Sonja van der Westhuizen

Bonehead by Mo Hayder

13 August, 2024

In 1999 the world was introduced to British writer Mo Hayder’s violent and disconcerting debut, Birdman. She went on to write 10 more crime novels, including seven in the Jack Caffery series, before she unexpectedly passed away of motor neurone disease in 2021. Readers lamented…

iBook Kindle Print Reviews

The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

30 July, 2024

Translated by Sam Bett — Even though strong female protagonists are nothing new in contemporary manga or animé, it’s not often we come across them in Japanese crime fiction novels. Yoriko Shindo is not only a memorable character, she also defies traditional gender roles in…

Kindle Print Reviews

The Wreckage of Us by Dan Malakin

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

2 July, 2024

It’s been two years since Dan Malakin‘s thriller The Box kept readers glued to the pages. With his latest crime thriller Malakin conjures up a story reminiscent of Gillian Flynn’s popular Gone Girl, asking the question: “Did the husband do it?” 32-year-old Astrid Webb is…

Features

A classic revisited: The Silence of the Lambs

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

14 May, 2024

Has there ever been a more recognisable, more evil villain than Dr Hannibal Lecter? Not many of us will be able to shake the image of Anthony Hopkins’s eyes behind that facial restraint, nor the sound of his terrifying, slithering slurp. I’m also guessing that…

iBook Kindle Print Reviews

Dark Deeds Down Under 2 edited by Craig Sisterson

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

14 May, 2024

In rugby, Australia and New Zealand are sworn enemies. Off the pitch, they have more in common than they care to admit, whether it’s their shared landscapes, culture, troubled histories or love of the great outdoors. When it comes to crime fiction tastes are similar…

iBook Kindle Print Reviews

Return to Blood by Michael Bennett

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

7 May, 2024

In his debut novel, Better the Blood, New Zealand crime author Michael Bennett explored the wounds and after effects of colonialism and picked up the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best First Novel. In this sequel, Hana Westerman, a Māori detective in the Auckland Crime Investigation…

iBook Kindle Print Reviews

Black Wolf by Juan Gómez-Jurado

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

12 April, 2024

Translated by Nick Caistor and Lorenza Garcia — Black Wolf follows on from Spanish author Juan Gómez-Jurado’s highly rated Red Queen, which is set in Madrid and forms the basis of the Amazon Prime series launched earlier this year. Comparisons have been made with Stieg…

Kindle Print Reviews

Negative Tilt by Bobby Mathews

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

9 April, 2024

Rural noir is having its moment in the sun and the ever-popular SA Cosby has been leading its charge. Writing about the South is nothing new – Ace Atkins and James Lee Burke have been doing it for decades – but the genre’s resurgence has…

Crime Fiction Lover

About author

Bonehead by Mo Hayder

The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani

The Wreckage of Us by Dan Malakin

A classic revisited: The Silence of the Lambs

Dark Deeds Down Under 2 edited by Craig Sisterson

Return to Blood by Michael Bennett

Black Wolf by Juan Gómez-Jurado

Negative Tilt by Bobby Mathews

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