Author: F Mulligan

REVIEW Word Ghost

Rebecca Budde is nearly 16, the middle of three daughters belonging to a C of E vicar, John, and his wife, Ruth. Rebecca’s life is turned upside down when her father transfers parishes to a small, hidden away country village.…

REVIEW Close to the Bone

DI Logan McRae has a lot on his plate. His girlfriend is lying in hospital, he is living in a caravan park because his flat has blown up, a local criminal godfather type is wanting his help and, to top…

REVIEW Coal Creek

027672 Write about what you know about is a long held maxim – and so Australian author Alex Miller has. As a younger man he spent time in the Queensland highlands working as a stockman. He conjures up a time…

Engaging tale set in China

Blood Brothers, by Carole Wilkinson (Black Dog Books): As a young novice monk in a Buddhist monastery, Tao’s life is simple, ordered and inward looking. All that changes when Kai enters his life. Kai is a young dragon whose arrival…

Kiwi angle helps lift tone of novel

Unearthed, by Steve Hodgkinson (Orb Publishing, RRP $33): This is a New Zealand environmental thriller with a message or two. Set in the Waikato, Sam Miro is a young, highly regarded researcher working on environment monitoring. When some of his study farms…

Confusing but interesting tale

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…