder mystery tropes, as the protagonist once again finds himself in a locked-room scenario.  The parallels between this story and Murder on the Orient Express are purposely obvious, and I loved seeing the very self-aware protagonist revel in them as the plot continues.  Stevenson also modernises his references by including homages to more modern mystery and crime fiction sub-genres.  The legal thriller, forensic science, modern detective and psychological suspense genres are all featured here in some ways, as fictional authors of these genres are present as supporting characters, and all their specialties are considered when it comes to solving the crime.  Stevenson works these into the plot perfectly, and it was a great deal of fun to see each of these elements discussed, satirised, and then utilised to a degree.  As such, this proves to be quite a fun book for all manner of crime fiction fans, and the fun references, jokes and hints will greatly appeal to the wider murder mystery audience.

Another awesome aspect of Everyone on this Train is a Suspect that I liked was the exploration of the literary world.  Due to the events of the first book, the protagonist finds himself as a published author, with all the baggage that brings with it.  As such, this sequel is filled with a ton of fun discussions and jokes about being a writer, with Stevenson no doubt utilising his own personal experiences to give it a splash of realism.  Most of these inclusions are done to provide another comedic edge to the story, especially as Ernest has been thrown into the deep end with a group of experienced writers who have no respect for him.  The scenes where they discuss their works while also putting down his less successful book are so damn funny, although I could not help but feel a little self-conscious with some of the comments (I know I use too many adverbs).  Stevenson also really dives into the dark side of writing and publishing, with sketchy agents, dodgy backroom deals, story thefts, and personal compromises all being featured quite heavily in the plot.  These elements make for some great potential motives, but you have to appreciate the heavy level of cynicism that Stevenson is throwing into the mix.  I deeply enjoyed the way that Stevenson explored the minefield of life as a murder mystery writer, as well as other connected literary issues, and it ensured that the protagonist’s storyline about being a new author was simultaneously funny and intriguing.

Benjamin Stevenson continues to impress as one of my favourite authors of crazy Australian crime fiction.  His amazing latest novel, Everyone on this Train is a Suspect, is so damn good, as it combines a clever mystery with Stevenson’s unique style that satirises the entire crime fiction genre.  Loaded with some brilliant homages to all manner of murder mystery, and mixing an intense murder plot with jokes, outrageous characters, and fantastic way to tell the story, Everyone on this Train is a Suspect was a blast of epic fun from start to finish.  A worthy and incredible sequel to Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone, Everyone on this Train is a Suspect is funny, brilliant and occasionally dark, and you are guaranteed to love every second of it.

Everyone on this Train is a Suspect Cover 2

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Kill Your Husbands by Jack Heath

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Thriller7 Comments

Kill Your Husbands Cover

Publisher: Allen & Unwin Australia (Trade Paperback – 28 November 2023)

Series: Kill Your Brother – Book Two

Length: 384 pages

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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One of my favourite Australian authors, the scarily good Jack Heath, returns with another twisted and brilliant thriller, Kill Your Husbands.

Easily one of the best Australian thriller authors at the moment has to be the always impressive Jack Heath.  Hailing from my hometown of Canberra, Heath has written a compelling range of epic thrillers over the years, all of which have been fun and captivating in their own way.  I am a major fan of his Timothy Blake series (check out my reviews for Hideout and Headcase), which follows the gruesome adventures of a murder-solving cannibal.  Heath has also produced several other great standalone or Australian series, including his 2021 novel, Kill Your Brother.  An intense and shocking thriller that forced a highly damaged protagonist to choose between killing her guilty brother or dying herself, Kill Your Brother was one of the best pieces of Australian fiction in 2021 and I had such a great time reading it.  As such, when I saw that Heath had a new Australian thriller coming out this year, I was very excited, especially when I found out it was a sequel to Kill Your Brother.  This new book, Kill Your Husbands, had a wicked plot synopsis, and I fell in love with it the moment I read it.  One of my most anticipated books for the second half of 2023, Kill Your Husbands was a shocking read that I had so much fun with.

