The Tilt

Cadell Tilt is a mysterious place. Nell Buchanan returns to her home town on the Murray River when a skeleton is discovered after a river regulator has been breached. This is obviously not a recent death and the chances of solving the case is not great. However, as Nell and Ivan Lucic investigate they uncover crimes dating back to the Second World War when the area was a camp for Italian Prisoners of War. More bodies are discovered, possibly from different time periods. 

As Nell investigates she learns more about her family. She also begins to supect that family members may have been involved in the mysterious deaths. This is not just an investigation of past crimes. During the investigation, Nell inadvertently discovers that another crime is being planned in the area.

The telling of the story alternates time periods from the present day, 1973 and events that occurred in the early 1940s. It covers several generations with members of the families still living in the area. It becomes apparent that there have been cover-ups but why?

The Tilt by Chris Hammer is an absorbing Aussie Noir crime novel. This is one book that once you start reading it you will want to continue reading to the end of the novel. There is also a family tree at the end of the book if you want to check the interconnections of the characters in the story. I really enjoyed reading this book.

Books by Chris Hammer in this blog.

Shortlisted for the 2023 Australian Book Industry Awards - General Fiction

In the Midst of Winter

It is the middle of a very cold winter in New York when Richard Bowmaster's car runs into the car in front of him. He gives his details to the young driver and goes home. Later Evelyn Ortega appears at his house asking for help. She speaks little English so Richard calls a neighbour, Lucia Maraz, who speaks Spanish to asist him when communicating with Evelyn.

In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende tells the stories of the lives of these three different people and how they came to be in New York that winter. The reader learns of the former lives of the characters as Richard and Lucia seek ways of assisting Evelyn who borrowed her employer's car without permission and then found a body in the boot.

Isabel Allended began writing the novel in 2015 when Donald Trump was promising to build a wall to prevent illegal entry into the USA from countries to the south. Evelyn is an illegal immigrant and much of the book deals with her experiences - why she was forced to leave her country and the challenges that she faced into getting in America. Lucia also left South America looking for a new life while Richard had lived in South America for many years before returning north. This book is primarily a moving story about people who are attempting to escape danger and tragedy to rebuild their lives.

The Diplomat

When Edward Degraves returned home to Melbourne after five years in London he was not sure what his future held. He and Gertrude fled to London after their involvement in the theft of the Weeping Woman from the National Gallery of Victoria in 1986. In London they managed to exist from the money paid by creating paintings attributed to a fake artist and through taking drugs. Before returning to Australia, Edward spent time in detox. Once out of detox he discovered that Gertrude was dead and that thieves had stolen most of their belongings. All he had left was cash and a quantity of drugs from their last sale and the urn containing his wife's ashes. He now had to confront family members and try to explain what happened. He also had to sell the heroin he had brought back to Australia.

The Diplomat by Chris Womersley is a study of how Edward copes with grief and regret as he begins the new challenges of  living without Gertrude and drugs. The book also has chapters which show the life led by Gertrude and Edward in London and how Edward found himself in his present situation. 

Gertrude and Edward were also characters in Cairo by Chris Womersley and The Diplomat continues the story of those characters. Like Cairo the novel also focuses on suburbs of inner Melbourne, in this case Brunswick and St Kilda, the location of the Diplomat Motel in Ackland Street.

The Shadow Killer

In 1940 Britain occupied Iceland to deter Germany from invading the country. In 1941 the defence of Iceland was transferred to the Americans who at the time were not involved in the war. The Shadow Killer by Arnaldur Indridason is a sequel to The Shadow District.

In Reykjavik in August 1941 the body of a man is found in a basement flat. He had been shot, execution style, with a military firearm. Detective Flovent investigates and discovers that the murdered man is not the owner of the flat. So, who is he and why was he murdered? A military policeman, Thorson, working for the American army assists with the enquiry as it is suspected that the murderer may have connections with the armed forces.

Themes occuring in the novel include possible espionage for the Germans, an illegal experiment conducted on young boys at a school, the mistrust of many Icelanders towards the military occupiers - especially in regard to their involvement with Icelanic women - and the mistrust of the military hierarchy of the Reykjavik police investigation. Flovent and Thorson encounter danger and prejudice as they endeavour to discover the truth.

