I call middle sections of trilogies storytelling cartilage. You need that connective tissue for the sake of the saga’s culmination. But those second novels rarely satisfy. They don’t function as standalone narratives. They’re bridges. Leave it to the maestro, Don Winslow, to refute that notion. “City of Dreams” picks up moments after “City on Fire” … Continue reading Review: City of Dreams by Don Winslow
Author: Simon McDonald
Simon is a Sydney-based award-winning bookseller.
Review: The Last Orphan by Gregg Hurwitz
Evan Smoak returns in another pedal-to-the-metal action blockbuster, which doesn't really ingratiate itself to new readers, but will more than satisfy those who've been following Orphan X since the beginning. In other words, if you loved the others, you'll love "The Last Orphan," too. This time round, our favourite government-assassin-turned-pro-bono-vigilante is captured by an army of … Continue reading Review: The Last Orphan by Gregg Hurwitz
Review: Age Of Vice by Deepti Kapoor
Deepti Kapoor's "Age Of Vice" is a sprawling, old-fashioned epic that reads like a fusion of Don Winslow and Rohinton Mistry. It's the story of India at the turn of the 21st century, prismed through the perspectives of three characters navigating the country's rampant corruption; its prejudice, class, money and power; and facing up to their own morality … Continue reading Review: Age Of Vice by Deepti Kapoor
Review: The Salt Path by Raynor Winn
Oh, gosh did I love “The Salt Path.” I’m talking, possibly edging into my all-time favourites kind of love. That’s right: love-love. It’s another book I’m late to — if indeed one can be ‘late’ to reading something — but sometimes it’s about timing, right? Turns out a couple nights in a giant house in … Continue reading Review: The Salt Path by Raynor Winn
Review: I Will Find You by Harlan Coben
It never takes me more than a weekend to binge a Harlan Coben thriller. Regardless of real life affairs, Coben's brand of storytelling — pacy, taut and twisty — always demands 'one more chapter.' His latest, "I Will Find You," is no different; I turned its pages so fast my fingers blistered. But its sheer … Continue reading Review: I Will Find You by Harlan Coben
Review: Sarn Helen – A Journey Through Wales, Past, Present and Future by Tom Bullough
Tom Bullough's "Sarn Helen" is many things: a travelogue of the author's walk of the titular Roman road that once cut through Wales, from southern Neath to northern Caerhun; a history of the country from its very beginning; and a terrifying prophecy of its future, as the climate crisis intensifies. Despite his inauspicious forecast, "Sarn Helen" is very much … Continue reading Review: Sarn Helen – A Journey Through Wales, Past, Present and Future by Tom Bullough
Review: Headland by John Byrnes
“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
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
Simon McDonald 