Tag: Crime Fiction

Waiting on Wednesday – Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Waiting on Wednesday5 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.  In this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight a fantastic upcoming novel that is likely to be one of the funniest and most compelling Australian reads of 2023 with Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson.

Everyone on this Train is a Suspect Cover

Amazon

One of the benefits of living in Australia as I have the great pleasure of receiving and reading multiple Australian novels each year, which has really introduced me to some fantastic writers.  One of the most solid and fun in recent years is Benjamin Stevenson, who has really made his mark on the Australian crime fiction landscape.  Previously known as a comedian with his twin brother, Stevenson made his crime fiction debut back in 2018 with the impressive murder mystery Greenlight.  Released as Trust Me When I Lie and She Lies in the Vines outside of Australia, Greenlight was an excellent novel that followed a guilt-ridden true-crime documentary maker who might have gotten a murderer out of jail.  This was an outstanding read and Stevenson followed it up in 2020 with the sequel book Either Side of Midnight (one of my favourite Australian books of 2020) which saw his protagonist investigate another elaborate murder made to look like a very public suicide.  Both these books were extremely good and I loved the compelling combination of clever mystery and a complex protagonist.

While I enjoyed his original two crime fiction novel, I personally don’t think that Stevenson really hit his stride as an author until last year when he presented his epic read, Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone.  Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone was a brilliant and captivating novel that saw the protagonist recount a complex family tale in memoir format of a very complicated family reunion at a ski resort where the guests started ending up murdered.  Of course, everyone in the family is a potential suspect as, like the title of the book suggests, they have all been responsible for someone’s death in the past.  Not only was this a very clever and entertaining story, but Stevenson also loaded the plot with a ton of humour while also making a ton of homages to classic whodunnits and locked room mysteries.  Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone was an exceptional novel that got an easy five-star rating from me and ended up being one of the best Australian novels of 2022.

I really, really loved Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone, as it was such a fantastic novel, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Stevenson was planning a sequel to it with the focus of this article, Everyone on This Train is a Suspect, which is set for release in October 2023.  As the name suggests, this new novel will see the protagonist of Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone get involved in another series of murders, this time aboard a train setting.

Plot Synopsis:

Ernest Cunningham returns in a deliciously witty locked room (train) mystery.

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?

Oh dear, now this is going to be pretty damn hilarious.  Look I was already hyped about Stevenson’s new novel well before I knew the plot details, but the above synopsis is so fun.  There are so many layers to this upcoming story, including the clear Murder of the Orient Express homages, the setting aboard the iconic Ghan train, and the fact that every suspect on the train is a mystery writer of some variety.  The idea that one of these authors (which includes the protagonist) is a potential killer and they are using their literary skills to get away with it is brilliant and has a lot of potential from a mystery and narrative perspective.

However, the thing that I am most looking forward to in Everyone on This Train is a Suspect is the way that Stevenson will no doubt lovingly lampoon every single one of these different crime fiction sub-genres in his own fantastic way.  He did such an outstanding job of both satirising and exemplifying the whodunnit novel in his last book, which is what I assume he is planning for the sequel.  Simultaneously examining and making fun of several different crime fiction genres is going to be a big ask from the author, but I honestly have no doubt he can pull it off and turn it into something special for all crime fiction readers.

Look, based on how good Stevenson’s previous novels, especially Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone, was, there was very little chance that I wouldn’t have grabbed this book later this year.  But the fact that Everyone on This Train is a Suspect is an awesome sequel to his previous fantastic novel which aims to further reference and examine fun crime fiction elements is a major selling point to me.  Stevenson honestly gets better with every book he writes, and this new novel has so much damn potential as a result.  As such, I have no doubts whatsoever that Everyone on This Train is a Suspect is going to be a remarkable read and I am fully expecting it to be one of the absolute best Australian novels of the year.

Waiting on Wednesday – Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Murder Mystery, Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday5 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.  In this latest Waiting on Wednesday article, I check out the new Michael Connelly novel coming out later this year with Resurrection Walk.

Resurrection Walk Cover

Amazon

Since the very start of my dive into the crime fiction genre, one of my favourite authors is easily the very talented Michael Connelly, who has been a fixture on the scene since the 1990s.  Known for his big, joint crime-fiction universe featuring several very recognisable protagonists, Connelly is a very impressive writer who has continued to produce captivating and enjoyable novels throughout his entire career.  Most crime fiction readers will be very familiar with his Bosch and Mickey Haller novels, as well as the related television adaptations, and Connelly has amassed over 35 highly regarded novels in his career.

I personally have had a great time reading several of his latest books, and I have enjoyed seeing all the different protagonists and crime fiction sub-genres that he utilises.  This includes the great police procedural novels in the Ballard and Bosch series, which sees two of Connelly’s best police protagonists team up to solve several cold cases.  All four of these novels, which include Dark Sacred Night, The Night Fire (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2019), The Dark Hours (one of my favourite books of 2021) and Desert Star (one of my favourite books of 2022), were extremely epic, and I really enjoyed the impressive partnership the two characters formed.  In addition, I have also enjoyed that latest Jack McEvoy novel, Fair Warning (one of my favourite books of 2020) and the latest Mickey Haller novel, The Law of Innocence.  Both these outstanding novels really showcased the differing storylines and approaches of their respective protagonists, and I had a wonderful time with both.

Due to how much I have enjoyed his last several books, I am always very keen to grab Connelly’s annual release as soon as it comes out.  So, I was naturally incredibly happy when they released some early details about his next book, Resurrection Walk, which is coming out in early November.  Resurrection Walk will be the 37th overall novel in Connelly’s connected crime fiction universe, as well as being the seventh Mickey Haller/The Lincoln Lawyer novel.

The Mickey Haller/Lincoln Lawyer novels follow the titular protagonist, unconventional defence attorney Mickey Haller, who is better known as the Lincoln Lawyer due to his tendency to practice the law out of the back of his Lincoln Town Car.  The Mickey Haller books have all been fun and exciting reads, and I really enjoy the legal thriller focused storylines which are interesting alternatives to more typical murder mystery novels he is known for.  Several adaptations of his work have also been done, including The Lincoln Lawyer film and the recent The Lincoln Lawyer television series, which is due a second season later this year.  I am very interested to see what new case Connelly has planned with Resurrection Walk, and it sounds like it is going to be another fun read.

Plot Synopsis:

Defence attorney Mickey Haller is back, taking the long shot cases, where the chances of winning are one in a million. He agrees to represent a woman in prison for killing her husband, a sheriff’s deputy. Despite her conviction four years earlier, she still maintains her innocence. Haller enlists his half brother, retired LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, as investigator. Reviewing the case, Bosch sees something that doesn’t add up, and a sheriff’s department intent on bringing a quick search for justice in the killing of one of its own.

The path to justice for both the lawyer and his investigator is fraught with danger from those who don’t want the case reopened. And they will stop at nothing to keep the Haller-Bosch dream team from uncovering what the deputy’s killing was really about.


Resurrection Walk is shaping up to be another pretty cool Connelly novel, especially with the focus on the Lincoln Lawyer and his impossible defence cases.  Seeing Mickey attempt to free a potentially innocent women from prison is going to be really awesome, and I have a lot of love for the fun and unconventional courtroom scenes that this series is known for.  The focus on a deputy’s wife who was put away by her murdered husband’s colleagues is also a great scenario that opens so many intriguing story avenues, whether it be corrupt cops, incompetence or just plain old vengeance, that is going to add some awesome elements to the plot that I can’t wait to see.  Plus, it looks like there is the good old storyline of the police, and other interested parties, trying to sabotage Haller’s case before he can uncover anything damaging.

