Blue Mountains – The Unseen Library

Publisher: Constable (Trade Paperback – 11 February 2025)

Series: Standalone

Length: 360

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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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Publisher: Penguin Australia (Hardcover – 22 October 2024)

Series: Ernest Cunningham – Book Three

Length: 229 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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One of my favourite Australian authors, the clever and eternally funny Benjamin Stevenson, returns with the third book in his Ernest Cunningham series, Everyone this Christmas has a Secret.

Over the last few years, one of the most impressive Australian crime fiction authors has been the exceptional Benjamin Stevenson. After a successful career as one half of musical comedy duo The Stevenson Experience, Stevenson has successfully made the move to crime fiction author with several amazing books. I was a big fan of his debut novel, Greenlight (also released as Trust Me When I Lie and She Lies in the Vines), which Stevenson expertly followed up a year later with the great sequel Either Side of Midnight. While these initial books were really good, for me Stevenson’s best work has been his Ernest Cunningham novels.

The Ernest Cunningham series follows the titular character, a crime fiction expert from a notorious family, who finds himself caught up in some real-life whodunit situations. The first book in the series, Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone, was particularly impressive, and it cleverly combined the author’s great sense of humour with a compelling mystery. I really enjoyed this exceptional book (one of my favourite Australian novels of 2022), especially as the author successfully played to his comedic background to produce an outstanding read that satirised classic crime fiction conventions. Stevenson continued to impress the following year, with the amazing book Everyone on this Train is a Suspect. One of my favourite books and pieces of Australian fiction of 2023, Everyone on this Train is a Suspect was a worthy sequel to the first Ernest Cunningham book, and I loved how the author took the opportunity to further parody various crime fiction subgenres. Due to how much fun I’ve had with the previous novels in the series, I was very excited when I found out Stevenson was releasing an Ernest Cunningham Christmas special. This latest book, Everyone this Christmas has a Secret, was an excellent read that continued to showcase unique style and flair for outrageous stories.

Ernest Cunningham, amateur detective, novelist and all-round meddler, had been looking forward to Christmas with his highly dysfunctional family. However, a surprising phone call from his ex-wive, Erin, forces him to journey to the Blue Mountains to solve another murder. Erin has been accused of killing her new husband, a wealthy philanthropist and former actor dedicated to helping former drug addicts by introducing them to the performing arts. Found upstairs covered in the victim’s blood, the case against Erin seems airtight, but Ernest isn’t willing to believe that the women he used to love is capable of committing murder.

Determined to prove Erin’s innocence, Ernest begins to investigate hoping to find anything that will clear her name. His first stop is a large charity Christmas show headlined by a famed magician that the victim had been working on in the leadup to his death. Exploring backstage, Ernest soon discovers that the staff of the charity show are a mixed bag of tricksters, manipulators and performers, each of whom had history with the victim. But before he can investigate any further, another person dies publicly on stage.

With the police refusing to listen and time counting down to Christmas, Ernest once again uses his knowledge of the conventions of crime fiction to try and solve the case. However, all his suspects have motive, and all of them know how to lie and misdirect. Can Ernest work out which of these performers is concealing the truth, or will a killer get away with murder this Christmas?

This was another outstanding novel from Stevenson, who clearly has a ton of fun with his Ernest Cunningham books. A brilliant Christmas special, Everyone this Christmas has a Secret proved to be yet another captivating and hilarious book that proved extremely hard to put down.

Everyone this Christmas has a Secret proved to be a very entertaining addition to the Ernest Cunningham series. Using the conventions of a Christmas special, Everyone this Christmas has a Secret provides readers with a short standalone book that can easily be enjoyed by any reader, even those unfamiliar with the previous entries in the series. Due to the limited length of the novel, Stevenson wastes no time diving into the plot, and you are soon presented with a new unique murder mystery, with the protagonist’s ex-wife painted as the killer. After some effective introductions to the case, the protagonist travels to the charity show that seems to lie at the heart of the case and begins to learn more about the potential suspect. This was a necessarily concise introduction, although it works to set up much of the future plot, and there are a ton of subtle clues hidden throughout the first half. This first half leads to a dramatic and exciting second murder that changes the scope of the plot and forces the protagonist to up his game.