It was supposed to be a relaxing weekend away for three couples, longtime friends since school the six overworked and stressed adults decide to escape their taxing lives for a weekend up in the mountains.  With no internet or cell reception, their getaway was supposed to be a quiet time of drinking and bushwalking.  However, after the topic of partner-swapping is raised on the first night, the entire mood of the weekend shifts.  What starts as a joke soon turns into an elaborate plan to ensure anonymity between partners, with the lights turned off and the men choosing a bedroom at random.  No one will know who they’ve been with, and no one will ever be certain if they slept with anyone other than their spouse.

However, when the lights come back on, one of the participants is missing.  A search soon reveals their body outside, clearly the victim of a violent attack.  With no cell reception and the keys to the cars missing, the remaining five people quickly become suspicious of the other survivors.  As the weekend continues and more people begin to disappear and die, old wounds, festering grudges and decaying relationships come to the fore, turning husbands against wives and friend against friend.

Two weeks later, Senior Constable Kiara Lui returns to the murder scene with her girlfriend, Elise.  Having interviewed the survivors, Kiara is certain at least one of them is lying and the killer is within her grasp.  Kiara knows that the answers lie within the house, but with strange occurrences occurring around the property, one person still missing, and her own girlfriend’s strange behaviour starting to concern her, can Kiara break through all the lies and secrets and find the truth before the killer strikes again?

This was another excellent and thrilling read from Heath, who pulls together another insane, yet highly clever, mystery that you really cannot put down.  Making full use of Heath’s outrageous plot, Kill Your Husbands is a dark and twisty novel that I had so much fun reading and which is easily one of the best pieces of Australian fiction I have read all year.

I loved the unique, memorable and very twisted central idea that Heath came up with for Kill Your Husbands, as murderous partner swapping is honestly it was one of the more amusing and outrageous plot focuses I have seen.  Starting off with a quick introduction sequence, the reader is soon enthralled in split focus narrative throughout Kill Your Husbands as half the chapters recount the weekend of the murders and the events leading up to the killings, while the rest of the chapters are set after the murders and focus on Senior Constable Kiara Lui, a supporting character from Kill Your Brother, as she attempts to solve the crime.  This proves to be a very clever and impressive way to showcase the plot, and I loved the simultaneous look at the investigation, the weekend in question, and all the key events that led up to the crime.  Both separate storylines are very interesting and compelling in their own way, especially as they paint two different pictures of the chaotic events in question.  Thanks to Heath using first names during the chapters set in the past and only referring to surnames when it comes to the later investigation, you don’t get any spoilers about what is going to happen during the weekend.  As such, it isn’t until the end of the book that you are completely certain about who dies and who survives, and this allows you to remain on the edge of your seat as your watch the chaotic events unfold.

Heath paces out both arcs of the story extremely well, and they work well together to tell an intriguing and powerful story.  The scenes set in the past tell a powerful and character-driven tale, with flashbacks to prior interactions, details about their turbulent relationships, and a great range of petty slights that ensure everyone had a motive for killing the rest of the group.  Heath ensures that the characters are all stewing in this during the early chapters in the mountain before the partner swapping scene occurs.  The author sets this up perfectly, with the subterfuge, secret plans, and hidden desires all coming into their choices, and the resulting chaos sufficiently messing with them.  As such, all of them are primed to be the killer when the first victim emerges, and the subsequent environment of fear, suspicion and hatred make for some outstanding scenes, especially when all their secrets come to light.

At the same time, the reader gets a fantastic look at the ongoing investigation being undertaken by Kiara as she tries to get to grips with the case.  There are some great scenes here, especially as Kiara independently uncovers the secrets of the three married couples, which works into the other timeline extremely well.  There are some fun moments in this part of the investigation, especially when Kiara and Elise make the interesting decision to book out the murder house for a holiday so they can try and find some answers, while also dealing with their own intense personal issues.  While there are some excellent moments in this part of the book, the investigation angle of Kill Your Husbands is the weaker half of the novel, mostly because it lacks the juicy details the lead up to all the murders.  I also didn’t think that Heath needed to shoehorn in the characters from Kill Your Brother into the plot, as fresh new police protagonists would have also been just as effective.  Still this second half of the book was very fascinating, and the clues revealed within give you some great hints about who the killer is and how they got away with it.