While the above all sounds cool, one of the most intriguing elements of Resurrection Walk is in the inclusion of Harry Bosch as a supporting character.  Bosch is Connelly’s longest running and most iconic protagonist for a reason and is always good to see this grizzled cop in action, especially after the revelations from the previous novel about his health.  Bosch has a very complicated relationship with Haller, his half-brother, and watching them team up always results in some great and emotionally charged scenes.  This is going to be in overdrive in Resurrection Walk as Bosch is dying of cancer and doesn’t have too much longer to live.  Resurrection Walk could possibly be Bosch’s last book and it wouldn’t surprise me if he ended up dying at some point in the story, either after some emotional goodbye to his brother or some heroic sacrifice.  This ensures that Resurrection Walk is a particularly interesting Connelly novel to check out, and if something big happens I want to find out pretty damn soon.

Overall, I have to say I am very excited to get my hands on the next upcoming Michael Connelly book.  Resurrection Walk sounds like it is going to be an outstanding read and I always love the exceedingly entertaining Lincoln Lawyer plots.  Resurrection Walk’s story sounds particularly interesting and I cannot wait to see how everything unfolds, especially if this is the book where Bosch finally dies.  This is easily one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 and I look forward to diving into it the second I get my hands on a copy.

Judgement Day by Mali Waugh

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery1 Comment

Judgement Day Cover

Publisher: MacMillan (Trade Paperback – 28 February 2023)

Series: Standalone/Book One

Length: 327 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Fantastic new author Mali Waugh presents her excellent and memorable debut with the Australian crime fiction read, Judgement Day.

Family law judge Kaye Bailey is a woman on the rise.  An honest and determined member of Melbourne’s Federal Circuit Court, Kaye is set to be the next chief judge, allowing her to make the changes she’s always dreamed about to make a real difference.  However, hours after finding out about her promotion, Kaye is brutally murdered in her chambers.

Detective Jillian Basset has just returned from maternity leave and is having trouble balancing motherhood with her complicated career.  Brought in with an arrogant partner to investigate the killing at the courthouse, Jillian hopes to crack the biggest case of her career.  However, the murder of Judge Bailey is far more complicated than anyone anticipated, as the victim was a fierce and honest woman whose determination caused her to get on the wrong side of many of her colleagues and the people she ruled on.

As the detectives dive deeper into the judge’s life, they soon find themselves surrounded by potential suspects, from jealous judges to dangerous individuals with grudges against the entire family law system.  As they attempt to understand who wanted to kill their victim, Jillian also finds her own life getting even messier, as her return to work raises problems she has been trying to avoid.  Can Jillian crack the case before her own life spirals out of control?

Judgement Day was an amazing and captivating Australian novel that got my attention early on.  Waugh pulls together a powerful and intense narrative that combines a brilliant murder mystery storyline with some fascinating legal thriller elements to produce a particularly impressive debut.

Waugh has come up with an excellent crime fiction narrative for her debut novel, and I liked the fantastic blend themes and story elements that she introduced throughout the book.  Judgement Day starts off with an extended prologue that quickly and effectively sets the scene for the plot, introduces the victim and other key suspects, and showcases the events that led up to her murder.  From there, the book primarily focuses on the main character of Detective Jillian Basset, a recent mother who is going through various personal issues as she tries to get back into her career.  Forced to work with a new, glory-seeking partner, Jillian finds the journey back into the detective groove hard, but she is soon diving into the complex case before her.  Waugh sets up an outstanding police procedural storyline here, as the character being their careful dive into the victim’s life, trying to identify who would have wanted to kill her.

The story moves along at a steady pace and the reader really gets drawn into learning about who the victim is and who might have wanted to kill her.  Waugh loads up the story with a ton of great suspects and potential motives at this point, as the protagonists find out about all the drama that occurs behind the scenes of the court system.  This takes the story in several intriguing directions, and you are soon hooked on the various leads that are presented to you.  At the same time, Waugh paints a very complex and heartbreaking tale about the main character’s personal life, which I found to be just as interesting and moving as the tragic murder of the main plotline.  The rest of the story moves very swiftly, especially as you are pretty invested in solving the case, and I personally managed to knock the second half of the book off in a single night.  Several intriguing plot points from earlier in the book, including an infamous divorce case, jealousy from other judges, a kidnapping, and some intriguing character history, are brought together in a very clever way as the solution to the murder presents itself.  Waugh set everything up extremely well, and I really liked the clever clues and hints that she had scattered through the rest of the book.  The final resolution of the case, as well as the reveal of the murderer’s motivation and methods, was handled well, and I really liked how Waugh brought everything together and left the reader with a very satisfying conclusion.

While the story itself is very strong, I also liked some of the clever and compelling elements that Waugh added in to make it even more complex and emotionally powerful.  The most prominent of these is the inclusion of some fascinating legal thriller elements that enhanced Judgment Day’s police procedural storyline and really helped to book stand out to me.  Waugh uses all her experiences as a lawyer to paint an intriguing picture of the family court system in Melbourne, and the struggles and work of its judges become a key part of the plot.  This leads to several other intriguing elements, such as domestic violence and the issues that professional women face in the workforce, especially when it comes to balancing family and the opinions of their male colleagues with a successful career.  These elements are blended into the narrative in a smart and thoughtful way, and I liked how it forced the protagonists to examine the case from several different angles.  While these intriguing elements are great, the focus on classic police work is still very strong, and I really enjoyed the impressive mystery that Waugh wove together in Judgement Day.  The author’s focus on the character development and personal issues added a great deal to the overall story, and this ended up being quite a powerful read.

The characters that Waugh chose to focus the story on are a particular strength of Judgement Day, and I deeply appreciated some of the emotionally rich personal storylines that developed around them.  In particular, Detective Jillian Basset was a brilliant lead, and you can tell that Waugh really poured her heart into her development.  Not only was she everything you want in a police detective protagonist, smart, determined and empathetic to the victim, but she is also dealing with some deeper issues related to her recent maternity leave.  While this initially shows itself to be her struggling to return to the office and fearing losing her place on the team, Waugh slowly reveals that her issues are much more concerning as she is suffering from postnatal depression.  Feeling unable to connect with her new child, Jillian instead focuses on her work and neglects her family, leading to strain and conflict in her personal life.  Waugh does an excellent job of examining her protagonist’s personal issues throughout Judgement Day, and the frank and powerful look at her mental health concerns was a key part of the book.

I also need to highlight Jillian’s new partner, Sergeant John McClintock, who was brought in as her temporary replacement while she was on leave.  Now working together, McClintock initially comes across as an arrogant and ambitious male figure trying to overshadow the main protagonist, and the two have trouble working together.  However, rather than stick with this cliche, Waugh provides a deeper look into McClintock and you realise that a lot of his attitudes are a façade brought on by his own issues.  Waugh works these into the story really well, and Jillian and McClintock soon grow to understand each other and are able to help each other in their own ways.  This partnership becomes a great part of the book, and I enjoyed these two main characters, as well as the intriguing supporting cast of suspects, witnesses and Jillian’s family, which add a great deal to story as a whole.

Overall, Judgement Day was an impressive Australian crime fiction debut from Mali Waugh and one that I am very glad I got the chance to check out.  The outstanding story with its complex mystery, intriguing elements and fantastic characters ensured that I had an excellent time reading Judgement Day.  I think that Waugh really showcased her writing ability with her first book and I think this is the start of an amazing new talent.

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Unnatural History by Jonathan Kellerman

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Murder Mystery12 Comments

Unnatural History Cover 2

Publisher: Century (Trade Paperback – 28 February 2023)

Series: Alex Delaware – Book 38

Length: 303 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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A shocking murder, a mysterious motive, and two intriguing investigators on the case, it sounds like it’s time for another Alex Delaware novel from bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman with Unnatural History.

For the last few years one of my favourite long-running crime fiction series has to be the Alex Delaware books from the always impressive Jonathan Kellerman.  Set in Los Angeles, this excellent series follows the exploits of psychologist Alex Delaware and his best friend, Lieutenant Milo Sturgis, as they investigate strange murders throughout the city.  This is a very solid and captivating series, and I personally love all the clever and distinctive mysteries that Kellerman keeps coming up with.  All the Alex Delaware novels I have so far read, including The Wedding Guest, The Museum of Desire, Serpentine and City of Dead, have been just outstanding, and the complex and fascinating murder investigations have all been very strongly written and particularly compelling to follow.  As such, the Alex Delaware books are one series that I will always make sure to grab as soon as it is out, and this includes the latest entry, Unnatural History.  The 38th book in this long-running series, Unnatural History was another exceptional read with a fantastic case behind it.

