AustCrimeFiction - All Blogs

Just realised that the entry for this book went missing a bit when I switched over sites a few minutes ago....

From the Blurb:

Saas Fee ski resort, Switzerland, 7.00 am March 6, 2005

A group of skiers find themselves staring in horror at the half- naked body of a man, his outstretched arms tied crucifixion-like to the cable of the Alpin Express cable car. The victim is later identified as the outspoken, controversial Monsignor Antoine Salvador, Archbishop of Lyon.

I picked this book up somewhere, sometime ago and have looked at it occasionally since. For some reason the other day I decided to pick it up. Now I'm not saying that a central character who can't parallel park is necessarily somebody with whom I would instantly feel some affinity... but... everyone who has ever been in a car with me will know my liking for angle parking, drive into / out of parking, and if necessary a nice long walk from wherever such accessible car park might have been...

From the Blurb:

Apologies to those authors and publicists who have been wondering whether I'm ever going to post their event, review or book details. A technology update was required, and while I was at it, a bit of a layout mod at the same time.

Nothing like a website as a big toy.

Due out later in October.

From the Blurb:

Barwon Prison's maximum security unit, 19 April 2010: Carl Williams is beaten to death with the stem of an exercise bike by a fellow inmate. And so, the last moments of this convicted contract killer and key figure in the Melbourne underworld echoed the rest of his life: violent, chilling, brutal.

I believe this is the second of the DI Leo Caldas. If the start's any indication I hope the first one has been translated.

From the Blurb:

One misty autumn dawn in a quiet fishing port in northwest Spain, the body of a sailor washes up in the harbour.

Detective Inspector Leo Caldas is called in from police headquarters in the nearby city of Vigo to sign off on what appears to be a suicide. But details soon come to light that turn this routine matter into a complex murder investigation.

Continuing on with my series read, and not at all surprised to find that I can't even get the order of the books right when they are there in front of me....

From the Blurb:

Doing a spot of catching up after the weekend's reading.

From the Blurb:

Tara Sharp is back in this frightening foray into the music industry.

Things are a bit hot for Tara Sharp in her home town of Perth, so she jumps at the chance to leave town when a music promoter offers her a gig looking after a difficult musician who's touring Brisbane.

Second book from local author Jaye Ford. Interesting in that it follows on from a theme in her first book - the idea of a woman fighting for her own life.

From the Blurb:

The need for a fill-in book, one that can be read a chapter or short segment at a time as required, is something that always comes up so this book seemed to meet the requirement.

From the Blurb:

Interesting combination of setting - Gibraltar and Tangiers.

From the Blurb:

A humid summer night in Gibraltar. Lawyer Spike Sanguinetti finds Solomon Hassan, an old school friend, waiting on his doorstep.

Accused of murdering a Spanish girl in Tangier, Solomon swears his innocence. He has managed to skip across the straits, but the Moroccan authorities demand his return.

Sad news today that Robert G Barrett died overnight - for a little more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-21/larrikin-writer-robert-barrett-die...

Loved the first book (Dougal's Diary) so much went out and acquired two cats from the RSPCA. There's a certain nervous tension about the place at present...

From the Blurb:

The gentleman cat’s account of his wonderful and challenging life follows his bestselling first book, Dougal’s Diary.

Dougal and Shadow are still living with Man, Woman and Belladonna – the Senior Cat and boss of the house – but the pair are now, mostly, all grown up.

Great idea from Open Road Media now posted on YouTube:

"I was always collecting anecdotes on scraps of paper, I would write notes on old hamburger wrappers . . . In a way, I was a writer and I didn't know it," explains novelist and former policeman Joseph Wambaugh. In this short video, thriller and mystery authors Charles McCarry, T. J. English, Martyn Waites, and Ken Bruen speak about the jobs and experiences that inspired their work and led them to a career in writing."

I have to confess that I rushed out and got this book as soon as it was released. And then backed away from reading it. Mostly because everyone was reading / talking about this book and I was starting to wonder if I could look at it dispassionately. But there's only so long you can wait ....

From the Blurb:

New book / new author for me.

