“Headland” is a propulsive, lean and gritty crime thriller from a distinct new voice in Australian crime writing. It reads like John Byrnes hails from the school of Mickey Spillane. His debut is packed with debauched sex and gunplay. It begins as classic Australian noir: outsider cop arrives in a small rural town and takes … Continue reading Review: Headland by John Byrnes
Author: Simon McDonald
Simon is a Sydney-based award-winning bookseller.
Review: Maame by Jessica George
Jessica George’s “Maame” is a sensational debut. It’s a coming-of-age page-turner that tackles weighty themes with a light touch, anchored by 25 year old Londoner, Maddie; referred to as ‘Maame’ by her Ghanaian family, which is intended as a term of endearment, a salute to her reliability, but is actually the root of her anxiety, … Continue reading Review: Maame by Jessica George
Review: Seven Sisters by Katherine Kovacic
In Patricia Highsmith's "Strangers on a Train," two strangers agree to exchange murders; each will kill the person the other wants dead, and ensure they — the obvious suspect — has an airtight alibi. With no possible connection between killer and victim, both get exactly what they want. It's the perfect crime, and such a simple, genius concept for … Continue reading Review: Seven Sisters by Katherine Kovacic
Review: Saha by Cho Nam-Joo
In “Saha,” South Korean author Cho Nam-Joo — whose global bestseller and much-lauded “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982” I’ve yet to read — spotlights the wretched lives of multiple inhabitants of the Saha Estate, which is a dilapidated housing complex located in a corporate-owned village known simply as Town. An authoritarian Council of Ministers — unelected … Continue reading Review: Saha by Cho Nam-Joo
Review: Old Babes in the Wood by Margaret Atwood
In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes — and the excellence of Margaret Atwood’s writing. “Old Babes in the Wood” is quite simply a sublime collection of stories from one of the true maestro’s of the form. There’s not one tale here I didn’t enjoy. They all feature somewhere … Continue reading Review: Old Babes in the Wood by Margaret Atwood
My Year in Reading — 2022
2022 was a year of great books, but a peculiar year of reading thanks to the arrival of our daughter in late 2021. I’ve never struggled to find time to read — but now with Ada, I’ve had to make time (or aspire to, at least) rather than take it for granted I’ll find a … Continue reading My Year in Reading — 2022
Review: Down to the Wire by Andy McNab
The Nick Stone thrillers were a staple of my adolescent reading alongside Lee Child’s Jack Reacher and Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp. So many memories of family road trips are attached not to the sights and sounds of geography, but by the action of whatever Andy McNab paperback I had my nose in at the time. … Continue reading Review: Down to the Wire by Andy McNab
Review: Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami
What I wanted from Haruki Murakami’s “Novelist as a Vocation” was something like Stephen King’s “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.” But this is a much lighter, more affable affair — yet edifying nonetheless; its lessons on the craft of writing more nuanced, prismed through Murakami’s own experiences and peculiarities rather than providing practical … Continue reading Review: Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami
Review: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
When I heard “Demon Copperhead” was inspired by “David Copperfield,” I thought — no thanks, not for me; until we meet again, Barbara Kingsolver. I struggled through that particular Dickens novel in my late teens — probably more me than it, to be fair; this was a time when Patterson and Clancy were my bread … Continue reading Review: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Review: Taken by Dinuka McKenzie
The disappearance of an infant drives Dinuka McKenzie’s outstanding sophomore novel “Taken,” which sees the return of Detective Sergeant Kate Miles, back from maternity leave and the tumultuous events of “The Torrent.” McKenzie strikes me as an unrepentant classicist when it comes to crime fiction, and here, once again, she keeps the traditional police procedural … Continue reading Review: Taken by Dinuka McKenzie
Simon McDonald 