Karen

Given the blurb starts out with the line:

The unforgettable detective duo from 'The Doctor’s Wife' are back, and this time the stakes are even higher.

It's worth starting this review out mentioning that you don't need to have read The Doctor's Wife (but you really should...) as whilst the characters are in the earlier novel, it's not really centred around them.

HOOKED UP, however, is most definitely all about them and styled very much as a police procedural with DS Ramesh Bandara heading up a homicide investigation in a small town in New Zealand, with his unconventional colleague, Hilary Stark working alongside him.

What seems initially like a relatively straight forward investigation, granted one that doesn't seem to come with a motive, soon becomes complicated when Stark spots similarities with a murder case from years ago, which then leads to the cast and crew of a controversial reality TV Show. 'Hooked Up' screened 10 years earlier, a show that had a series of artificially formed "romantic couples" trying to work out how to deal with their brand new other half, and the couples they were competing against. Turns out there were some very very dodgy things going on in the background, the show was canned, and somebody may still be holding a grudge and doing something about the worst of the worst from it.

Sussman always has a way of bringing the complexities of personal relationships into all her novels, and there's no difference here. HOOKED UP has a complicated set of suspects, and people around the tv show, all of whom were forced into some very tricky personal connections. As well as that there's a pretty hefty will they / won't they component around Bandara and Stark that actually works really well (this from a reader who is allergic to this sort of thing). Part of what works is the slight twist in that Stark doesn't seem to be all that interested, and is dealing with a hell of a lot else in her life, and Bandara doesn't really know what he's doing when it comes to personal relationships, let alone a potential one with a junior colleague. The rescue dog that eventually helps tip the balance was a very nice touch, as is the part that this "failed" police dog plays in the final resolution of what's a complicated, but perfectly believable plot.

Ultimately what really works with all of Sussman's novels is at the human level. The interactions, dialogue, sensitivities, failings, successes and general being humanness that she has nailed in every story I've been lucky enough to read are a big part of the attraction, as are the complex plots, which to be fair, always rely on the best and worst of human nature.

Featuring new mother Frida, WHAT RHYMES WITH MURDER? is a cosy, baby focused story about a body in a library, with a bit of social commentary along the way.

The basic premise is that Frida attends her first ever session of Baby Rhyme Time at the library in her inner Melbourne suburb - a trendy place with cafe's / come local stores and a hefty quota of women pushing those huge prams that seem to be all the go nowadays. As the session with a group of new parents, including Frida and new friend / parent Josh, there's a loud thump and a woman has died falling over a barrier to the floor below.

Right from the start you're going to have to be a reader that utterly and completely empathises with the sort of new mother who suffers from considerable anxiety and simultaneously wants to describe everything about having a baby. Nappy changes, feeding times, lack of sleep, pram envy - they are all here in massive amounts. Buried within that there is a bit of social commentary about anti-abortion groups, and the trials and tribulations of dealing with extreme religious groups. There's also a lot of sitting in the local cafe drinking coffee and gossiping.

Needless to say a book targeted at a particular audience, which I freely admit, isn't me. Particularly as the balance here is tipped (hefted?) to the baby side of things - the talk about all of that is extremely forward in the entire novel, taking up a lot of text space, so you're going to have to be the sort of reader that "gets" that, or you may find yourself wondering whether the shelf next to you could stand a bit of a dust....

Of it's type, this is definitely a bit of fun, with a slight edge in the way that the abortion argument is drawn in, although the comparisons to ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING and THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB didn't work for this reader - being a fan of both the later outings which feel more inclusive, less self-involved. Having said that the topics of motherhood, anxiety and life pressures will undoubtedly resonate with some readers.

I tend not to read blurbs on books before I dive in, particularly if the book is by a favourite author who does dark, dirty and high adrenaline as well as Bergmoser does. So I was somewhat pleased to see these lines in the blurb when I went to write this review:

Think: Die Hard meets The Raid, but the funnier, grittier Australian version. Fast, furious and ferocious, this is thriller writing at its nail-biting, unputdownable best.