From the Blurb:

Second of this series, which I've had lurking around here for a very long time.

From the Blurb:

Charlie Howard—globe-trotting mystery writer, professional thief, and poor decision maker—is in Paris. Flush with the success of his latest book reading, not to mention a few too many glasses of wine, Charlie agrees to show a complete novice how to break into an apartment in the Marais. Fast-forward twenty-four hours and Charlie’s hired to steal an ordinary-looking oil painting—from the exact same address.

7th book in the Liz Carlyle series, which means, in no particular surprise, I'm behind again... It doesn't seem to be mattering though - this grabbed from the very first paragraph.

From the Blurb:

Geneva, 2012. When a Russian intelligence officer approaches MI5 with vital information about the imminent cyber-sabotage of an Anglo-American Defence programme, he refuses to talk to anyone but Liz Carlyle. But who is he, and what is his connection to the British agent?

For some stupid reason I've been hoarding this book for the longest time. Which is daft, because I really really really really love this series. And not just because of DI Steele. Well maybe a little bit because of DI Steele. But mostly because I absolutely love the combination of dry, dark humour, and dark, pointed scenarios.

From the Blurb:

You will raise money for the safe return of Alison and Jenny McGregor. If you raise enough money within fourteen days they will be released. If not, Jenny will be killed.

It's with some trepidation that I pick up this book. I've got to get up at sparrow's tomorrow and from the opening few chapters, this is guaranteed to keep me awake way too late.

From the Blurb:

Part of the initiative mentioned recently from Le French Books http://www.lefrenchbook.com/our-books/crime-fiction/the-winemaker-detective-series/treachery-in-bordeaux/(link is external) I found this one just a little tempting - living as we do in the Victorian Pyrenees. Love the wine chat in this :)

From the Blurb:

After having declared I don't do opinion pieces, here I am opining. But if the twitter tag #destroythejoint has taught me anything in the last couple of days it's that I'm sick of being shut up by a bit of intimidation. And besides, this issue has really given me more than a few moments pause for thought.

Really shouldn't start these sorts of books late on a Sunday night. Means you miss out on too much sleep because it's nearly impossible to put down.

From the Blurb:

Andy Walker, son, lover and an ex-soldier, knows tragedy is only ever a heartbeat away.

When an inmate escapes from the prison farm upriver and abducts Nathan, a child Andy has vowed to protect after losing his own son years before, Andy Walker discovers that the escapee is a dark figure from his past, the devil who changed his life, the man who introduced him to 'The Game'.

A BOOK that tells the gripping story behind a critically acclaimed television character’s fall from grace has scooped New Zealand’s crime writing award for 2012. Wellington-based novelist and screenwriter Neil Cross was announced as the winner of the prestigious Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel, for his 'unflinching, brutal, and brilliant' book Luther: The Calling, at the conclusion of the lively Great New Zealand Crime Debate event at the Christchurch Writers Festival on Saturday, 1 September.

Needless to say it takes quite a bit to get me out from behind my rock, but the latest discussions flying around about trolling and the very high profile effects that they can have has nudged me just a little.

Spring has sprung and a weekend too busy to be bothered with mucking about with computers, so my belated congrats to the Davitt Award winners announced on Saturday night (Thanks Angela Savage for the twitter feed).

Adult Fiction Winner

Sulari Gentill, A Decline in Prophets  (Pantera Press) 

Being more than a little bit of a fan of reading foreign based crime and thrillers, and translated ones into the bargain - I was really pleased to see this initiative pop up:

http://www.lefrenchbook.com/(link is external)

Digital first publishing of this kind really is a boon to we readers and definitely deserves a look / support.

Due out in September, the next standalone thriller from master writer Val McDermid. Happy happy reading days in these parts.

From the Blurb:

Ned Kelly Winners for 2012:

Best First Crime Fiction

The Cartographer, Peter Twohig

Best Crime Fiction

Pig Boy, J.C. Bourke

SD Harvey Short Story Award

Summer of the 17th Poll, A.J. Clifford

True Crime

Sins of the Father, Eamonn Duff

Lifetime Achievement Award

Gabrielle Lord

Good grief... still got some catching up to do.

