This year I came nowhere near my long term goal of reading a book a week with this year’s tally of 34 books read for the whole year. I do have a genuine excuse as the first four months was spent preparing my latest novel for publication. Despite the best of intentions my reviewing was … Continue reading 2022 – A Year of Reading
Murder mysteries
Book Review – Private Prosecution by Lisa Ellery
Andrew ‘Drew’ Deacon is a junior prosecutor with a bright future with the Western Australian Department of Public Prosecutions. After a chance meeting at the pub, he spends the night with Lily Consadine. The next morning, Lily still sleeping, Drew leaves behind a note with his phone number. Later in the day, Lily is found … Continue reading Book Review – Private Prosecution by Lisa Ellery
Cragside: A 1930s Murder Mystery by M J Porter
Today I'm delighted to be sharing an excerpt of M. J. Porter's recent novel, Cragside: A 1930s Murder Mystery, as part of a blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club. “Ah, Lady Merryweather.” The voice of Detective Inspector Aldcroft is uncertain, far from the confident man I was forced to speak to yesterday. … Continue reading Cragside: A 1930s Murder Mystery by M J Porter
Book Review – A Murder by Any Name by Suzanne M Wolfe
A Murder by Any Name is set in 1585, a time when England was providing arms and support to the Dutch in their fight against Spain, the King of Spain had already begun building his great armada and the English government was ever alert to plots against the life of Queen Elizabeth I. The story … Continue reading Book Review – A Murder by Any Name by Suzanne M Wolfe
Book Review – Murder at Westminster Abbey by Amanda Carmack
Londoners are crowding into the streets, celebrating, watching the river procession as Elizabeth Tudor makes her way by barge to the Tower of London in preparation for her coronation. Meanwhile, in the backstreets of Southwark, a kindhearted prostitute with pale skin and red hair is brutally murdered. Nineteen-year-old Kate Haywood is the daughter of a … Continue reading Book Review – Murder at Westminster Abbey by Amanda Carmack
Book Review – Tombland by C.J. Sansom
1549. Edward VI, the eleven-year-old son of Henry VIII has been on the throne two years. The country is effectively run by the Lord Protector, Edward Seymour. The preceding decade has seen war with Scotland, inflation, unemployment, rising rents and declining wages. A sense of grievance is swelling among the common people against the imposition … Continue reading Book Review – Tombland by C.J. Sansom
One Minute Book Review – El Dorado by Dorothy Porter
This is a crime thriller told in verse by notable Australian poet Dorothy Porter (1954-2008). El Dorado is a child killer, marking the foreheads of his victims with a gold thumbprint. The spare compelling verse, not a word out of place, follows both the professional and personal struggles of Melbourne detective Bill Buchanan and his … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – El Dorado by Dorothy Porter
One Minute Book Review – A Test of Wills by Charles Todd
This is more like a two and a half minute review. A Test of Wills is the first in the Ian Rutledge series, written by mother and son team Caroline and Charles Todd. It begins in June 1919 with Ian Rutledge, a Scotland Yard detective, returned after five years military service in France. Prior to … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – A Test of Wills by Charles Todd
One Minute Book Review – The Mystery of a Handsome Cab by Fergus Hume
First published in 1886, this detective mystery set in Melbourne became an international best seller, outselling Sherlock Holmes' first appearance in A Study in Scarlet. The Mystery of a Hansom Cab follows the investigation by police detective Samuel Gorby into the murder of well-connected Oliver Whyte which takes him from the mansions of St Kilda … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – The Mystery of a Handsome Cab by Fergus Hume
Catherine Meyrick 