And a bit tempted to just put that as the review and mark it done and dusted because that Die Hard line is exactly what I was thinking. But a bit more is probably called for. Featuring a couple of characters as the main focus - the unkillable Jack Carlin and the equally indestructible Maggie - both have made appearances in earlier novels, but this is less of a series and more of a character study, if what you're studying is extreme violence and a f***-you attitude to anything and anybody trying to screw with either of them or their mates (which includes looking out for each other's backs as is the case in this one).

What it won't hurt to know however is Jack Carlin's a rogue ex-cop with a history of very dodgy going's on and a daughter Morgan who has had her own fair share of scrapes with the law. Maggie's ... well Maggie. Tagged as "the Fugitive" in earlier novels like The Hitchhiker, she's one of a kind. A difficult life, missing mother, drunken father, plenty of things to be hiding from, she's close to Carlin and when he finds himself in a spot of bother, of course she shows up, and helps out - in the only way she knows - with extreme violence and sheer determination. So to the lines from the blurb:

Fast - it's breakneck. Right from the opening paragraph, even if you have no idea what the hell is going on, you're going to be sucked into this vortex of fast moving, lunatic crazy as Carlin tries to get his daughter to safety, tracking her down to a scungy old tower block of flats where she's currently running a counterfeit operation from the top floor.

Furious - in that there's a few people pissed off with Carlin, and he's not best pleased that Morgan's likely to become collateral damage. Furious in that the violence in this one is extreme. Over the top. And in a bit of a guilty, Die Hard sort of way, funny as hell in more than a few places.

Ferocious - in that Carlin, Maggie and even Morgan once she gets with the program will do what it takes, when required, to survive. And no bunch of loser vigilantes in it for the cash have a chance when ferocious comes with determination and nothing to lose. And that goes double for corrupt cops, and a strangely controlled hitman with a tremor.

This is, as always, just such over the top, action thriller, serious fun (yes I know it sounds sick but it's fiction for goodness sake), and I just love the way the author delivers the fast, furious and ferociousness of each and every scenario.

An audio short story (1 hour and 39 minutes in length), this is tagged as "Sean Duffy Year 1", taking the reader back to the time when newly promoted DS Sean Duffy is given his first command at Carrickfergus CID. For followers of the entire series this short, sharp belt to the head of a story will give you plenty of background to the ongoing battleground - how he ended up at Carrickfergus, a Catholic cop living in a mostly Protestant housing estate, spending his days chasing criminals and his morning's checking under his car for bomb switches.

The entire story is set within the first two weeks of Duffy's time on the new job. He's got a case to solve, a violent neighbour to sort out, a blazing inferno to douse, and a new house to be settled into. All the while being warned of where he, as a Catholic cop, should be wary of going, and his housing estate is one of the first places everyone warns him about.

The narrator of this, Gerard Doyle, was a pleasure to listen to, the little bits of background to the Irish Troubles and how that all played out in day to day life were really informative, and the story rocks along at a solid pace. There's plenty here to show how the character of Sean Duffy played out - little bit of bravado, big bit of cheek and a survival instinct second to none.

Ashley Kalagian Blunt continues her exploration of the perils of malicious online communities in Like, Follow, Die.

Full review originally published at: https://newtownreviewofbooks.com.au/ashley-kalagian-blunt-like-follow-die-reviewed-by-karen-chisholm/

Followers of NZ Crime fiction from the cosy end of the spectrum may have come across a couple of this author's previous series - The Silvermoon Retirement Village and The Hitchhiker novels. Both cosy, the former featuring a 90 something year old sleuth with a very "unexpected" background, the former being more on the paranormal side of things. Having been following the Silvermoon series, in particular, since its inception, it's been a pleasure to see Strong develop his story telling style and confidence, and seeing now a third series - the Nicolette Briggs series, featuring Wellington's premier (and possibly only) animal detective.