If you're going to do "vampires" then I figure in one giant "bite"... sorry. This one's due out in October so more then.

From the Blurb:

"The best way to blend in is to stand out."

A twisted tale about Feng Shui, vampires, drinking, pet psychiatry, genocide, belief and mortality... In this darkly comic, slow-burn fantasy thriller, nothing is as it seems. A nightclub opening becomes a fight for life and the discovered fountain of youth hides a movement to exterminate a race.

Back in what's considerably more usual reading territory for me....

From the Blurb:

Went back over the weekend and picked up another in my self-imposed "series read". (Might do this to catch up with some of my other Scandinavian favourites around the place!)

From the Blurb:

Right - now this is actually the book I'm currently reading (sorry that last flurry was a bit of a catchup).

From the Blurb:

I know ... I know .. I know. What on earth am I doing. I'm not even slightly into all this vampire stuff. But there were snippets of this book that I noticed as the ebook prep was rolling along, and I do kind of like a dry, laid back sense of humour, so I figured if I was EVER going to get the whole vampire thing... this might be a book to try.

From the Blurb:

Still plugging away at the retrospective reading in the background.

From the Blurb:

When a self-styled king of the corporate world is shot down in a Melbourne traffic jam and his death is followed by that of a prominent Member of the Conservative Opposition frontbench and a leading light of the Donors' Club, Inspector Joe Barnaby joins independent feminist detective Francesca Miles in the hunt for the killer.

Needless to say - I'm expecting something dark and pointed!

From the Blurb:

I've been looking forward to reading this book by NZ Author Ben Sanders, and if the way that the first few chapters grabbed attention is any indication, I think this could be right up my alley.

From the Blurb:

Friday rush hour. Auckland City. A lone shooter fires across a packed street and kills a man. Detective Sergeant Sean Devereaux is assigned the case. He's not complaining. His Friday nights are seldom better spent.

Well the holiday is a complete blow out - zero work done on the farm, none of the day trips we'd planned have eventuated. I've had so much work work to do and he's got a cold. So I've stopped pretending we're even having a holiday and will just hope like hell that something works itself out for the pigs and ducks whose housing we were supposed to be building. Haven't even had a chance to get much reading done which is seriously annoying.

From the Blurb:

One of the books that I needed to get too much sooner than I did the last in the series, so immediately bounced to the top of the pile.

From the Blurb:

My name is Piper Hadley and I went missing on the last Saturday of the summer holidays three years ago.

When Piper and her friend Tash disappeared, there was a huge police search, but they were never found. Now Tash, reaching breaking point at the abuse their captor has inflicted on them, has escaped, promising to come back for Piper.

We're supposed to be taking a couple of weeks holiday's (well busman's holiday as we're desperately desperately desperately trying to get some work done on the farm), so of course I'm stuck inside in front of a computer... working.

At least I did manage a day off, so I did get some reading done - starting out with the latest book by L.A. Larkin.

From the Blurb:

I actually didn't set out to do this, but somehow I seem to have started my own series read - so I think I might keep this up and work my way through the rest of Mari Jungstedt's books that I've got piling up around here. I started out reading THE INNER CIRCLE and found myself going back and picking up UNSEEN half way through because I got confused. I've read UNSEEN before, but about a third of the way through THE INNER CIRCLE there was so much that seemed to be ringing bells I thought I might have read it before, and not UNSEEN.

Sisters in Crime Australia announces
its shortlist for 
the 13^th Davitt Awards for the best crime books
by Australian women

This year 49 books, published in 2011, competed for five Davitt Awards:
Best Adult Crime Fiction, Best YA Crime Fiction, Best True Crime,
Readers' Vote and the new, to 2012, Best Debut Crime.

The winners will be announced at the Gala annual Davitt Award Dinner

I'm behind - but the Long List for the Annual Sisters in Crime Australia Davitt Awards were announced a while ago on http://www.sistersincrime.org.au/content/davitt-award-long-list-2012(link is external)

Adult Crime Fiction

So after thinking I should make July / August a catch up month, the next book that catches my eye is this one. Which isn't that overdue for reading at all... but I loved his first book (MIDWINTER SACRIFICE) and this is set in the middle of a heatwave, and ... I'm fickle.

