Review: The Maskeys by Stuart Everly-Wilson

 This story needs to be on the screen!!

The Maskeys is an outrageously entertaining story of an outlaw family. The ferals of a small country town and family of the local drug lord. 

Set in the fictitious town of Naples which, I think, could be in the Northern Rivers hinterland. The story doesn't specifically state its location.

Naples is a town on the verge of collapse, gripped by drugs and feuding neighbours. A town where everyone is on drugs, trying to get off drugs or growing drugs, or selling drugs. George Maskey is the town's drug lord. He controls the sellers and his grower, Rodney, an orphan, who attends the marijuana crop growing in the hills. Rodney has learnt to survive on his own and never loses sight of his dream for a better future.

Stuart Everly-Wilson has drawn a very real town with real people, maybe not people I'd want to associate with but very real all the same. We get to meet the framework of the Maskey family and their neighbour, service station owner, Gayle Reynolds. There is an ongoing feud between the two as Gayle thinks the Maskeys have something to do with her son's disappearance.

Stuart Everly-Wilson has included an eclectic array of characters that I'm sure were plucked off the streets of a real Australian country town. These people are the low-lifes of society, addicts and dealers, no-hopers, but I came to care about them, interested to know what would happen to them.

The Maskeys is brilliant bush noir as the story slowly unravels a tangled web of deceit, lies and mistrust is revealed. This is a family saga of epic proportions told through present day and flashbacks. Stuart Everly-Wilson's reveals are subtle but jaw-dropping, it's easy to miss them and at times I picked up on the meaning later in the book with a sudden exclamation of understanding (that's the oh my gosh everyone could hear).

The Maskeys is politically incorrect, coarse and outrageously funny. This is one book not to be missed.

My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Content: death by drugs

               coarse language

               

              

Publisher: Transit Lounge Publishing

Publication date: 1st October 2025

Genre: Crime / Noir

Pages: 320

RRP: $34.99AU (trade paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Quikmark Media

Review: Softly Calls the Devil by Chris Blake

 In Softly Calls the Devil Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Blake writes what he knows and it comes across as authentic, gripping and menacing.

Softly Calls the Devil is set in a small town on New Zealand's wild West Coast. Matt Buchanan is back in uniform and enjoying the small town atmosphere. When retired policeman Gus asks Matt to look into a case from the 70's he wasn't prepared for what he would find.

When a murder and a suicide rock the whole town Matt is suddenly thrust back into CIB mode.

Softly Calls the Devil is a brilliant piece of noir crime; dark and intense with a side of New Zealand humour thrown in. I wasn't prepared for how dark this story became nor how realistic the plot is. Once you start reading there is no turning back. Softly Calls the Devil is compelling and fast paced with a few twists to keep your attention.

Blake keeps the prose spare which enables the story to progress at a fast pace.

Softly Calls the Devil is gritty and dark; not for the squeamish.

My only small problem with this novel was the occasional colloquial New Zealand language caused me to sometimes have no idea what was  going on.

It made me realise how Americans must feel reading Australian books. 😄

My rating 4.5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Content: Torture

               ritualistic killing

Publisher: Echo Publishing

Publication date: 4th November 2025

Genre: Crime / Thriller

Pages: 352 

RRP: $34.99AU (trade paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

Winner of a copy of The Napoleon of Africa announced!!

  I will be posting new giveaways in the first week of every month.

Bookmark my page and check back often so you don't miss a giveaway.

A huge thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway for a paperback copy of The Napoleon of Africa by Phil Smart.  The giveaway closed on the 12th March 2026 and the winner was randomly selected (using Wheelofnames) from all correct entries.

Congratulations to........ 

The winner has been notified and has seven days to provide a mailing address.

 

 

Please check under the Giveaway tab for more great giveaways!

Review: The Portrait by Danielle Steel

 Danielle Steel knows how to write drama and The Portrait has it in spades. Devon and Charlie are both successful but broken and have built up walls to protect themselves.

Devon Darcy is a sought after portrait artist able to really capture the essence of her subjects in her paintings. Devon has suffered many losses in her life and keeps her personal life closed off. A chance meeting with entrepreneur Charles Taylor saw the chemistry between them sizzle and Devon wondering, after all this time, should she risk a second try at love? When he approaches her to paint his portrait she is intrigued to know more about him.

It always takes me a few chapters to get into a Danielle Steel novel. I think it's a combination of the 1st person narration and her "tell" style of writing. However, once I get into the story and the characters I'm always fully immersed in their struggles and relationships.

Life is never easy and Devon and Charles both have previous traumas to work through. I really warmed to Devon but Charlie was a chauvinist, selfish and over dramatic about everything. I did not like him at all and was wishing something bad would happen to him. 😂

I was invested in this story for Devon only and wanted to see her grow and find peace.