Still, therefore, very much in the cosy vein, even though Nicolette specialising in investigating missing pets and cases of animal cruelty, this first outing sees her taking on the case of a poisoned cat, only to be confronted by a rapidly increasing number of human bodies, and the injury to one of her own dogs when someone breaks into her house.

As the blurb puts it though:

Nicolette Briggs doesn’t do humans.

Although in this case her reluctance turns to determination to solve the case, with the added benefit of maybe showing up her disdainful police detective brother.

Flagged as a "clean, cosy" mystery series, this first outing is twisty and turny with plenty of gentle humour and silliness abounding. Nicolette has arrived pretty well formed in this outing as well, with a daughter, being a teenager, an extended family full of "good intentions" and a business model that's not exactly making her a fortune, she's now also got to deal with a killer who doesn't want her to investigate anything. At all.

The style of these is nicely balanced between mystery and humour, silly and serious, and definitely on the clean side of cosy. It's a nice little, light entertainment novel for anybody who is a fan of that style of reading.

A child disappears in broad daylight—and no one sees a thing.

Three-year-old Oliver, whose nickname is Apple Man (explained as the story progresses), was sleeping in the car in a remote carpark, whilst his father Scott, was supposedly only away for a few minutes, carrying fishing gear down to the beach. On Scott's return, the boy had disappeared, vanished without a trace. Only the reader knows what's happened, meanwhile Scott and his mate frantically search for the boy, then have to report the disappearance first to the police and then, eventually to Apple Man's mother, Fae.

There's a lot going on with this child's family, the baby that Scott and Fae had when she was barely 16, after what could only be called a momentary encounter at a party. They'd tried the couple thing, but really two strangers living in his mother's basement, with a baby - that was never going to work, especially as they are both young, and understandably not ready for anything like that responsibility. Complicated by the fact that Fae's own family background is dysfunctional. All of which comes into play as the story of the disappearance of a young boy is told alongside the absolute train wreck of relationships, heightened by a tendency for just about everybody in this story to be the sort of people you'd normally put a lot of work into avoiding at all costs.

Which sounds like a lack of empathy for a couple of young people in a difficult situation, no doubt about that. The reader's who get the most out of this book will be those that find themselves feeling for Scott and Fae, especially as their background stories fill out. They are annoying undoubtedly, but then so are a lot of people whose lives are off the rails. The contrast between the two of them is also interesting - she's on edge, anguished, flighty, determined to live and party hard. He seems almost passive, put upon in contrast.

The other main player in this story is Tessa. A woman unable to have children she's dealing with an ex-husband who has moved onto parenthood with his new partner, and she's most definitely not coping well with that. A possibly sympathetic figure, it's equally possible she will come across as entitled and overly superior. There's something about that woman that meant this reader, in particular, struggled with any sense of empathy.

Even allowing for the backgrounds of all these main characters, and the situation they find themselves in with a missing young boy in what seems to be the dense, cold bush of New Zealand, I really struggled with the overwhelming feeling that if there were ever people who needed to be lined up and given a bloody good talking to, these 3 were it. I mean Fae's mother is a bloody nightmare, and the terror of where that young boy went should be more than enough to have you caring a hell of a lot about this young couple, and there's a whole heap of ethical and moral considerations in all of this to give the reader more than enough to think on, but fair warning, there was something so annoying about the lot of them, that it did require some hard sock pulling up to keep on with it at points.

A feeling of slog that wasn't particularly helped by the fact that it all turned into an emotional mishmash towards the middle of the novel which made for some very heavy going. Particularly as the basic premise was played out very early on and there wasn't a lot of tension in what was likely to happen from here.

All of which probably makes this sound like it wasn't the greatest read, which is unfair. For audiences invested in the parental nightmare this may work really well. For those really invested in the train wreck that unfolded after the disappearance of the child this may indeed work really well. For those, like this reader, who find the choice to make everyone at the core of a story a pretty unpleasant character to be around, it could indeed work well also. Definitely one for a bookclub, with wine. And a long session of full and frank discussion.