The Talented Ribkins Synopsis : At seventy-two, Johnny Ribkins shouldn’t have such problems: He’s got one week to come up with the money he stole from his mobster boss or it’s curtains for Johnny. What may or may not be useful to…
I love the increasing accessibility of novellas via ebook these days. Two in the science-fiction genre I’ve read recently are Displaced by J F Slade and Brisk Money by Adam Christopher. Displaced Synopsis : What will you justify for peace? In a not-so-distant future,…
Wanderlust on the Web and Finding a Way Home Momo Freaks Out Synopsis : A long time ago, way before Facebook and Instagram, and when no one had even considered Snapchat, there were blogs. One day, bored at work, Momo, a typical…
The 2 million-copy best-selling modern fable from Korea that won hearts around the world. The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly Synopsis This is the story of a hen named Sprout. No longer content to lay eggs on command only to have…
Sara Foster’s The Hidden Hours… ‘Keeping her secret may save her family. But telling it may save her life.’ The Hidden Hours Synopsis: Arabella Lane, senior executive at a children’s publisher, is found dead in the Thames on a frosty winter’s morning…
Quick reviews of two recent additions to book series I am a faithful follower of: L J M Owen’s Intermillennial Sleuth Dr Elizabeth Pimms and Matthew Reilly’s Jack West Jr. Mayan Mendacity Synopsis: Dr Elizabeth Pimms has a new puzzle. What…
The scandalous Australian woman who enchanted British society Rosetta Synopsis: Headstrong and beautiful, in 1905 Rosetta escaped her safe Melbourne life, deserting her respectable husband and five-year-old daughter to run away with Zeno the Magnificent, a half-Chinese fortune teller and seducer…
Missing Synopsis Cass Lehman and Detective Ed Dyson #3 On any night, 1 person in 200 is homeless … Someone is targeting Adelaide’s homeless. Men are disappearing off the streets, and body parts are turning up in a local dump. Still…
The Mystery of the Venus Island Fetish Synopsis : Painted in white, red and black ochre, the heart-shaped mask was one of the greatest creations of primitive man. The size of a dining table, it was carved with crazed, spiky lines that…
Soji Shimada’s 1981 literary debut The Tokyo Zodiac Murders now in translation. The Tokyo Zodiac Murders Synopsis: Japan, 1936. An old eccentric artist living with seven women has been found dead – in a room locked from the inside. His diaries…
Nicole Mones’ The Last Chinese Chef is a delicious escape for foodies and romantics alike. The Last Chinese Chef Synopsis: This alluring novel of friendship, love, and cuisine brings the best-selling author of Lost in Translation and A Cup of Light…
The Butterfly Prison Synopsis : Raw, confronting and playful, The Butterfly Prison redefines criminals, heroes, and poverty. The Butterfly Prison is a tapestry of vignettes that tells the hushed-up, little stories that unfold within a world characterized by diminishment and shame, the…
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James Summary The narrator is a young governess, sent off to a country house to take charge of two orphaned children. She finds a pleasant house and a comfortable housekeeper, while the children are…
Lucky Alan : And Other Stories Synopsis : The incomparable Jonathan Lethem returns with nine stories that demonstrate his mastery of the short form. Jonathan Lethem’s third collection of stories uncovers a father’s nervous breakdown at SeaWorld in “Pending Vegan”; a foundling…
Trio Synopsis : Celia, Marcia, and Mickey meet and become friends in London. Searching for work and success in the theatre, they end up sharing a flat and a deep bond of friendship. Set in Italy, London and Australia from the sixties…
Black Light Synopsis : Ruth Black is an English novelist left widowed by the mysterious death of her husband during the Great War. She immigrates to Australia and settles in the sleepy coastal town of Pelican River to repair her broken heart…
