Tag: Australian Setting

Broke Road by Matthew Spencer

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Publisher: Allen & Unwin (Trade Paperback – 1 July 2025)

Series: Rose Riley – Book Two

Length: 389 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Australian author Matthew Spencer presented one of the best Australian crime fiction reads of 2025 with his outstanding and deeply impressive sequel novel, Broke Road.

Back in 2022, I had the great pleasure of reading the fantastic debut novel of Australian journalist turned author Matthew Spencer, Black River.  Featuring a compelling crime fiction narrative about a mysterious series of deaths around the Sydney river system, Black River was a wonderful novel that ended up being one of my favourite debuts of 2022.  I had a lot of fun with Spencer’s first book, and I was very curious when I saw that he had a sequel coming out this year, Broke Road.  I made sure to grab a copy as soon as I could, and I ended up being blown away by how good this sequel was.

Plot Synopsis:

A late-night phone call is never good news for Homicide Detective Sergeant Rose Riley. This time she’s being sent up to the Hunter Valley, where a woman has been found dead in her home.

Rose grew up further along the valley. She knows that for every vineyard and golf course resort visited by tourists to the ‘wine country’ there are as many dilapidated fibro houses and drug dens, in the shadow of one of the state’s largest prisons.

A media hound points the finger at the husband, angering Rose but capturing the attention of journalist turned true crime author Adam Bowman. His book on the ‘Blue Moon Killer’ made him famous but the case nearly cost Rose her life, and she’s not sure how she feels about seeing him again.

Suspects abound, from the grieving husband to sinister business interests and suspicious locals. But when new evidence connects the crime to an old case, Rose realises they have no time to lose. The murderer is ready to strike again.

Broke Road was an amazing new novel from Matthew Spencer, who really impresses with this second outing, producing a complex and gritty Australian crime fiction narrative that really draws you in.  Intense, clever and featuring some likeable characters, Broke Road ended up being an incredible sequel to the author’s first book, and it was one that I deeply enjoyed.

Spencer made some very interesting narrative choices that worked extremely well to tell an elaborate and deeply personal crime fiction story.  Set after the climatic events of Black River, the novel initially follows main protagonist, Detective Sergeant Rose Bailey, as she travels to investigate a brutal murder of a married woman with connections to a successful local winery.  Transferring this book from the urban streets of Sydney to the iconic Hunter Valley in rural New South Wales, Spencer provides a whole new feel to this sequel, which allows Broke Road to do its own thing.  Initially set up as a typical small-town Australian murder mystery, with Rose investigating first the victim’s husband and other members of the nearby town, things take an interesting twist when Black River’s other protagonist, reporter Adam Bowman, arrives in town to investigate the case.

What follows is a complex and deeply captivating mixture of story elements as the protagonists are forced to deal with their complicated feelings towards each other.  Simultaneously exploring the traumatic aftermath of the events of Black River while also seeing both main characters investigate the case in their own way, the plot of Broke Road becomes extremely addictive.  A lot of this is due to how the author expertly raises the stakes as the plot continues, with the several related murders across the country coming to light, hinting at a deadly and notably chilling predator stalking the Hunter Valley.  I really appreciated how the book’s story threads came together, and Spencer throws in various alternative motives, clever red herring and some great personal interactions in the lead-up to the conclusion.  The eventual big reveal in Broke Road’s finale was extremely well handled, with an exciting confrontation well mixed with all the author’s clever clues coming together.  Spencer ends everything on a great personal note, which ties everything up quite nicely and resulted in particularly outstanding narrative.

I felt that Broke Road was an outstanding novel in many ways, especially as it worked well as both a complex standalone crime novel and as a sequel to Spencer’s first book.  While any new reader can easily jump into Broke Road, Spencer works the fallout of Black River’s plot into both the plot and the protagonist’s character arcs, with both main characters still dealing with their trauma and leftover feelings.  This allows for a much more emotionally rich narrative, especially when tied into other character elements, such as Rose’s past connections to the area surrounding the murder scene.  Spencer cleverly chose to focus more on Rose in this sequel, allowing her to develop more as a character after spending much of the first book in Adam’s shadow.

Spencer also provides a very compelling change of scenery from his previous novel, taking the protagonists and readers into a much more rural setting.  Australia’s iconic Hunter Valley worked perfectly as a background to Spencer’s complex mystery, and the beautiful landscape, as well as its interesting mixture of inhabitants, added a lot to Broke Road’s impact and distinctive feel.  I also personally felt that Spencer provided a much more well-written novel with this sequel, which showcases his growth from the first book.  While the author does maintain his series’ grim tone, especially when it comes to the very disturbing killer, the story in this sequel was a lot sharper and the character arcs managed to hit a little harder.  I also think that the author brought all the story elements together a bit more concisely in the finale, allowing for a much more enjoyable journey to the end of the book.  All this really highlighted Spencer’s great development as a writer, and it will be interesting to see how he continues to improve going forward.

With some outstanding writing, clever storytelling and many grim murders, Broke Road was an exceptional book from Matthew Spencer, who really showcased his writing ability with this book.  An amazing sequel that also stands on its own feet, Broke Road is guaranteed to hook you early, and it was easily one of the best Australian crime fiction novels of 2025.

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Waiting on Wednesday – Redbelly Crossing by Candice Fox

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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.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  In this latest Waiting on Wednesday post, I check out an outstanding upcoming Australian crime fiction read with Redbelly Crossing by the always awesome Candice Fox.

