Gunnawah – Page 2 – The Unseen Library

I’ve had an excellent couple of weeks for books, as I was lucky enough to receive several incredible and amazing new novels from local publishers and Netgalley. These novels include some truly awesome new releases, including books that have the potential to be some of my top reads of the year. I cannot wait to dive into them, and I so excited to see how they all turn out.

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

The first book I need to highlight in this post is the new Richard Osman novel, We Solve Murders. A gripping standalone thriller novel, written in the same vein as Osman’s Thursday Murder Club books, We Solve Murders is an excellent and addictive read that follows an elite bodyguard and her retired father-in-law as they attempt to unravel an international conspiracy. I am actually in the middle of We Solve Murders at the moment and it is proving to be a particularly funny, entertaining and sweet novel that I cannot get enough of.

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Endgame by Sarah Barrie

The next awesome book I recently received was the extremely awesome Australian thriller Endgame by Sarah Barrie. The final book in Barrie’s dark and deeply compelling Lexi Winter series (Unforgiven, Retribution and Vendetta), Endgame will see the series protagonist enter into a final confrontation with the monster who destroyed her as a child. Set to be one of the most intense Australian thrillers of 2024, Endgame is going to be so damn good, and I cannot wait to check it out.

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Capture or Kill by Don Bentley

I was very lucky to receive a copy of the latest book in the long-running Mitch Rapp series, Capture or Kill. The first book in the series written by Don Bentley, Capture or Kill takes the protagonists back to his counter-terrorist roots as the series revisits familiar territory under a new author. This should be a pretty awesome and action-packed thriller, and I’m hoping to start reading it in the next couple of days.

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Gunnawah by Ronni Salt

I also recently received an early copy of the upcoming Australian crime fiction debut, Gunnawah. The first book from new author Ronni Salt, Gunnawah has a lot of potential, and I look forward to diving into this intriguing book soon, especially as it is set to be one of the top debuts of 2025.

Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik

One of the more interesting books I recently received was the short story collection by Naomi Novik, Buried Deep and Other Stories. Featuring multiple stories from the author set in her various unique worlds, Buried Deep should be a very awesome read, and I am particularly keen to check out the story that gives readers their first glimpse at Novik’s next big fantasy setting.

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Shadow City by Natalie Conyer

A gritty and compelling Australian crime fiction read, written by a talented rising star.

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The Heart of the World by Amie Kaufman

The final book I recently received that I want to highlight on this post is the young adult fantasy novel, The Heart of the World by Amie Kaufman. The sequel to Kaufman’s previous novel, The Isles of the Gods, The Heart of the World looks set to be another exciting and captivating read that sees two teenage heroes attempt to save their world from war and vengeful gods.

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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.

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. In this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight two intriguing upcoming Australian crime fiction debuts.

2025 is already shaping up to be a big year for Australian crime fiction debuts, as there are several compelling and epic novels from first-time authors set for release next year. I always love checking out compelling Australian fiction from new authors, and it is fun to see these writers develop their style and produce complex reads set in our distinctive landscapes. As such, I am very excited for 2025, especially with the focuses of today’s Waiting on Wednesday set for release right at the start of the year.

The first debut I want to highlight is the awesome and unique sounding novel, Gunnawah from new author Ronni Salt. Set for release on 1 January 2025, Gunnawah is an interesting crime fiction novel, that will feature a rural mystery with a historical background setting.

Plot Synopsis:

It’s 1974 in the Riverina

The weather is hot

But the body in the Murray River is stone cold . . .

A captivating and compulsive crime thriller about guns, drugs and a young woman dead on the money

Riverina 1974:

When nineteen-year-old farmgirl Adelaide Hoffman applies for a cadetship at the Gunnawah Gazette, she sees it as her ticket out of a life too small for her. Its owner, Valdene Bullark, sees something of the girl she once was in young Adelaide.

Val puts Adelaide straight to work. What starts as a routine assignment covering an irrigation project soon puts Adelaide on the trail of a much bigger story. Water is money in farming communities, and when Adelaide starts asking questions, it’s as if she’s poked a stick in a bull ant’s nest. Violence follows. Someone will do whatever it takes to stop Adelaide and Val finding out how far the river of corruption and crime runs.

Shady deals. Vested interests. A labyrinth of lies. It seems everyone in Gunnawah has a secret to keep. But how many want to stop Adelaide dead?

Set deep in the heart of rural Australia during the era of Gough Whitlam, pub brawls and flared jeans, Gunnawah is a compulsive crime thriller of corruption, guns and drugs from Australian Noir’s most arresting new voice.

I feel that Gunnawah has a lot going for it, especially as Salt looks set to combine rural crime antics with Australia’s distinctive 1970s vibe. The combination of 70s nostalgia, unique criminal activity, and plucky characters trying to get to the truth has some big potential, and I’m personally interested in seeing what sort of story Salt has planned here, especially with the focus seemingly on corruption around farmland irrigation. This is one of the more distinctive crime fiction books coming out in 2025, and I have a feeling that Gunnawah is going to be a top debut of next year, and I cannot wait to see how Salt will impress us.

The other fascinating Australian crime fiction debut coming out in early 2025 that I want to highlight is The Reunion by Bronwyn Rivers. Set in the iconic and beautiful Blue Mountains wilderness, The Reunion will see five isolated protagonists relive the sins of their shared past as the truth comes for them. The Reunion has a very cool story concept around it that has really grabbed my attention, and I am quite keen to grab it in February 2025.

Plot Synopsis:

THEY’LL WISH THEY NEVER WENT BACK.

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

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

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

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

This is another particularly cool sounding book, and I think that Rivers has an excellent story idea that is really going to pay off. The classic scenario of isolated protagonists revisiting a traumatic event from years before is always a reliable basis for a story, and I am curious to see how Rivers will make it her own. Unwrapping the separate and joint secrets of five protagonists has a lot of potential, and I cannot wait to see what sort of twists and compelling reveals this new author comes up with. I am also very excited to see how Rivers will utilise the wilderness setting of the Blue Mountains in The Reunion. I literally just got back from a holiday in the Blue Mountains, so I can imagine some of the elaborate bushland settings and locals that can be used to hide secrets, bodies and lies.

Overall, I think that both Gunnawah and The Reunion have a lot of potential and I am very excited to read them. I cannot wait to see how these first Australian crime fiction novels from Ronni Salt and Bronwyn Rivers will turn out and they will probably be amongst my top debut novels of 2025.