Category Archives: Book Review

Whatever It Takes by Paul Cleave – 2019

Posted on August 4, 2019 by

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 →

Posted in #yeahnoir, Book Review | Leave a comment

Rufus Marigold by Ross Murray – 2019

Posted on July 14, 2019 by

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 →

Posted in Book Review, Graphic Novel | Leave a comment

Pearly Gates by Owen Marshall – 2019

Posted on July 13, 2019 by

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 →

Posted in Book Review | 1 Comment

Soul Etchings by Sandra Arnold – 2019

Posted on June 22, 2019 by

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 →

Posted in Book Review | Leave a comment

Home to Me by LaVerne Clark – 2019

Posted on May 25, 2019 by

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 →

Posted in Book Review | Leave a comment

Death of an Agent by David McGill – 2019

Posted on April 13, 2019 by

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 →

Posted in #yeahnoir, Book Review, Historical | Leave a comment

A Mistake by Carl Shuker – 2019

Posted on April 8, 2019 by

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 →

Posted in Book Review | 4 Comments