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I’m always down for an epic crime fiction read from a talented local author, and few Australian authors have been as consistently impressive with their thrillers and murder mysteries then Candice Fox.  Currently one of Australia’s top authors of the genre, Fox has been on a roll in recent years, providing a range of excellent novels, from complex American thrillers like The Chase, Devil’s Kitchen and Fire With Fire, to unique Australian outback thrillers such as High Wire.  She has also continued her exciting partnership with the legendary James Patterson, with some recent releases including 2 Sisters Detective Agency, 2 Sisters Murder Investigations and The Murder Inn.  All these books have been a ton of fun to get through, and I always make sure to keep an eye out for anything new from Fox, especially as it’s likely to be a guaranteed hit.

For 2026 it looks like Fox will be returning to Australian outback thriller fiction, with Redbelly Crossing, an intriguing, character-focused novel with a lot of interesting potential behind it.  Set for release in late March 2026, Redbelly Crossing will follow two estranged cop brothers who are assigned to the same murder case in small-town, outback Australia.  Fox looks set to combine a compelling mystery with some intense character moments, as these two damaged police protagonists are forced to work together.  I cannot wait to see what dark family secrets and historical wounds are reopened as the story continues, and it should provide a particularly dramatic backdrop to an intriguing outback mystery.  Combine that with Fox’s exciting and fast-paced writing style and Redbelly Crossing looks set to be a particularly awesome piece of Australian fiction coming out in early 2026, and it’s one I cannot wait to check out.

Plot Synopsis:

Blood is thicker than water. But too much leaves a trail . . .

Russell and Evan Powder are cops.

The brothers haven’t spoken for five years, since a violent confrontation tore their family apart.

Now they are both assigned to the murder of a young journalist, Chloe Lutz, in the small town of Redbelly Crossing (population 205).

It’s the last thing Russell wants. This is supposed to be the week he repairs things with his teenage daughter Bridie. Now he’s had to drag her on a murderous ride-along to the middle of snake-infested nowhere.

But a big case like this is just what Evan needs after a terrible mistake nearly tanked his career.

Then a dark discovery leaves Evan with only one way out; to bury the truth Russell is so determined to uncover …

High Rise by Gabriel Bergmoser

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Thriller1 Comment

Publisher: Harper Collins (Trade Paperback – 1 August 2025)

Series: Standalone/The Hunted spin-off

Length: 309 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out 5 stars

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Prepare for carnage as rising Australian author Gabriel Bergmoser presents a high-octane and beautifully brutal thriller, High Rise, an outstanding and deeply entertaining novel with some real intensity behind it.

Gabriel Bergmoser is an intriguing author who has written some compelling and exciting pieces of Australian fiction over the last few years.  Originally known more for his work as a playwright, Bergmoser has been more active as a thriller author in recent years with his Hunted books, as well as the standalone novel The Caretaker.  High Rise serves as continuation of Bergmoser’s previous Hunted books, The Hunted and The Inheritance, as well as some of the author’s separately released Audible Originals, and follows a supporting character from The Inheritance on his own brutal adventure.

Plot Synopsis:

After a year of searching, rogue ex-cop Jack Carlin has finally found his estranged daughter, Morgan, holed up in the top floor of a rundown, grimy high-rise building. The trouble is, Jack’s unconventional policing and information-gathering methods in the past has made him some serious enemies. And what Jack doesn’t know as he heads into the building, intent on saving his daughter, is firstly, that Morgan doesn’t want to be saved – particularly not by him – and secondly, that the entire criminal underworld in the city are on their way too… There’s a bounty on his head, and they’re after his blood – and they don’t mind if Morgan is collateral damage.

As bounty hunters and gang members converge on the building, father and daughter are thrown into a desperate fight for survival through fifteen storeys of deadly enemies – with only each other to rely on. Die Hard meets The Raid, but the funnier, grittier Australian version. Fast, furious and ferocious, this is thriller writing at its nail-biting, unputdownable best.

Now that was a load of fun.  High Rise was a highly entertaining and relentlessly exciting Australian novel, as Bergmoser unleashes one of his dangerous protagonists on a horde of criminals.  Featuring a continuous blast of action, violence and family drama, High Rise was an amazing and addictive novel that I absolutely powered through.

I had a great time reading the ultra-exciting narrative featured within High Rise, especially as Bergmoser eagerly created an Australian thriller in the same vein as some classic over-the-top action films.  Starting off fast with an effective reintroduction to protagonist Jack Carlin, Bergmoser sets up the main points of the narrative extremely well, and you soon get stuck into the main part of the book, with Jack finding himself trapped on the top floor of a high-rise building filled with petty criminals, bikies, thugs and even some professional hitmen.  What follows is an entertaining blitz of outrageous and brutal action as Jack, and his daughter Morgan, attempt to fight their way downstairs.

Unsurprisingly for an action-packed brawl against criminals and killers, the plot of High Rise moves at a very quick pace.  Bergmoser does a good job splitting the narrative between the two main protagonists, Jack and Morgan, which allows the author to dive into their strained relationship, as well as their own complicated pasts.  Thanks to some creative splitting up, both characters have some interesting solo moments in the middle part of the novel, which also features some unlikely allies.  The climax of the story comes on fast, and there are a couple of good twists there, as well as the appearance of a figure fans of Bergmoser will be very familiar with.  While the identity of the main antagonist of the novel isn’t too surprising, some of the supporting villains were quite fun, especially as the author made good use of the character history he introduced in this novel.  Everything leads up to an intense and emotionally charged finale, which features even more over-the-top action for the reader to enjoy, including some very unique weaponry for an urban Australian setting.  The conclusion of the High Rise was quite poignant and served as a good wrap up to the character development Bergmoser had been exploring throughout the book.  This was an overall exciting and intense narrative that has a lot of great moments for action fans.