When the body of a photographer is found murdered in his studio, brutally shot to death, Lieutenant Milo Sturgis is quick to bring in his friend and consultant, psychologist Alex Delaware, to help with the investigation.  The victim, Donny Klement, was a controversial photographer whose latest project saw him photographing members of the local homeless population as they pretend to achieve their greatest dreams.  To complicate matters even further, Donny was the son a mysterious and elusive billionaire whose family members have a habit of dying young.

Diving into the case, Alex and Milo soon discover that their victim was a curious figure.  Damaged by a neglectful father, a scattered family, and a dead mother, Donny’s life was anything but easy, even with his vast family fortune.  His latest photographic vision looked set to make him a major star in the arts scene, but was his death related to his seemingly disrespectful photos or to his family and their wealth?

As Alex and Milo attempt to find a motive for Donny’s killing, a second body is found that appears connected to their first case, suggesting that their killer is taking out all the potential witnesses.  It soon becomes apparent that Alex and Milo are dealing with a deranged serial killer whose anger lies somewhere in Donny’s life.  To solve the case, Alex and Milo need to uncover all the victim’s secrets and use them to catch the killer before he strikes again.

This was another excellent and captivating novel from Kellerman, who presents the reader with an impressive and well-set-out mystery that really draws you in and keeps you hooked.  Like most of the Alex Delaware novels, Unnatural History quickly works to set the scene for the case, with the reader immediately introduced to the murder victim, Donny Klement, and his unfortunate circumstances.  The story moves into the investigative stage with Alex and Milo beginning the task of identifying the relevant people associated with Donny’s life, including his family, his girlfriend, and the people he interacted through with through his photography.  This raises quite a few interesting avenues of inquiry as the victim was both the scion of a mysterious billionaire whose family has already suffered multiple deaths, and an idealistic artist who showed great naivety in dealing with the city’s homeless population.  This leads to quite a deep dive into the victim’s life, and you soon build up a quite an intensive view at who Donny was and the many problems he faced in life.

Kellerman keeps the investigation going strong the entire way through Unnatural History, and the reader is directed along many interesting plot threads as the author lays down false trails and red herrings.  There are some great alternative theories and potential motives spread out for much of the book, and the case gets even more complicated when additional bodies are found throughout the city, all of them connected to Donny in some way.  This really throttles up the pacing of the book, and the reader is gifted with some intriguing revelations as Kellerman revisits details that previously seemed unimportant and cleverly fits them even further into his case.  The eventual reveal about the killer is pretty brilliant, and I liked how Kellerman was able to tie the motivation into several existing different story threads, which allowed for a complex and intense picture of who they are and what evils they committed.  This ended up being a very strong mystery, and I honestly did not see the full extent of the motivations coming.  Everything leads up to a big confrontation which doesn’t go how you’d expect, and which results in some very dark moments.  I did like how this confrontation revisited events from several books ago and it helped some of the characters gain a measure of closure.  I ended up being really impressed with how the author managed to bring everything together in his story, and I was firmly hooked the entire way through.

As always, I really enjoy Kellerman’s unique style when it comes to his compelling murder mysteries, and this helped me power through Unnatural History.  I love the sharp pacing and focus on the characters, both the protagonists, and the victim, that occurred throughout Unnatural History and you are swiftly drawn into their unique lives and the process of their investigation.  The blend of solid investigative focus, character moments, and major twists is pretty spot on, and there honestly aren’t any slow moments at any point of this book, as the reader is constantly learning more interesting bits of information about the case.  All his characters have a very distinctive way of talking/interacting with each other, and it is something that always drags me in, especially with the fun banter.  I did find a few of these conversations, especially with deliberately annoying witnesses, to be a little odd, but they all added to the general theme and feel of the book.  Like all the Alex Delaware novels, Unnatural History is fairly accessible to new readers, and anyone interested in this book who hasn’t read anything from Kellerman can easily dive in here without any issues.  While there are references to prior events scattered throughout Unnatural History, none of them are too relevant to the plot, and Kellerman always does a good job of making his novels almost feel standalone in nature, as he recaptures the series’ unique feel each time.  That being said, fans of some of his last few books will no doubt enjoy some of the story elements between Alex and one of the supporting characters that come full circle after several books, and it was something I was very happy to see.

One of the things that I always particularly enjoyed about the Alex Delaware novels is the way that Kellerman presents a more grounded style when it comes to how his detectives solve the crime.  Unlike in some of the flashier crime fiction novels out there, Kellerman’s characters are more realistic in their investigative approach, and each Alex Delaware novel has a major focus on talking to witnesses, doing research, hammering out theories and doing the legwork to find out everything you can about the victim and the various suspects.  The protagonists are constantly following up leads and talking to multiple people associated with the case, even if they only tangentially knew the victim, to find out every fact or theory that they can.  This leads to a much more comprehensive examination of the murder, which allows the reader to build up a captivating picture of everything that led up to the killing.  This more methodical and realistic method of investigation always really works for me, and I love seeing the protagonists earning their solve and battling through all manner of obstacles.  I felt that the investigation in Unnatural History was particularly good, especially when they combine multiple cases from across the city to get the full picture, and the way that they efficiently weed out the unlikely scenarios and find the truth was deeply addictive and really worth checking out.

I also need to highlight the impressive characters who are the focus of Unnatural History, especially when it comes to the two protagonists, Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis.  These two protagonists, the calm psychologist and the veteran detective, complement each other perfectly when it comes to their skill set, and you can see why they are such an effective team.  At the same time, Kellerman has really built up their relationship over the series, so the two are good friends, which results in some fantastic dynamics and interactions between the two.  The banter and discussions fly thick and fast between them, and you really appreciate just how close they are as they solve the crimes together.  There is a pretty major moment that occurs between these friends at the end of Unnatural History that I felt was handled extremely well and which is likely to impact their dynamic going forward.  I am very intrigued to see how Kellerman handles that, and I am sure it will make his next novel even more interesting.

The other character that gets quite a lot of focus in Unnatural History is the main murder victim, Donny Klement.  As with most of Alex Delaware novels, Kellerman’s ensures that the story spends substantial time diving into the victim’s life, as the police try to find out why he is murdered.  This allows the reader to get a fascinating, outsiders perspective of who Donny was, which proves to be quite fascinating and compelling.  Kellerman’s portrayal of Donny as a lonely man trying to escape his father’s shadow while also dealing with other family trauma allows the reader to get very attached to the victim and you become even more invested in solving the case.  This post-mortem portrayal of Donny was excellent, and I loved how effectively Kellerman showed his complex and unusual life.  Throw in a very fascinating and complex murderer, a good collection of unique witnesses, and the usual supporting detectives in Milo’s squad, and Unnatural History has a great collection of characters who add a lot to the overall story.

Jonathan Kellerman once again delivers an amazing and compelling murder mystery with his latest Alex Delaware novel, Unnatural History.  This fantastic novel features another brilliant mystery that dives deep into the life of a complex victim and paints a powerful picture around him.  This was a deeply entertaining and captivating read, and I loved every second I spent getting through Unnatural History.  I cannot wait to see what happens next in the Alex Delaware series, one of the strongest, long-running crime fiction series currently out there.

Unnatural History Cover

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Headcase by Jack Heath

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Five-Star Books, Thriller4 Comments

Headcase Cover

Publisher: Allen & Unwin Australia (Trade Paperback – 29 November 2022)

Series: Timothy Blake – Book Four

Length: 416 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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One of Australia’s leading and most diabolical thriller writers, the exceedingly talented Jack Heath, returns with another twisted and immensely clever mystery, Headcase, which sees the return of his cannibalistic protagonist, Timothy Blake.

