Originally published in the Canberra Weekly on 15 February 2024.
A copy of this column also appeared on the Canberra Daily website.
Make sure to check out my extended reviews for Glenrock, The Tainted Cup and The Murder Inn.
Tag: Glenrock
Quick Review – Glenrock by Lee Christine
Publisher: Allen & Unwin Australia (Trade Paperback – 30 January 2024)
Series: Standalone
Length: 320 pages
My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Bestselling Australian author Lee Christine brings together a compelling and intriguing crime fiction read with the excellent Glenrock; a fantastic mystery set around the Australian city of Newcastle.
Plot Synopsis:
A murdered judge. Two missing lawyers. A thrilling tale of mystery and suspense from the bestselling author of Charlotte Pass and Dead Horse Gap.
When Justice Maurice Tempest is murdered in the Glenrock State Conservation Area in Newcastle, local detective Senior Sergeant Callan O’Connor is the first on the scene. News of a second body, found in the same location days later, makes what had looked like a revenge killing into so much more.
Angela Avery, formerly a political journalist, is spending a lot of time at the Hunter Valley Prison interviewing a soon-to-be-released forger, Benjamin Reid. When O’Connor’s investigation reveals an interest in Ben, Angela is determined to protect both her source and her fledgling relationship with O’Connor.
Meanwhile, two young, female lawyers have disappeared after making a devastating discovery in an upcoming case. Can O’Connor unravel the connections before the body count rises further? And how much does Angela Avery really know?’…
Glenrock was a great and fast-paced crime fiction novel that I had the great pleasure of reading earlier in the year. Christine came up with a fantastic story that really drew you in thanks to its multilayered mystery, compelling characters and high stakes.
The main mystery of Glenrock is set around the murder of a prominent judge in the Glenrock National Park area, which sets off an elaborate investigation primarily seen through the eyes of Senior Sergeant Callan O’Connor. O’Connor is a great central protagonist, and I enjoyed his intriguing insights into the case, especially as it pairs well with his complex family life and adversarial past with the Sydney homicide detective who arrives to take over the case. While the murder of a judge would be an interesting focus for the book by itself, especially when the apparent murderer is found in the most unlikely of scenarios, Christine raises the stakes by introducing two parallel storylines that combine into one heck of a novel.
The first of these storylines revolves around Angela Avery, a journalist for the local paper who finds herself drawn into the larger murder story thanks to the human-interest story she was writing. Thanks to her relationship with Callan, which provides a good romantic subplot for the story, Angela gets more involved with the case, especially as her investigation reveals connections to two young lawyers who disappeared the day of the murder. These two lawyers, who went on the run to save themselves, provide the third overlapping storyline, and it was fascinating to see their attempts to flee, especially as they provide some compelling context to the main mystery.
All three storylines prove to be very entertaining on their own, but their real strength is the way that they wrap together and form a complex, overarching narrative. Christine ensures that all three character-focused storylines stand on their own before bringing the various characters together in a sensible and compelling way. I really enjoyed seeing the various story arcs come together, and Christine enhances this with several moving dives into the complex characters. The focus on O’Connor’s family life is a prominent one, although I was particularly drawn to the character of Angely Avery, the plucky reporter who drives much of the plot’s investigative angle. Christine draws together a complex and harrowing past for Avery, as her previous reporting experiences resulted in great pain, and I would be very interested to see Christine revisit these characters in the future. The entire story, including the clever mystery, comes together extremely well, and Christine ensures there are some intriguing twists and reveals that keep you hanging in to the very end. Throw in some excellent depictions of Sydney and the picturesque area surrounding Newcastle, including Glenrock, and this proves to be quite an impressive read.
Overall, Glenrock was an excellent piece of Australian crime fiction by Lee Christine that I had a wonderful time reading. The combination of a compelling story, fantastic characters and an intriguing mystery is hard to resist, and readers will come away from Glenrock very satisfied. An amazing and exciting read from a talented Australian author.
WWW Wednesday – 7 February 2024
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words, where bloggers share the books that they’ve recently finished, what they are currently reading and what books they are planning to read next. Essentially you have to answer three questions (the Three Ws):
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
So, let’s get to it.
What are you currently reading:
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (ebook)
I have started reading one of my most anticipated fantasy novels of 2024, The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett, and boy is it living up to all my expectations. Featuring two unique investigators as they dive into a elaborate magical murder, The Tainted Cup has an outstanding story, loaded with an intense mystery, an impressive new fantasy world, and a memorable detective. I have made a fair bit of progress with The Tainted Cup already and I am hoping to finish it off in the next day or two, especially as I cannot wait to see how its elaborate narrative unfolds.
Warhammer 40,000: Brutal Kunnin by Mike Brooks (Audiobook)
I am still listening to the Warhammer 40,000 audiobook, Brutal Kunnin this week. Written by Mike Brooks, whose Warhammer 40,000 novels Warboss and The Lion: Son the Forest, were pretty damn fun, Brutal Kunnin is an entertaining novel about rival ork warbands invading a planet. I have nearly finished Brutal Kunnin off, and I cannot wait to see how its cool story unfolds.
What did you recently finish reading?
