Karen Chisholm
Don't ask me to explain this but heading off to Russia over Easter felt like the thing to do... Given this is the first book in the Koldun Code series, which makes this a first book for a first-time author I was intrigued. And besides - that whole Russia thing at Easter (I don't even pretend to understand it), this book shouted loudly from the stacks anyway.
From the Blurb:
Karen Chisholm
The final of the Easter reading pile, Cold Deception is a debut crime novel from an Australian erotica and romance writer. Now I must admit I saw that and part of the blurb and wondered. But the first part of the blurb made this sound particularly interesting. So why not give it a try.
From the Blurb:
At 20, Julia Taylor went to prison for murdering a man who deserved it. Ten years later, she's ready to put the past behind her and get on with her life. But someone won't let her. Someone will do anything to drive Julia away, including murder.
Karen Chisholm
Catching up on the weekend's reading as usual, this is a self-published work from a local author.
From the Blurb:
The story unfolds as Sasha battles with a series of events that eventuate out of his need to satisfy himself and his brother's sexual desires. Both victims of their past they struggle to make the most of the world they live in and people die as a consequence. But who could blame Sasha as he uses his charismatic charm to shape his life and protect his disabled brother
Karen Chisholm
It jumped out at me, it literally jumped out at me ... It's not so much queue jumping as me being chronically unable to resist temptation. And a new Cato Kwong is too much temptation. Love this series, and if what I've read so far of this is any indication - oh this is a good one.
From the Blurb:
Karen Chisholm
The third in the Jennifer Shot series, Shot Through the Heart is set in Tasmania.
From the Blurb:
Summer sizzles as Jennifer Shot, law student and private detective, begins her end-of-year vacation. But serial killers don’t take holidays. The bodies of beautiful dead women are washing up on Tasmanian beaches. Hunter, an American mercenary, who Jennifer has worked with on other cases, is tracking an international drug trafficking ring and enlists her help.
Karen Chisholm
Bookclub book - this year's resolution is to read the book club books! (and not just show up and drink wine).
From the Blurb:
Margery Blandon has led a life of principles. Now she finds herself sitting on the 43rd floor of the Tropic Hotel, preparing to throw herself to her death.
Karen Chisholm
Over the weekend I picked up Databyte, which is the sixth book in the Byte Series, none of which I've read before.
From the Blurb:
When information becomes misinformation, how much of what you see should you believe?
Wanted for a murder she didn't commit and on the run from the FBI and Metro, Special Agent Ellie Conway has to protect an actor with close ties to Delta A from a serious threat as well as trying to clear her name.
Karen Chisholm
The second book from a weekend's reading - started this on Sunday after being momentarily distracted by Sherlock on the TV.
From the Blurb:
Karen Chisholm
Very nice way to spend a weekend - in the company of one of my favourite Policemen around.
From the Blurb:
AUGUST 1987: Against the backdrop of the nuclear ships stand-off with America; the rich and powerful gather in Auckland for a lavish election-night party. Before the night is out, a seventeen-year-old girl will be murdered and several lives utterly changed.
Karen Chisholm
The second in the Le Fanu series, set in pre-Independence India.
From the Blurb:
Karen Chisholm
Over the long weekend some serious reading took place, starting with this debut from NZ author Ben Atkins.
From the Blurb:
In a city of elusive agendas, it's hard to find the truth. It's even harder to find what's right. A bootlegger's dream is rocked by an attempt to destroy his lucrative business. What begins as a curious evening snowballs into a night-time odyssey as Fontana searches for answers he never thought he'd have to find. The city is saturated with criminal and political extremism - is there anyone he can trust?
Karen Chisholm
A thriller from Australian writer Peter Carey, somebody who is more known for their "literary" output than their genre work. Interesting to see how a well known non-genre writer approaches something different like a thriller styled novel.
From the Blurb:
Karen Chisholm
This was a re-read over the long weekend and a perfect way to fill in an afternoon in the sun.
From the Blurb:
Karen Chisholm
Such a fabulous author of thrillers, I always end up kicking myself when I let these books linger too long.
From the Blurb:
A mesmerising tale of three women who must overcome the past and beat the odds to find hope for the future.