Stevenson doesn’t waste any time after this second death, moving the plot at a murderous pace (pun intended), and bombarding the reader with clues, reveals and intrigues. There are several great twists here as we get closer to the conclusion, and I loved how the protagonist worked his way through the Christmas mystery in his own unique way. Everything leads up to the big reveal, where Ernest brings all his suspects together in a single location and talks them through the solution to the murder. There are some brilliant moments here as Ernest eliminates suspects, bringing all the hidden secrets to life and slowly whittling down the field of potential killers. The big reveal about the real killer was well handled and extremely clever, as the author brings together the multitude of clues he sprinkled throughout the plot in an entertaining manner. While the identity of the murder was a tad obvious to me thanks to one clue in particular, the route the protagonist takes to get there is fun, and I loved seeing everything come together. The resulting final confrontation is a little over-dramatic and follows the pattern of the other novels in the series, but it proved to be a great ending to this shorter, Christmas-themed Ernest Cunningham book, and I loved how well this book sat as a standalone entry to the series.

As with the previous books in this series, Everyone this Christmas has a Secret is a cleverly written and highly entertaining read that seeks to blend a complex murder mystery with comedic writing that satirises classic fiction tropes, especially those around golden-age crime fiction. Perfectly set in the iconic Australian setting of the Blue Mountains and told from the first-person chronicle perspective of protagonist Ernest Cunningham, this book has a compelling, quick-fire narrative enhanced by the protagonist’s amusing observations about the situation and the people involved in the case. Stevenson expertly utilises his comedy background to keep the mood of Everyone this Christmas has a Secret light, and you will love the fantastic way he keeps the audience laughing, while also providing some very clever in-jokes for those readers familiar with classic murder mysteries and whodunnits.

Stevenson also leans into the Christmas theme of this book by including a range of themes and tropes from holiday special novels/shows, which helps to give this third book a unique and memorable edge. The author’s rules for holiday specials, which are set down at the end of the novel, are cleverly overlayed over his established rules for detective fiction, and I really appreciated how Stevenson incorporated them into the plot. As such, Everyone this Christmas has a Secret has a distinctive change in style compared to the previous novels, which I think worked extremely well. If I had one criticism, it would be that the shorter length of this novel ensured that Stevenson didn’t have as much space or time to try to implement some of his classic meta-hints (like revealing on what page a murder was going to occur, or how many times the killer’s name is mentioned in the book), and the entire book did feel a bit rushed at times. Still, this was a great read, and one that works both as a continuation of the Ernest Cunningham series, as well as a compelling, holiday standalone read.

Due to its nature as a standalone holiday special, Everyone this Christmas has a Secret doesn’t feature a massive amount of character development, and apart from the protagonist there is a noticeable lack of recurring characters physically appearing here (it’s one of the rules of a holiday special). That being said, it was fun to see protagonist and humorous point-of-view character Ernest Cunningham again, especially as he is starting to lean into his role as a detective. While his investigation style is still quite chaotic (earning him the moniker “the Slapdash Detective”), Cunningham proves to be a much more skilled sleuth, although he once again makes some foolish mistakes at the grand reveal at the end. Aside from Cunningham, the rest of the cast is fun, with an intriguing mixture of suspects, victims, and related characters. While Stevenson does a good job introducing these characters and setting up some competing motivations, I did think the speed of the plot didn’t allow the reader to really appreciate this extended cast as much, and as such the big reveal at the end loses a little punch. Still, Stevenson features a solid cast for a shorter holiday special, and I enjoyed seeing how Ernest dives through their chaotic lives to find the killer.

Benjamin Stevenson once again shows why he is one of Australia’s top crime fiction authors with another captivating and clever murder mystery book, Everyone this Christmas has a Secret. Once again featuring the author’s trademark humour and satirical take on classic whodunnit tales, Everyone this Christmas has a Secret was a great read that was both gripping and fun. I look forward to seeing how the author continues the Ernest Cunningham books in the future, although I must admit I do wonder how far Stevenson can take this concept. An overall excellent and funny murder mystery that anyone can enjoy this Christmas.