Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

October 7, 2026

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

Elsie Fitzpatrick is 81 and lives by herself in an unfashionable Melbourne suburb. She is grouchy, sarcastic, and sometimes nosy, but mostly just wants to be left to quiet life with her lifelong friend Daphne. That changes when her next door neighbor is found dead, and all of a sudden, Elsie finds herself in the spotlight for a crime that happened long ago.

A mystery with multiple twists and layers that will such you in from the first page. Mabel/Elsie is a wonderful character: she may be 81 but she is smart, sharp, observant, and independent, the kind of senior citizen we all want to be. Her backstory is heartbreaking at times and I was furious at the people who abused young Mabel. All of the characters are well-developed, from the two true crime podcasters (who I was prepared to hate but didn't), to the seven year old who decides to adopt Mabel, to the neighbors who love Mabel in spite of herself. With a protagonist who will remind you of Ove, this is Sally Hepworth's best book yet. Highly recommended.

All Her Beautiful Deaths by A. Rushby

September 1, 2026

All Her Beautiful Deaths by A. Rushby

After being thrown out of her sister's home, Minnie Price takes a job as a housemaid for a pair of wealthy eccentric twins. Edmund is fascinated by medicine, while his twin sister Edith is obsessed with photography. Over one hundred years later, in 21st century Australia, an artist comes into possession of an album of Victorian death photographs that the head of a charitable trusts wants to stop her from using. 

A gothic mystery with dual timelines - it was hard to decide who to trust in both storylines. The Victorians were fascinated by death and not only took death photos and made death masks, but also had jewelry made from the hair of a dead loved one. I was more interested in the 19th century story than the modern storyline. Interesting characters and a steady narrative kept me reading. Will appeal to readers of historical or gothic fiction.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

An example of Victorian death photography - this is one of the less macabre photos that I found

Everyone in This Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson

June 26, 2026

Everyone in This Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson

After the publication of his third book, Ernest Cunningham and his fiancee Juliette are seeking a bank loan to open a detective agency. But when they arrive at the bank for their appointment, they learn that rather than discuss a bank loan, the bank manager wants Ernest to take on a new case.

Another locked-room mystery in the Ernest Cunningham series, this time set in a bank. All of the mysteries follow the rules of the Golden Age mysteries, such as not introducing a new character who turns out to be the villain late in the story, and a parlor-type reveal at the end. This one was really twisty, with ten suspects and ten thefts. The characters are quirky, there is a lot of dry humor, and the ending is unexpected, although it took a long time to get there. I did think the center of the book dragged. Will appeal to fans of Knives Out or Glass Onion.

Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

October 28, 2025

Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

When the Australian Mystery Writers Association invites him to speak on a panel at their annual conference, Ernest Cunningham and his girlfriend find themselves on the Ghan, the famous historic train that runs from Darwin to Adelaide. Almost all of the other conference participants appear to hold some sort of grudge against each other. What could possibly go wrong?

Set shortly after the events of the first Ernest Cunningham book, this is another fun and clever mystery. Like the first book, it's a locked-room mystery with a lot of characters. I sort of guessed who the murderer was, if not the why. The writers and publishing people weren't as endearing as Ernest's family in the first book - I would have been okay with a few more of them being killed off. I recommend the audiobook - make sure you listen or read the epilogue. And Juliet says yes the second time.

The opal mines at Cooper Peady that play a part in the last section

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

October 22, 2025

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Ernest Cunningham is reluctantly traveling to a remote mountain resort for a family reunion. He hasn't seen his family for three years, since he testified against his brother in court, sending him to prison for murder. So now they will be reunited for the first time and he's not looking forward to it. But then even before everyone arrives, a body is found in the snow, and Ernest realizes that the killer must be someone in his family.

It's the family reunion from hell. A dysfunctional family trapped at a snowed-in resort, each with their own backstory, a raging blizzard, the body of an unknown person in the snow. The mystery is complicated, and it makes the reader feel dumb that they can't figure any of it out until Ernest explains it all for you, which does spoil some of the enjoyment - after all, half the fun of reading a mystery is trying to figure out what happened and who is the villain. The narrator claims that he is not unreliable, but he is at times, although he defends himself by saying that what he says is what he believed at the time. This worked well as an audiobook. If you enjoyed the Knives Out miniseries, you will most likely enjoy this offbeat mystery.

