Book Review - Watching You by Michael Robotham

An engrossing tale of Marnie, who is going through a really bad time and deserves our sympathy ….or does she. No sooner than a hypothesis is developed than it is shattered by another possible explanation. Who is Marnie? Why does she feel she is being watched? Why do accidents happen to people who threaten her? How can Robotham's detectives, retired cop, Vincent Ruiz, and therapist Joe O'Loughlin, untangle the troubled history of this complex woman. Nothing is simple in this compelling mystery. Wendy

Book Review - The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling, who has made a confident and clever entry into mystery writing, creating one of the most intriguing private detectives I've read in a long time. Cormoran Strike is in financial trouble but agrees to take on an investigation into the death of a famous model's apparent suicide. The family is complicated and secretive, the investigative team is quirky, flawed and intelligent. The plot twists are elegantly constructed and the denouement unexpected. Her writing for grown-ups is very grown-up, indeed! Wendy

Book Review - Mallee Sky by Kerry McGinnis

Kerry McGinnis was one of three current female Australian writers profiled on ABC's Landline program in late 2013 and this story shows her love of the great dry landscape, the wide blue sky and her understanding of the rewards, dangers and heartbreak of Aussie farming. Kate is returning to the mallee after her marriage falls apart. A marriage she made just after her father's death. "Her eyes caressed the passing scenery, taking in the shifting shades of the mallee and the rusty gold of the wheat and barley. Here and there between the crops sheep grazed, their new wool already darkening, and over all stretched the endless reach of the sky." Gradually we learn why she left and married in haste as family secrets are revealed and Kate's future is threatened. Good entertainment. Wendy

Book Review - Predator by Faye Kellerman

One of the most bizarre set-ups for a suspicious death, an old man is found dead in the apartment he shares with a fully grown tiger. A recluse and rather strange animal enthusiast, Hobart Penney is not mourned y his family, but his wealth does generate a surplus of motives for his killing. Police procedural stalwart, Pete Decker is in his usual form as The veteran Kellerman ticks all the boxes once more. Wendy

Book Review - The Lost Boy by Camilla Lackberg

Several storylines eventually collide with unexpected results. Follow the clues as potential embezzlement flies under the radar, a man is assaulted which may or may not have to do with his connection with a women's refuge, drug deals, his childhood sweetheart or a subsequent murder. The detective's wife investigates an island ghost story and her family deal with the aftermath of the shocking death of a child. This team of detectives is brilliantly realized and you can just imagine yourself at those excruciating team meetings with their ineffective boss, the competent second in command and the tangle of private and public lives. A master story-teller does it again. More, please! Wendy