Author Archives: alysonebaker

Make a Hard Fist by Tina Shaw – 2018

Posted on February 15, 2019 by alysonebaker

Make a hard fist is an extremely powerful YA novel about the physical abuse of young women.  It is edgy, scary and yet empowering. Lizzie Quinn is doing well, well apart from a hiccough in her relationship with a boy … Continue reading →

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Rain Fall by Ella West – 2018

Posted on February 14, 2019 by alysonebaker

Rain fall is set in rain-soaked Westport, amidst mine-closures and the decline in dairy prices.  The town in depressed; the residents trying to make the best of things.  But when 15-year-old Annie misses an important basketball game when her mate’s … Continue reading →

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Call me Evie by J.P. Pomare – 2019

Posted on February 13, 2019 by alysonebaker

“Who is the mad one, me or him?” Male privilege, the dangerous side of social media, childhood trauma, teenage angst and the vagaries of memory, all play a part in this slow-burning thriller. Kate is a seventeen-year-old teenager living with … Continue reading →

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What You Wish For by Catherine Robertson – 2019

Posted on February 2, 2019 by alysonebaker

Catherine Robertson published Gabriel’s Bay in 2018 and What you wish for takes us back to the New Zealand coastal town, which is even more geographically unfettered this time – the story of the locals being bracketed not by that … Continue reading →

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Women in the Field, One and Two by Thomasin Sleigh – 2018

Posted on January 27, 2019 by alysonebaker

Ruth Bishops is an assistant art keeper toiling in the Fisher Gallery in early 1950s London, shy of relationships after losing her fiancé in the war.  She reluctantly goes to view some paintings by Irina Durova, an aging Russian artist, … Continue reading →

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From the Ashes by Deborah Challinor – 2018

Posted on January 12, 2019 by alysonebaker

Challinor’s historical novels are usually cram-packed with female characters who are the books’ main agents, and From the ashes is no exception.  Set in the 1950s, it is one of the titles published recently about this interesting era of New … Continue reading →

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A Greater God by Brian Stoddart – 2018

Posted on January 6, 2019 by alysonebaker

It is 1925 and Superintendent Chris Le Fanu has returned to Madras from the Straits Settlement, fending off multiple job offers while trying to work out who is on a killing spree targeting Muslims, and which romantic relationship to pursue. … Continue reading →

Posted in #yeahnoir, Book Review | 1 Comment

Fishing for Māui by Isa Pearl Ritchie – 2018

Posted on January 3, 2019 by alysonebaker

Covering spring, summer and autumn of 2001-2012, various voices from an extended New Zealand family talk us through their family dynamics, their crises, their obsessions and their aspirations. Hamilton, NZ – Elena is expecting her first baby with her ethics … Continue reading →

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The Ringmaster by Vanda Symon – 2019 (originally published 2008)

Posted on December 22, 2018 by alysonebaker

The death of a brilliant young woman, a circus in town, high stakes university research, a monster of a boss, a critical Mum and a persistent suitor – just some of the happenings in Sam Shephard’s second outing, this time … Continue reading →

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No One Can Hear You by Nikki Crutchley – 2018

Posted on December 16, 2018 by alysonebaker

Zoe is back in her home town for the funeral of her estranged mother, who has apparently been suffering from memory loss and who has left odd notes around indicating that young women have been disappearing from the town.  It … Continue reading →

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