Homecoming by Kate Morton

March 18, 2023

Homecoming by Kate Morton

Outside a small town in southern Australia, a young family is found dead on Christmas Eve 1959, following a picnic lunch. There is no obvious cause of death. Worse yet, the youngest child is missing, apparently taken from her crib by wild dogs (dingoes). Sixty years later, a journalist returns to Sydney to look after her ailing grandmother who was injured in a fall, and learns more about her own family history than she ever expected.

I have read all of Morton's previous books and was happy to get an eARC of her latest. Like her earlier books, this is a story of family secrets and tangled relationships, set at a country house. It's a book-within-a-book, with dual timelines set in 1959 and 2018.  A true crime book is set within the framework of the 2018 storyline. I suspected the family secret about halfway through and I was right (I watch way too much true crime TV). Morton's tale will appeal to fans of Joshilyn Jackson, Diane Chamberlain and Ann Patchett.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Southern Australia

Exiles by Jane Harper

December 21, 2022

Exiles by Jane Harper

Aaron Falk, AFP officer, returns for a third case, this time in the wine country of Southern Australia near Adelaide. Falk has been invited to stand as godfather for his friends' new baby son, with the christening set to coincide with the local food and wine festival. But what should be a happy occasion is overshadowed by the mysterious disappearance of a young mother, as well as an unsolved hit-and-run case that continues to affect the community. As Falk learns more about the woman's disappearance, he begins to suspect that she didn't vanish by choice.

I really enjoy Harper's Aaron Falk series. Her detective is intelligent and professional, but also has a vulnerable human side. Harper writes clever intelligent mysteries that wind in all of the seemingly unrelated threads in a satisfying manner. I did not enjoy her previous standalone novel (The Survivors) that much, so I am glad that she returned to Aaron Falk. Readers who enjoy the Harry Bosch series will enjoy this mystery series set in Australia.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Wine country in Southern Australia

Wellmania by Brigid Delaney

December 5, 2022

Wellmania by Brigid Delaney

After almost two decades of partying hard every night, Australian journalist Brigid Delaney details her search for health via the multi-billion dollar wellness industry. After being prescribed drugs for high blood pressure and high cholesterol in her late 30s (more commonly prescribed to people in their 60s), she decides she is going to change her life and fix her health naturally.

The first half of the book is very interesting as the author talks about undertaking a controversial 101 day fast, then getting into an intensive six-week yoga program that includes taking a 90 minute yoga class daily. Later she experiments with various types of mediation an retreats. One of the things that she notices is that when you start pursuing health via one of these intensive programs, it brings up all the shit that you have stored down in the basement that you'd rather not think about (relationships, wasted years, why you go out drinking every night, etc.). She also talks about the wellness industry itself which is supposed to be for everyone, but then places like Lululemon sell yoga pants for over $100 a pair and the largest size they come in is a 10. But then in the second half, she frequently drifts off into politics and the state of the world (pre-Covid 19) and gets off track. The takeaway is that if you decide to do any of these things for yourself, the most beneficial is vedic meditation.

The book is supposed to be made into a movie next year.

An advanced yoga pose - Delaney notes that unless you're born with a specific type of body or are willing to take a 90-minute yoga class every day, it's unlikely that most of us will ever be able to achieve this level.

The Survivors by Jane Harper

March 4, 2021

The Survivors by Jane Harper

Twelve years ago, a local girl drown during a horrific storm, as did two young men who were trying to rescue one of their brothers. Kieran Elliott, the guy they were sent to rescue, has always blamed himself for all three deaths since he was in one of the cliff caves with a girl (another girl, not the one who drowned). Now he has returned to his hometown to help his parents pack up their house in preparation for a move to the city. Shortly after Kieran arrives with his wife and daughter, a young art student is found dead on the beach. Kieran is immediately suspected.