While Australia has quite a few outstanding crime fiction authors, Jack Heath is a particular favourite of mine.  Coming from my hometown of Canberra, Heath has been writing for years, producing a range of different series and standalone novels.  I have really enjoyed some of his recent books, including the 2021 standalone novel, Kill Your Brother, an ultra-intense and amazing five-star read that saw a young woman with a complex past forced to make a terrible decision: kill her imprisoned brother or die herself.  This was one of my favourite Australian novels of 2021, and it is a must-read for anyone keen for a powerful and thrilling story.  However, Heath is probably best known for his Timothy Blake books (also known as the Hangman series), which are particularly fun and gruesome.  Following the titular Timothy Blake, a brilliant investigator with cannibalistic tendencies, this epic series are set around a unique but highly entertaining series of mysteries that really draw the reader in.  I have had an amazing time with this series, including the third entry in the series, Hideout (one of my favourite Australian books of 2020), and I have been very excited to see how this series continues for a while.  Heath did not disappoint as the fourth and latest entry in the series, Headcase, proved to be an exceptional and gripping read.

Following his previous harrowing adventure, which cost him his arm and burned all the trust he had with his former FBI partner, freelance investigator and full-time cannibal Timothy ‘Hangman’ Blake’s future seemed in doubt, until he was given an offer he couldn’t refuse.  Recruited by a CIA agent nearly as insane as he is, Blake now works freelance for the agency, investigating odd occurrences throughout the country in exchange for occasionally being able to indulge in his cannibalistic habit.

His latest case sees him and his CIA partner, Zara, journey to Houston, where something unexplainable has occurred at the NASA training complex.  A fully suited Chinese astronaut has been discovered on the grounds of the facility and no one can explain how he got there.  Did he fall out of the sky, or was he murdered elsewhere and somehow dragged into the middle of a secure United States facility?  As a diplomatic catastrophe seems imminent, Blake is drafted by the CIA to unofficially investigate one of the facility’s employees, a former kidnapper who Blake helped put away seven years ago, who may hold the secret of the dead astronaut.

As Blake starts digging, he uncovers a series of surprising and unusual clues that seemed design to confuse any investigation.  The evidence seems to point to the victim falling out of a Chinese spacecraft surveilling the United States, however, all Blake’s investigative senses and knowledge of human flesh seem to tell him differently.  But with Chinese hit squads following them, the CIA attempting to forestall their investigation, several suspicious individuals working in the facility attempting to misdirect him, and Blake’s own ravenous hunger driving him crazy, this case seems near impossible to solve.  Can the Hangman crack the impossible one more time, or will he finally end up in the cage that he deserves?

Wow, I just cannot get over how good Jack Heath is an author as he produces another outstanding and captivating read with a diabolical story behind it.  This amazing thriller has everything you need to enjoy yourself, including a clever mystery and some truly insane characters, and I absolutely powered through it trying to see how everything came together.  This is an easy five-star read from me and I have already featured Headcase on my Top Australian Books of 2022 list a few weeks ago.

Headcase has a brilliant story to it that takes the reader on a very wild ride into some very gruesome murders.  Told from the perspective of main character Timothy Blake, you are soon shown the compelling murder through the eyes of a crazed cannibal who is attempting to simultaneously solve a murder and please the CIA while not revealing that they are looking into the death and sate his own hunger for dead human flesh.  Heath provides a great set-up to this entire story with the mysterious Chinese astronaut discovered in the centre of the NASA facility, which is a very good hook to drag the reader in.  As Blake tries to investigate this case, the reader is treated to several flashback chapters to when Blake was working for the FBI and helped to put away one of the NASA technicians for kidnapping, a crime Blake never believed he committed.  Heath also mixes things up by also including several chapters set a short while into the future in which Blake is incarcerated in a mental institution and is recounting the current story to his psychologist.  This three-way split storyline works extremely well for the first half the book as all three timelines support the others extremely well, and the blend of different periods and focuses helps to create a very interesting read.  The storyline focusing on the dead astronaut remains at the centre of the narrative, with the other two plotlines tying into it, and this is where the magic truly happens.  Heath sets up a particularly interesting mystery around the dead astronaut, with the protagonist forced to dive through a ton of clues, overly dodgy suspects, and government secrets to try and get to the truth.  At the same time, Blake and his partner find themselves under attack from several sources, such as Chinese hit squads, the police, a mysterious serial killer, and their own very dark inner demons.

The story advances at a quick clip the entire way through as the characters power through a range of deadly and dark scenarios.  Heath loads up the clues and the complicated supporting characters and it proves very interesting to see Blake attempt to work out who may be responsible and their very complex motivations.  Much of the story has a bit more of a spy thriller taste to it, thanks to Blake’s association with the CIA and this really helps to make Headcase standout a little from the previous Timothy Blake books.  The NASA and Chinese space surveillance proves to be a very fascinating inclusion that Heath cleverly works into the plot, and I loved that the author was able to write a whole story about mysterious Chinese surveillance craft before the current balloon crisis.  While these spy elements, which include brutal encounters with hit teams from various agencies, are a great new inclusion, some of the best parts of the book still revolve around the deeper character moments of the story, especially when it comes to the protagonist.  I deeply enjoyed how Heath utilises his protagonist’s disturbing cannibalistic insights as an investigative tool, while other insights into his mind, especially when he is in a mental institution, increase the tension and make you wonder just how reliable a narrator Heath truly is.

Everything comes together perfectly in the second half, especially when Blake is desperately trying to solve everything, not only to get to the truth but to save lives.  All the previous story elements are brought together in a big way, and it was outstanding how the clues that Heath had cleverly laid throughout the story came together.  The time split perspectives are resolved in a great way, and it is a lot of fun to see how Blake ended up in the mental hospital.  Everything leads up to several big reveals at the end of the book, not just surrounding the main murder, but other curious events that have been explored as Headcase continues, and reader will not be disappointed in what comes to light, nor how the protagonist deals with it.  The full details about the compelling and unique motivations for the main murder makes for a very interesting read, and the diabolical method of murder is something that I won’t be forgetting in a hurry.  While I did find that the use of a certain McGuffin was somewhat unrealistic, even for this crazy series, I was generally extremely happy with how the entire novel came together.  The complex mystery is resolved in a very captivating way, and the character arcs that sit at the centre of the story go in some very interesting direction which should result in some fantastic books in the future.  I personally came away from Headcase extremely elated and deeply impressed with just how clever an author Heath is.

On top of the outstanding and fantastically compelling story, I have a lot of love for Heath’s writing style, which deeply enhances each of his books.  The quick pace, the fantastic dives to both the past and future, and the intense blend of mystery and insane personal issues surrounding the main characters, makes for some outstanding reading, and there honestly isn’t a single part of Headcase that wasn’t extremely fascinating or fun.  Understandably, due to the story content, this is a pretty gruesome series, and Heath doesn’t hold back on the detailed depictions of dead bodies, nor the terrible things that his protagonist does to them.  However, he never goes way too over-the-top, and the gore and cannibalism always serves a vital purpose, either to provide clues to the mystery or to highlight the protagonist’s complex nature.  It also helps to make the series particularly distinctive, even amongst other impactful thrillers, and you must love just how obsessed and focused the main character/narrator is about dead bodies. Like most of the books in this series, Headcase can be very easily read as a standalone novel, and Heath is very careful to concisely fill in any relevant details that the reader might need.  However, as with most ongoing series, those people who have read the earlier books in the series will probably get a lot more out of Headcase emotionally, especially when it comes to seeing the progression of the protagonist.  I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Headcase to a new reader, as they are guaranteed to have a fun and unique time with this outstanding read.