Bergmoser did a great job of showcasing his action-packed story throughout High Rise, and this proved to be a very entertaining and addictive read as a result.  The many, many fight sequences I have already gushed about are well-written, and readers can easily visualise these brutal battles and over-the-top sequences thanks to Bergmoser’s descriptive style.  The author also successfully kept up his frenetic pace the entire way through, which allowed me to easy power through this book quickly.  There is a certain level of humour to High Rise, especially with a range of clueless goons and other entertaining characters, and things do get a little ridiculous at times.  This bit of comedic charm is well balanced by the deeper personal issues of the two protagonists, whose dysfunction is further showcased by various flashback sequence, which Bergmoser works into the plot without slowing the pace of the book down.  As such, there are no impediments to powering through this book quickly, and I guarantee most readers will knock this off in only a few sessions.

As I mentioned at the start of the novel, High Rise serves as an extension to the author’s Hunted series.  The protagonist has previously appeared in some of Bergmoser’s previous novels and audiobook releases, most prominently The Inheritance, while another of the author’s protagonists is reintroduced later in the novel.  Despite being part of a larger series, any reader interested in checking out High Rise should be able to follow the plot of this novel without any issues.  Indeed, I personally haven’t had the chance to read Bergmoser’s previous books, and I was able to enjoy High Rise quite easily.  While there are references to previous events from the series, and the author is a little cagey at first about the protagonist’s connections to Maggie, the main character of The Hunted and The Inheritance, Bergmoser quickly fills in any necessary gaps with his accessible writing, and new readers should be able to follow along easily.  As such, High Rise is a great book for any thriller reader, and indeed it works quite well as an introduction to Bergmoser and his writing style.

While I did decide to read High Rise mainly because of its fun-sounding plot and the excessive violence it promised, I came away appreciating the great character work that Bergmoser featured.  Most of the book follows main protagonist Jack Carlin and his daughter Morgan, both of whom have a troubled past and a tense relationship with each other.  The author does an excellent job diving into their complex personal history, especially with the novel’s regular split in perspective, and you get some intriguing insights into their pasts, much of which impacts their current motivations and reactions.  This includes Carlin’s regretful history as a corrupt cop, much of which impacted his relationship with Morgan, who herself suffered a dark childhood due to her mother, as well as her own alcohol induced mistakes.  These character elements become cleverly entwined with the main narrative, and the antagonism and mistrust between the two added to the drama of the plot.  I think that Bergmoser handled this troubled relationship very well, and it was a great highlight of High Rise’s plot, especially attempt to address it in their own troubled way.

While High Rise is primarily focused on Jack and Morgan, several other characters do get their moment to shine.  This includes Maggie, the protagonist of several of the author’s previous books, who has a more supporting role in this novel after appearing later in the plot.  Due to her lack of perspective chapters, Maggie does have less of an impact than the author’s previous novels, but her intense personality and unique friendship with Jack ensure she stands out.  Other key figures, including a Swedish assassin and the violent former member of a bikie club that Jack and Maggie previously destroyed, add some interesting flair to the plot, especially when some unlikely alliances form, and both had some memorable histories and appearances here.  Throw in an army of low-level thugs and criminals who also attempt to claim the bounty on Jack, including some who have history with him, and High Rise features a very entertaining cast of characters, and it was very fun to see them try to kill each other.

Gabriel Bergmoser continues to produce extremely thrilling and entertaining Australian crime fiction content with his latest novel High Rise.  A relentlessly brutal novel, loaded with action, bloodshed and some fantastic emotional depth, High Rise was a great read that I had an amazing time getting through.  Highly recommended!

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Waiting on Wednesday – Dead Fall Lake by S. R. White

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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.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this latest Waiting on Wednesday post, I check out an excellent upcoming Australian crime fiction novel from an author who has really impressed me in recent year with Dead Fall Lake by S. R. White.

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S. R. White is an outstanding author who has been making an intriguing impact on the Australian crime fiction scene in recent years. Primarily known for his Detective Dana Russo series, White has written some deeply complex, character-driven crime fiction novels, that provides some fresh new takes on the classic crime fiction narrative. This includes the first book of White’s that I had the pleasure of reading, Prisoner, which contained a fantastic murder mystery solved through a series of complex interrogations.  The next novel in the series, Red Dirt Road, was another impressive read, with the protagonist forced to uncover the truth amid a closed pool of suspects in a remote Australian town.  His fourth Dana Russo novel, White Ash Ridge, featured another clever story, as the protagonist needed to solve a murder likely committed by a board member of a charity formed after a previous failed police investigation.  All of these, as well as the 2025 spin-off novel Pacific Heights, have been extremely impressive, and I like the elaborate and memorable cases they contain.

As such, I am always keen to see what White will be writing next, and it looks like he has another very interesting novel coming out in March 2026 with Dead Fall Lake.  Featuring another compelling case, this time involving an extreme sports enthusiast found dead in a wilderness sinkhole, Dead Fall Lake sounds pretty damn awesome, and I am curious to see how this new novel unfolds.  Based on my experiences with White’s other novels, I already know I’m going to love Dead Fall Lake, and it is already one of the top Australian releases I am looking forward to in the new year.

Plot Synopsis:
Deep in the Australian wilderness, a famed sinkhole renowned as a stunning freediving spot attracts people from all over the world. But there’s a dark, puzzling mystery when a local sports hero – and the glamorous face of a high-adrenaline video channel – is found dead far beneath the surface.

Despite diving the sinkhole hundreds of times, his lifeless body is discovered dressed in normal clothes, handcuffed to a supply line. With no witnesses – and evidence submerged 30 metres underwater – how can Detective Dana Russo unravel such a shocking case?

Waiting on Wednesday – The Shark by Emma Styles

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday4 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.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  In this week’s Waiting on Wednesday post, I check out an intriguing and intense upcoming Australian thriller with The Shark by Emma Styles.

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Back in 2022 I had the pleasure of reading the exciting and entertaining thriller, No Country For Girls, which was the debut novel of new Australian author Emma Styles. Set in the harsh Western Australian outback, No Country For Girls was an outstanding read, featuring two great protagonists on a gritty and deeply personal journey. Fun and compelling, No Country For Girls ended up being one of my top debut novels of 2022, and I was curious at the time to see what Styles would write next.