From the Blurb:

As the temperature in Sweden reaches a record-breaking 45º, forest fires break out. All those who have failed to escape Linkoping for the summer take shelter indoors, shocked and paralysed by the heat.

Oh lordy how embarrassing - another book I WANTED to read ages and ages ago. I think July / August had better be my months of "oh for goodness sake get on with it...!" reading

From the Blurb:

It is 1919. The Great War has ended, but the Spanish flu epidemic is raging across Australia. Schools are closed, state borders are guarded by armed men, and train travel is severely restricted. There are rumours it is the end of the world.

Proving yet again how desperately desperately desperately behind in my reading I am ... I've had this book lurking for a while now. Rectifying my tardiness now.

From the Blurb:

THE WOMAN BEFORE ME has already won awards, including the CWA Debut Dagger so this is going to be interesting. The author, Ruth Dugdall worked for almost a decade in the criminal justice system as a probation officer, specialising in the most extreme crimes when seconded to a high security prison. So I guess she's writing about what she knows....

From the Blurb:

I can't tell you how pleased I was when Allen & Unwin publicists got in touch to say that ALL MY ENEMIES has been rereleased.

From the Media Information:

ALL MY ENEMIES is the third and most pivotal book in Maitland’s popular Brock and Kolla series.In a case where the murder seems well rehearsed, the clues lead to something almost theatrical...

I'm running very very late in reading this (probably should have been concentrating and read this as my last weekend comfort read...).  For a 4MA discussion, and simply because this is another lovely, quirky, amusing series.

From the Blurb:

Early one morning, on the lawns of a grand boulevard in central Delhi, a group of professionals are attending their therapeutic Laughing Club when a twenty-foot apparition of the goddess Kali appears, and strikes one of their number dead.

It was one of those weekends. Firstly it was cold. Seriously cold for these parts (one online weather reporting whatsit said it got to -6). That might not be cold in some places in the world but here it froze the duck baths, bird baths, chook waterers and hoses. Killed numerous plants instantly, blew up parts of our watering system which meant we had water fountains squirting everywhere when everything started to defrost, and made your eyes water badly when trying to go anywhere that wasn't plastered to the front of the fire. Two nights in a row.

This is another "have now read" rather than currently reading, but I felt an urge for something taut, dark and pointed. So where else would you turn.

From the Blurb:

When Mitchell is released from prison after serving three years for a vicious attack he doesn't even remember, Billy Norton is there to pick him up. But Norton works for Tommy Logan, a ruthless loan shark lowlife with plans Mitchell wants nothing to do with.

It was a cold weekend - not exactly wet, but definitely cold. So I managed to get some reading done. This intrigued when it arrived so it jumped a few spots in the queue.

From the Blurb:

January 1937: Peking is a heady mix of privilege and scandal, lavish cocktail bars and opium dens, warlords and corruption, rumours and superstition - and the clock is ticking down on all of it.

It slipped down the back of the couch. The dog ate the cover. Somebody hid it on me. Really I have no idea why it's taken me so long to get to THE MISTAKE. Honestly there are days when I wonder whether it's my brain down the back of the couch....

From the Blurb:

Jodie Garrow is a teenager from the wrong side of the tracks when she falls pregnant. Scared, alone and desperate to make something of her life, she adopts out the baby illegally - and tells nobody.

Ned Kelly nominations for 2012 have shown up here:

http://www.nedkellyawards.com/index.php/news-feeds

And here I was thinking I was keeping up with Australian Crime Fiction - it's fantastic to know that there are still more great books I've got to read / need to write up!

Best First Fiction

This series is set in a period of time that simply didn't happen as far as my history education was concerned. (Anglo-Saxon villages in England presumably being much more relevant... ) so I've always been grateful to Sulari, and her expert husband for the research, woven into the fictional world that Rowland Sinclair inhabits.

Having said that - I also look forward to the arrival of these books as I'm always very interested to see what sort of development the series will undergo (this being book number 4 so far).

From the Blurb: