Author: Diane

THE RÚIN by Dervla McTiernan, Australia, 2018

THE RÚIN by Dervla McTiernan, Australia, 2018

This novel ticks most of the boxes within the crime genre. Apart from dead bodies, there are suspects, convoluted background stories, some love interest and a detective – Cormac Reilly – around whom the story evolves. It is easy to read, with sufficient twists and turns to keep the reader interested from the beginning to …

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The Dyehouse by Mena Calthorpe, Australia, 1961

The Dyehouse by Mena Calthorpe, Australia, 1961

The story is set in a dye factory in inner Sydney in the late 1950s. It is about ordinary people facing the beginning of what turned out to be a tumultuous upheaval brought about by the time-and-motion addicts – an upheaval that unfortunately propelled everyone into an age where profit is the only goal and …

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The Book of Mirrors E O Chirovici, UK, 2017

The Book of Mirrors E O Chirovici, UK, 2017

A murder mystery with a number of twists, The Book of Mirrors is divided into three separate parts; each part being told in the first person from the perspective of a different person. It is, I feel, this particular stylistic feature that gives the book its strength. The first part is has Richard Flynn at …

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The Husband’s Secret Liane Moriarty Australia, 2013

The Husband’s Secret Liane Moriarty Australia, 2013

Cecilia discovers a letter that her husband had written years previously and which is to be opened only in the event of his death. However, she finds herself forced to open it, even though he is not dead, and as her life swirls completely out of control she probably wishes that she had never found …

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The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery, Australia, 2005

The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery, Australia, 2005

Not necessarily an easy read (the book is packed with information), The Weather Makers is a book that should be read by everyone, irrespective what one thinks about climate change. In his book Tim Flannery systematically sets out all the reasons that have caused us to be where we are just now, and he paints …

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The Shepherd’s Hut by Tim Winton, Australia, 2018

The Shepherd’s Hut by Tim Winton, Australia, 2018

This would have to be one of the best books I read in 2018; the writing is magnificent. Set in Western Australia, the descriptions of the bush are so realistic that you can hear the birds, smell the vegetation and feel the insects. The characterization is beautiful – both main characters in the novel are …

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