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.…
Author: F Mulligan
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…
Well-researched look at medieval politics
A King’s Ransom, by Sharon Penman (Macmillan, RRP $38): For his part in the third Crusade, King Richard the Lionheart has won prestige, legendary status and, sadly, enemies within Christian Europe itself. As a result, his journey home becomes fraught…
Plenty of smooth action in Aussie thriller
Marble Bar by Robert Schofield (Allen & Unwin, RRP $37): Gareth Ford is working long hours in the iron ore industry in Western Australia. He is a solo parent with plans for improving his future. But then his past starts…
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…
Youthful enthusiasm leads to treason accusation
Red Joan, by Jennie Rooney (Random House, RRP $27): An old-age pensioner living the quiet life in a London suburb, Joan’s world is rocked when her name is linked to a spy scandal dating back to the 1940s. Gradually, as…
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…
Period drama with ‘Wilbur Smith’ feel
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…