As Time Goes By by Mary Higgins Clark

Reviewed by Lesley Vick. Simon & Schuster, 2016 Synopsis Journalist Delaney Wright is on the brink of stardom after she begins covering a sensational murder trial for the evening news. She should be thrilled, yet her growing desire to locate her birth mother consumes her thoughts. When Delaney’s friends offer to look into the mystery …

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The kept woman by Karin Slaughter

Review by Lesley Vick. Century, 2016 Synopsis A body is discovered in an empty Atlanta warehouse. It’s the body of an ex-cop, and from the moment Special Agent Will Trent walks in, he knows this could be the most devastating case of his career. Bloody footprints leading away from the scene reveal that another victim …

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The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

Review by Lesley Vick. Bantam Press, Ontario Limited 2016 Synopsis You never know what’s happening on the other side of the wall. Your neighbour told you she didn’t want your six-month-old daughter at the dinner party. Nothing personal, she just couldn’t stand her crying. Your husband said it would be fine. After all, you only …

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Emerald Springs by Fleur McDonald

Reviewed by Celia Jelbart Arena:  Allen and Unwin, 2015 Synopsis After finishing university, Amelia Bennett returns to her home town. Determined to lose her old reputation for being scatty, she works hard to prove herself as the treasurer of the local rodeo committee. Flushed with triumph on the evening of the best rodeo in the …

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Indigo Storm by Fleur McDonald

Review by Diana Olsberg Arena: Allen & Unwin, 2016 Synopsis When Ashleigh decides to flee her controlling husband, Dominic, she knows he’ll hunt her down. The only way to escape is to disappear and reinvent herself. Changing her name to Eliza and driving by night, she is drawn to the tiny rural town of Blinman. …

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Kakadu Sunset by Annie Seaton

Review by Diana Olsberg Pan Macmillan Australia 2015 Synopsis Helicopter pilot Ellie Porter loves her job. Soaring above the glorious Kakadu National Park, she feels freed from the heavy losses of her beloved family farm and the questions around her father’s suicide. But when a search-and-rescue mission on the boundary of the older property reveals …

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Out of the Ice – Ann Turner

Review by Suzanne Bozorth-Baines Simon and Shuster 2016 Synopsis When environmental scientist Laura Alvarado is sent to a remote Antarctic island to report on an abandoned whaling station, she begins to uncover more than she could ever imagine. Reminders of the bloody, violent past are everywhere, and Laura is disturbed by evidence of recent human …

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Smoke and Mirrors – Robin Bowles

Review by Suzanne Bozorth-Baines Echo Publishing 2015 Synopsis It is a tragedy and a love story as well as a murder – the story of how celebrated interior designer Stuart Rattle met his untimely death, killed by his beloved and loving partner, Michael O’Neill. The bizarre circumstances were the talk of Melbourne society, design circles, …

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Wildman – Alecia Simmonds

Affirm Press 2015 Review by Suzanne Bozorth-Baines Synopsis n April 2012 a man was shot dead by police on a remote farm in New South Wales called the School of Happiness. The victim, who was high on a cocktail of drugs and who suffered from mental illness, had been threatening attendees of a hippie festival …

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A Guide to Berlin – Gail Jones

Random House Australia 2015 Review by Suzanne Bozorth-Baines Synopsis A group of six international travellers, two Italians, two Japanese, an American and an Australian, meet in empty apartments in Berlin to share stories and memories. Each is enthralled in some way to the work of Vladimir Nabokov, and each is finding their way in deep …

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