Most years I split my “favourite” stacks into regular fiction and crime fiction, but this time round ― mainly because we just had a baby, and I'm typing this with one hand while my other comforts our daughter ―I decided to just grab the ten books that most entertained, moved me, or provoked the most … Continue reading My Favourite Books of 2021
Tag: Mark Brandi
Review: The Others by Mark Brandi
Even with two extraordinary novels under his belt, this stands as a radical achievement for Mark Brandi. “The Others” is a spare yet emotionally sumptuous psychological drama, laced with page-turning suspense, and a creeping sense of dread that turns into something excruciatingly claustrophobic as it builds to its heart-pounding crescendo. In my mind, “The Others” … Continue reading Review: The Others by Mark Brandi
Review: The Rip by Mark Brandi
I'm convinced that under the hood of Mark Brandi's novels thrums a noir engine. Wimmera and The Rip — both intoxicating, unsettling masterpieces — feature characters plummeting inexorably towards obliteration, induced perhaps by events outside their control, but perpetuated by their own actions. One bad choice begets another in the hopes to solve or rectify the first. It … Continue reading Review: The Rip by Mark Brandi
Review: Wimmera by Mark Brandi
Wimmera tracks the friendship of two boys from a defining moment in their childhood, when a mysterious newcomer arrives in the small Australian country town of Wimmera, through to the discovery of a body in the river twenty years later. Mark Brandi's debut is a simply extraordinary literary crime novel, delivered with intelligence, power and heart. The … Continue reading Review: Wimmera by Mark Brandi