The Wrong Woman

Vince Reid is a private investigator returning to a community he had left under a cloud many years previously. There has been a car accident resulting in the death of the passenger and the hospitalisation of the driver. An insurance company has hired Vince to investigate whether it really was an accident. Eshana Stiles was the driver of the car. She is in a coma when Reid arrives in town.

The story unfolds via alternate stories - Reid telling the story in present time while Eshana's story reveals past events leading to the time of the crash. Both stories are told by the protagonists. The reader gradually learns of the events in the lives of both Reid and Eshana.

 The Wrong Woman is set in Manson, a small country town in the USA. When Reid arrives in Manson he learns that two teenage girls are missing and soon wonders if there are connections between the disappearances and his case. Then a twist in the story leaves Reid questioning why he has really been asked to investigate the car crash.

The Wrong Woman is written by New Zealand born author, J P Pomare who now lives with his family in Australia. He has written a number of novels including The Last Guests.

1989

Ten years on and Allie Burns is working in Manchester as the northern news editor of the Sunday Globe, a newspaper in a chain of publications owned by Ace Lockhart. Her partner, Rona, is working as a freelance journalist. Meanwhile Allie investigates many of the main stories occuring in 1989 including the memorial service for those killed in the Lockerbie bombing, the Hillsborough Disaster and the search for a cure for HIV and AIDS in England and Scotland. The imminent break-up of the Soviet block into independent states is also a theme of the book.

When Allie investigates a story concerning a clinical trial with AIDS patients conducted by a drug company initially in England but then in East Germany, she heads off to Germany to find the full story and danger. Later, Ace Lockhart is found dead at his island retreat. Allie uncovers a story about Lockhart's past that leads to her learning about how and why he died and she must decide how much of the story should be revealed.

1989 by Val McDermid is a novel about corruption on a number of fronts. It also reminds us of major historical events that occurred in that year and still impact our lives today.

Round up the usual peacocks

Meg's mother is busily organising the wedding for her son, Rob, with the assistance of the bride's mother and all the family members that she can convince to help her. Meg. of course, has a long list of things that her mother wants her to do but everything changes when her nephew, Kevin asks for Meg's assistance. 

Kevin and his friend, Casey, have started a podcast focussing on local cold cases. However when someone tries to unsuccesfully run down Casey in a car, Kevin is worried that they will try again. He asks for Meg's help to find the perpetrator. Meg's mother reluctantly agrees that Meg should help Kevin in order to avoid any drastic events at the upcoming wedding. Kevin has decided that three of the cold cases podcasts are the most likely to have caused someone to retaliate and he provides Meg with the transcripts as well as links to the actual podcasts.  

Meg's mother wants peacocks to feature in the gardens for the wedding but the family peacocks are molting so Meg is also assigned the task of borrowing some peacocks with feathers for the event. This creates a range of additional problems.

Much of the book involves Meg's investigation of three cold cases, with the assistance of friends, but events involving wedding preparations also feature in the book. Round up the usual peacocks by Donna Andrews is the thirty-first book in the Meg Langslow series and it does not disappoint. Meg's family is certainly not a conventional group of people and there are plenty of laughs for the reader.  Another enjoyable cosy mystery from Donna Andrews.

Black River

A murder during the summer holidays at a private boys' school in Parramatta is investigated by a team of police from Sydney including Detective Sergeant Rose Riley and Detective Chief Inspector, Steve O'Neill. There are similarities in the case to the recent murder of two other women. Was the 'Blue Moon Killer' responsible? When Rose finds journalist, Adam Bowman, in the school grounds she escorts him off the premises but later decides that he may be able to assist the police. Adam had been at the school as a young boy and working with the police brings back memories of the past.

Black River is the first novel by former journalist, Matthew Spencer. Great detail is provided as the police team investigates the case with the assistance of a forensic psychiatrist, Wayne Farquhar. As the investigation continues Adam Bowman is convinced that the nearby river is the key to solving the crime. This is a novel that I wanted to keep reading to discover what happens next. Yet another excellent Australian crime novel.