Slow moving, character driven, and all of the characters were unlikeable. The Survivors in the title was a statue of three people looking out to sea, and I never really understood what it had to do with the story, other than it was located near the mouth of the caves. All of Harper's books are set in Australia - I believe this is the first one not set in the outback.

I have enjoyed all of Jane Harper's previous books, but this one was a miss for me. If you haven't read her before, read either The Dry or The Lost Man.

The eastern tip of Australia is the place to go to surf.

Vanishing Falls by Poppy Gee

August 7, 2020

Vanishing Falls by Poppy Gee

Celia Lily lives in the town of Vanishing Falls on the Australian island of Tasmania.  She has it all - she is rich, beautiful, is married to a doting husband, and lives in a mansion.  But then she disappears one evening after returning home from a charity event.  The town residents immediately suspect her husband, who has some expensive hobbies like orchids and art collecting, and at least one unsavory secret vice.  But just about everyone in this town has secrets that they would rather keep hidden.  Did Celia disappear of her own volition, or did someone else make her vanish?

Although the premise really appealed to me, it was a slog to finish this one.  Almost all of the main characters were unlikable, and the one that you were supposed to like was somewhere on the autism spectrum.  Nothing wrong with that, except that she didn't understand sarcasm, irony or other figures of speech, as well as not having a filter.  This is fine at first but her meltdowns and other actions start to wear on the reader.  The atmosphere was oppressive as well - it rained almost constantly, and when it wasn't raining, it was snowing.  I personally don't need to be hit over the head repeatedly about the setting and the rotten characters (didn't have to hear about the guy with the meth addiction scoring drugs and getting high quite so often).  I got bored about halfway through due to the repetitiousness and started skimming.  The solution to the mystery wasn't even all that interesting.  The only reason I read it was that I received an eARC from the publisher, so I felt obligated to finish it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in return for a review.

Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton

January 30, 2020

Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton

Loosely based on the author’s life growing up in Queensland in Australia, this is a story of coming-of-age meets survival.  Eli Bell and his older brother August live with their mother Frances and her boyfriend Lyle, both heroin dealers, in the suburb of Darra outside Brisbane in Queensland, Australia.  August is mute following a childhood trauma, while Eli searches for what it takes to be a good man.  Lyle is the only father figure that Eli remembers, and he loves Lyle deeply and wants to believe that Lyle is a good man, despite his profession. But unexpected events force Eli out of childhood, as he attempts to navigate a world of crime, drugs, and domestic abuse.

Normally I don’t care for books with juvenile narrators since the point of view is usually pretty narrow, but Trent Dalton has written a pair of very engaging characters in Eli Bell and his brother August.  Eli's voice is full of poetry and unexpected humor, a combination of adolescent adventure and adult experiences.  Most of the characters are based on people that Dalton knew as a child - I did love the inclusion of Arthur “Slim” Halliday, an actual criminal best known for his jail escapes, who Dalton knew when he was a child.  However, I don’t think the episodes of magical realism added anything to the narrative, and the last 50 pages of the book stretch the reader’s belief a little too far.  Other than that, the first 400 pages of the book are a wonderful read, not always pleasant or happy, but always heartfelt.

The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

June 23, 2019

The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepsworth

Just about everybody in this mystery has at least one thing they’re hiding, and you really can't believe anything that they say (the ever-popular unreliable narrator).  Lucy Goodwin has been married to Oliver Goodwin for about ten years.  She never really hit it off with her mother-in-law, Diana (although she did hit Diana once!), and everyone in the family knows it.  Otherwise, Diana is universally loved and admired, so when she is found dead under suspicious circumstances, the spotlight immediately finds Lucy.

Interesting characters and a fast-moving plot kept me turning the pages on this one.  It was a refreshing change from all of the "Girl" and "Perfect" books that have been published recently (Gone Girl, Girl on the Train, Good Girl, Perfect Nanny, Perfect Wife, Perfect Mother, etc.).  I highly recommend it for vacation or the beach, or just on the patio with a glass of wine.