Well, it looks like I will finally be able to find out soon as Styles has her second novel coming out in early 2026, and it sounds pretty epic. This new novel, The Shark, is set for release in March 2026, and features a powerful plot about a deadly Australian serial killer and two teenage girls who attempt to stop him.

Plot Synopsis:

A killer is stalking the suburbs of Western Australia. Two teenage girls hell-bent on revenge take matters into their own hands, with deadly results. Another dark, uniquely voice-led crime thriller from Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize-winner Emma Styles.

Every monster has a weakness.

At the height of Australian summer, a serial killer dubbed The Shark stalks a beachside suburb, targeting young female swimmers whose bodies are later found on the shoreline.

Disempowered and angry at the failures of the police to protect them, two young women are hell-bent on revenge. Raych has lost someone and will go to any length to discover what happened to her, while Carmen suspects a disturbing connection to the killer.

Together they form an uneasy alliance and, in a moment that changes the trajectory of their lives, Carmen and Raych abduct and imprison the prime suspect. Do they think they can save the day, or are their intentions darker? Can they trust one another’s agenda? And when another young woman goes missing, what stops them from going to the police?

A dark and voice-led serial killer thriller that subverts the tropes of crime fiction at every turn, The Shark is an unforgettably propulsive novel about victimhood, power and autonomy.

Now this is a very interesting book by Styles.  I love the awesome scenario above, which promises to turn The Shark into a particularly intense read.  Pitting two teenage protagonists against a potential serial killer, while other deaths and disappearances are occurring outside their prison has so much potential, and this thriller has one of the more distinctive and exciting plot synopses of novels coming out in early 2026. 

While I would probably have grabbed The Shark no matter what in 2026, especially after really enjoying No Country For Girls, I must admit that I’m already a little obsessed with the above plot.  Emma Styles has come up with an extremely interesting idea for her second novel and I am extremely curious to see how it comes together.  If Styles backs up this great plot with some amazing characters and dark moments of dread and uncertainty, then The Shark will likely be one of the top pieces of Australian fiction in 2026.  I cannot wait to see how this book comes together, and I have a strong feeling that I am going to love it.

The Bolthole by Peter Papathanasiou

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery1 Comment

Publisher: MacLehose (Trade Paperback – 29 July 2025)

Series: DS George Manolis – Book Four

Length: 349 pages

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

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Acclaimed Australian crime fiction author Peter Papathanasiou returns with another outstanding entry in his DS George Manolis series, The Bolthole.

Peter Papathanasiou is an Australian author who has been making some excellent waves in recent years with his intricate and culturally relevant murder mysteries set around striking areas of outback Australia, as well as one novel set in Greece.  These books form part of his DS George Manolis series, which I had had the pleasure of first reading in 2023 with the third entry in the series, The Pit.  A fantastic novel that combined moving character history with the red desert of the Kimberley mining region, The Pit was a captivating and memorable novel that I had a great time with.  As such, I was very interested when a copy of The Bolthole arrived, and it proved to be another curious read.

Plot Synopsis:

Located off the coast of South Australia, Kangaroo Island lies surrounded by violent seas harbouring deadly great white sharks and forgotten shipwrecks.

Over the centuries the Islanders have cultivated a sense of self-sufficiency, independence and resilience. But times are changing: multimillionaires from the mainland are building immense clifftop mansions and filling the skies with private planes and helicopters. A quiet paradise is being transformed into a bolthole for the rich and privileged. And the locals aren’t happy.

Richard Marlowe, a wealthy “blow-in” to the island, goes missing, last seen wading into the ocean for a dawn swim. A shark attack is blamed, but things don’t add up. Reuniting for a new investigation, Detective Sergeant Manolis and Senior Constable Sparrow arrive on the island, but their presence isn’t welcomed, either. Faced with hostility from both Islanders and newcomers, their attempts to locate the missing man are derailed by a civil war over limited resources, a fragile environment, and fractured community dynamics.

The Bolthole was another compelling novel from Papathanasiou that successfully blended a cool focus on an iconic Australian setting with a slow-burn mystery.  The result was an awesome novel that I had an excellent time getting through and which consistently kept my attention.

Papathanasiou’s new novel is primarily set on the historical and picturesque Kangaroo Island and features an intricate mystery about a powerful business luminary who goes missing during his morning surf.  Arriving on the island, protagonists Detective Sergeant Manolis and Senior Constable Sparrow begin an investigation of the disappearance.  With a split focus between these two protagonists, The Bolthole’s narrative goes at slow but steady pace, as the police officers become familiar with the island, its people, and certain controversial local politics and developments that the victim, Richard Marlowe, was involved in.

The author sets The Bolthole’s mystery out in a very methodical and detail focused manner, with the protagonists trying to learn everything about the victim and potential suspects in the case, while also dealing with their own personal conflicts and concerns.  While the plot was often focused more on the social, cultural and environmental issues affecting Kangaroo Island, the investigation angle was constantly ongoing, and Papathanasiou continued to fit in subtle clues and development.  The conclusion of The Bolthole was intense and captivating, with several clever twists, some great reveals, and even a bit of exciting action.  Most readers are going to come away from this novel very satisfied, and I felt that Papathanasiou produced an impressive piece of Australian crime fiction.