The eventual solution for Kill Your Husbands is exceedingly clever, and I really liked how all the key events of the book played out.  The climax of the murderous weekend is pretty damn shocking in its entirety, and I loved just how well Heath managed to keep secret who survived and who died right until the end.  The killer’s motivations and the events that drove them to it are well set out, and the scenes where they commit their crimes really drive home just how dangerous they are.  Certain other reveals towards the end of the book, especially when Kiara gets close to the truth, reveal just how clever this entire story is, and I loved how certain innocuous mentions or clues are well utilised later in the story.  The entire solution of the book, as well as the final confrontation between Kiara and the killer are just perfect, and you will come away from Kill Your Husbands extremely satisfied after travelling through such a captivating, unique and brilliant mystery.

This elaborate story and murder mystery wouldn’t be possible without the great characters featured in Kill Your Husbands.  I particularly loved the six friends who journeyed to the cabin and who end up being pulled into the deadly partner swapping/murder plot.  Heath does a wonderful job of effectively introducing them and you get drawn into their complex lives, filled with emotional damage and occasionally petty problems.  While you do feel sorry for some of the characters, most of them are somewhat despicable and unlikeable to a degree, which ensures that are highly interesting and fun in the context of the main murder.  I loved how many personal issues and secrets came out as the story progressed, and you really get invested in seeing who the killer is, possibly more than finding out who survived.  I loved how fun and interesting these main characters where and Heath did such a great job featuring him in this crazy story.

The other major characters are Senior Constable Kiara Lui and her girlfriend, Elise, who serve as the main figures in the investigation arc of the book.  As I mentioned about, Kiara and Elise both appeared in Kill Your Brother, with Elise serving as the main character of that novel.  However, Elise takes more of a backseat here with Kiara stepping up and leading the investigation.  While I don’t think Kill Your Husbands really needed some of the drama and ongoing trauma surrounding these characters, I did enjoy seeing them still together after the events of Kill Your Brother, and I liked how Heath moved Kiara more to the fore in this book.  Kiara was a badass investigator, and it was great to see her try to prove herself while also still concerned about her clearly traumatised girlfriend.  For her part, Elise is still trying to prove herself after her controversial past the helpless position she found herself in during the events of Kill Your Brother.  As such, she takes some big risks and acts very recklessly in this book, often to the detriment of Kiara’s investigation or emotions.  This extra layer of emotional charge ensured that Kill Your Husbands’ plot was a little more convoluted and intense, and I did enjoy seeing these two characters again.  That being said, you don’t need to have read Kill Your Brother to full appreciate these characters in this sequel, and you can get the full range of emotions from reading Kill Your Husbands as a standalone read.  I honestly came away from Kill Your Husbands very impressed with how Heath introduced and utilised his characters and they were such a distinctive and fun group of figures who were perfect to get wrapped up in a murder.

Overall, Kill Your Husbands was another outstanding and compelling novel from Jack Heath, who continues to show why he is the master of crazy Australian crime fiction.  Heath had a lot of fun with his outrageous plot and the way he worked his excellent and damaged characters into this complex murder mystery was very impressive.  A captivating and dark read from start to finish, Kill Your Husbands is one of the most memorable and intense Australian thrillers of 2023 and Heath is a must-read author for anyone looking for some truly shocking and mental crime fiction.

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Waiting on Wednesday – White Ash Ridge by S. R. White

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery6 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight an intriguing and compelling upcoming piece of Australian crime fiction with White Ash Ridge by S. R. White.

White Ash Ridge Cover

Over the last couple of years, I have been having a lot of fun with the cool outback murder mysteries of one of Australian fiction’s rising stars, S. R. White.  White has so far written three impressive novels that each focus on the character of Detective Dana Russo, an outback cop drafted in to solve the most difficult of cases with her talent for interrogation.  These awesome books include Hermit, Prisoner, and Red Dirt Road, each of which had their own excellent mystery, as well as a great focus on unique characters and their stories.  Each of these books have been pretty awesome and compelling in their own ways, and I was quite excited to hear that White has another intriguing read coming out in early 2024.

