Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday participants were supposed to list the top new-to-them authors they read in 2024. However, as this was a topic I did a few weeks ago, I’m instead going to put together an alternate list today. The reason for this is because last Sunday, 26 January, was Australia’s national holiday, Australia Day. While Australia Day is getting controversial due to its historical implications, I like to look beyond that and instead focus on some of the amazing and varied writing talents Australia produces. As such, I once again took this opportunity to highlight some of the top pieces of fiction written by Australian authors in 2024.
Each year, a ton of talented Australian authors produce an impressive and exciting range of fiction from across the genres, many of which I am lucky enough to get copies of from my local publishers. Due to this, I tend to read and review a lot of novels by Australian authors, most of which turn out to be some outstanding reads that I deeply enjoy. As such, for the last few years I have taken to highlighting my favourite pieces of Australian fiction, which is something I really look forward to each Australia Day (check out my 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022and 2023 lists).
I really love how much awesome Australian fiction there is each year, and this list is the perfect way to highlight some of the best Australian authors. Now I tend to take a bit of a different approach to Australian fiction than some other bloggers, as I highlight all books written by Australian authors rather than novels purely set in Australia or featuring Australian characters. To qualify for this list, a novel had to be released in 2024 and be written by an Australian author, which I am defining as anyone born in Australia or who currently lives here (Australia is very good at adopting talented people as our own). This resulted in a long list, and I was eventually able to whittle this novel down to the absolute cream of the crop and came up with a fantastic top ten list (with my typical generous honourable mentions). I really enjoyed how this list turned out, especially as it features novels from a range of different genres, all of which were very awesome Australian books.
Honourable Mentions:
A compelling and occasionally weird Australian murder mystery from the brilliant author of The Housemate.
The Heart of the World by Amie Kaufman
The excellent sequel to Amie Kaufman’s young adult fantasy novel, The Isles of the Gods.
The Winter Palace by Paul Morgan
A gripping historical drama from Australian author Paul Morgan that follows the separate struggles of a Polish husband and wife separated during World War II.
A fantastic thriller that sees an Australian research team travelling to Antarctica forced to deal with dark secrets and dangerous elements. One of the top debuts of 2024.
Top Ten List:
Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson
Australian author Benjamin Stevenson continued to impress in 2024 with his Ernest Cunningham series, as he released the third entry Everyone this Christmas has a Secret. A fantastic Christmas special that follows on from Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone and Everyone on this Train is a Suspect, Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret was another compelling and highly entertaining read that blends clever mystery with the author’s excellent humour and some fun holiday themes.
The Ghosts of Autumn by Peter Watt
The master of Australian historical fiction had another stellar year with the latest book in the Colonial series, The Ghost of Autumn. Set amongst the carnage of World War I, The Ghosts of Autumn continues to follow a family caught up in every historical struggle of the 19th and 20th century, and I really enjoyed seeing how Watt brought this sixth book together.
Devil’s Kitchen by Candice Fox
One of Australia’s top thriller authors, Candice Fox, had an outstanding 2024, releasing three separate books. The first of these books from Fox that I want to highlight is the brilliant and dark thriller, Devil’s Kitchen. Following an undercover agent tasked with infiltrating a crew of firefighters who moonlight as murderous thieves, Devil’s Kitchen was a particularly intense read loaded with complex characters forced to make hard decisions. I deeply enjoyed this amazing book, and it really highlights Fox’s ability to write nuanced and complex narratives.
One of the more intense and shocking Australian novels of last year was the deeply impressive Endgame. The final entry in Sarah Barrie’s Lexi Winter series (Unforgiven, Retribution and Vendetta), Endgame sees the series’ titular protagonist finally face down her monstrous nemesis in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Barrie takes Endgame to some dark places, and I cannot recommend this thrilling novel, and indeed the entire Lexi Winter series, enough.
White Ash Ridge by S. R. White
Author S. R. White continued to produce some of the more distinctive pieces of Australian crime fiction with the addictive White Ash Ridge. The follow-up to the author’s previous novels, Prisoner and Red Dirt Road, White Ash Ridge sees White’s main protagonist, Detective Dana Russo, investigate a murder at an isolated bush hotel. However, things get problematic when it is revealed that the victim and all the potential suspects are board members for a prominent anti-police organisation. White Ash Ridge was such a clever read, and I loved its outstanding mystery and focused character-examination of the various suspects. Highly recommended.
One of my favourite sequels of 2024 was the fantastic spy thriller Dark Arena by recently adopted Australian author and former French spy Jack Beaumont. Following on from the author’s debut, The Frenchman, Dark Arena sees Beaumont’s team of spies become involved in another elaborate operation, the result of which could impact all of Europe. Beaumont provides another intense and highly realistic examination of espionage in this sequel, and I loved the epic and captivating narrative that emerges in Dark Arena.
The Youngest Son by John Byrnes
An excellent historical novel from John Byrnes, who presented a fantastic read in a different style from his debut novel Headland. The Youngest Son follows three children from the same lower-class Australian family who are forced to endure multiple hardships in 1930’s Sydney. Featuring crime, murder, betrayal, war, love and redemption, The Youngest Son was a really great book from Byrnes that had me hooked the entire way through.
The second book from Candice Fox that I want to feature on this list is the gritty Australian thriller High Wire. Set on a dangerous hidden road that traverses the length of Australia, High Wire sees two damaged protagonists kidnapped by a vengeful gang who strap bomb vests to them. Forced to commit a series of violent crimes across the outback, High Wire envisions a brilliantly intense, high-stakes scenario that Fox expertly utilises and explores. A very memorable and over-the-top read, High Wire was another excellent book from Candice Fox that I couldn’t get enough of. Readers should also check out the third 2024 Fox novel, The Murder Inn, which she cowrote with James Patterson.
The Death of Dora Black by Lainie Anderson
One of the more entertaining Australian novels of the year was the fun historical crime fiction read The Death of Dora Black. Set around a fascinating historical figure, The Death of Dora Black sees the iconic and strict Miss Kate Cocks, the first policewoman in the British Empire, stride throughout 1917 Adelaide attempting to solve the suspicious death of a young shop assistant. A clever blend of history and mystery with some real heart to it, The Death of Dora Black was an outstanding book that will appeal to a wide range of readers.
The final book I want to feature on this list is the fifth John Bailey novel from Tim Ayliffe, The Wrong Man. Following on from The Greater Good, State of Fear, The Enemy Within and Killer Traitor Spy, The Wrong Man was another compelling murder mystery, this time exploring a series of brutal murders across Sydney. With a great plot, compelling mystery and a fantastic trio of perspective characters, The Wrong Man was a strong read from one of Australia’s best crime fiction authors.
Well, that is the end of this latest list, and I am really happy that I got a chance to highlight some of the best Australian releases of 2024. The above books represent an outstanding collection of fiction from talented Australian authors, and each of them comes highly recommended by me. I had a lot of fun coming up with this list and I cannot wait to find out what the best Australian books of 2025 are going to be. Until then, stay tuned for more epic reviews and lists, and make sure you let me know who your favourite Australian authors are in the comments below.
The Unseen Library 