The Bolthole proved to be an effective, character-driven mystery novel that once again showcased the author’s love of remote and unique locations.  A rich and detail laden book, The Bolthole is a slower read than most crime fiction novels; however, this deliberate pacing from Papathanasiou allows him to feature a great collection of supporting characters, while also really diving into compelling setting of Kangaroo Island.  The author spends a lot of time exploring the island, and readers come away with a great deal of knowledge about its history, environment and culture, with a particular focus on some of the modern issues impacting it.  This includes extended discussions about new developments, exploitation of natural resources, impacts on the environment, and concerns about cultural changes to Kangaroo Island led by new wealthy residents buying up the land.  While the focus on these issues comes across a little preachy at times, it plays into the narrative around the main mystery extremely well and helps to explore certain character motivations and attitudes, while also laying down some false leads for the reader.  As such, the resulting mystery proves to be quite compelling, and the unique tone that Papathanasiou took for this book is going to appeal to a lot of readers.

On top of the above elements, I must also mention the great characters featured within The Bolthole, as Papathanasiou brings back the two main protagonists from his previous novels, Detective Sergeant Manolis and Senior Constable Sparrow.  Both these police characters have some interesting character elements, which the author does an excellent job exploring through their separate perspective chapters.  Manolis, for example, is still dealing with certain revelations about his family that came up in previous books and spends much of the novel guilty about how the truth will impact his partner.  At the same time, he tries to balance his obsession with finding justice with his failing marriage and his inability to properly prioritise them.  Sparrow, on the other hand, is dealing with his extreme dislike of the island due to the historical atrocities inflecting on his people there by white settlers, as well as issues around his own past and hidden sexuality.  While the author somewhat overplayed Sparrow’s cultural outrage and snarky nature in this book, for the most part these two protagonists are great to follow, and they blend well with the massive array of supporting characters that populate the author’s version of Kangaroo Island.  There are a lot of interesting figures in this supporting cast, and it proved fun to see the protagonists dive into their various histories.  This includes the victim, Richard Marlowe, whose own history and motivations proved quite interesting to uncover.  These characters, and more, all added a lot to The Bolthole’s overall impact, and it allowed for quite a compelling narrative in the end.

Peter Papathanasiou continues to showcase his skill as one of Australia’s more unique crime fiction authors with the distinctive novel, The Bolthole.  An excellent book with a lot of interesting elements to it, The Bolthole hits hard and keeps the reader’s attention with a great mystery and a compelling look at certain real-world issues.  A recommended novel, especially for those who love crime fiction reads that make full use of the background settings.

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Pacific Heights by S. R. White

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery4 Comments

Publisher: Headline (Trade Paperback – 25 March 2025)

Series: Standalone

Length: 279 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Over the last couple of years one of the more compelling authors of Australian crime fiction has been S. R. White.  A former member of the UK police, White has been writing intriguing crime fiction novels since his move to Australia.  His main body of work has so far included excellent reads like Prisoner, Red Dirt Road and White Ash Ridge (part of the Detective Dana Russo series), which featured complex mysteries centred around layered suspects.  I really enjoyed the compelling way in which White’s investigators break down the motivations and personalities of the suspects and the victim to get to the truth, and the author has a unique and striking writing style.  As such, I was eager to read his 2025 novel, Pacific Heights, which is a standalone spin-off of White Ash Ridge, featuring one of the supporting characters from the previous book in a more substantial role.

Plot Synopsis:

FIVE WITNESSES. FIVE DIFFERENT STORIES. WHO IS THE KILLER?

In the courtyard of the Pacific Heights building, a local waitress is found dead.
Five apartments overlook the murder scene. Five people witnessed a crime take place.
Finding the killer should be simple.

Except none of the witnesses’ stories match.
They all saw something – from a different angle, at a different time.
None of them saw everything. Anyone could be the killer.

Detectives Carl “Bluey” Blueson and Lachlan Dyson, each with their own careers in peril, must solve what others assume is a straightforward case. But to unmask a killer they must unpick a complex puzzle – where the motivations of the witnesses are as mystifying as the crime itself.

How can you solve a crime if anyone could be lying?

This was a very clever and addictive Australian crime fiction read that I had such a blast getting through.  White wove together a very compelling mystery narrative for Pacific Heights that cleverly explored a range of great characters and examined how people view events differently.

White starts Pacific Heights off well by introducing the detective protagonists and swiftly bringing them to the scene of the crime, where they attempt to ascertain the events leading up to the victim’s death by interviewing several people who either witnessed part of the murder or knew the victim.  The author takes his time with these initial interviews, ensuring that readers get a complete picture of what the witness’s account of events, as well as how they knew the victim.  It doesn’t take long for the reader and the protagonists to realise that the witnesses’ stories don’t match and none of them can definitively say who the murderer was.

By this point in the book, you’re strongly hooked, especially as the author has raised some interesting question about the victim and you are very intrigued by the main five witnesses and their potential secrets.  White rewards your interest with a series of insightful re-interviews, as well as bringing in new suspects and additional investigation methods to paint a larger picture of events, none of which quite fits together.  There is a great methodical style to the investigation, as the police chip away at all the inconsistencies and questions, although they are never quite as close to an answer due to the conflicting testimonies.

Everything leads up to the final third of Pacific Heights, which I honestly thought was a tad rushed, but which presented a solid and very clever ending.  Thanks to a brilliantly laid-out series of clues throughout in the plot, the protagonists are eventually able to solve the case, and I felt that the solution was extremely smart.  While I did predict who the killer would be, getting to their motivations behind the murder, as well as finding out how events unfolded, ensured that this was a powerful conclusion that fit the rest of the story really well.  I especially loved the twist around which of the witnesses were lying, and it tied in nicely to the complex character profiles White provided for the supporting cast, as well as utilising the protagonist’s own prejudices.  The result was an extremely impactful and captivating crime fiction story that I couldn’t stop reading and managed to power through in a couple of short days.