This new novel will be the impressive sounding novel, White Ash Ridge.  Coming out in March 2024, White Ash Ridge sees Detective Russo dive into another complex murder investigation, this time surrounding the brutal death of a charity organiser.  With the only suspects being other members of the same controversial anti-police charity, Detective Russo will need to balance politics and public perception with her desire to solve the case.  I love the sound of this intriguing upcoming story and I look forward to seeing how complex and inventive White makes his new book.  I have no doubt that this will be an amazing read and White Ash Ridge will probably end up being one of my favourite Australian fiction reads of 2024.

Plot Synopsis:

A REMOTE HOTEL. FIVE GUESTS. ONE MURDER.

During a broiling heatwave, the inner circle of a high-profile charity attend a critical meeting at White Ash Ridge, a small hotel nestled in the Australian wilderness.

As the temperature rises, a body is found lying in the thick bush, bludgeoned to death.

One of the four remaining guests is a murderer – but who, and why, is a mystery.

Detective Dana Russo knows the national spotlight will be sharply focused on the case.

The charity was formed when the founders’ teenage son was killed after intervening in a vicious assault – sparking public outrage and a damning verdict on the police investigation.

But under huge pressure and with few clues – plus suspects who instinctively distrust the police – how can Dana unravel the truth?

Waiting on Wednesday – The Murder Inn and Devil’s Kitchen

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday12 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight two upcoming books from a very talented Australian author, Candice Fox.

Over the last few years, I have been having a wonderful time getting into the novels of Australian crime fiction author Candice Fox, who has been a staple inclusion in my yearly reading schedule.  Fox has produced some amazing and compelling thrillers throughout her career, and I’ve deeply enjoyed several of her recent books, including Gathering Dark, The Chase and Fire With Fire.  Fox is also quite well known for her collaborations with legendary crime fiction author James Patterson, having written several novels together.  This includes their very entertaining novel from a couple of years ago, 2 Sisters Detective Agency, which proved to be a particularly exciting read.  As such, I am always quite excited when I find out details about some of Fox’s upcoming books and 2024 is shaping up to be a pretty major year for Fox with two awesome sounding books coming out.

The first of these is The Murder Inn, which Fox is once again co-authoring with James Patterson.  The sequel to their previous collaboration, The Inn, which follows the unusual inhabitants of a seaside in, including its former police officer owner, as they get caught up in a dangerous series of events.  The Murder Inn is set for release in February 2024 and looks like it will feature another great story, this time featuring two killers coming to the titular inn and raising hell.  The Murder Inn sounds like a pretty awesome read and I look forward to seeing what fantastic fun these two great authors come up with next.

The Murder Inn Cover

Amazon

Plot Synopsis:

In this thrilling follow-up to the international bestseller THE INN, past mistakes come back to haunt the friends and residents of The Inn by the Sea.

It’s the perfect getaway. But the past will always find you . . .

Since leaving the Boston Police Department, Bill Robinson has run The Inn by the Sea in Gloucester, Massachusetts. There he offers a safe and supportive home for his long-term guests.

That tranquil life, however, is about to be shattered.

Two murderers are heading to Bill’s door.

One needs his help to evade the cops. The other plans to kill again to silence the truth.

Standing in their way are the residents of the Inn. And not everyone will get out alive.

In addition to her collaboration with Patterson, Fox also has a standalone novel coming out in 2024 with Devil’s Kitchen.  Set for release shortly after The Murder Inn, Devil’s Kitchen has a brilliant sounding plot behind it about a heist crew made up of firefighters and the women who joins them trying to bring them down.  Fox has always been good at coming up with elaborate or unique thriller concepts for her books and Devil’s Kitchen sounds like a particularly cool one that I’m very keen to check out.

Devil's Kitchen Cover

Amazon

Plot Synopsis:

Candice Fox’s latest thriller is the definition of nailbiter, as a female agent goes undercover in a New York firefighting crew that is far more dangerous than the fires they fight.

When a city’s heroes become its boldest criminals . . .

For years the firefighters of New York’s Engine 99 have rushed fearlessly into hot zones, saving countless lives and stopping devastating blazes in their tracks.

