Category Archives: Book Review

King Rich by Joe Bennett – 2015

Posted on November 28, 2015 by alysonebaker

It is a little surprising that it has taken so long for the 2011 Christchurch earthquake to appear in literature – but I am glad that the first piece set in the aftermath is Joe Bennett’s King Rich.  It is not a … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review | Leave a comment

The Pale North by Hamish Clayton – 2015

Posted on October 10, 2015 by alysonebaker

Take a walk through a post ‘Big One’ Wellington, drifting with memories and ghosts.  Ash returns to the devastation, drawn by a mysterious phone call.  Anyone who has once lived in Wellington will ache with nostalgia – anyone still doing … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review | Leave a comment

Trust No One by Paul Cleave – 2015

Posted on October 9, 2015 by alysonebaker

Paul Cleave’s Christchurch Noir thrillers are all set in a nightmare Christchurch of murder and mayhem.  Trust No One is too – but this time the nightmare is internalised in Jerry Grey – a thriller writer with early onset Alzheimer’s … Continue reading →

Posted in #yeahnoir, Book Review | Leave a comment

A Crooked Rib by Judy Corbalis – 2015

Posted on October 3, 2015 by alysonebaker

A Crooked Rib is part historical, part romance and part a treatise on the subjugation of women.  It is the story of fictitious Fanny, “sister” to the historical Eliza Lucy – who became the wife of Sir George Grey – … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Historical | Leave a comment

The Fixer by John Daniell – 2015

Posted on September 27, 2015 by alysonebaker

I almost bailed on John Daniell’s The Fixer – the misogynist world of professional male rugby not being very attractive.  But I stuck with it – Daniell was a player in the French premier league so presumably the sexist repartee … Continue reading →

Posted in #yeahnoir, Book Review | Leave a comment

The Antipodeans by Greg Magee – 2015

Posted on September 9, 2015 by alysonebaker

There is much about The Antipodeans that I liked – the intricacies of the politics and loyalties in occupied Italy during World War 2 – and the very human experiences of young New Zealanders who find themselves enmeshed in them.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Historical | Leave a comment

The Legend of Winstone Blackhat by Tanya Moir – 2015

Posted on July 27, 2015 by alysonebaker

What a tragic and haunting book!  We start in a surreal Western story, and rapidly realise this is the fantasy of a young kid on the run, fending for himself in the wilds of Otago.  We follow Winstone’s sad story … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review | Leave a comment

Blood, Wine & Chocolate by Julie Thomas – 2015

Posted on July 25, 2015 by alysonebaker

Blood, Wine & Chocolate starts in the dangerous world of London gangsters – three boys, Vinnie, Marcus and Tom end up entwined through Marcus being the grandson of the head of the infamous Lane crime family. We are told the … Continue reading →

Posted in #yeahnoir, Book Review | Leave a comment

James Cook’s Lost World by Graeme Lay – 2015

Posted on July 21, 2015 by alysonebaker

James Cook’s Lost World is the final in Lay’s trilogy after The Secret Life of James Cook (2013) and James Cook’s New World (2014). The novels cover Cook’s three voyages of discovery, and most readers would know how the third … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Historical | Leave a comment

Starlight Peninsula by Charlotte Grimshaw – 2015

Posted on July 18, 2015 by alysonebaker

‘I just want to be able to say I asked’ – Eloise Hay is reeling after her husband has left her for a younger woman; lacking in self-esteem she is seeing a shrink and the bottom of a lot of … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review | Leave a comment