Category Archives: Book Review

Whatever It Takes by Paul Cleave – 2019

Posted on August 4, 2019 by alysonebaker

In Paul Cleave’s Whatever it takes we have moved away from his ‘gateway to hell’ Christchurch to Acacia Pines, a small isolated town in the U.S.  Acacia Pines is a sawmill town, surrounded by a “Green Hole” of forests, with … Continue reading →

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Rufus Marigold by Ross Murray – 2019

Posted on July 14, 2019 by alysonebaker

Graphic Novels can be beautiful, informative, funny, moving and sad.  Rufus Marigold is all of these.  Rufus Marigold is the alter ego of the author, and he is living with anxiety.  He is depicted as a hybrid man/chimpanzee – successfully … Continue reading →

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Pearly Gates by Owen Marshall – 2019

Posted on July 13, 2019 by alysonebaker

Pearly Gates is a very important man, in his own eyes.  He has been the Mayor of a small north Otago town for some years, and at the beginning of the book he is considering running for a third term.  … Continue reading →

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Soul Etchings by Sandra Arnold – 2019

Posted on June 22, 2019 by alysonebaker

I love short short story collections and Soul etchings is a superb example.  A collection of evocative snippets, about loss, grief, missed opportunities, women stuck in mis-matched relationships, misunderstood children, murder and over-obsessive inanimate objects. When I reviewed another short story … Continue reading →

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Home to Me by LaVerne Clark – 2019

Posted on May 25, 2019 by alysonebaker

Erotic Romance is all about the tension between the main protagonists – and Home to me is a pure example – emotionally damaged Lucy meets us with Sam, a family friend she has always been attracted to, in a bar … Continue reading →

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Death of an Agent by David McGill – 2019

Posted on April 13, 2019 by alysonebaker

We first met Dan Delaney as a young wannabe detective holding the fort on Somes Island in Wellington Harbour in 1935, then again back in Wellington after having been a POW in the Second World War, and then in Auckland … Continue reading →

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A Mistake by Carl Shuker – 2019

Posted on April 8, 2019 by alysonebaker

Heart surgeon Dr. Donald Effler once said that to be great, a surgeon must have “a driving ego”, “a passion for perfectionism.”  In A mistake, Dr Elizabeth Taylor is an exceptional surgeon with both these traits, but as a woman … Continue reading →

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The Ice Shelf by Anne Kennedy – 2018

Posted on March 17, 2019 by alysonebaker

Janice Redmond has had a terrible childhood; neglectful parents, constantly being moved from one school to another, being abused by various men, and nowhere she lived had a fridge … Thirty years later, Janice, along with her big green fridge, … Continue reading →

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Crystal Reign by Kelly Lyndon – 2018

Posted on March 10, 2019 by alysonebaker

Chrissie has got everything: a devoted husband, three lovely children, her health and a self-owned business.  She coaches her daughter’s netball team, is a martial arts practitioner, and has lots of friends.  Hardly the person you would pick as a … Continue reading →

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Teeth of the Wolf by Dan Rabarts and Lee Murray – 2018

Posted on March 5, 2019 by alysonebaker

What a great genre mix-up: police procedural, horror, urban fantasy and cli fi all bundled together with a bit of romance thrown in! Teeth of the wolf is set in a not too distant future, in an Auckland that is … Continue reading →

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