Extremely cozy, fairytale based mystery novel reviewed

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/book/mirror-mirror-whos-killer

Murder, Mystery & Magic... Who has silenced the magic mirror?

Ella Charming is a suspended Fairy Godmother trying to keep her head down in the frozen kingdom of Wyld Enchantment Woods where magic is strictly forbidden.

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My review of one for the #cozy fans - Antiques and Assault by Rodney Strong:

The fourth entry in the Silvermoon Retirement Village series, ANTIQUES AND ASSAULT is part of what's overall a cozy, fun series, with 98 year old Alice Atkinson at the centre of a maelstrom of murder, vice and goings on that would do more than rock a retirement home - but Alice, and the retirement village she secretly owns, are made of much sterner stuff. Just.

Full Review at: https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/antiques-and-assault

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Review - A Virtuous Lie by Christina O'Reilly:

The third novel featuring DSS Archie Baldrick and DC Ben Travers, A VIRTUOUS LIE follows on from INTO THE VOID and RETRIBUTION. This is a series that might be best read in order, which shouldn't be a trial for anyone new to it - the first two are tightly plotted, engaging and only 160 and 180ish pages long.

More at: https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/virtuous-lie-christina-oreilly

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The shortlist for the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards (True Crime (Non-Fiction) / Best First Novel and Best Novel) from New Zealand have been announced - you can get all the details here:

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/blog/2023-ngaio-marsh-award-shortlist

The nominees are:

Best Non-Fiction are:

A NEW DAWN by Emeli Sione (Mila’s Books)

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW by Dr Gwen Adshead & Eileen Horne (Faber)

DOWNFALL: THE DESTRUCTION OF CHARLES MACKAY by Paul Diamond (Massey University Press)

THE FIX by Scott Bainbridge (Bateman Books)

MISSING PERSONS by Steve Braunias (HarperCollins)

Best First Novel:

ONE HEART ONE SPADE by Alistair Luke

TOO FAR FROM ANTIBES by Bede Scott (Penguin SEA)

BETTER THE BLOOD by Michael Bennett (Simon & Schuster)

SURVEILLANCE by Riley Chance (CopyPress Books)

THE SLOW ROLL by Simon Lendrum (Upstart Press)

PAPER CAGE by Tom Baragwanath (Text Publishing)

Best Novel:

EXIT .45 by Ben Sanders (Allen & Unwin)

BLUE HOTEL by Chad Taylor (Brio Books)

REMEMBER ME by Charity Norman (Allen & Unwin)

THE DOCTOR’S WIFE by Fiona Sussman (Bateman Books)

BETTER THE BLOOD by Michael Bennett (Simon & Schuster)

BLOOD MATTERS by Renée (The Cuba Press)

THE SLOW ROLL by Simon Lendrum (Upstart Press)

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Just posted my review of Winter Time by Laurence Fearnley:

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/winter-time-laurence-fearnley

Familial love, tension, friendship and interconnections are all part of Laurence Fearnley's novel WINTER TIME, set in New Zealand's MacKenzie Basin, a location which absolutely stars in this story. A place in which breath frosts, mists are all encompassing, peaks are starkly white, snow slopes glow silver-blue, and the lakes are black and dark.

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Just posted my review of A Runner's Guide to Rakiura by Jessica Howland Kany

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/runners-guide-rakiura-jessica-howland-kany

"Started this book with absolutely no idea what I was going to get, got through the first quarter with no idea what was going on, ended the whole thing thoroughly enjoying every word of it."

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My review of the amazing Pet by Catherine Chidgey has just been posted at:

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/pet-catherine-chidgey

"Unable to put down Catherine Chidgey's PET, I struggled to sleep last night as I thought long and hard about the "conventions" of society. "

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My review of Mad, Bad and Dead by Sherryl Clark, the third in the Judi Westerholme series has just been published at:

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/mad-bad-and-dead-sherryl-clark

"If you're new to the Judi Westerholme series, it's one of those featuring a slightly older, marginally wiser, female character who's in too deep and doing the two steps forward, one step dance that quite a few of us might recognise."

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So this week's reading is taking a hammering from #TourDeFrance viewing and the associated extreme sleep deprivation but, still she persists.

Currently reading: Roseghetto by Kirsty Jagger https://www.austcrimefiction.org/book/roseghetto

Harrowing is the only word I can come up with.

Next Up will be Remember Me by Charity Norman: https://www.austcrimefiction.org/book/remember-me

Currently listening to Mercy by Jussi Adler-Olsen (which I've read but I'm still wandering around going back in a number of series via audio books).

