Sonja van der Westhuizen

Reptile Memoirs by Silje Ulstein

30 March, 2022

Translated by Alison McCullough — With a Burmese python as one of its narrators Reptile Memoirs sets itself apart from your traditional Nordic noir fare, but despite its unconventional approach this debut novel is one of the most riveting and consuming psychological thrillers of 2022…

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Faceless by Vanda Symon

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

27 March, 2022

In New Zealand author Vanda Symon’s new stand-alone crime novel, Faceless, an impulsive decision escalates into a violent situation. Two worlds collide one night when Bradley, an overworked and repressed office worker picks up Billy, a Fijian street worker, on the notorious K Road in…

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Sundial by Catriona Ward

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

14 March, 2022

At first glance, Catriona Ward’s new novel ticks all the boxes for standard domestic noir, but it has more to it than that. In a perfect suburban California setting lives a couple with two lovely young daughters, but of course things are not as they seem…

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The Clockwork Girl by Anna Mazzola

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

9 March, 2022

Readers of historical fiction and Francophiles are in for a treat with Anna Mazzola’s latest novel. Set in Paris, The Clockwork Girl pulls together a series of events that took place in 1750, a cast of unscrupulous characters based on real historical figures, and just…

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Whatever Gets You Through the Night by Charlie Higson

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

2 March, 2022

UK readers will know Charlie Higson as one of the comedians behind The Fast Show, the seminal 1990s BBC sketch programme. In the comedy world, he has also worked with greats such as Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer and Harry Enfield. However, there’s a darker side…

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Cold by Mariko Tamaki

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

9 February, 2022

We don’t often review young adult crime fiction, but Cold by Canadian comic book writer Mariko Tamaki is a good place to make an exception. Inventive and innovative in its narrative style, this is the kind of YA novel that will convince you that nobody…

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The Village by Caroline Mitchell

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

25 January, 2022

A creepy village, a missing family and a curious crime journalist – they’re all part of the package in former police detective Caroline Mitchell’s latest domestic thriller. In January 2011, the Harper family mysteriously disappeared into thin air from their home in the small village…

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