

Added to listAusLit 2025with 11 books.

Reilly describes the book as "the nicest detective in the world […] uncovers the most heinous conspiracy imaginable" which sounds about right. For pulp this is great; fast-paced and real spooky. But there's flaws for sures, and in the end it really is just a white saviour trope. I can understand this won't be for everyone, but I thought it was pretty good for what it is.
Reilly describes the book as "the nicest detective in the world […] uncovers the most heinous conspiracy imaginable" which sounds about right. For pulp this is great; fast-paced and real spooky. But there's flaws for sures, and in the end it really is just a white saviour trope. I can understand this won't be for everyone, but I thought it was pretty good for what it is.

A high tech thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat, and a mystery I didn't see coming. A few of the beats felt a bit stretched, but overall a great story. I would visit Voodoo Lily Garden Centre and touch the cactuses.
A high tech thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat, and a mystery I didn't see coming. A few of the beats felt a bit stretched, but overall a great story. I would visit Voodoo Lily Garden Centre and touch the cactuses.

A high tech thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat, and a mystery I didn't see coming. A few of the beats felt a bit stretched, but overall a great story. I would visit Voodoo Lily Garden Centre and touch the cactuses.
A high tech thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat, and a mystery I didn't see coming. A few of the beats felt a bit stretched, but overall a great story. I would visit Voodoo Lily Garden Centre and touch the cactuses.

I had heard The DaVinci code was an imperfect, but proficient work for what it sets out to do. Not fine art, but gives the masses what they want. So being first in the series I picked this up, not expecting much, but figuring I'd give it a go.
I don't really understand what happened here, but the writing is not great. The heteronormative age-gap sexual tension is cringey from the get go, there is so much damn exposition, and I reckon you could edit a third of this out and have a much tighter story. I think it aged badly, and kinda turned into a hate-read for me. I found myself offering expletives to my Kobo multiple times, and, especially towards the end, skimming over reams of self-righteous faff.
Overall, I suppose it's a fun story just told poorly.
I had heard The DaVinci code was an imperfect, but proficient work for what it sets out to do. Not fine art, but gives the masses what they want. So being first in the series I picked this up, not expecting much, but figuring I'd give it a go.
I don't really understand what happened here, but the writing is not great. The heteronormative age-gap sexual tension is cringey from the get go, there is so much damn exposition, and I reckon you could edit a third of this out and have a much tighter story. I think it aged badly, and kinda turned into a hate-read for me. I found myself offering expletives to my Kobo multiple times, and, especially towards the end, skimming over reams of self-righteous faff.
Overall, I suppose it's a fun story just told poorly.

I had heard The DaVinci code was an imperfect, but proficient work for what it sets out to do. Not fine art, but gives the masses what they want. So being first in the series I picked this up, not expecting much, but figuring I'd give it a go.
I don't really understand what happened here, but the writing is not great. The heteronormative age-gap sexual tension is cringey from the get go, there is so much damn exposition, and I reckon you could edit a third of this out and have a much tighter story. I think it aged badly, and kinda turned into a hate-read for me. I found myself offering expletives to my Kobo multiple times, and, especially towards the end, skimming over reams of self-righteous faff.
Overall, I suppose it's a fun story just told poorly.
I had heard The DaVinci code was an imperfect, but proficient work for what it sets out to do. Not fine art, but gives the masses what they want. So being first in the series I picked this up, not expecting much, but figuring I'd give it a go.
I don't really understand what happened here, but the writing is not great. The heteronormative age-gap sexual tension is cringey from the get go, there is so much damn exposition, and I reckon you could edit a third of this out and have a much tighter story. I think it aged badly, and kinda turned into a hate-read for me. I found myself offering expletives to my Kobo multiple times, and, especially towards the end, skimming over reams of self-righteous faff.
Overall, I suppose it's a fun story just told poorly.

An edgy thriller kept me on the edge of my seat, and a mystery I didn't see coming. A few of the beats felt a bit stretched, but overall a good story. I would visit Voodoo Lily Garden Centre.
An edgy thriller kept me on the edge of my seat, and a mystery I didn't see coming. A few of the beats felt a bit stretched, but overall a good story. I would visit Voodoo Lily Garden Centre.

You sort of go through life with the understanding this is how it's always been, that the past is a foreign land. But it's so much closer than we imagine. This was a difficult read, but it put a lot of things in perspective for me.
You sort of go through life with the understanding this is how it's always been, that the past is a foreign land. But it's so much closer than we imagine. This was a difficult read, but it put a lot of things in perspective for me.

This was harrowing. Quite a dark tale, but told with humour and care. One part murder mystery, one part ghost story, quite a few parts the legacy of colonialism, racism, power and corruption, with a sprinkle of this newfangled invention the "mobile telephone". It's set in the '90s after all.
It was beautifully written, and easily the most annotations I've taken while reading (all of which disappeared when I returned it to the library). I just think this is a very cool book.
This was harrowing. Quite a dark tale, but told with humour and care. One part murder mystery, one part ghost story, quite a few parts the legacy of colonialism, racism, power and corruption, with a sprinkle of this newfangled invention the "mobile telephone". It's set in the '90s after all.
It was beautifully written, and easily the most annotations I've taken while reading (all of which disappeared when I returned it to the library). I just think this is a very cool book.