Karen Chisholm
Sometimes I get to sneak in a book or two from the other hemisphere :) although for some reason I got the second book before this one, so now I've sorted that mess out and will start what's a very highly acclaimed series in order. For once.
From the Blurb:
A man is burnt alive in a suburban garden shed.
Karen Chisholm
Sometimes you just need to read something with a title like "The Glorious Heresies".
From the Blurb:
Karen Chisholm
The third in the Intrepid / Alex Morgan series these thrillers are part James Bond (Daniel Craig's version), part crime fiction, part real life action hero.
From the Blurb:
Alex Morgan is back and he isn't playing by the rules.
Policeman, soldier and spy for INTREPID, black ops agent Alex Morgan is hunting the Night Witch—the head of a shadowy criminal empire spanning the four corners of the globe and connected to Chinese triads, corrupt cops, and the Russian mafia.
Karen Chisholm
Inspired by a true story, set in Victorian London, this book is about a scandalous accusation and the subsequent trial.
From the Blurb:
The Victorian gossipmongers called them The Petticoat Men. But to young widow Mattie Stacey, they are Freddie and Ernest, her gentlemen lodgers. It is Mattie who admires their sparkling gowns, makes their extravagant hats and laughs at their stories of attending society balls dressed up as the glamorous 'Fanny' and 'Stella'.
Karen Chisholm
Right - there's stuff in the fridge that's probably edible. Work it out people, I'm reading.
From the Blurb:
Karen Chisholm
Final book on my ebook to be read list for this week - the first book in the Peter Clancy series.
From the Blurb:
It is 1987 and Peter Clancy, a hard-drinking, hard-living Melbourne Truth journalist returns to his hometown to settle his mother's estate. Peter's two-day visit to Clarke's Flat stretches to eight as he is unwillingly drawn into the sinister secrets of this outback town
Karen Chisholm
The third Mitchell Parker book from Helen Goltz, this is my first look at this series.
From the Blurb:
Karen Chisholm
There's nothing like another weekend where it's hot enough to melt bitumen to ensure some reading gets done. This books follows on from The Holiday Murders.
From the Blurb:
Karen Chisholm
Historical New Zealand Crime fiction - with the central thread being corruption, land grabs and bad behaviour over money. Seems like some things never change...
From the Blurb:
The most dangerous people are those with the most to lose.
It is 1887. The young colony of New Zealand is in the grip of a deep depression. Insolvent speculators conspire with corrupt politicians while Maori land slips from the hands of its owners.
Karen Chisholm
A debut book using an unusual device - the story from the perspective of 4 people involved in a series of child abduction and murders.
From the Blurb:
Karen Chisholm
I've been trying to get to this book in the stacks forever, and I can't tell you how pleased I was to get a quiet weekend.
From the Blurb:
Karen Chisholm
There's nothing like a third book in the series being released to make me sit down and catch up with the second. Sigh. My bad.
From the Blurb:
James Mycroft has just left for London to investigate a car accident similar to the one that killed his parents seven years ago...without saying goodbye to Rachel Watts, his 'partner in crime'.
Karen Chisholm
How utterly astounding to realise that this is the 40th Cliff Hardy novel from Peter Corris. (Out in stores 25th February). How gratifying to see the series holding up so strongly. This was a one sitting read on the weekend - but more in a review to come.
From the Blurb:
Karen Chisholm
There are days when the trick of putting the book in one browser window and "work" in the other so you can flick backwards and forwards is very tempting.
From the Blurb:
How far would you go to protect a secret?
How far would you go to expose a lie?
Will Fletcher seems to have it all – perfect job, perfect life. Then in one act of extreme violence, his world is turned upside down.
Karen Chisholm
Given the 45% reference I've definitely decided to mention that this short story is from Scotland (and not just the UK :) )
From the Blurb:
It’s the night of the big Referendum, and all Acting Detective Inspector Logan McRae has to do is find a missing ‘No’ campaigner. Should be easy enough…
But, as usual, DCI Steel has plans of her own. As the votes are counted there’s trouble brewing in the pubs and on the streets of Aberdeen.
Karen Chisholm
Something from the much lighter side, set in Sydney in the world of a book club (seemed appropriate as our own version kicked off for this year on Sunday).
From the Blurb:
When Alicia Finlay walks out on her boring old book club and decides to start a new one—one devoted to her favorite mystery writer Agatha Christie—little does she know her new club is about to stumble into a mystery of their own. It's a mystery so baffling it would leave even the Queen of Crime scratching her head...
Karen Chisholm
I'm juggling a few books at the moment and currently this is the one that I can't put down. As opposed to the next one I'll mention that I can't put down. (Whoever invented having to work when there are books is a meanie).
From the Blurb:
When David's 11-year-old nephew goes missing and he finds the finger pointed at him, he has no choice but to strike out on his own – an unlikely vigilante running away from the police and his own family, and running towards what he hopes desperately is the truth about Andrew's disappearance.
Karen Chisholm
The final (for now) in the Ella Marconi series is the perfect bittersweet read for a particularly bittersweet time in life.
From the Blurb:
Paramedic Stacey Durham has an idyllic life; her dream job, a beautiful house, and a devoted husband. Until her car is found abandoned and covered in her blood.
Detective Ella Marconi knows information is key in the first twenty-four hours, questioning the frantic husband James, jealous sister Marie, and Rowan, the colleague who keeps turning up in all the wrong places.
Karen Chisholm
Loved the short story collection "Cars and Girls" so was very pleased to receive a copy of Riding in Cars with Girls. Could only be made better with Alpacas and chocolate worked in there somewhere ... although I'm still waiting for a ute story ;)
From the Blurb:
FIREBIRD -- A small town cocktail waitress. A glamorous stranger behind the wheel of a stolen muscle car. A raging forest fire. What could possibly go wrong?
Karen Chisholm
Going with a something that's been on Mt TBR for too long as my second long weekend book.
From the Blurb:
Along the ever changing border of gentrifying Los Angeles, seventeen year old Monique Darson is found dead at a condominium construction site, hanging in the closet of an unfinished unit. Homicide detective Elouise 'Lou' Norton’s new partner, Colin Taggert, fresh from comparatively bucolic Colorado Springs police department, assumes it’s a teenage suicide. Lou isn’t buying the easy explanation.
Karen Chisholm
New to me author of psychological thriller, The Life I Left Behind.
From the Blurb:
Karen Chisholm
There is little better in the reading world than finding out that the end of the Trilogy, was just the third book in the series. When IN THE MORNING I'LL BE GONE was... well gone there were more than a few of us readers a bit sad. And then the announcement of a fourth book which makes it a series, and made for some very happy dancing in these parts at least.
From the Blurb:
Karen Chisholm
Did I mention it was a good weekend for getting some reading done? Didn't quite finish this one, but certainly got started on the 2nd book in this series.
From the Blurb:
A man’s body is found on a canal towpath. In his pocket, a plastic magnet in the shape of an E.
Days later, a second victim is found, this time with the letter V tucked into her clothing.
As the body count rises, the eerie, childlike clues point to a pattern that sends DS Allie Shenton and her colleagues into full alert.
Karen Chisholm
A new to me Scandi-Author, this is the first in a new trilogy featuring bodyguard Hilja Ilveskero
From the Blurb:
Karen Chisholm
Went into work shutdown over Christmas / New Year to a) charge very spent batteries and b) stand and sniff the skyline for signs of smoke. It's going to be a long, hot, very trying summer in large parts of Southern Australia - so here's hoping we all get through the next few months.
Over the break I did manage to get a bit of reading done, although I will confess not as much as I'd hoped. No fires near us but the heat has been unbelievable and the ongoing drought does cut into leisure time (okay, it pretty well obliterates it completely).
Karen Chisholm
For some reason getting hold of the latest Paul Cleave books here has become a bit of a marathon - but once they arrive - straight to the top of the pile.
From the Blurb:
In the latest thriller by the Edgar-nominated author of Joe Victim, someone is helping rape victims exact revenge on their attackers, prompting an edge-of-your-seat, cat-and-mouse chase between old friends, detectives Theodore Tate and Carl Schroder.
Karen Chisholm
Can't tell you how pleased I was when this arrived. There was dancing.
From the Blurb:
One mistake can cost you everything…
When you catch a twisted killer there should be a reward, right? What Acting Detective Inspector Logan McRae gets instead is a ‘development opportunity’ out in the depths of rural Aberdeenshire. Welcome to divisional policing – catching drug dealers, shop lifters, vandals and the odd escaped farm animal.
