Book Review: Little Red Death by A. K. Benedict

ONCE UPON A TIME LIKE YOU'VE NEVER READ IT BEFORE ..... 

 

Little Red Death by A.K. Benedict pulled me in right from the sinister sounding prologue.

 

There is not much I can say about the plot without giving spoilers and this is one story you need to go into without any spoilers. 

 

DI Lyla Rondell is investigating a series of murders that appear to be based on Grimms fairy tales. As the murders mount up the clues all lead back to the unsolved disappearance of Lyla's best friend 25 years ago.

I really don't like horror stories but I was so hooked on the mystery that when the gruesome murders started I couldn't stop reading.

 

I read The Complete Grimms Fairy Tales as a buddy read in 2023 and I remember how dark and gruesome they were. A. K. Benedict has used these pre-disneyfied fairy tales as the basis for the murders.

 

Little Red Death is a genre mash-up of fairy tale retellings, mystery, crime, horror, supernatural and locked-room thriller with twist upon twist upon twist.

 

Did I say I couldn't put this book down!!

 

I did have an inkling where the story was heading but I was totally unprepared for the jaw-dropping final few chapters.

 

Fans of twisty crime mysteries will love this dark, addictive crime thriller.

 

My rating 4.5 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia

Publication date: 5th March 2025

Genre: Crime / Thriller

Pages: 384

RRP: AU$34.99 (paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

 

Book Review: Tuesday Jocks and other stories by Fin J. Ross

I thoroughly enjoyed Billings Better Bookstore & Brasserie by Fin J. Ross so I was eager to read more of her work and I was delighted to receive a copy of Tuesday Jocks and other stories to read. 

 

Tuesday Jocks and other stories is a diverse collection of crime stories with Ross's trademark touches of humour. 

Fifteen short stories to suit all reading tastes; vigilantes, bushrangers, science fiction, historical, revenge and body in the library. Many of the stories have a feminist lean, but the women aren't always the victim here.

 

With lots of light-hearted humour and a few twists included, I found Tuesday Jocks and other stories a fun read. It's a book that is easy to pick up and read a few short stories whenever you have a break. 

 

My favourite story was What's a Girl To Do which had a spectacular twist that had me going back and reading the story again to see if I could pick up any clues.

 

Tuesday Jocks and other stories would make the perfect gift for someone that you aren't sure of their taste in books. It definitely has something for everyone. 

 

My rating 4.3 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (averaged over the 15 stories) 

 

Publisher: Clandestine Press

Publication date: 1st November 2024

Genre: Crime

Pages: 253

RRP: AU$32.95 (paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

 
 

Book Review: The Big Book of Australian Yarns by Jim Haynes

Jim Haynes' The Big Book of Australian Yarns and amazing true stories is a fabulous collection of little known Aussie historical events and a fun look at some of the people who made Australia the country it is today. Daredevils, larrikins, legends, rule-breakers, entrepreneurs, the charismatic and the down-on-their-luck, all have a story and Jim Haynes brings those stories to life.

 

Jim Haynes himself has been well travelled, and well lived, and I can only imagine the extensive amount of research that went into this knowledgeable book as it is filled with names, dates and quotes from real news articles. 

 

I learnt so much about Australia's unknown history and also history in general. Looking back over events mentioned in the book I can see how times have changed. An aerial display from a hot-air balloon set to take place in Townsville caused a scandal and was later debated in parliament as the women were deemed to be too scantily-clad and also the performance being on a Sunday was said to be assisting the desecration of the sabbath. And who knew parachutes were invented before aeroplanes!

 

A story that really shocked me was, the Army riot in 1916, when Army recruits mutinied, defied orders, marched into Liverpool, took over the town and wrecked the hotels. Thousands then took the trains into Sydney and terrorised the city. I honestly can't imagine this happening today.

 

I liked that the book was set out in sections with each group of stories in that section relating back to the main topic. This meant I didn't need to read the book straight through, cover to cover. I could just pick a topic to read when I had time. 

 

I recommend The Big Book of Australian Yarns to everyone. It is chock full of nostalgia, humour and wow moments. Legends, larrikins, eccentrics, bizarre and unconventional characters, Jim Haynes has included them all.

 

The Big Book of Australian Yarns is entertaining and enlightening, a remarkable history of unknown and forgotten Aussie characters. 

 

 My rating  5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Publication date: 29th October 2024

Genre: Non Fiction / History

Pages: 544

RRP: AU$34.99 (trade paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

 

 
 

Book Review: Exiles by Jane Harper

I've read and loved the first two books in the Aaron Falk series, The Dry and Force of Nature, however I found the plot of Exiles felt a bit tired. It was like Harper was already over the series before she had written this third book.