I must highlight Heath’s captivating and complex central protagonist, Timothy Blake, who is once again one of the best things about this entire book.  I really love the character of Blake in this series as he is such an intriguing and damaged character due to his deranged cannibalistic tendencies, which often drive him to do terrible things in the name of obtaining human flesh.  There are so many great scenes where Blake feels his desire and hunger for human meat start controlling his actions and the character is constantly fighting for some measure of self-control.  Despite this, he is a relatively good person and a skilled investigator whose keen observation skills, canny insights, intense survival instincts, and intimate knowledge of human bodies give him some intriguing edges during a case.  While he often likes to pretend that he is only helping the case to get fresh meat, he is also obsessed with finding the truth and getting justice, which, when combined with his romantic desires for his former FBI partner Reese Thistle make him occasionally seem like a good, if highly damaged, person.  These seemingly incompatible parts of his personality are so damn effective, and it is always quite fascinating to see what part of his personality actually wins: the feral hungry beast or the surprisingly heroic detective.

The version of Blake in Headcase is particularly interesting as Heath comes up with some new range of issues and problems for him to overcome on top of his all-consuming hunger.  After managing to survive his particularly desperate situation in Hideout, he has a somewhat different lease on life which goes with his new job.  However, he is still in love with Thistle, even after their confrontations in the last two books, and this is encouraging him to be a better person.  This desire to be a better person somewhat goes against the desires of his new masters in the CIA, especially his partner Zara, who try to use his fractured mind to their advantage and his desire to change for Thistle puts both her and Blake at risk.  He also undergoes therapy for the first time in his life, albeit somewhat against his will.  These scenes with the psychologist are particularly fascinating as they discuss his cannibalistic desires and his general sanity.  While the psychologist doesn’t believe he is a cannibal, her insights give Blake a lot to think about, especially when he comes to the revelation that he might be able to overcome these life-long issues if he sought treatment.  This really alters Blake’s perspective of his entire life, and it, as well as some insights he gets from viewing other patients at the mental hospital he is locked in, proved to be a very interesting tipping point for the character growth we have witnessed throughout the series.  It will be very interesting to see how Heath continues to explore and highlight Blake in the future and I have a feeling we are only on the start of a particularly dark and emotionally rich journey.

In addition to Blake, Heath has loaded Headcase with an intriguing array of unstable and entertaining supporting characters who add some awesome value to the entire novel.  The most prominent of these is Blake’s CIA partner in this case, Zara.  Zara was introduced in the previous novel, Hideout, when she managed to infiltrate a group of psychotic killers extremely successfully, before recruiting Blake with the promise of bodies to eat.  While Zara serves as an effective agent and partner to Blake, she is ultra-violent and has some major mental issues and might even be crazier than Blake (which is saying something).  Zara ends up forming a toxic relationship with Blake in this book, especially as she utilises his addiction and leads him into to some deadly and dark situations.  She proves to be a fantastic addition to the plot and I love how intense and threatening Heath made her at times.  There are some great reveals around her, as well as a certain incident that matches her with Blake, and I loved all the awesome stuff Heath set up around her.  Heath also makes sure to bring back Blake’s former FBI partner and love interest, Reese Thistle, who has another interesting run in Headcase.  Blake and Thistle have had a very compelling relationship throughout the series, which got even more complicated when Reese found Blake’s fridge full of corpses.  Still keeping his secret after he saved her life, Reese is very awkward with Blake, which adds to Headcase’s dramatic tension.  Despite this, the two do work together to try and solve the murder and it was nice to see them teaming up again.  Of course, this leads to more danger and despair for both of them, but Heath is taking their relationship in some interesting directions, and I look forward to seeing how that turns out.  Throw in a compelling group of potential suspects, foreign agents and mental patients that the protagonist has to work his way through to solve this complex case and you have an outstanding group of characters that I had a lot of fun with.

With his latest Timothy Blake novel, Headcase, Jack Heath continues to impress with his epic and captivating take on murder and complex characters.  This incredible novel takes the reader on an awesome journey through insanity, obsession, and desperation, all centred around an impossible and very clever mystery.  I had a brilliant time powering through Headcase, and I have so much appreciation for Heath’s scary wit and ability to dive into the head of a killer.  Headcase is an exceptional book that comes highly recommended, I cannot wait to see what outstanding mysteries and thrillers he produces in the future.

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Quick Review – Red Dirt Road by S. R. White

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Quick Review13 Comments

Red Dirt Road Cover

Publisher: Headline (Trade Paperback – 10 January 2023)

Series: Detective Dana Russo – Book Three

Length: 307 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Impressive author S. R. White continues to lead the Australian outback murder mystery scene with his new and compelling release, Red Dirt Road, the third book in his Detective Dana Russo series.  I had the great pleasure of reading the second book in this series, Prisoner, back in 2021 and I really enjoyed his unique take on the outback detective novel.  As such, I have been rather excited to read his new book, Red Dirt Road, especially as it featured a particularly enthralling mystery.

Plot synopsis:

One outback town. Two puzzling murders. Fifty suspects.

In Unamurra, a drought-scarred, one-pub town deep in the outback, two men are savagely murdered a month apart – their bodies elaborately arranged like angels.

With no witnesses, no obvious motives and no apparent connections between the killings, how can lone police officer Detective Dana Russo – flown in from hundreds of kilometres away – possibly solve such a baffling, brutal case?

Met with silence and suspicion from locals who live by their own set of rules, Dana must take over a stalled investigation with only a week to make progress.

But with a murderer hiding in plain sight, and the parched days rapidly passing, Dana is determined to uncover the shocking secrets of this forgotten town – a place where anyone could be a killer.


Red Dirt Road ended up being a very fun and captivating murder mystery novel and one I had a wonderful time getting through.  I really enjoyed White’s cool and clever plot scenario and the entire concept of a cop attempting to solve a mystery in a small town with limited suspects is a fun idea that harkens back to classic whodunits.

Red Dirt Road’s story itself hits the ground running quickly, as complex protagonist Dana Russo is forced to travel to the small town for the investigation and soon becomes wrapped up in its many foibles.  This includes the sheer isolation, the lack of modern comforts and the unusual locals, many of whom are hiding from the outside world.  There is also a set of creepy angel-themed statues that mysteriously move around town, the work of a guerrilla artist who has remained hidden since the murders began.  With time restrictions on her investigation and with minimal help from the local police, Dana initiates an unconventional investigation that focuses on understanding Unamurra’s society and its people to solve the crime.  After getting to grips with the various people living there, as well examining other clues and evidence, she is able to figure out which one of the town’s residents is the most likely killer and confronts them in a particularly fascinating reveal sequence.  The full explanation for why the crime was committed, as well as the ingenious and very distinctive motivation of the murderer, was exceedingly clever, and I felt that White set everything up perfectly.  While certain elements of the conclusion were a bit over-the-top, (a very unrealistic elite government SWAT team comes to town), I felt that the story was pretty damn impressive and I was absolutely blown away with the elaborate motivation that the author came up with.  The plot of Red Dirt Road also simultaneously continues some of the series’ ongoing storylines, such as Dana’s personal relationship with her co-worker and the internal police politics that are impacting her career, and this ended up being quite a gripping read as a result.

One of the most noticeable things about Red Dirt Road was the unique, society-orientated investigation method that the protagonist used to understand the people of Unamurra and find out who the killer was.  I personally thought that this was a very smart and intriguing way to frame a murder investigation that worked extremely well in the context of the setting and the series.  When I reviewed Prisoner I noted that White likes to highlight the interrogation side of policing with his writing and this was once again in full display when it came to how Dana gathers information in Unamurra.  The flurry of casual conversation she engages in ensures she picks up all the knowledge about the town and people she needs, while also putting the potential suspects at ease as they don’t understand her style or the subtle reasons behind her lines of inquiry.  This information, when combined with some observations and additional background she gets from headquarters, allows her to pull together a full mental picture of the town and by understanding them and their needs she finally gets the insight she needs to understand the entire situation.  This results in a very unique case, and I found myself getting really wrapped up in both the characters and the setting while trying to wrap the clues together in my head.  While this style of investigation probably isn’t going to fit every murder mystery fan’s taste, I felt that it worked extremely well and I loved how the elaborate motivation was teased out through these discussions.  The final confrontation with the killer and the various revelations it contained really ties all these previous discussions together perfectly and you quickly realise just how cleverly White structured his entire mystery.