Pacific Heights proved to be an excellent read, and I really appreciated the intricate, character-focused mystery that White came up with.  Featuring a similar style to his Detective Dana Russo novels, the investigation is primarily based around understanding the people associated with the case, including the victim, witnesses, and other potential suspects.  This ensures that the author spends a lot of time carefully constructing and utilising his cast of supporting characters, and the array of motivations, personal issues and hidden histories, results in a particularly complex and emotionally charged read.  The focus on the various witnesses blends well with the character arcs surrounding the detective protagonists, and there is also a complex dive into the life of the victim, Tahlia Moore, even though she never actually appears alive in the plot.  Thanks to the protagonists diving into every aspect of her life, Tahlia comes to life through the descriptions of the other characters, and you soon begin to realise that she wasn’t as innocent or perfect as you are initially led to believe.  While I did feel that the author could have revealed some key history around certain witnesses earlier, for the most part I really appreciated how well White set up these compelling characters, and it helped to create a very powerful novel with some heavy emotional edges to it.

I also must commend how White worked this character-focused plot into Pacific Height’s police investigation narrative, as the protagonists are forced to wade through the conflicting testimonies to get the truth.  There is a certain amount of gritty realism to how White examines witness testimony and people’s motivations that really enhances the impact of Pacific Height’s plot, and I liked the underlying theme about how the way we see the world is flawed.  This focus on witness testimony blended well with the additional investigative tools featured in the plot, and this entire story came together extremely well. These combine nicely with the series of subtle clues that White lays down throughout the course of the book, and I loved how effectively this mystery came about.  While I did once again have minor issues with the author’s vagueness around where in Australia this book was set, this was honestly a very impressive crime fiction read that works well as both a standalone novel and a continuation of White’s existing series. 

Loaded with great characters, a deeply addictive mystery, and an excellent story hook, Pacific Heights was a very impressive read, and I had such an amazing time with this new novel from S. R. White.  Pacific Heights is White at his very best, and I really cannot recommend this book enough.

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The Reunion by Bronwyn Rivers

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Thriller2 Comments

Publisher: Constable (Trade Paperback – 11 February 2025)

Series: Standalone

Length: 360

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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New author Bronwyn Rivers bursts onto the Australian crime fiction scene in a big way with her impressive debut, The Reunion, a compelling and highly addictive read set in Australia’s iconic Blue Mountains that brings up dark secrets from the past.

Plot Synopsis:

Ten years ago, six teenagers hiked into the Blue Mountains wilderness – and only five came out alive.

The survivors have barely seen each other since the tragic bushwalk. Yet when an invitation arrives to attend a 10-year memorial of their friend’s death, Hugh, Charlotte, Alex, Laura and Jack find themselves travelling back into the rugged landscape where it all began.

The weekend at an isolated homestead in the bush – no phone signal, no distractions – should be a chance to reflect and reconnect.

But each of the friends has been carrying secrets from the fateful hike. And someone will stop at nothing to get the truth.

The Reunion was an impressive first novel from Rivers, who brings together a powerful, character-focused mystery that drags her protagonists through trying times in both the present and the past.  Intense, captivating and filled with great twists, The Reunion was an excellent Australian debut that I had an amazing time reading.

This was a very exciting and intricate Australian crime fiction book that follows several damaged characters as they navigate their darkest secrets.  Following five school friends reuniting for the 10-year anniversary of their friend Ed’s death, The Reunion starts with a necessary introduction of the characters in the present and their current issues.  Cut with flashback chapters to the fateful group hike where Ed died, the initial 50 pages of the book are a tad slow to start with, although there is some very useful set-up here, as Rivers establishes the key characters and the scenario they are getting into.  However, I didn’t think things really get started until the protagonists find themselves trapped in Ed’s family homestead in the Blue Mountains, caught up in a desperate plan by his grieving mother, who is convinced that there is more to the story then they ever told.

Suddenly finding themselves alone on the homestead with no water, no communication, and no ability to safely leave the property, the five friends start to find their secrets coming to light around them, which they must confront before Ed’s mother will let them leave.  The protagonists’ attempts to survive at the homestead are perfectly cut with a variety of flashback chapters that showcase both the events of the hike and look at other key events of the protagonists’ lives that give them potential motive for killing Ed all those years ago.  The blend of past and present storylines works extremely well to tell a complex story of lies, secrets and dark events, and you soon become obsessed with working out what really happened all those years before, as well as how the current scenario plays out.  I felt that these storylines came together extremely well, as not only is there an intriguing end to the flashback sequences in the bush, but the main story ends with some intense and dangerous moments as the well-written and complex protagonists face the consequences of their actions.  Featuring a surprisingly fast-paced but satisfying end to the captivating narrative, The Reunion came together extremely well, and I personally really liked the final twist, which wraps everything up in a fantastic way.

I felt that Rivers pulled together The Reunion quite nicely, and this ended up being a tight and powerful crime fiction read that really grabs the reader’s attention.  Featuring an excellent narrative that perfectly oscillates between the present storyline and the various glimpse of the past, Rivers was able to provide a very moving and thrilling read that cleverly explored the history and psyches of the damaged characters and provided greater context for the main plot.  The switches each chapter between the five characters worked well to expand each of their roles, and it was fascinating to see the differences between all the protagonists in the past and the present.  While Rivers could have possibly made it a bit clearer who each chapter was focussing on (say by putting the name next to the chapter number), the switch between characters allowed for a highly personal read, as you experience each character’s growth and current damage.  The author also ensures that the reader gets some interesting alternate views of the hike’s missing person, Ed, especially as the more you see of him the more you realise several characters may have had very valid reasons to kill him, which helps to deepen the mystery.  Throw in the excellent use of the beautiful Blue Mountains setting as background for this story, which Rivers lovingly brings to life with her effective descriptions, and this was a very cool standalone crime fiction read that had a lot of impressive layers to it.