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Review just posted of The Wrong Woman by J.P. Pomare

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/wrong-woman-jp-pomare

Pomare seems to have a knack of writing standalone novels that are populated with fully developed characters, and scenarios that really make you think a lot about gut reactions, expectations and what is often a more nuanced, complicated truth. Fingers crossed he keeps it up for many more novels.

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The 2023 Ngaio Marsh Longlist was announced over the weekend:

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/blog/2023-ngaio-marsh-longlist-announced

Perfect reading list for anyone looking for a very diverse, but very good standard of Crime Fiction.

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I'm never going to sleep properly again what with late night sessions of the #Ashes and the #TourDeFrance but the reading must continue so the next up pile is made up of:

Four Dogs Missing by Rhys Gard https://www.austcrimefiction.org/book/four-dogs-missing

The Wrong Woman by J.P. Pomare https://www.austcrimefiction.org/book/wrong-woman

and the listening to of choice is The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon https://www.austcrimefiction.org/book/yellow-dog

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Sleep is grossly overrated.

A couple of new books on MtTBR in the last week from New Zealand:

Pet by Catherine Chidgney https://www.austcrimefiction.org/book/pet

"Set in New Zealand in 1984 and 2014, and probing themes of racism and misogyny, Pet is an elegant and chilling psychological thriller by the bestselling author of The Wish Child, Remote Sympathy and The Axeman’s Carnival."

and

Expectant by Vanda Symon - a much anticipated return in her Sam Shepard series https://www.austcrimefiction.org/book/expectant

"A killer targeting pregnant women.

A detective expecting her first baby…"

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Reading list has gotten a bit out of control of late - but, over the long weekend I

Started reading Vanished: True Stories from Families of Australian Missing Persons by Nicole Morris

Finished reading A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao and The Doctor's Wife by Fiona Sussman.

On the audio front - finished A Man's Head by Georges Simenon and The Bullet that Missed by Richard Osman, started on Word Perfect by Susie Dent after abandoning as a DNF Murder Before Evensong by Richard Coles.

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@LordWoolamaloo @davidbishop@bird.makeup

Fabulous series - must get to that one asap!

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Bit of a shape shift in recent reading having gone from Exit .45 by Ben Sanders, to The Wonder of Little Things by Vince Copley to now starting in on Orphan Road by Andrew Nette

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/book/exit-45

https://bookwyrm.social/book/1121819/s/the-wonder-of-little-things

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/book/orphan-road

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And the last couple from the recent additions to the NZ Pile (phew!)

Dead Man's Pose by Susan Rogers and John Roosen (book 1 in the Yoga Mat Mysteries)

Dead Man’s Pose is a tension-reliever in yoga. Not this time! The relaxation goes further than expected. One of Elaina Williams’s yoga students dies in her class. Was the victim helped into Dead Man’s Pose? Behind the scenes, there’s a coverup threatening to unravel Elaina’s tranquil life. It turns out her favourite student was targeted and that strikes at her very core. What was the message that Mario so desperately wanted to give her? Elaina needs to know what’s happening. But there are no easy answers.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/book/dead-mans-pose

Murder by Truth by Gary Paul Stephenson

The first book in the Series - Murder By Truth - The story of why I died

Paul Nichols was not your average family man. Born in New Zealand, he loved outdoor life, climbing mountains, trekking, camping, and survival. Trained by the Army and SAS he later joined special operations.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/book/murder-truth

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2nd last couple from the latest NZ piles

The Doctor's Wife, Fiona Sussman (past winner of the Ngaios).

Nothing in Stan Andino's unremarkable life could prepare him for the day he discovers his wife in the living room, naked except for a black apron, bleaching out a stain in the carpet that only she can see.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/book/doctors-wife

Mila and the Bone Men, Lauren Roche

Straddling old world and new, Mila and the Bone Man explores the corrosive power of guilt, the solace to be found in the natural world, and our capacity to heal as well as hurt.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/book/mila-and-bone-man

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From the NZ pile - a new novel from the incomparable Renée (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9e_(writer)) Blood Matters https://www.austcrimefiction.org/book/blood-matters

Puti Derrell likes running at midnight. During lockdown it was safe but now lockdown is over and Porohiwi doesn’t feel safe anymore – especially when she discovers her estranged grandfather has been murdered and left with a Judas mask on his face.

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Cross-over local and NZ author this time Home Before Night by J.P. Pomare

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/book/home-night

As the third wave of the virus hits, all inhabitants of Melbourne are given until 8 pm to get to their homes. Wherever they are when the curfew begins, they must live for four weeks and stay within five kilometres of. When Lou's son, Samuel, doesn't arrive home by nightfall, she begins to panic.

Release Date - 26th April 2023

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