Author Archives: alysonebaker

A Surfeit of Sunsets by Dulcie Castree – 2016

Posted on April 28, 2017 by alysonebaker

What an absolute treat!  Dulcie Castree wrote this novel in 1986 but its publication fell through.  Her grandson digitised the manuscript in 2015 to make some print copies for family members, and then organised a limited published run, which took … Continue reading →

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The Chinese Proverb by Tina Clough – 2016

Posted on April 18, 2017 by alysonebaker

Once I had grasped that The Chinese Proverb is a simple piece of storytelling I started to really enjoy it.  Hunter Grant has nightmares from his time serving in Afghanistan; he lives a semi-solitary life organising security for anyone who … Continue reading →

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The Agency by Ian Austin – 2016

Posted on April 9, 2017 by alysonebaker

Well they just keep coming – The Agency is another excellent Kiwi mystery/thriller.  The murders are part of a canny scheme of revenge and greed, perpetrated by an angry woman with a facility for disguise that would make The Jackal … Continue reading →

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The Plot to Kill Peter Fraser by David McGill – 2016

Posted on April 8, 2017 by alysonebaker

I really liked Dan Delaney in his first outing in McGill’s The Death Ray Debacle, and was thrilled to hear he was back.  And I wasn’t disappointed with The Plot to Kill Peter Fraser.  Not only is Dan back, but … Continue reading →

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A Confidential Agreement by Rita Ann Ryan – 2016

Posted on March 31, 2017 by alysonebaker

Woohoo this is great: Interesting characters, complex plotting, multiple storylines – and hints at future volumes!  Frida Delaney has come home to her family’s small Kawa Bay home for her mother’s funeral.  She is haunted by a traumatic past and … Continue reading →

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Overcast Sunday by Christodoulos Moisa – 2016

Posted on March 25, 2017 by alysonebaker

Well I was hoping there was going to be a good murder mystery in here somewhere – buried beneath at least two history books, one books of Greek philosophy and a small collection of extremely offensive Greek proverbs.  Moisa tells … Continue reading →

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Psychobyte by Cat Connor – 2016

Posted on March 23, 2017 by alysonebaker

Readers of mysteries, thrillers, chick lit, paranormal fiction, police procedurals and the macabre will all find something to like about Psychobyte! It is the eighth in the …byte series, featuring FBI Agent Ellie Conway.  I found much to really like … Continue reading →

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Skin of Tattoos by Christina Hoag – 2016

Posted on March 18, 2017 by alysonebaker

When I first started reading this book, I was thinking there are only so many stories you can tell – and that this was the one about the guy that gets out of prison, wants to go straight, can’t due … Continue reading →

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Snark / David Elliot after Lewis Carroll – 2016

Posted on March 5, 2017 by alysonebaker

Warning: Not for the faint-hearted!  Snark: being a true history of the expedition that discovered the Snark and the Jabberwock … and its tragic aftermath is the delightful filling out of Lewis Carroll’s poems The Hunting of the Snark (an … Continue reading →

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Dead Lemons by Finn Bell – 2016

Posted on March 4, 2017 by alysonebaker

Novels can get your adrenaline pumping, engage your head or your heart, or take you to other worlds.  Dead Lemons to a degree does all four of these.  The narrator is a paraplegic and we first meet him hanging upside … Continue reading →

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