Category Archives: Book Review

Rotoroa by Amy Head – 2018

Posted on July 7, 2018 by alysonebaker

Rotoroa is the story of three quite different people who all end up in the same place for a while. The time is significant: New Zealand in the 1950s, post-war, emerging rock and roll, six o’clock swills, the bridge going … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Historical | 1 Comment

The New Ships by Kate Duignan – 2018

Posted on June 23, 2018 by alysonebaker

Peter Collie is mourning the death of his wife Moira.  In this fragile state he discovers that he was ignorant of much of Moira’s past, and even of her recent life.  The tense relationship with his son Aaron, Moira’s biological … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review | Leave a comment

The New Animals by Pip Adam – 2017

Posted on June 9, 2018 by alysonebaker

“All this sweet hope lost. Lost to time, to dust, to heat. Like the dinosaurs’ hopes, like the fish that left the sea, like the fish that stayed in the sea knew they wouldn’t see one another again” – but … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review | Leave a comment

Sodden Downstream by Branavan Gnanalingam – 2017

Posted on June 3, 2018 by alysonebaker

Sita is on a zero-hours cleaning contract and is the only wage earner in her family.  Her husband, Thiru, is currently only able to contribute a Work and Income benefit, and her son, Satish, is still at school. So, when … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review | 1 Comment

Alignment by Tracy Chollet – 2017

Posted on May 19, 2018 by alysonebaker

Isabeau Martin is a lonely, insecure woman whose life has been shaped by a deserting father and chronically depressed mother.  She is asthmatic and grew up with the standing stones of Carnac as her only friends, avoiding other children, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review | Leave a comment

All This by Chance by Vincent O’Sullivan – 2018

Posted on May 13, 2018 by alysonebaker

All this by chance is a beautiful, beautiful book about memory and identity.  One of the characters muses at one point on how much of us is us, and how much is made up from the photos and paintings and … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review | 3 Comments

Doctor Perry by Kirsten McKenzie – 2018

Posted on April 30, 2018 by alysonebaker

Yeuwww! Do not read this book if you are squeamish!  But do if you want a hoot of a creepy read – and one that will make you think more about paying attention to your kids and looking after the … Continue reading →

Posted in #yeahnoir, Book Review | 1 Comment

Money in the Morgue by Ngaio Marsh and Stella Duffy – 2018

Posted on April 29, 2018 by alysonebaker

Dame Ngaio Marsh wrote the first few chapters, the title and the timeframe for this novel, which is set in New Zealand during the Second World War, and Stella Duffy has solved the crime and completed the novel for publication.  … Continue reading →

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

Baby by Annaleese Jochems – 2017

Posted on April 15, 2018 by alysonebaker

Cynthia, 21 but looks younger, thinks her dreams have come true when she takes off with her dog, her beautiful yoga instructor and her Dad’s money.  She buys a boat called Baby to live on off shore from beautiful Paihia, … Continue reading →

Posted in #yeahnoir, Book Review | Leave a comment

On a Bodgie Bike by David McGill – 2018

Posted on April 9, 2018 by alysonebaker

Dan Delaney is back, but he’s not the earnest young lad who longed to be a detective who we first met in 1935, nor the more mature Dan we next met in Wellington in the mid-1940s. It is now 1955, … Continue reading →

Posted in #yeahnoir, Book Review | Leave a comment