An Event in Autumn, by Henning Mankell (Harvill Secker, RRP $27): Here’s a treat for fans: new novella featuring the now world-famous (but, sadly, now retired literary character) of Scandinavian detective Kurt Wallander. After three decades of solving crime, Wallander is ready for a change, and an old farmhouse in the Swedish countryside looks like...
Reach, by Laurence Fearnley (Penguin, RRP $38): Successful artist Quinn lives with Marcus, who left his wife for her and subsequently lost contact with his young daughter as a result of that breakup. Quinn is busily preparing for an upcoming exhibition, but as the deadline for her exhibition approaches, Callum, a deep-sea diver with a...
Coast A New Zealand Journey, by Bruce Ansley and Jane Ussher (Godwit, RRP $75): Kiwi writer Bruce Ansley has followed up his tribute to the legendary Mesopotamia high country station with another collaborative celebration of New Zealand’s beauty. This time Ansley has teamed up with photographer Jane Ussher to the the story of our...
Little Truff and the Siamese Cat, by Ann Russell: The second of a planned trio of books featuring the cute Little Truff, a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. My parents had a Cav: he was decidedly dizzy and even in old age displayed the silliness of a young pup. In later life he lost an...
The Eye of Minds, by James Dashner (Doubleday Childrens, RRP $27): James Dashner may be better known for his bestselling dystopic Maze Runner series. He returns with The Eye of Minds, the first in his new series, The Mortality Doctrine. Set in the not-so-distant future, The Eye of Minds follows Michael and his friends...
War Clouds Gather, by Peter Watt (Macmillan, RRP $38): War Clouds Gather is the latest instalment in Peter Watt’s broad-reaching family saga that spans the world but has its heart firmly placed in Australia. The story takes up in the late 1930s. The Depression years are drawing to an end, fascism and communism are in...
Night Vision, by Ella West (Allen & Unwin, RRP $19): Award-winning Mosgiel-based author, Ella West, was born in Invercargill and studied at the University of Otago. In her new thriller for younger readers, 14-year-old Viola has a genetic condition whereby the sun is dangerous, Xeroderma Pigmentosum. Viola’s “living”, therefore, is done at night. She...
Creature Comforts: New Zealanders and their Pets, by Nancy Swarbrick (Otago University Press, RRP $55): (Reviewed with help from Seymour and Norman) Kiwis tend to fall into two categories when it comes to our furry, feathered and/or scaled friends: we are either pet-owners or poorly adjusted human beings who are incapable of forming real,...
The Kill List, by Frederick Forsyth (Random House, RRP $38): It’s hard to know exactly how much of The Kill List is based on fact. The worrying part is that it could all be based on actual events, because of the way Forsyth has written it. It’s a standard sort of spy thriller, the...
Ranger’s Apprentice – The Royal Ranger, by John Flanagan (Random House, RRP $23): Horace and Cassandra don’t know what to do with their daughter because she is so troublesome, sneaking into the forest at night to catch game. It is 15 years since the last book and in this story Will takes Maddy on...
Latest chapter