On top of the cool investigation method, I also deeply enjoyed the dusty and desolate setting of Unamurra that served as the backdrop to the murders.  White really tries to show the reader the full experience of such a lonely and decaying town, and thanks to the excellent descriptive writing you can absolutely picture every cloud of dust, quiet night, and the lack of movement.  At the same time, the protagonist begins talking to each of the residents of Unamurra and you really get to understand the sort of people that would live in such a place, whether they are desperate, trapped, or have their own strange motivations.  This excellent use of setting and compelling supporting characters greatly enhances the book’s already complex murder investigation, and I felt that White did an amazing job of working it into the larger narrative and mystery.  The sheer isolation impacts every decision and insight that Dana has and you really come away trying to imagine what life in such a location would be like.  While White does overgeneralise some areas of rural Australia in his book, especially as he makes the location of these crimes geographically vague, this setting added a great deal to the impact of Red Dirt Road and I deeply enjoyed my time in the elaborate setting of Unamurra.

Overall, Red Dirt Road was an outstanding new book from S. R. White that perfectly highlighted his distinctive take on a murder mystery investigation.  Combining another outstanding outback setting with a unique case, Red Dirt Road will have you hooked all the way to the fantastic finale.  I cannot wait to see what complex stories White comes up with in the future, but if they are anywhere near as clever and enthralling as Red Dirt Road, I know I am going to love them.

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How to Kill a Client by Joanna Jenkins

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Thriller10 Comments

How to Kill a Client Cover

Publisher: Allen & Unwin Australia (Trade Paperback – 31 January 2023)

Series: Standalone

Length: 384 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Australian lawyer and debuting author Joanna Jenkins introduces herself in a big way with her fantastic first novel, the legal thriller How to Kill a Client, which takes the reader on a fascinating journey to the dark side of Australia’s legal profession.

As the in-house lawyer at a powerful international mining company, Gavin Jones oversees millions of dollars’ worth of legal contracts each year, including to the Brisbane office of the Australian legal firm Howard Green.  Using them to negotiate lucrative contracts throughout Australia, Jones has become one of Howard Green’s biggest clients and the money he controls ensures that everyone at the law firm treats him like a god.

But while everyone fawns over Jones and his power, no-one actually likes him.  A cruel, petty and vindicative man, Jones has messed with the careers and lives of everyone in his orbit, especially women, who he reserves a particular disdain for.  His actions ensured the suffering of everyone he has power over, including his wife, his employees, and the female partners at Howard Green, as he seeks to wreck lives, destroy careers and give himself the lifestyle he feels he deserves.

So when Jones dies suddenly and suspiciously, everyone he knew is a potential suspect; thanks to his dodgy dealings and underhanded tactics, they all had a motive to kill him.  As the police begin their investigation and the lawyers at Howard Green close ranks, it falls to partner Ruth Dawson, one of the few people without a motive, to protect her firm and its secrets.  However, when her investigation reveals proof of who killed Jones and other dark secrets her firm is hiding, will Ruth reveal the truth or will she bury it to protect her firm?

How to Kill a Client is a clever and tricky novel that really showcases Jenkins’s skill as a new writer.  Blending a fantastic and compelling crime fiction narrative with intense looks at the lifestyle of members of a successful law firm, How to Kill a Client was a gripping and interesting read that is really worth checking out.

I loved the cool story contained within this book which came across as part legal thriller, part personal drama surrounding high-level professionals, and part intriguing murder mystery.  The story dives into the chaotic world surrounding the legal firm of Howard Green and its clients and effectively introduces all the key players in this drama, who have their own views on the troubles to come.  Each primary characters is connected to the eventual victim, Gavin Jones.  Jenkins spends the first half of the book showcasing Jones’s terrible nature and the various ways they are messing with everyone.  Cleverly utilising multiple character perspectives, you are soon drawn into the various main characters’ lives and soon see all the various reasons why each of them may have wanted to kill Jones, as well as some of the suspicious steps some of them took.  Jenkins perfectly sets up everything in the first part of How to Kill a Client, and by the time you reach the halfway point, you are firmly enthralled by the narrative and want to see how the rest of the book unfolds.

When the eventual death happens (a real high point) the reader is left wondering whether it was an accident, a mistake, or a deliberate action, with the evidence pointing towards a murder.  However, due to the sheer range of suspects and motives, the story produces a twisty and fun range of plotlines that you need to navigate to get to the final conclusion.  Jenkins really produces an emotional and captivating second half as you try to find out who killed Jones and why.  There are some brilliant revelations unfurled here, and I loved how some cunningly hidden clues in the first half of the book were utilised in the final mystery.  I was very impressed with the final reveals around how the killing was committed and why it happened, and you will come away from this story very satisfied, especially as Jenkins builds in some excellent character moments and ensures that all the remaining characters get a fitting end to their arcs.  I found myself getting really caught up in Jenkins’ powerful and amazing story and I honestly powered through the last half of the book very quickly to see how everything ended.

Part of the reason why How to Kill a Client is such an effective read is that Jenkins introduces an excellent cast of intriguing and complex characters who are thrust into a variety of compelling situations throughout the course of the narrative.  Each of the main cast, who Jenkins effectively builds up and utilises in the plot, are quite damaged, desperate or concerned in their own unique way, while many of the supporting characters are notably selfish or manipulative for their own ends.  Characters like Ruth Dawson and Viv Harrison give some compelling and honest insights into how women are treated in this influential professional setting, while Anne Jones shows the harsh reality of a women trapped in an abusive relationship.  At the same time, there is a great collection of supporting lawyer characters who Jenkins uses to show off the range of people and personalities one is likely to experience in Australia’s legal services.

However, out of all the characters in this book, the one I must highlight the most is probably the murder victim, Gavin Jones, mainly because he is such a despicable figure.  Jenkins really goes out of her way to make Jones into one of the most unlikable and petty characters you are ever likely to find in fiction and boy does she succeed, perfectly capturing an insecure and manipulative narcissist who enjoys controlling people.  Not only does he go out of the way to try and ruin the careers of several characters just because they are women, but he also demands attention from the male characters to feed is ego, while also abusing and controlling his wife to make him feel good.  In a very short amount of time Jenkins builds Jones up into such an unlikable character that the reader finds themselves trying to reach into the book and kill him before the murderer does.  This naturally adds quite a lot to the mystery of the book, as his malicious professional actions, deceits, violence and puppy killing (seriously, that one really angered me), ensures that everyone he came in contact with had a reason to murder him.  The huge suspect pool around this unlikable character allows Jenkins to craft an impressive murder mystery and you’ll really get drawn into finding who finally snapped and killed this infuriating character.  This villainous figure, and other great characters, all added so much to the plot of How to Kill a Client and really got invested in their stories very quickly.

One of the other features of How to Kill a Client that I particularly enjoyed was the author’s detailed and intriguing examination of an Australian law firm.  Clearly utilising all her past experiences as a lawyer, Jenkins perfectly showcases how a firm would work and act in a variety of scenarios, and you really get the senses of the day-to-day chaos the individuals working there would experience, which adds a lot of authenticity to the story.  Jenkins also dives into the backroom drama and politics that surround such entities, as the various lawyers cut deals and fight for control over various projects or clients.  There is a particularly cynical edge to the book’s portrayal of legal firms in this novel, and Jenkins shows it to be a dark and unfulfilling practice at times, especially in some of the more elite firms.  The author really showcases just how bad these companies are when it comes to the treatment of women as two of the book’s central characters are female partners in Howard Green who have to constantly deal with their male colleagues’ condescension and manipulations, and there are several pointed scenes where the arrogant male managers fail to listen to the women even when they are right.  There is also a focus on the way law firms sycophantically woo potential clients, bending over backwards to get hired, and this adds some intriguing angles to the drama.  Finally, there is also quite a dark look at the demand for profits over people, as there is a constant fear of firings and layoffs, even for the best employees.  This critical presentation of a professional law firm is pretty striking and it results in some powerful scenes throughout the course of the book, especially as the people stuck in these firms often refuse to escape it, no matter how bad it gets.  I felt this examination of the profession in Australia added so much to the outstanding story and it helps to make How to Kill a Client really stand out.

