Sonja van der Westhuizen

The Lock-Up by John Banville

25 May, 2023

Detective Inspector Strafford and Doctor Quirke return in The Lock-Up, the third instalment of John Banville’s crime duo series. The story picks up where April in Spain finished and deals with the murder of a young Jewish woman, Rosa Jacobs, in Dublin in the 1950s….

Kindle Print Reviews

Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Madsen

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

22 May, 2023

Translated by Megan E Turney — From Ruth Galloway to Eve Ronin, if there’s one thing readers can’t complain about in recent years it’s a lack of strong female protagonists in crime novels. Now, debut Danish author Jenny Lund Madsen introduces Hannah Krause-Bendix, who is…

Kindle Print Reviews

Something Bad Wrong by Eryk Pruitt

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

8 May, 2023

Screenwriter, filmmaker and bar owner Eryk Pruitt is no stranger to crime fiction that depicts the dark side of the American South, and has a growing reputation in rural noir storytelling. Something Bad Wrong is his third crime novel and was partly inspired by the…

Kindle Print Reviews

The Acapulco by Simone Buchholz

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

19 April, 2023

Translated by Rachel Ward — Unlike Erdinger or St Pauli Girl, German crime fiction doesn’t always travel as well as the country’s beers. However, the Chastity Riley series by Simone Buchholz has been something to behold. Beginning with Blue Night, Orenda Books has translated and…

Kindle Print Reviews

A Death in Denmark by Amulya Malladi

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

4 April, 2023

It’s not often crime fiction lovers will come across a Kierkegaard quoting, sharply dressed detective who is also a jazz musician. However, that’s just what we get in Gabriel Praest, an ex-cop from Copenhagen who provides a promising start to Amulya Malladi’s new series. Gabriel…

Kindle Print Reviews

Tina, Mafia Soldier by Maria Rosa Cutrufelli

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

23 March, 2023

Translated by Robin Pickering-Iazzi — Fact and fiction fuse in feminist Italian author Maria Rosa Cutrufelli’s first novel, Tina, Mafia Soldier, which is also the author’s first to be translated into English. Originally published in 1994, Tina Cannizzaro’s story was inspired by that of Emanuela…

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