 

The story involves the mysterious disappearance of a woman after abandoning her young baby at the local festival. Aaron was in the town, to attend his friend's son's christening, when this happened. The Christening was cancelled. Twelve months on and everyone has gathered again to attend the Christening. It gives the townsfolk a chance to go over the details of the disappearance and ask for any new information. 

Exiles has a slow, drawn out mystery and there is lots of backstory on Aaron Falk's life included as he thinks back over events in his life. However if you've read the first two books there is nothing new here.

 

The concept of the story was very clever, "we see what we think we should see", however the execution was slow.

 

Not my favourite Jane Harper book but still worth a read.

 

My rating 3 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐

 

Publisher: Macmillan Australia 

Publication date: 20th September 2022

Series: Aaron Falk #3

Genre: Crime / Mystery

Pages: 407

Source: Own copy

 

Book Review: The Sugar Palace by Fiona McIntosh

 I thoroughly enjoyed this Historical Fiction, set in the 1920's, by prolific Australian author Fiona McIntosh.

I think that the setting of Sydney CBD enhanced the story for me and gave me an added connection to the characters, as being my home town, all scenes were easily imagined. 

 

Grace Fairweather works in her parents' grocery store however she has dreams of one day owning her own confectionery store.

When she meets the charismatic Alfie Sweeting she is immediately smitten. Alfie encourages her to reach for the stars and pushes her to realise her dreams but all is not easy going as Alfie has ties to the dark underbelly of Sydney and those ties are not easily broken.

 I loved all the mentions of the sweets that Grace was making and how they came up with names and marketed the business.

There is lots of tension as the seedier side of Sydney is prevalent in Alfie's life and McIntosh adds an element of reality by including some of the more infamous characters from that era.

 

I was barracking for Grace to succeed. She was strong and determined. She spoke her mind and didn't judge people less fortunate than herself.  

The Sugar Palace was an engaging tale of double crossing, crime, drug dealing and extortion wrapped around toffee apples, fairy floss and chocolates.

 

I am so glad that The Global Girls Online Book Club picked The Sugar Palace as their monthly read.

 

My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia 

Publication date: 10th October 2023

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 382

Source: Own Copy

 

 

 

 

Book Review: One Dark Night by Hannah Richell

 One Dark Night was my first read by English/Australian author Hannah Richell and I'm pleased that she has a great backlist that I can catch up on.

 

It's the night of Halloween and a group of teenagers meet in the woods near an area that is believed to be haunted by the ghost of a girl in a white dress. The next day one of the teens is found dead.

 

As the investigation gets underway we can see a lot of the teens are lying, and seem to be hiding something.

DS Ben Chase is leading the case and the story includes some of his tumultuous personal life.

 

Richell incorporates plenty of red herrings steering the reader this way and that. There was an ever growing list of suspects and I was sure I had picked the murderer many times. I love a thriller where I can't make up my mind whodunit, and it has me jumping to conclusions.

 

One Dark Night is a fabulously creepy and atmospheric thriller with the perfect setting that creates chills up your spine, a superb cast of characters and a final reveal that took me totally by surprise.

 

One Dark Night is a must-read for thriller fans, one that will keep you up late into the night.

My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia

Publication date: 1st January 2025

Genre: Crime / Thriller

Pages: 432

RRP: AU$32.99 (trade paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

 

 

Book Review: Present Tense by Natalie Conyer

After reading and loving Shadow City I was delighted  to receive a copy of Present Tense, Natalie Conyer's debut novel.

 

Present Tense is the first book featuring South African Detective Schalk Lourens, named by his literary father after Oom Schalk Lourens, the main character in Herman Charles Bosman's novels. I loved that there was that tiny bit of humour as Schalk's namesake is mentioned by everyone he meets.

Present Tense is a dark and atmospheric political thriller set during the explosive time preceding an election.

Having read book 2, Shadow City, first I did know some outcomes but it didn't spoil the story for me.

 

Schalk is a flawed character, some of his decisions aren't the best, but he is trying to do the right thing in a country shrouded in corruption, cover ups and murderous acts of revenge.

 

Conyer expertly renders the civil unrest in South Africa but lightens it with the beauty and majesty of a beautiful land, showing how fiercely loyal South Africans are to their country. 

 

Keenly plotted with wonderful support characters, Present Tense will delight fans of hard-boiled police procedurals. 

 

My rating 4 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Publisher: Echo Publishing

Publication date: 3rd December 2024

Series: A Schalk Lourens Mystery #1

Genre: Crime / Mystery

Pages: 296

RRP: AU$32.99 (trade paperback)

Source: courtesy of the publisher

 

My review of SHADOW CITY