They’ve also stolen millions from banks, jewellery stores and art galleries. With their inside knowledge and specialist equipment they’ve become the most successful heist crew on the East Coast.

Their newest member, Andrea ‘Andy’ Nearland, is not what she seems either. She’s an undercover operative, hunting the men of Engine 99 for a host of crimes – including the murder of an off-duty cop and the disappearance of a mother and child.

As the clock counts down to the gang’s most daring heist yet, loyalties begin to fray and mistrust boils over. Andy’s career is all smoke and mirrors, but infiltrating this crew of ‘heroes’ might prove her most dangerous job of all . . .

As you can see, Candice Fox fans have a pretty big year coming up in 2024 as this amazing Australian author has two great offerings for us, including one with the always impressive James Patterson.  Both The Murder Inn and Devil’s Kitchen sound extremely epic and it looks like I’m going to get a major crime fiction fix early next year.

Quick Review – The Pit by Peter Papathanasiou

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Drama, LGBT+, Murder Mystery, Quick Review3 Comments

The Pit Cover

Publisher: Maclehose Press (Trade Paperback – 25 July 2023)

Series: DS George Manolis – Book Three

Length: 297 pages

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Australian author Peter Papathanasiou returns with his third DS George Manolis novel, The Pit, a complex and intriguing piece of Australian crime fiction that takes three unlikely companions on a memorable road trip.

Plot Synopsis:

A third outback noir from Peter Papathanasiou, following Special Constable Sparrow as he investigates a cold case in a barren mining region of Western Australia.

With DS Manolis on leave in Greece, Senior Constable Sparrow receives a phone call from a man who wants to turn himself in.

Bob is sixty-five years old, confined to a Perth nursing home. But thirty years ago, he killed a man in the remote northern Kimberley mining region. He offers to show Sparrow where the body is, but there’s a catch: Sparrow must travel north with him under the guise of being his carer.

They are accompanied on the drive by another nursing home resident: Luke, thirty years old, paralysed in a motorbike accident. As they embark on their road trip through the guts of Western Australia, pursued by outback police and adrenaline-soaked miners, Sparrow begins to suspect that Bob’s desire to head north may have sinister motivations. Is Luke being held against his will? And what lies in store for them when they reach their goal?


The Pit proved to be quite an interesting and compelling novel which honestly was very different from what I was expecting.  I thought this would be more of a standard crime fiction/murder mystery novel in the Australian wilderness, but instead I got a character driven story that dove into one protagonist’s complex life, and I honestly think it worked out better this way.

The plot of The Pit is very far removed from Papathanasiou’s previous DS George Manolis novels, with the protagonist of the first two books not even actually appearing.  Instead we get an intriguing story about supporting character Special Constable Sparrow, who finds himself presented with an unusual opportunity by an old man, Bob, wanting to confess to a 30-year-old murder.  While I do think that Sparrow agreed to Bob’s strange request without backup a little too readily, it sets up an interesting and heartfelt storyline where Sparrow accompanies Bob and Bob’s unsuspecting young protégé, Luke, across Western Australia into the heart of mining country.  The narrative splits into two separate timelines at this point, with the main narrative focusing on the three companions as they travel across the Pilbara, getting into all manner of trouble and meeting a range of outrageous and unique outback locals.  The other main storyline is a series of intense flashbacks that examine the full life of Bob and the many hardships he experienced as a homosexual man in Australia from the 1960s onwards.  There is also a subplot that follows the friendship Bob formed with Luke in the nursing home and why Bob decided to take him on the road trip.

These different fantastic storylines are interesting and emotional in their own way, and the reader gets heavily invested in seeing both the past and the present.  Bob’s tragic and violent life story really drags the reader in, and it was fascinating to see his take on the homosexual experience throughout various periods of recent Australian history.  At the same time, you get quite entranced by the unique friendship that forms between the three road trippers, especially as each of them has their own secrets, personal issues and emotional turmoil.  I felt that the darker past storylines blended well with the unusual hijinks of the modern storyline, and the hidden clues in Bob’s recounting of events ended up having some interesting impacts on the central story.  These split storylines come together in an excellent way, and Papathanasiou really lays on the tragedy in the main narrative threads, especially when it comes to Bob and the tragedies he’s experienced.  The ending of the book is quietly poignant and ultimately unavoidable, and you will come away quite moved by how everything turned out and how the main characters developed.

