Category Archives: #yeahnoir

Isobar Precinct by Angelique Kasmara – 2021

Posted on February 14, 2022 by alysonebaker

Lestari, a tattoo artist, is helping her friend and business partner, Frank, install his latest art installation in Symonds Street Cemetery: a statue of St Michael, which Frank will document as it decays and is defaced through time. Jasper is … Continue reading →

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To the Sea by Nikki Crutchley – 2021

Posted on February 11, 2022 by alysonebaker

A man feels blessed to have survived a disaster. He and his devoted daughter make a new start – moving their family to a beautiful wild seaside property. Starting afresh with new names, they create a world where love of … Continue reading →

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She’s a Killer by Kirsten McDougall – 2021

Posted on November 14, 2021 by alysonebaker

Our protagonist is a woman in her late thirties, whose name we know only from the sleeve notes – Alice. We learn through the novel that Alice has had a not-too-unusual upbringing, that she is a very bad judge of … Continue reading →

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The Last Guests by J.P. Pomare – 2021

Posted on October 9, 2021 by alysonebaker

“Someone else is out there, watching, waiting. Terrorising us.” Lina is an ambulance driver, dealing with emergencies for a living. She is also dealing with Cain, her husband of seven years, who is still having nightmares after returning injured from … Continue reading →

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Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz – 2021

Posted on September 8, 2021 by alysonebaker

Jennifer Beard, Monica Cantwell, Heidi Paakkonen, Mellory Manning, Grace Millane … just some of the women’s names we in Aotearoa know because they died brutally at the hands of men. Their names are all most of us do know about these … Continue reading →

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The Leaning Man by Anne Harré – 2021

Posted on August 23, 2021 by alysonebaker

Solace in the Wind is a Wellington waterfront statue, nicknamed The Leaning Man. Stella Weston loves the statue, wanting herself to be able to “lean fearlessly into the unknown, forge ahead, get things done”. But Stella is still traumatised by … Continue reading →

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The Impossible Resurrection of Grief by Octavia Cade – 2021

Posted on August 2, 2021 by alysonebaker

“Can you watch something die and let it die?” The global mismanagement of the Covid pandemic, and consequential human deaths. The plundering of the environment, and consequential deaths of humans, non-human and ecosystems. The decades of spewing greenhouse gases into … Continue reading →

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The Convict Stain by David McGill – 2021

Posted on July 13, 2021 by alysonebaker

The latest in the Dan Delaney series and Dan is nearing 70, he has lived through a lot and is disillusioned with politics, religion, life … He is in Sydney with his family to launch their Vukovich Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc … Continue reading →

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Nancy Business by R.W.R. McDonald – 2021

Posted on June 9, 2021 by alysonebaker

It’s 4 months on from the last The Nancys caper, and a year since Tippy Chan’s father died, when his car mysteriously veered off the road – Tippy’s “tattooed Santa on steroids” Uncle Pike, and his partner “unmanageable” Devon, are … Continue reading →

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Quiet in Her Bones by Nalini Singh – 2021

Posted on June 6, 2021 by alysonebaker

Home to the successful and wealthy, the Cul-de-Sac sits shrouded in the Waitākere Ranges, near Auckland. It is home to Ishaan Rai, whose wife, Nina, disappeared 10 years ago – along with $250,000. After a serious car accident, Ishaan’s son, … Continue reading →

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