Karen Chisholm
New series, based in Sydney, from Barry Maitland.
From the Blurb:
Homicide detective Harry Belltree wouldn't usually be looking too hard at an elderly couple's suicide pact. Especially now, when his brother-in-law Greg has just been stabbed to death. But it seems Greg and the old couple had ties to the same man, a bent moneylender with friends in high places - and low.
Karen Chisholm
Because it's been such a stellar year for Crime Fiction - a Most Memorable of the Year List before Christmas seems like a plan in case anybody is thinking about books to spoil themselves / friends / family with. Of course the year isn't over yet and I fully expect a few more "memorables" between now and the end of December, if the previous 11 months have been any indication.
The ones that simply will not go out of my head:
Karen Chisholm
Reading this for review at http://www.newtownreviewofbooks.com.au(link is external)
From the Blurb:
When John Lawrence finally finds out about his father’s dangerous legacy, it forces him to confront a family past marked by secrets and loss.
Karen Chisholm
The fourth in the series, but a first for me.
From The Blurb:
Spain is corrupt and on the brink of collapse. The king is ill, banks are closing, hospitals are in chaos, homes are lost, demonstrators riot and right wing thugs patrol the street. The tunnels beneath the streets are at once a refuge and a source of anger. And as the blood flows Cámara roars in on his motorbike...
Karen Chisholm
Indulging my love of translated crime fiction - this one from Germany.
From the Blurb:
Berlin detective Jan Tommen expected to wake up with a hangover—not a murder charge. But a well-known judge has been brutally killed and hard evidence places Jan at the crime scene. When disturbing gaps in Jan’s memory make finding an alibi impossible, the case against him looks open and shut.
Karen Chisholm
Loved HADES, loved EDEN. I think there's a pattern emerging here.
From the Blurb:
'I fool myself that Eden has a heart – that she would at least have trouble killing me...'
Karen Chisholm
Catching up on the over the weekend reading.
From the Blurb:
Blood makes you related. Loyalty makes you family.
In the underbelly of Soho's organized crime ring, everyone knows that retired boxer Harry Woods is not one to mess with. And that goes double for his family.
Karen Chisholm
Interesting look at the level and timeframe of corruption in Australia's police forces.
From the Blurb:
Bent law officers exist in every era, sabotaging the work of their colleagues and putting the community at risk.
James Morton and Susanna Lobez have illustrated, in several Gangland books, that Australia almost certainly has out-ganged other countries. Now their spotlight is turned on corruption within the police services and identifying which state wins the bent cop handicap.
Karen Chisholm
If somebody could tell me why I'm so disorganised and let things like this linger on Mt TBR for too long I'd appreciate it.
From the Blurb:
On the Irish border, Inspector Celsius Daly investigates human trafficking and a scorched corpse
Named one of 2012's 10 best crime novels by Kirkus Reviews, Disappeared is the haunting tale of Northern Ireland where the Troubles may never have ended.
Karen Chisholm
A standalone novel from Jo Nesbo, THE SON is a story about the escape of a young man in jail for crimes he did not commit.
From the Blurb:
Karen Chisholm
Normally I pay not a jot of attention - but this is a particularly beautiful cover don't you think.
From the Blurb:
In 1930s Munich, danger lurks behind dark corners, and secrets are buried deep within the city. But Gretchen Müller, who grew up in the National Socialist Party under the wing of her "uncle" Dolf, has been shielded from that side of society ever since her father traded his life for Dolf's, and Gretchen is his favorite, his pet.
Uncle Dolf is none other than Adolf Hitler. And Gretchen follows his every command.
Karen Chisholm
This weekend I thought I'd dip back into Mt TBR and randomly pick something that's been lurking there for quite a while.
From the Blurb:
Karen Chisholm
Set in Japan, this thriller came highly rated. I just wish I could remember who told me about it as I'd like to thank them.
From the Blurb:
Iwasaki Shiro, a 46 year old salaryman in Tokyo is having a midlife crisis. Unexceptional in his IT job, he works in the shadow of his boss’s charisma. His children are embarrassed by his mediocrity and his wife rarely thinks of him as an individual. He has nothing to show for decades of conformity and doing the right thing.