Papathanasiou backed up this emotionally rich story with some fantastic and highly detailed background settings.  The Pilbara in particular is shown in all its red glory, and the author does a remarkable job describing its harsh beauty and the heavy burden of those who traverse it.  The anecdotes about the unusual people who worked in the Pilbara, both in the modern day and in the 1970s and 80s, are pretty over-the-top and very entertaining to absorb.  I do hope that Papathanasiou was exaggerating just how crazy everyone out in the Pilbara is, as there were a lot of unsettling and concerning characters involved who added some interesting spice to the story.  The memorable social interactions and courtship rituals of the repressed male Pilbara mining community back in the 1970s also seemed a bit unlikely, and I doubt I will be able look at a ute full of blokes the same way again after reading this book.  These outrageous scenes were quite entertaining, and I think they helped to enhance some of the more emotional parts of the book in greater detail.  Throw in other interesting historical locations, such as Sydney during the AIDS epidemic, and you have a fantastic background to this intense story that Papathanasiou used to full effect to tell his unique story.

Overall, The Pit was quite a memorable and compelling read by Papathanasiou, who told quite a complex Australian tale.  As a dramatic Australian tale with historical elements more than a pure crime fiction read, The Pit was a fantastic book that beautifully dove into some dark issues and showcased some amazing characters.  Charming and heartbreaking, The Pit was an excellent piece of Australian fiction that is well worth checking out.

Amazon

Dark Corners by Megan Goldin

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Thriller3 Comments

Dark Corners Cover 2

Publisher: Michael Joseph (Trade Paperback – 8 August 2023)

Series: Rachel Krall – Book Two

Length: 352 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

One of Australia’s fastest-rising crime fiction authors, Megan Goldin, returns with another awesome read, the moving and entertaining novel, Dark Corners.

Over the last few years, I have been really enjoying the works of talented Australian author Megan Goldin, whose releases have become something of a must-read for me.  Goldin has written some amazing books throughout her relatively short career, including the very gripping and intense The Escape Room (one of my favourite Australian books of 2019) and the brilliant psychological thriller, Stay Awake (one of my favourite Australian books of 2022).  One of Goldin’s best books so far was The Night Swim, which was one of my favourite Australian books of 2020.  The Night Swim followed protagonist Rachel Krall, a true crime podcaster, as she investigated a notorious rape trial in a small American town.  This was a particularly moving and intense read that really showcased Goldin’s range.  As such, I was very interested when I saw that Goldin was releasing a second Rachel Krall book this year with Dark Corners, and I made sure to read a copy as soon as I could.

After returning from her latest recording exploit, famous true crime podcaster Rachel Krall finds herself dragged into another sinister case when a phone call from the FBI sees her flown to a maximum security prison outside of Daytona Beach, Florida.  A famous social media star has gone missing shortly after meeting with Terence Bailey, a notorious inmate serving time for a relatively minor crime, who many believe is a serial killer.  The only clue the FBI have is a message handed between the two requesting that the missing star seek Rachel out.

Unable to let go of such a curious and intriguing case that she is inexplicably linked to, Rachel resolves to remain in Florida until she finds the truth.  Checking into a massive influencer convention being held at Daytona Beach, Rachel looks to find out more about the missing girl and finds herself being dragged into the cutthroat world of influencers, Instagrammers and internet celebrities.  However, the more information she finds about the missing girl, the more she realises that there is something peculiar about the victim and her past.

Rachel’s investigation uncovers a series of sinister deaths and disappearances in the area, each of which may be connected to Terence Bailey, who is due to be released in a couple of days.  Racing against the clock, Rachel and the FBI must uncover the truth before Bailey gets out of prison.  But it soon becomes clear that there is another predator lurking around Daytona Beach, one who hides in plain sight and will do anything to cover their tracks, including taking Rachel out.