The Portrait is a great story to get your emotions rolling and your blood boiling. It evoked a lot of different feelings.

I really do enjoy the drama of a Danielle Steel novel. They are easy reads and sometimes that's just what I need.

My rating 3.5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐½

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

Publication date: 30th September 2025

Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Romance

Pages: 336

RRP: $32.99 (trade paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

Review: What the Bones Know by Kirstyn McDermott

The descriptive country setting of the prologue, a farmer rescuing his bull from a flooded creek, did not prepare me for what was to come. What the Bones Know is a searing, gothic tale of past ghosts, family and long held secrets.

Set on the cusp of COVID lockdowns, Jude has returned home over concerns of her mother's declining cognitive health. Her return to the farm coincides with the discovery of a child's bones.

Plagued by nightmares that feel frighteningly real, Jude feels like she is on the brink of a breakdown.

McDermott pulls the reader ever deeper into the mystery with a foreboding air hanging over the story. The dark gothic/supernatural element gives an eerie feeling.

Jude is dealing with an ex-partner, an aging parent, the remoteness of country life and the COVID lockdown and its tribulations, all causing stress and anxiety.

Told in the present and also through breath-holding, suspense filled flashbacks. I was plunged into Jude's nightmare and the cliff-hanger chapter endings kept the pages turning.

Evocatively written with a beautifully described country setting What the Bones Know had me engaged from start to finish.

What the Bones Know is a haunting exploration of suppressed memory and family obligation.

My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Publisher: Harlequin Australia

Publication date: 1st March 2026

Genre: Mystery / Gothic

Pages: 307

RRP: $32.99AU

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

Book Giveaway: The Napoleon of Africa by Phil Smart

My March 2026 giveaway is for a paperback copy of The Napoleon of Africa.

Click on the title below to read my review. 

The Napoleon of Africa by Phil Smart Giveaway

Blurb:

The year is 1815. With Europe reeling from Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, Royal Navy Commander Stephen Cowen resigns his commission, bound for a new life in India with his family. But fate has other plans in store.

When a violent storm strikes off the coast of East Africa, Cowen’s three children – Nathaniel, Andrew, and Beatrice – are swept overboard in a longboat and cast ashore in an uncharted world. Lost and presumed dead, they are discovered by a local tribe and brought before the newly appointed Chief of the Zulus – the formidable Shaka – to decide their fate.
Fascinated by these young strangers, Shaka spares their lives. Amid tribal warfare and political unrest, the Cowen siblings are drawn into Shaka’s inner circle, forced to confront the brutal realities of their new world while holding onto the hope of being reunited with their parents. Several years later, British explorer, Lieutenant Francis Farewell RNR, ventures into the African interior in search of a rumoured warrior king, he unexpectedly stumbles upon a prize of infinitesimal value.

Spanning continents and cultures, The Napoleon of Africa by Phil Smart is a gripping historical adventure story of survival, identity and entwining the lives of the Cowen family with one of Africa’s most legendary leaders.

GIVEAWAY

Enter here to win a paperback copy of The Napoleon of Africa. The giveaway is open to Australian addresses only and entries close at 6pm AEDT on 12th March 2026.

This giveaway is now closed and the winner was announced here:

https://theburgeoningbookshelf.blogspot.com/2026/03/winner-of-copy-of-napoleon-of-africa.html

Review: Harriet Hates Lemonade by Kim McCollum

Harriet Hates Lemonade is an entertaining story that expresses the importance of friendship. In the same vein as A Man Called Ove the curmudgeon Harriet learns that life is better when you loosen up and share it with friends.

Harriet has been widowed for over a year now. It had always been just her and Les. They only ever needed each other and Harriet has spent the last 12 months upholding Les' ideals of keeping the neighbourhood in check and reporting anyone who steps out of line.

Through Harriet's memories we see how her life was with Les and slowly Harriet comes to realise all was not as rosy as she thought.

I really liked Harriet's character. She was all bluster and lacking in tact, saying exactly what she thought. Many readers may not like Harriet's abrupt manner but I knew she didn't mean to offend, she was just stating facts and I found it all very amusing.

Harriet Hates Lemonade is an easy read even with the heavy themes of domestic violence, gaslighting, manipulation and control. These themes are offset by lighter themes of friendship, community and personal growth.

The story starts off with humour and I was taken unaware as it slowly escalates to scenes of domestic violence and then turns to a heartwarming story of new friendships.

Harriet Hates Lemonade is at times funny, foreboding and always heartfelt. I picked up the book every spare minute I had.

My rating 4 / 5 

Content: domestic violence

               murder

Publisher: Black Rose Writing

Publication date: 12th February 2026

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Pages: 330

Source: eCopy courtesy of the publisher

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