iBookKindlePrintReviews

Blessed Water by Margot Douaihy

Last year’s Scorched Grace, my favourite book of 2023, introduced readers to one of the most memorable, sympathetic and unique private eyes of recent years. Sister Holiday is a tattooed, punk, queer nun, music teacher at New Orleans’ Saint Sebastien’s School, who is a member…
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KindlePrintReviews

The Rumor Game by Thomas Mullen

Thomas Mullen made his name with the Darktown novels, set in racism-riddled 1940s Atlanta. Last year, he changed tack with a near-future sci-fi thriller called Blind Spots. With The Rumor Game he returns to mid-century America with a historical thriller set in Cambridge, Massachusetts early…
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KindlePrintReviews

My Favorite Scar by Nicolas Ferraro

Translated by Mallory N Craig-Kuhn — Originally published in Spanish in 2021, and winner of that country’s Dashiell Hammett prize in 2022, My Favorite Scar is now available for English readers. Its hardboiled plot and noir stylings will hopefully now find a wider audience. The…
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Features

Rough Justice: Top five books of 2023

Every year, when I come to write this list, I fret about the books that didn’t quite make my top five. This year, for a change, I’ve found something different to nag at my conscience – the books that I loved but didn’t review. This…
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KindlePrintReviews

Fall by Tracy Clark

Political corruption, like death and taxes, is always with us, a fact that Chicagoans know better than most. Chicago has long been considered America’s most corrupt city, with one investigation suggesting more than $500 million leaves the system each year to pockets unknown. An incredible…
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KindlePrintReviews

Big Island, LA by Boston Teran

Big Island, LA connects the dots between a heist gone wrong at a police shooting range and corporate greed and political corruption, leaving a former combat marine and an agoraphobic crime reporter to sort out the mystery. It’s a new crime novel from Boston Teran…
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KindlePrintReviews

Red River Seven by AJ Ryan

Anthony Ryan is a successful fantasy author, cleaving more towards the ‘grimdark” style of Joe Abercrombie and George RR Martin. For Red River Seven he has switched styles and written near-future dystopian novel that crosses into action thriller territory. Seven strangers wake up in a…
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KindlePrintReviews

The Graveyard Shift by Maria Lewis

For Tinsel Munroe, hosting a late night radio show in Melbourne isn’t just a stepping stone toward a more successful career but something of a labour of love. Cult watching horror movies was a formative experience for her, and one she hasn’t outgrown. She enjoys…
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