Author Archives: alysonebaker

Landscape with Solitary Figure by Shonagh Koea – 2014

Posted on January 2, 2015 by alysonebaker

“… when you return to where you belong you find that you belong there no longer”, Landscape With Solitary Figure is the beautiful but quite ominous reminiscence of Ellis Leigh, a woman who has isolated herself in a cottage a … Continue reading →

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Purgatory by Rosetta Allan – 2014

Posted on January 1, 2015 by alysonebaker

What a wonderfully imagined novel, and so well executed.  Its focal point is the 1865 Otahuhu Murders, and the times have been meticulously researched, resulting in rich and engrossing story-telling.  The tale is told from two points of view: that … Continue reading →

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Swimming in the Dark by Paddy Richardson – 2014

Posted on December 21, 2014 by alysonebaker

I was looking forward to reading Swimming in the dark – having read rave reviews of Richardson’s latest ‘psychological thriller’.  And the premise is great: Alexandra’s troublesome Freeman family is the victim of physical and systemic abuse due to their low … Continue reading →

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Five Minutes Alone by Paul Cleave – 2014

Posted on December 15, 2014 by alysonebaker

I had feared that this eighth installment in Cleave’s Christchurch Noir series might be the beginning of a decline – but I actually think it is the best so far.  Pushing the boundaries of his thesis of what is good … Continue reading →

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The Naturalist by Thom Conroy – 2014

Posted on December 13, 2014 by alysonebaker

The naturalist is a moving account of the life of Ernst Dieffenbach.  A revolutionary who believed in universal equality, Dieffenbach spent most of his life in exile from his native Giessen, and as an outsider from the various groups and … Continue reading →

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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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