The Killing Room, by Richard Montanari (William Heinemann, RRP $35): I stumbled across the dark mind of author Richard Montanari via The Skin Gods, his fifth novel. Since then I’ve enjoyed the next five, with each one a little more…
Category: Mysteries & Thrillers
Red Mist fails to deliver
Red Mist, by Patricia Cornwell (Little, Brown, RRP $28): While the likes of Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole series is getting better and better, I feel Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta series is about ready for retirement. The front cover was suitably…
Bosch back on the case
The Black Box, by Michael Connelly (Allen & Unwin, RRP $40): This latest in the Harry Bosch thriller series centres on a past case that comes back to haunt our hero. As the 1992 Los Angeles riots threatened to destroy…
Improbable, but gripping
The Rook, by Daniel O’Malley (HarperCollins, RRP $37): Canberra-based author Daniel O’Malley’s debut novel follows the story of Myfanwy Thomas as she tries to recover her memory of her life as something called a Rook, a high-level operative in a…
Gripping from start to finish
The Drowning, by Camilla Lackberg (HarperCollins, RRP $35): In the latest Camilla Lackberg novel to feature detective Patrik Hedstrom, author Christian Thydell is the recipient of threats after he begins writing a novel. One message, hidden inside a bunch of…
Stockholm detective on the case
The Nightmare, by Lars Kepler (Blue Door, RRP $37): This sequel to The Hypnotist sees Detective Joona Linna of the Stockholm police return but this time as the main character. Two different cases vie for the attention of Detective Linna:…
This one might get you hooked
Phantom, by Jo Nesbo (Harvill Secker, RRP $38): In the latest instalment in the Harry Hole series, the ex-detective has returned to Oslo after spending three years in Hong Kong. He asks his old boss if he can investigate a…
Perfectly disturbing tale of double life
Headhunters, by Jo Nesbo (Harvill Secker, RRP $38): If you are looking for a one-off Jo Nesbo novel to kick off your addiction, Headhunters is a good place to start. Released late in 2011, this is the story of Roger…
Thriller loses the plot at finish
She’s Never Coming Back, by Hans Koppel (Sphere, RRP $25): This book by established Swedish author Petter Lidbeck, writing under the pseudonym Hans Koppel, kicked off with a real sense of purpose and drama, with a murder popping up right…
Untidy but compelling characters
Hanging Hill, by Mo Hayder (Bantam Press, RRP $40): This is the story of two sisters who on the surface are polar opposites but have one thing in common: they would do whatever it took to help their children. So…