Crime

West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman

Reviewed by Aurelia Orr

It’s the 4th of July. Barbecues are sizzling, the sky is aglow with fireworks, star-spangled banners wave proudly, painting the day red, white and blue. But amid the celebrations, a murder has occurred, and only you can solve it.

In…

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Hot Springs Drive by Lindsay Hunter

Reviewed by Aurelia Orr

Hot Springs Drive is an explosive cocktail of lust, loneliness, and indulgence, all suppressed in a domestic suburban lifestyle. The tragedy occurs when the truth is unearthed.

Jackie and Theresa have been best friends since they first met in the…

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The Mantis by Kotaro Isaka & Sam Malissa (trans.)

Reviewed by Joe Murray

Kabuto lives a double life: one as a loving father and dutiful husband, the other as a cold-blooded contract killer. Only one of those lives is terrifying – the other is just murder for hire. Trouble is, Kabuto wants out…

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Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon

Reviewed by Aurelia Orr

When real estate empress Lana Rubicon is diagnosed with brain cancer, she can think of no one but her estranged daughter, Beth, to go to for help. As her worsening condition forces her to move to Beth’s home near a…

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The North Light by Hideo Yokoyama & Louise Heal Kawai (trans.)

Reviewed by Kate McIntosh

At first glance one might be forgiven for thinking this is a crime novel. It is not. There is a mystery, yes, and someone died, but the further you get into this story, the more it becomes clear it is…

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Everyone On This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

Reviewed by Lian Hingee

Benjamin Stevenson’s bestselling novel Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone was a comedic delight: Agatha Christie meets Knives Out via a distinctly Australian first-person narrator.

In Everyone On This Train Is a Suspect, Ernest Cunningham – mystery-solver and…

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The Last Devil to Die (The Thursday Murder Club, Book 4) by Richard Osman

Reviewed by Margaret Snowdon

This newest addition to Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series was my introduction to the unconventional retirees from Coopers Chase. Some may be appalled that I didn’t start with the first title in the series, but I’ve always felt that…

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The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

Reviewed by Aurelia Orr

One cannot describe The Golden Spoon without first comparing it to eating a chocolate lava cake: the outside is so neat, pristine, and perfectly preserved in shape, until you dig in and the darkness within pools out into an irreversible…

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Ripper by Shelley Burr

Reviewed by Kate McIntosh

The ‘Rainier Ripper’ murdered three people, 17 years ago. A truck driver was charged and jailed, and the small town of Rainier and its inhabitants have been trying to get on with their lives ever since. Now the town is…

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My Husband by Maud Ventura & Emma Ramadan (trans.)

Reviewed by Lian Hingee

A few years ago every second domestic thriller came out with breathless marketing comparing it to Gillian Flynn’s bestselling blockbuster Gone Girl. But few (if any) managed to capture the same darkly sly humour; compelling, if abhorrent, narrators; or…

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