Karen
Review of Offline by Anne Holt has just been published at:
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/offline-anne-holt
A long time overdue to read this from the godmother of modern Norwegian crime fiction - who certainly knows how to produce well written, atmospheric character driven crime fiction which tackles important questions along the way.
My review of Bryan Brown's first full length crime novel - The Drowning has been posted at Newtown Review of Books:
https://newtownreviewofbooks.com.au/bryan-brown-the-drowning-reviewed-by-karen-chisholm/
“Actor and Australian icon Bryan Brown brings his laconic style to his first full-length crime novel.”
My review of Paper Cage by Tom Baragwanath has just been posted at Newtown Review of Books:
https://newtownreviewofbooks.com.au/tom-baragwanath-paper-cage-reviewed-by-karen-chisholm
A finalist in the Ngaio Awards for Best First Crime Novel, Paper Cage is the story of a divided community and a string of missing children.
A full, reasonably dispassionate scrutiny of the defamation trial bought by Ben Roberts-Smith as a result of the investigations that Chris Masters and fellow journalist Nick McKenzie did into rumours of war crimes committed by BRS. Rest of the review: https://bookwyrm.social/book/1432873/s/flawed-hero
Extremely informative, well balanced range of opinions and information regarding recognition and reform (not related necessarily to the Referendum in October 2023).
So lucky to have had the opportunity to read this.
Can't help but reflect that too many people who should be aware of the thoughtful, considered positions in this work, will continue to refuse the opportunity.
For the moment, I'm going to have to DNF this - I can't seem to follow it all, possibly because I've not read The Dark Fields, nor seen the movie Limitless which they are saying is both the sequel and prequel to this one. Most definitely the fault of this reader who has had a few goes at this one now and just can't get into it.
It must take real writing skill to create a novel around 3.5 of the most unpleasant, conflicted, dysfunctional and frequently flat out awful people you'd ever read about, and make it as compelling and downright fascinating as KEEP HER SWEET. Full review at: https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/keep-her-sweet-helen-fitzgerald
In 2018, Katherine Ashworth is struggling. The death of her daughter has precipitated a major falling apart, which she's self-medicating with sleeping pills and vodka. A move to the small town of her husband's childhood - Lowbridge - is the beginning of the fight for Katherine to regain a purpose to her life, and stop the self-destruction. Full review at: https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/lowbridge-lucy-campbell
Published in 1978, THE DECAGON HOUSE MURDERS is credited with launching the shinhonkaku movement, a return to Golden Age style plotting and clue provision for the reader to discover along the way. It's often described as a subgenre of the honkaku style - which can best be described as whodunit's rather than why or howdunits. Full review at: https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/decagon-house-murders-yukito-ayatsuji
Read for our f2fbookclub gathering - where the vast majority of us abandoned before the end. Lots of info dumps (which would appear to have come from its early days as a phd thesis), this provided a surprisingly flat, uninteresting portrait of the central character which just didn't ever engage this reader enough to want to continue through to the end. Abandoned around 2/3rds of the way in.