Overall, How to Kill a Client was an outstanding and captivating debut from new Australian author Joanna Jenkins and one I had a wonderful time reading.  Blending compelling legal elements with a fascinating, character-driven mystery, How to Kill a Client has a brilliant story that takes the reader on a powerful and twisty journey.  Slick, emotionally rich, and filled with exceptional characters, How to Kill a Client is one of my favourite debuts of 2023 so far, and I cannot wait to see what epic reads Jenkins will release in the future.

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Waiting on Wednesday – Dark Corners by Megan Goldin

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Waiting on Wednesday5 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.  In this week’s Waiting on Wednesday I check out a cool upcoming crime fiction reader from acclaimed Australian author Megan Goldin, Dark Corners.

Dark Corners Cover

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Readers of this blog will probably be familiar with my habit of supporting and highlighting Australian authors in my various reviews and posts.  This is primarily because, as a book reviewer living in Australia, a lot of this local fiction gets sent to me by publishers.  However, I also like supporting my fellow countrymen, especially when they are killing it across a variety of genres, and it is always fun to see an Australian representing the rest of us international markets.  As such, the subject of this Waiting on Wednesday article is perhaps one of the most impressive and well-known Australian authors now, compelling crime fiction writer Megan Goldin.

Goldin has been writing for a few years now and has so far produced several amazing and highly regarded bestselling novels.  I personally first became familiar with Goldin back in 2018 when I was lucky enough to get a copy of her epic thriller, The Escape Room, which I powered through in a single night.  I had an amazing time with its fantastic narrative, especially as it detailed the corrupt dealings of Wall Street, and it ended up being one of my favourite pieces of Australian fiction at the time.  However, Megan was far from done and she has since produced two more outstanding reads.  This includes her heartbreaking and dramatic novel, The Night Swim (one of my favourite Australian novels of 2020) and the impressive thriller from last year, Stay Awake (one of my favourite Australian novels of 2022).  All her books have had great concepts, backed up with excellent writing, and I would strongly recommend each and everyone of her previous books.

Unsurprisingly, I am always excited when I see that Goldin has another book on the horizon, and it looks like we will only have to wait till August 2023 for her next novel, Dark Corners.  A sequel to The Night Swim, Dark Corners will bring back Goldin’s excellent pod-casting protagonist Rachel Krall, who is recruited by the FBI for an investigation.  Thrust further into the deep end than ever before, Rachel will have to uncover the dark world of influencers and social media celebrities to find a deadly killer.

I have to say that I love the sound of this cool upcoming book, not just because Goldin is apparently going to unleash a serial killer on convention full of influencers.  Goldin is always such an exceptional writer, and this book sounds like it will have some excellent murder mystery elements to it, which I am excited to see.  I am deeply intrigued to see how this elaborate and fun sounding story unfolds, and I am particularly keen to see Goldin’s take on the influencer/social media scene.  I have no doubt that Dark Corners is going to be one of the top novels by an Australian author in 2023 and I full plan to dive into this novel the second I have my hands on it.

Plot Synopsis:

 Rachel Krall, the true crime podcaster star of Megan Goldin’s acclaimed The Night Swim, returns to search for a popular influencer who disappears after visiting a suspected serial killer.

Terence Bailey is about to be released from prison for breaking and entering, though investigators have long suspected him in the murders of six women. As his release date approaches, Bailey gets a surprise visit from Maddison Logan, a hot, young influencer with a huge social media following. Hours later, Maddison disappears, and police suspect she’s been kidnapped―or worse. Is Maddison’s disappearance connected to her visit to Bailey? And why was she visiting him in the first place?

When they hit a wall in the investigation, the FBI reluctantly asks for Rachel Krall’s help in finding the missing influencer. Maddison seems to only exist on social media; she has no family, no friends, and other than in her posts, most people have never seen her. Who is she, really? Using a fake Instagram account, Rachel goes undercover to BuzzCon, a popular influencer conference, where she discovers a world of fierce rivalry that may have turned lethal.

When police find the body of a woman with a tattoo of a snake eating its tail―identical to a tattoo Rachel had seen on Bailey’s hand―the FBI must consider a chilling possibility: Bailey has an accomplice on the outside and a dangerous obsession with influencers, including Rachel Krall herself. Suddenly the target of a monster hiding in plain sight, Rachel is forced to confront the very real dangers that lurk in the dark corners of the internet.

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Warhammer 40,000: Bloodlines by Chris Wraight

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Murder Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer13 Comments

Warhammer 40,000 - Bloodlines Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 8 August 2020)

Series: Warhammer Crime

Length: 8 hours and 30 minutes

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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After some of my recent awesome experiences with the Warhammer Crime series, I just had to check out the outstanding novel, Bloodlines by Chris Wraight, which has one of the best pure crime fiction stories in this entire epic franchise.

Regular readers may have noticed I have been having an absolutely amazing time getting through a ton of Warhammer 40,000 novels in recent weeks as everything about this extended franchise has been so damn fun.  One of the more intriguing sub-series of Warhammer fiction I have been tearing through has been the Warhammer Crime books which, as the name suggests, blends cool crime fiction narratives with a Warhammer 40,000 settings.  The entire series is set within the massive, corrupt city of Varangantua on the planet of Alecto, and several very talented writers have come up with some exceptional novels that perfectly showcase murder, mystery and death in the midst of this great setting.  I have so far deeply enjoyed the epic entries, Dredge Runners and The Wraithbone Phoenix by Alec Worley, Grim Repast by Marc Collins, and Flesh and Steel by Guy Haley, each of which have contained different, if equally exceptional stories.  However, few have had the excellent central mystery of the very first full-length Warhammer Crime novel, Bloodlines from new-to-me author Chris Wraight, which took a veteran cop on an intensive investigation with fantastic results.

After a lifetime working for the Varangantua Enforcers, Probator Agusto Zidarov is well aware that the only certainties in the continent-spanning city are wealth, corruption and criminality.  Tired of the games played between the warring gangs, trade combines, and nobles as they battle for control of the city’s resources, Zidarov is more concerned about his own life, family and secrets.  However, when a simple missing person investigation gets unexpectantly complicated, Zidarov will find a terrible case that he can’t turn away from.

Called to the estate of wealthy business magnate Udmil Terashova, Zidarov is ordered to find her son and heir, who has gone missing.  Forced to plumb the depths of Varangantua’s underbelly, Zidarov attempts to find any trace of the boy, who has likely just disappeared taking part in the rich’s hedonistic lifestyles.  However, when an uncovered lead places him conflict with one the city’s most ruthless gangs, Zidarov soon begins to believe that there is more to this case than he initially believed.

Discovering that the gang is involved in the notorious crime of cell draining, Zidarov’s attempts to shut them down.  However, his raid ends up being a bust, and the fallout results in a dead sanctioner, a wounded probator and a full-on war between the gang and the enforcers.  Attempting to mitigate the consequences of his actions, Zidarov soon discovers that there is far more going on behind the scenes than he ever imagined as corporate interests work to influence the investigation.  To find the truth about the city’s new crime ring and the missing noble, Zidarov is forced to probe both Varangantua’s lowest gangs and wealthiest citizens.  But can Zidarov survive the encounter with his secrets and life intact?