An overall sharp, captivating and well-thought-out Australian crime fiction debut, The Reunion was an outstanding first book from Bronwyn Rivers that proved hard not to enjoy.  Featuring great twists, damaged characters, and excellent use of flashback chapters to paint a complex story of secrets, betrayal and tragedy, The Reunion comes highly recommended, especially for those readers keen for an impressive new talent.

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The Bluff by Joanna Jenkins

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery4 Comments

Publisher: Allen & Unwin (Trade Paperback – 4 March 2025)

Series: How to Kill a Client – Book Two

Length: 432 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Impressive new Australian author Joanna Jenkins presents another captivating piece of crime fiction with the gripping and emotionally charged read, The Bluff.

Back in 2023 I had the very great pleasure of reading the fantastic legal thriller, How to Kill a Client.  The debut novel of Australian author Joanna Jenkins, How to Kill a Client followed various members of a prestigious Australian law firm who are forced to deal with the fallout of the murder of one of their biggest clients, a man who everyone in the firm had a motive to kill.  Jenkins produced an outstanding story in her first novel, and How to Kill a Client ended up being one of my favourite debuts and pieces of Australian fiction of 2023.  Due to how good her first book was, I have been keeping an eye out for anything else from Jenkins and I was very happy to see she had a new book coming out in 2025 with The Bluff.  A surprising sequel to How to Kill a Client, The Bluff has been on my to-read list for a while, and I was very glad that I finally got the chance to check it out.

Plot Synopsis:

People like Dash didn’t die. He was only what? Mid-thirties? Well off. Adored. By some anyway. World at his feet. Well, Myddle at his feet, which was his world.

Ruth Dawson has taken a break from big city law to fill in for a few months at a mate’s small-town legal practice in Myddle. It’s not what she’s used to . . .

So when she hears the front door of her office open she’s expecting a weird demand, or a question she doesn’t know the answer to. But it’s Bea Baulderstone’s mum, worried that she hasn’t seen her seventeen-year-old daughter for five days, and Constable Gazza Parker is refusing to report the girl missing.

Ruth tries to find Bea, but Myddle is a wall of indifference. Then Dash Rogers is found at his farm gate, dead from a gunshot wound, and suddenly the town is very interested in Bea’s whereabouts.

An unputdownable thriller of deception and greed, The Bluff reveals an enmeshed web of family and community loyalties, set in the lush rural hinterland of east coast Australia.


The Bluff was an extremely captivating and complex Australian thriller from Joanna Jenkins that stands on its own feet while also serving as a great sequel to How to Kill a Client.  Featuring a fantastic character-driven story loaded with mystery, impressive storytelling and an excellent rural setting, The Bluff had me hooked very quickly, and I ended up powering through it in a day.

I really enjoyed the amazing story that Jenkins came up with for The Bluff, as she provides both an intriguing mystery, and some great character development.  A mostly standalone plot set after the events of How to Kill a Client, the reader is reintroduced to high profile layer Ruth Dawson, who is taking a break from the high-flying life to manage a small law firm in the small New South Wales town of Myddle.  This change in setting and story focus towards a rural thriller, rather than the big-city legal thriller of Jenkins’ previous book, proved to be quite effective, as was the very clever way the author set out The Bluff’s story.

Jenkins ensured that readers get dragged into The Bluff’s tale almost immediately, with two very quick sequences at the start: one that showed a key moment of the plot without any context, and then a subsequent scene where the protagonist is reintroduced and then finds out about the narrative’s two main mysteries, a missing girl and a murder.  With these important bits of information in your brain, the reader is then transported back six months and is shown all the events that occurred over this period that led up to the disappearance of Bea Baulderstone and the murder of Dash Rogers.  Through this six-month period, you become acquainted with all the key players around Myddle and observe their interactions with the victims and the protagonist, and you begin the appreciate the complex web of relationships, problems and personalities that surround the case, as well as the many potential motivations for the book’s main crimes.

This dive back in time was an outstanding writing choice by Jenkins that allowed the reader to really appreciate the full breadth of the relationships and troubles that accompany the crime, all while perfectly utilising The Bluff’s excellent rural setting.  With every brick of plot laid down to hint at the events to come, you find yourself becoming more and more involved with the plot as you try to picture how and why the murder will occur and which of the many interesting and emotional characters may commit it.  The inclusion of a countdown at the start of each new chapter gives a great ticking clock vibe to The Bluff, and you become more and more anxious and excited as you get closer the plot’s principal event.  The reader also begins to appreciate just how despicable the main murder victim is, and that allows for an even more compelling read, as you can see just how many potential people have a motive to kill him, as well as cause the disappearance of the missing girl.

The final third of The Bluff is probably the best, and I flew through it to find out how the story ends.  The final series of events leading up to the pivotal killings are particularly dark (and potentially triggering for some readers), and it was fascinating to see everyone’s emotional state in advance of this crime, especially as there are so many potential suspects.  However, rather than show the killings there, Jenkins instead jumps back to the timeline from the front of the book and spends the last 100 or so pages dealing with the subsequent investigation, with the protagonist pulling events together.  I liked this delay, as it provided an excellent trickle effect for the twists and also allowed the protagonist to shine as she uses her knowledge of events and her own skills at deduction to identify the culprit and protect her friends in the town.  The eventual solutions for the mysteries were very clever, and Jenkins did such a great job subtly dropping the clues throughout the backstory of the plot and setting up the various motivations.  I really appreciated the many complex and compelling twists which fit into the plot perfectly, especially the last one that really made you think.

This entire brilliant story is wrapped up in some great character arcs, as Jenkins features a range of protagonists and potential suspects, each of whom were quite compelling and brought different shades of drama to the plot.  I loved seeing their complex relationships and interactions throughout the plot of The Bluff, especially those that could lead to them committing the book’s main crimes.  There are some really great characters here, and it was especially interesting to see more of series protagonist Ruth Dawson, who is not only continuing to move on from the personal trauma and loneliness that was a key part of How to Kill Your Client, but is also trying to figure out where her life is going after the collapse of her previous law firm.  These character arcs come together in a very satisfying manner at the end of The Bluff, and a lot of this book’s complexity and strength came from how relatable and compelling Jenkins’ made these various characters, especially when it comes to their anger, fear and potential ability to commit murder.

