Penguin

■ REVIEW: Out of the Rough
Painful breakups all round after infidelities

People, Sport

Steve Williams has something of an unusual claim to fame, being famous both here in New Zealand and abroad for being the man behind the champ. Sort of the power behind the throne. He’s one of New Zealand’s most well-known, and most well-paid, sportsmen. Which is quite an achievement when his sporting prowess doesn’t involve

■ REVIEW: Out of the Rough
Painful breakups all round after infidelities Read Post »

■ REVIEW: In the Hands of Strangers
State’s failure of care a sad tale

General non-fiction, NZ books

When the State steps in to take over the care of a child when families are unable to, those children should be safe. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case, and Beverly Wardle-Jackson’s story highlights just how badly things can go wrong. She was born to a broken family, her father drifting in and out of

■ REVIEW: In the Hands of Strangers
State’s failure of care a sad tale Read Post »

■ REVIEW: Mrs Brown’s A-Y of Everything
The wisdom of Agnes in time for Christmas

Humour

Irish comedian Brendon O’Carroll has taken the world by storm as with his gender bending performances on our television and movie screens so it should come as no surprise that his alter-ego Agnes Brown is now ready to take her place on our bookshelves. O’Carroll is so believable as mammy extraordinaire Mrs Brown, that seeing

■ REVIEW: Mrs Brown’s A-Y of Everything
The wisdom of Agnes in time for Christmas Read Post »

■ REVIEW: Sell
Fascinating trip down memory lane of advertising

Entertainment, General non-fiction, NZ books

Advertising plays a big role in our memories of growing up and this book looks at how New Zealand’s advertising industry has grown up with us. Subtitled “tall tales from the legends of New Zealand advertising”, this is a look back at the history of advertising in New Zealand and the often larger-than-life characters who

■ REVIEW: Sell
Fascinating trip down memory lane of advertising Read Post »

■ REVIEW: John Key: Portrait of a Prime Minister
Insight into NZ’s head honcho

NZ books, People

There’s no doubt that Prime Minister John Key is a polarising figure in New Zealand politics. There really seems to be no middle ground: people either love him or they hate him, which means it’s unlikely he’ll be one of our “forgotten PMs” like Bill Rowling or Jim Bolger – both of whom many Kiwis would

■ REVIEW: John Key: Portrait of a Prime Minister
Insight into NZ’s head honcho Read Post »

■ REVIEW: The Laughterhouse
NZ crime novel an edge-of-seat thriller

Mysteries & thrillers, NZ books

Christchurch-born author Paul Cleave has turned out another cracking read in the latest book in the private investigator Theodore Tate series. Tate is an ex-cop now working as a private investigator who is still haunted by his very first crime scene: a 10-year-old girl found raped and murdered in an abandoned slaughterhouse that had the

■ REVIEW: The Laughterhouse
NZ crime novel an edge-of-seat thriller Read Post »

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