Bloodlines is an incredible and deeply impressive Warhammer Crime novel that I had an excellent time reading, especially as Wraight perfectly blended his crime fiction story with the cool Warhammer setting.  Featuring one of the more elaborate and intriguing cases in the Warhammer Crime books I have read so far, I absolutely powered through Bloodlines and this was truly an outstanding read.

At the heart of Bloodlines lies a pretty awesome and captivating narrative building on the basic crime fiction premise of a veteran cop attempting to solve a crime no one wants investigated.  Taking its cues from classic noir entries (I was reminded a bit of Chinatown), Bloodlines follows Probator Agusto Zidarov, a family man with a cynical view of his job and his place in the city, as he gets dragged into a missing persons case.  Initially starting off a little slow, the story quickly heats up as Zidarov attempts to find the missing heir to the wealthy Terashova family, a disappearance he assumes is a simple case of young rebellion.  However, his routine investigation into the missing lad leads him to discover a cell draining operation being run by one of the major gangs, and he shifts his investigation in an attempt to shut it down.  But when his plans go wrong and his colleagues end up injured or dead, Ziadarov finds himself on everyone’s firing line.

There are some interesting jumps in the case around halfway through as the protagonist soon realises there is far more going on than he initially believed and he is forced to simultaneously investigate both the gangs and some of the wealthiest families and businesses in the city.  I loved this gradual escalation of the stakes of the crime as the book continues, as the original missing persons case is revealed to be far more complex and intriguing than initially believed when the protagonist discovers that he is being used by everyone.  At the same time, Zidarov is forced to deal with some major personal issues, as his wife begins to resent his choices, his rebellious daughter has gone missing in a city full of predators, and certain dark secrets around Zidarov threaten to come into the light.  The eventual reveal about who is responsible for the various crimes is very clever, and I liked the subtle and effective hints and clues leading up to it as the unique motivations and plots utilised intriguing aspects of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.  Wraight ends Bloodlines on a great note as Zidarov gets justice through drastic means after a very intense and powerful confrontation with one of the book’s more intriguing and complex supporting characters.  As such, you come away from Bloodlines feeling very satisfied, although you instantly want to see more of this great character, especially as the sinister connotations about Zidarov’s dark secret indicate that some tragic events are going to befall this character in the future.

The entirety of Bloodlines was laid out extremely well by Wraight, who uses a great style to tell a complex and captivating story.  Told exclusively from Zidarov’s perspective, you are given a personal and close examination of the events of the book as Zidarov slowly and methodically investigates the various crimes.  You are quickly drawn into the elaborate narrative Wraight lays out as the author does a good job of combining an excellent crime fiction storyline with intriguing character development, all set with Varangantua and the wider Warhammer 40,000 universe.  The noir inspired elements of Varangantua really stand out in this book, especially as Zidarov is forced to simultaneously investigate both the criminal cartels and some of the city’s wealthiest residents.  Bloodlines really recalls some classic noir tales, as it focuses on the experienced and dogged investigator fighting the entire system to get answers and justice, and I loved exploring even more of this enormous city and its many colourful residents.  The whole concept of cell draining, which sees thousands of people literally drained of their essence to make life-extending products, was pretty damn horrifying, and I liked how the examination of this gave Bloodline’s crimes a distinctive feel.  Wraight’s great writing style really lends itself to producing a particularly impactful and compelling crime narrative, and I loved how the entire storyline unfolded, especially with the effective twists and the well thought out foreshadowing.  I ended up coming away from this book quite enthralled and happy and I am really excited to read more books from Wraight in the future.

One of the things that I have so far found with all the Warhammer Crime entries is that readers really need very little familiarity with the wider Warhammer 40,000 universe to appreciate these great books.  Anyone interested in a compelling and intense crime fiction story set in a cool and grim futuristic city can easy dive into one of these novels, and all these books are an awesome introduction to the Warhammer fandom.  Bloodlines is no exception to this, as Wraight writes a very accessible crime fiction thriller that anyone can enjoy while simultaneously enjoying the gothic setting.  That being said, Wraight does make excellent use of several intriguing elements from the Warhammer 40,000 lore to enhance his story and there are hints and discussions about elements outside of Varangantua, such as the Imperial Guard or the wider wars of the Imperium, which fans of the franchise will deeply appreciate.  Wraight does do an amazing job of explaining these elements so that newer readers will fully appreciate them, however, established readers will always get a little bit more out of it.  For example, the full significance of Zidarov’s secret isn’t going to be too apparent to new readers, while in-the-know fans are going to get a blast out of the potential implications.  I felt that Bloodlines has a lot to offer all readers, no matter their experiences with Warhammer, and you might find yourself falling for the franchise with this first book.

Another key aspect of the Warhammer Crime series that Wraight perfectly captured in Bloodlines was the excellent utilisation of a complex and likeable central character.  Wraight’s protagonist and main point of view character, Probator Agusto Zidarov, is a deeply intriguing figure who stands out from the other protagonists in the Warhammer Crime series for being much less of a damaged outsider.  Instead, he is a veteran probator who worked his way up to his position with a very realistic view of the world around him than most other characters, and I liked his no-nonsense approach to his job and his city which has been formed from years on the job staying alive.  Despite this veteran presence and cynicism, Zidarov is still willing to do what is right, even if it endangers him, and his dogged approach to solving the case is extremely addictive, especially as Wraight puts in some deeper motivations behind them.  I really enjoyed some of the scenes where Zidarov continuously ignores his friend’s advice and keeps going forward with the case, simply explaining to them and the reader that he is unable to let it go, and he just keeps moving forward despite the inherent weariness of the character.  This determined and tired cop persona is well balanced by the family man aspect of Zidarov, which is another intriguing element that you don’t see in a lot of Warhammer fiction, as most protagonists don’t have wives or children.  Watching him attempt to balance his family responsibilities with that of his job adds some intriguing drama to the story, and I enjoyed seeing this portrait a ‘normal’ Warhammer 40,000 family.  Wraight perfectly weaves together these dual aspects of Zidarov’s personality with a certain darker, secretive thread that really shows the character in a whole new light when revealed, and which is going to have some intriguing impacts down the line.  All of this, and more, helps to make Zidarov one of the more relatable and enjoyable protagonists I have ever enjoyed in Warhammer fiction, and I really hope that Wraight produces some additional Zidarov stories soon.

Once again, I chose to listen to this cool Warhammer novel in its audiobook format, which, as always, was an excellent and deeply fun experience.  The Bloodlines audiobook did an amazing job of bringing this intense and powerful story to life in some very fun ways.  In particular, the complex central setting of Varangantua is really shown in all its corrupt glory when you hear it being described, and I loved how the fast pacing of the audiobook kept the story rolling by.  This format of Bloodlines was also greatly helped by veteran narrator Charles Armstrong, who has so far only lent his talented voice to a few Warhammer audiobooks.  Armstrong provided an excellent performance in Bloodlines, really diving into the various complex characters and helping to showcase their unique personalities and emotions.  I loved the tired and resigned voice that Armstrong came up with for the main character, which really sells the audience on Zidarov’s veteran status which is the result of an exhaustive and draining career.  Other great voices include that fun Irish accent he gifted to supporting character Brecht, which added to his entertaining nature, as well as some excellent voices the various suspects in the main case had.  All this makes the Bloodlines audiobook the very best way to enjoy this exceptional novel and with a runtime of eight and a half hours, you can power through it in no time at all.

Overall, Bloodlines was a particularly epic entry in the Warhammer Crime series, and it is one that author Chris Wraight should be extremely proud off.  Wraight did a remarkable job of blending together an intense and clever crime fiction story with the dark and grim Warhammer 40,000 setting, and the result is a brilliantly twisted case that I couldn’t turn away from.  Combined with instantly likeable character, Bloodlines proved to be extremely fun and deeply captivating, and I loved how the entire book unfolded.  As such, Bloodlines comes extremely highly recommended and you are guaranteed to love every second of it.  I look forward to seeing how Wraight continues this character in the future, and any future books featuring Zidarov are going to be something truly amazing.

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