This was a very impressive new read from Goldin, who follows up The Night Swim in a big way.  Dark Corners is a fantastic novel that beautifully combines an intense narrative with some unique and entertaining elements to create an awesome read I easily powered through.

Goldin really comes out of the gate swinging with Dark Corners, and I was swiftly drawn into the clever mystery and intense, character-driven narrative that she pulls together for this follow-up read.  The author starts the reader off with the compelling mystery of a social media star who has been kidnapped after contacting an imprisoned convict.  With the protagonist dragged in thanks to her internet fame, this swiftly turns into an intense personal investigation, as Rachel and the FBI attempt to find the missing girl and solve several unsolved murders and disappearances.  Told through several key perspectives, including that of Rachel and a mysterious rideshare driver who has a dark connection to the case, the story evolves at a rapid and powerful pace, and the author sets up an intriguing series of mysteries both in the past and the present.  The story effectively unwraps all of these interlinked and compelling cases, and you are soon powering through the intriguing web of cases, desperate to find the conclusion.  With much of the story set to the fantastic background of an influencer convention, there are several great tangents and mysteries that emerge, especially as they provide some great alternate leads and red-herring suspects.  The final solution to the case is very interesting, if somewhat spoiled by one of the alternate perspectives, and the big confrontation is well set up and filled with intense moments.  While I was a little disappointed that some of the alternate cases were not as connected to the main mystery as they could have been, this was a very impressive and captivating story, and I had such a great time getting drawn in Goldin’s narrative web.

I really liked the captivating writing style that Goldin utilised for Dark Corners, which has some intriguing similarities and contrasts to the previous Rachel Krall book.  The use of multiple character perspectives, as well as excerpts from Rachel’s true crime podcast for context, work extremely well to tell an extensive and complex narrative.  I particularly liked the inclusion of a sinister antagonist perspective for much of the story, especially as it provides some compelling insights into the deadly case as they circle the protagonist like a shark.  Despite some similarities in style, Dark Corners has a very different tone to The Night Swim, with more of a faster edge given to the story, and less focus on traumatic character histories.  The story does still contain some powerful character moments, especially when the protagonist encounters several victims’ families, but the story was more thriller focused than the last book.  Despite the connections to The Night Swim, Dark Corners can easily be read as a standalone novel, and this actually serves as a great introduction to Goldin’s flexible writing style.  Dark Corners probably has the quickest pace of any of the Goldin books I have so far read, and you will really get drawn into this elaborate book as a result.

While the fantastic mystery and intriguing character-focused stories are great, I really must highlight Goldin’s entertaining take on the social media world as her protagonist attends an influencer convention at a glitzy beachside hotel.  It does not take long for the protagonist’s, and presumably the author’s, true feelings about the influencer crowd to emerge and there is a certain amount of amusing disdain there.  You really can’t help but laugh at Goldin’s mocking and somewhat over-the-top depictions of the typical social media stars’ day-to-day lives, including obsessively recording everything they do, exceedingly fake interactions, and hollow personal relationships.  Goldin really does not pull any punches here, which I personally deeply appreciated, and it added quite a humorous edge to the book, especially when combined with the protagonist’s exasperated reactions to the various scenarios she encounters.  Despite this somewhat critical edge, Goldin does include a lot of intriguing information about the community, such as the various types of influencers, their social makeup, the ins and outs of the trade, as well as the type of personalities that are attracted to the lifestyle.  There is even a quite nuanced take on several key influencers throughout the book, and it was quite compelling to see what sort of people they really are.  While this background setting is mostly entertaining and fun, it does serve quite a vital role in the story, and I felt that Goldin was able to weave quite an intriguing and unique mystery story around it.  This ended up being one of the best inclusions of the entire novel, and I really loved how Goldin made Dark Corners stand out even further with her clever, if slightly acerbic take, on social media personalities and their influence.

Overall, Dark Corners was another outstanding book from Megan Goldin, who continues to shine as one of Australia’s premier authors of thriller fiction.  Combing a clever mystery with an intriguing character focus and a unique background setting, Dark Corners was an addictive read from start to finish and I deeply enjoyed Goldin’s latest impressive novel.  Highly recommended!

Dark Corners Cover

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