Monthly Archives: November 2014

Drowning City by Ben Atkins – 2014

Posted on November 30, 2014 by alysonebaker

Set at the end of the prohibition era in the US, Drowning City is one eventful night in the life of Max Fontana, a partner in a booze smuggling business.  Despite there not being a blameless character in novel, Fontana manages … Continue reading →

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Fallout by Paul Thomas – 2014

Posted on November 28, 2014 by alysonebaker

I didn’t read the original Tito Ihaka books, written in the 90s – but did read his comeback title Death on Demand in 2012.  Fallout is the next installment and finds Detective Sergeant Ihaka working two cases, one very personal … Continue reading →

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Joe Victim by Paul Cleave – 2014

Posted on November 5, 2014 by alysonebaker

Once again Paul Cleave takes us to ‘hell-on-wheels’ Christchurch – a city well on its way into moral and physical chaos.  Characters from previous novels appear – mainly Joe Middleton, a serial killer in prison awaiting trial, and Carl Schroder, … Continue reading →

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News pigs by Tim Wilson – 2014

Posted on November 5, 2014 by alysonebaker

News pigs is a relentless comedy of errors set in the US.  Tom Milde, a total ‘think piece’ disaster from a fictitious country that is to NZ what NZ is to Australia, wakes up drunk and discombobulated in an apartment … Continue reading →

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The bright side of my condition by Charlotte Randall – 2014

Posted on November 5, 2014 by alysonebaker

The bright side of my condition is superb! Based on an historical incident where four escaped convicts were left on one of the Snares islands – the captain promising to pick them up one year later – but failing to … Continue reading →

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The luminaries by Eleanor Catton – 2013

Posted on November 5, 2014 by alysonebaker

If you are hesitating over picking up (or downloading) The luminaries due to its much-discussed 828 pages – don’t. Once I started reading it I continued to do so contentedly through to the end – never once wishing it a … Continue reading →

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Wake by Elizabeth Knox – 2013

Posted on November 5, 2014 by alysonebaker

Wake is a meticulously plotted novel about a group of survivors who find themselves isolated in and unable to escape from Kahukura – a fictitious area in the Tasman District. It starts like a scene from Dawn of the Dead … Continue reading →

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The virgin and the whale by Carl Nixon – 2013

Posted on November 5, 2014 by alysonebaker

I am a big Carl Nixon fan – and The Virgin & the Whale has strengthened this position. It is a story about stories – how we use them to cope with trauma; and stories within stories – overtly playing … Continue reading →

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Beyond the shadows by LaVerne Clark – 2013

Posted on November 5, 2014 by alysonebaker

If you like your novels hot and raunchy, but also like crime suspense and are not averse to the odd bit of the supernatural you will love Beyond the shadows. Cop Kelly Appleton is attracted to her senior partner, Nate, … Continue reading →

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The purple shroud by Stella Duffy – 2012

Posted on November 5, 2014 by alysonebaker

The Purple Shroud is the continuation of the story of Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore. Theodora ends on a high, with Theodora having risen from humble origins to be the Byzantine Empress in Constantinople alongside her husband Justinian. The Purple Shroud … Continue reading →

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