Three-Inch Teeth by C. J. Box (ebook)
An outstanding and deeply entertaining thriller. I had an amazing time with Three-Inch Teeth, and I am hoping to get a review up very soon.
Glenrock by Lee Christine (Trade Paperback)
A compelling and elaborate piece of Australian crime fiction.
What do you think you’ll read next?
Warhammer: The Old World: Lords of the Lance by Graham McNeill
I am still in a major Warhammer mood, so once I get through Brutal Kunnin, I will start listening to Lords of the Lance by Graham McNeill. The first book set back in the Old World in years, Lords of the Lance will be a great fantasy novel that focuses on the chivalrous knights of Bretonnia. I love the Old World setting, and I am so happy to see the Warhammer franchise return there again. Lords of the Lance sounds particularly cool, and I cannot wait to see what great story McNeill, who has previously impressed me with novels like Storm of Iron, will come up with.
That’s it for this week, check back in next Wednesday to see what progress I’ve made on my reading and what books I’ll be looking at next.
Book Haul – 4 February 2024
I have been having another excellent couple of weeks for books, and I was lucky enough to receive several incredible and amazing new novels from some of my local publishers and Netgalley. These novels include some truly awesome new releases, including several books that have the potential to be some of my top reads of the year. I cannot wait to dive into them, and I look forward to seeing how they turn out.
Glenrock by Lee Christine
Let’s start this Book Haul post off with the novel I am currently reading, Glenrock by Lee Christine. Set in coastal Australia, Glenrock is a gripping murder mystery that sees several intriguing characters become wrapped up in dark events after a judge is murdered. This book has an awesome sounding plot behind it, and I am already enjoying its excellent story.
Body of Lies by Sarah Bailey
Another Australian novel I was particularly happy to receive was Body of Lies by Sarah Bailey. Bailey, who previously impressed me with The Housemate, has produced another excellent crime fiction novel that sees a unique mystery arise when an apparent car crash victim dies and then her body is stolen from the morgue. This sounds like quite an awesome read and I have no doubt Body of Lies will be one of the top Australian crime fiction reads of 2024.
The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland
A gripping and interesting young adult fantasy novel that sees three girls with different experiences of magic try to hunt down a supernatural serial killer. I love the cool plot of The Invocations and I look forward to diving into this fascinating read.
Gone by Glenna Thomson
A powerful sounding Australian novel that sees a women return home to finally solve the mystery of her long-missing sister.
The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey
A distinctive and fun sounding murder mystery that I know I will have a great time with.
Three-Inch Teeth by C. J. Box
I was lucky to receive an early copy of the new Joe Pickett novel by C. J. Box, Three-Inch Teeth. Three-Inch Teeth once again follows Box’s long-running game warden protagonist as he attempts to hunt down a killer bear in the wilds of Wyoming. However, he is unaware that old foes from the past have returned and are using the bear attacks for their own sinister purposes. I have actually already read Three-Inch Teeth and it proved to be an awesome and highly exciting read. Review to follow soon.
Blood Roses by Douglas Jackson
I am a huge fan of historical murder mysteries, and I just got my hands on the electronic copy of Blood Roses by Douglas Jackson. Set in occupied Poland during World War II, Blood Roses follows a Polish cop as he attempts to hunt down a serial killer using the Nazi invasion for cover. This book has a ton of potential and I am hoping to dive into it as soon as I can.
Agricola: Invader by Simon Turney
The always impressive Simon Turney starts a new Roman historical fiction series with Agricola: Invader. Set in the dire Roman province of Britannia, Agricola: Invader will follow a new Roman tribune as he finds himself dragged into Boudica’s revolution. Sure to be an excellent read, I look forward to checking it out.
Sword of the War God by Tim Hodkinson
An interesting and fun novel that sees a group of adventurers attempt to recover a legendary magical sword before it can fall into the hands of Atilla the Hun. I love the epic and compelling sounding plot of Sword of the War God and I have high hopes for this cool book.
To You Shall All Flesh Come by Lumen Reese
A weird, but amazing sounding book about a doctor keeping the local vampire population in line through some very unique methods. I had to pick up a copy of this book after reading the excessively awesome synopsis and I cannot wait to see how over-the-top it gets.
Cloaked Deception by Timothy Zahn
The last book I want to highlight in this Book Haul is the outstanding sounding read, Cloaked Deception by Timothy Zahn. I know Zahn through his epic Star Wars novels, including Scoundrels, the Thrawn trilogy (Thrawn, Alliances and Treason), and the Thrawn Ascendency trilogy (Chaos Rising, Greater Good and Lesser Evil). I have never had the pleasure of reading any of his non-Star Wars book, but that is going to change as I just received an early copy of his upcoming science fiction thriller novel Cloaked Deception. A gripping read that sees a deadly assassination plan with an excessive amount of collateral damage clash with the theft of the world’s first cloaking device. I have so much love for Cloaked Deception’s epic plot synopsis, and I have no doubt this will be an exceptional read.
Well, that’s the end of this latest Book Haul post. As you can see I have quite a bit of reading to do at the moment thanks to all these awesome books that have come in. Let me know which of the above you are most interested in and make sure to check back in a few weeks to see my reviews of them.
The Unseen Library 