Overall, The Bluff was an exceptional and deeply impressive sequel from Joanna Jenkins that I think was even stronger than the excellent first book.  Featuring a very clever and well-written narrative that brings together powerful character storylines and a great rural setting with complex mystery, The Bluff proved to be extremely captivating, and you will become engrossed in uncovering the full extent of the plot.  One of the best Australian crime fiction books of 2025 so far, The Bluff comes highly recommended and is really worth checking out.

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Quick Review – The Wrong Man by Tim Ayliffe

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

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Trade Paperback – 3 July 2024)

Series: John Bailey series – Book Five

Length: 335 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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From one of my favourite Australian crime fiction authors, Tim Ayliffe, comes the fantastic 2024 novel, The Wrong Man, which sees the author’s damaged protagonist investigate a dark new crime in Sydney.

For the last few years, I have become a major fan of Australian author Tim Ayliffe, who has been producing some excellent books as part of his John Bailey series.  Utilising his experience as a journalist, Ayliffe has pulled together a series of compelling and complex crime fiction novels as part of a series that follows his journalist protagonist, John Bailey, as he finds himself part of a series of dark crimes.  Many of these books, which include The Greater Good, State of Fear, The Enemy Within and Killer Traitor Spy, cleverly reference or utilise real-world elements that have been impacting Australia, such as terrorism, espionage and the rise of right-wing extremism, to enhance their narratives, and I have really enjoyed the captivating Australian stories that emerge.  The fifth book in this series, The Wrong Man, presents the reader with a cool new case as Ayliffe expands his series with an excellent new protagonist.

Plot Synopsis:

The fifth novel in the John Bailey thriller series. Bailey is trying to solve two murders, ten years apart – unfinished business from his former flame Sharon Dexter. But will it cost him his life?

When Sydney socialite Tottie Evans is found dead at a house in Palm Beach, Detective Holly Sutton is called in to investigate. She immediately suspects the boyfriend, a millionaire property developer and ex-mercenary soldier, who refuses to cooperate with police.

Across the city, old-school reporter John Bailey – still haunted by the death of his girlfriend, former cop Sharon Dexter – gets a call about a break-in. It leads to the unearthing of an old case file on a murder at the men-only Sydney Club that Dexter had been pursuing a decade earlier. Her notes reveal a link between that murder and the killing of Tottie Evans.

Suddenly, John Bailey and Holly Sutton have the same mission. And for Bailey, this is a chance to finish a job for the woman who saved his life.

The only problem: a serial killer is already serving a life sentence for the Sydney Club murder.


The Wrong Man was a very impressive addition to the John Bailey series that sees the protagonist dragged into a series of dark murders.  Ayliffe pulls together an intense, compelling and character-focused narrative that makes great use of its protagonists to tell a layered and complex story of murder, secrets and redemption.

The plot of The Wrong Man is cleverly told from the perspective of three central characters, each of whom have their own unique contribution to the overarching story.  The central character is John Bailey, Ayliffe’s damaged series protagonist who has managed to rebuild his life after the trauma of the earlier books and now serves as a mostly balanced figure, determined to uncover the truth no matter what.  Forced to investigate two murders, including a recent slaying and an older killing that his dead former love interest solved, Bailey finds old pain coming to the surface again and must also face interference from one of his only friends, CIA spy Ronnie Johnson, who is trying to stop Bailey’s investigation into a prominent military contractor.  Bailey is backed up in this book by his current love interest, reporter Annie Brooks, whose own journalistic interest in the case is supported by her connection to one of the suspects.  The two of them prove to be an effective team, although I felt that the third central protagonist, Holly Sutton, was the one who stole the show.

Holly Sutton is a new police protagonist who is assigned to investigate the murders Bailey and Brooks are looking into.  Another highly damaged protagonist who has issues with debts and her own past, Sutton proves to be a jaded figure in the investigation.  This is enhanced by her realisation she has a dark connection to the case, especially when a cover-up she was inadvertently involved with forces her to keep key facts hidden from her boss.  This adds an additional element of secrecy to the plot, which works well alongside the complimentary storylines of the other protagonists.  Ayliffe presents a tight and exciting narrative for the entirety of The Wrong Man that goes in some intriguing directions.  I felt that the compelling mystery comes together extremely well, and the character-driven storylines are brought together in an exciting and high-stakes manner.  I felt that this was one of Ayliffe’s stronger stories, and I honestly powered through it in no time at all.

As with his preceding narratives in the John Bailey series, Ayliffe cleverly utilises some real-life Australian issues and themes in The Wrong Man, which I always enjoy, and which I feel gives some extra realism and impact.  This includes some interesting references to current Pacific politics and alliances, with the protagonist’s ability to interrogate a potential suspect impacted by the CIA, who have a vested interest in the area.  Ayliffe also provides some examinations of police corruption in the story, with the long-term impacts of cover-ups, conspiracies and other darker elements of the police, such as sexism, having a compelling role in the plot.  Other compelling inclusions examine the roles and responsibility of journalists in modern society, as well as some interesting references to reality television stars.  I really felt these elements worked well alongside the crime fiction storyline, and Ayliffe expertly utilises and explores these in the plot.

Overall, The Wrong Man was a fantastic and powerful piece of Australian fiction that once again highlights Tim Ayliffe’s ability to tell a compelling and intense narrative.  Cleverly continuing the author’s series while also exploring cool new protagonists, The Wrong Man was an excellent and captivating read that I had an outstanding time getting through.

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