Solo, by William Boyd (Random House, RRP $38): For the James Bond fans out there, the news that William Boyd was planning to pen a followup Bond novel was probably pretty exciting and, for the most part, he has delivered something that stacks up quite favourably against Ian Fleming’s original books. This story takes...
A roundup of short general non-fiction reviews: My Gentle Barn, by Ellie Laks (Penguin, RRP $28): This is non fiction at its best. Ellie Laks runs a rescue mission for animals near Los Angeles and this is the story of her early life and how she got to where she is today. Her story is heart...
Pills & Potions At the Cotter Medical History Trust, by Claire Le Couteur (Otago University Press, RRP $25): This little book offers a fascinating trip down the memory lane of pills, potions and, in some cases I am sure, snake-oil treatments. We would all like to think we are a pretty enlightened bunch, and...
The Girl Next Door, by Ruth Rendell (Hutchinson, RRP $37): As is probably obvious from this blog, I read a lot, and a lot of the books I read are crime novels. It seems like Ruth Rendell has been around forever, and given the fact that her first book (From Doon With Death, the...
New Zealand’s Lost Heritage, by Richard Wolfe (Hew Holland Publishers, RRP $50): The preservation of our historic buildings is often a topic of debate in this country, with passionate arguments for (it’s our history) and against (usually the cost). We haven’t always had a great record when it comes to keeping our bricks and...
Changing Times: New Zealand Since 1945, by Jenny Carlyon and Diana Morrow (Auckland University Press $45): Much has been written about New Zealand’s attempts to find its place in the world as a fledgling nation and the role of rugby and war in creating a sense of nationalism in and around World War I....
The Silver Gaucho, by Jackie Ballantyne (The Doby Press): This is an almost local novel with part of the story set in Dunedin and Central Otago. It follows the adventures of Lockie Steele as she travels to Argentina in search of material for a new book. It is here that she comes in contact...
Assassin, by Tara Moss (HarperCollins, RRP $27): In the final thriller in the Mak Vanderwall series by former model Tara Moss, the focus is on revenge and survival. When ex-model turned private investigator and forensic psychologist Mak Vanderwall goes missing in Paris she is presumed dead. A hit man had been hired to do...
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