The Trap

Lucy is on a lonely road in the middle of the night looking for her sister, Nicki, who disappeared a year earlier. She is hoping that the driver who took her sister may also stop to pick up her - a dangerous enterprise that she has undertaken on many other nights without success. Then a car stops and the driver offers her a lift.  Is this the man who took her sister?

In The Trap, Irish writer Catherine Ryan Howard has written a gripping thriller about the disappearance of a number of girls in the local area. The disappearance of only one girl received publicity from the media - probably because she had recently turned seventeen. Lucy is not the only person who feels that the police investigation has not been thorough. Then a girl is hit by a car and tells ambulance officers that there are other girls in the house she escaped from. How many girls have disappeared?

Catherine Ryan Howard has written a gripping thriller about the search for the truth from the perspective of the victim's families, the Family Liaison Officer and a member of the Missing Person Unit, and the perpetrator of the crime. 

The novel is the June 2025 book in Dervla McTiernan's The bookclub that isn't a book club.

Inconvenient Women: Australian radical writers 1900-1970

Inconvenient Women by Jacqueline Kent is largely a study of radical political groups in Australia in the first part of the twentieth century. This was the time of the rise of fascism in Europe as well the development of communism, particularly in Russia. Jacqueline Kent looks at the involvement of Australian writers, particularly female writers, in these movements and the effect that the political groups had on Australian life as well as literature.

 Some of the authors discussed in the book include Katharine Susannah Prichard, Eleanor Dark, Jean Devanny, Faith Bandler, Kath Walker, Nettie Palmer, Mary Gilmour, Marjorie Barnard, Christina Stead, P L Travers, Ruth Park, Flora Eldershaw, Miles Franklin, Thea Astley, Dymphna Cussack and Dorothy Hewitt to name a few. The book looks at major issues of the time that became incorporated into their  writing. It also looks at censorship of books that was prominent at the time plus the role of book awards, especially at a time when women were struggling to have their voice heard. 

The Elements of Marie Curie: how the glow of radium lit a path for women in science

As regular viewers of Pointless we often encounter questions relating to the often weird and wonderful names on  the Periodic Table. The Elements of Marie Curie by Dava Sobel explains how some of the elements came to be named and the work that went into identifying many of the elements relating to radioactivity. At school we learned a little about Marie Curie and her work. One year I was even awarded a copy of the book, Men and Women Behind the Atom by Sarah Reidman as a school prize. 

In this book, the author provides not just a biography of the life of Marie Curie and her family but also an introduction to the science that captured Marie's imagination. As well as an introduction to an aspect of science, The Elements of Marie Curie provides an important insight into the scientific community at that time which was run by men. Women were barely tolerated working in science areas except in minor roles. Marie Curie worked hard to change this philosophy, not just in the original scientific work that she undertook but also through the employment and encouragement of women in senior roles in her laboratories. 

For many years Marie Curie and her husband worked together on their scientific projects. However after Pierre's death Marie took charge of their laboratory and ensured that each year talented women worked with her investigating radioactivity and its possible uses. During the First World War Marie promoted the use of X-rays to isolate metal in the bodies of wounded soldiers.

In 1903, Pierre Curie, Marie Curie and Henri Becquerel won the Nobel Prize for Physics for their initial work with radioactivity. In 1911 Marie won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery of radium and polonium. In 1935 Marie and Pierre's daughter, Irene Joliot-Curie and her husband, Frederick Joliot-Curie jointly won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

The Elements of Marie Curie will also appeal to those interested in the social history of the twentieth century. It is definitely a book worth reading. The glossary of chemical terms plus the radioactive decay series and notes at the end of the book are also useful.

The Deadly Dispute

When Hazel takes a new job as tea lady at the docks she does not anticipate the crime wave that is about to erupt. On her first day at work a body is found in the water near the docks. Then she learns that a large collection of gold coins have disappeared from a cargo ship. Two more dead bodies associated with the wharves and her boss attacked in the street and Hazel realises this is not a normal work environment.

Betty also has her problems. Disillusioned with her life she becomes involved with a young colleague who introduces her to life as experienced by the younger generation in 1967.

Irene also has worries of her own. As cleaner of a brothel she is concerned when her boss invests in another brothel and Irene notices that the businesses are being targeted by the local mafia.

Meanwhile the Tea Ladies Guild is attempting to raise money to assist the orphanage at the local convent.

In The Deadly Disputes, Amanda Hampson has written written another entertaining crime novel about a group of older ladies who are not afraid of solving crimes in their neighbourhood. Set in 1967 the book also revives memories of living in the 1960s. And when there is a problem, a cup of tea and a biscuit will always help. This is the third book in Tea Ladies Mystery series.

SAS Shadow Raiders: the ultra-secret mission that changed the course of WWII

The Special Air Service - SAS - in Britain was established in 1941 to go into enemy territory on special missions. SAS Shadow Rangers by Damien Lewis looks at the first operations of SAS. The first excursion into Italy was not a success but in 1942 when the British were sent a photograph of a radar unit on a beach in France it was decided to stage a raid to capture the radar equipment.

Groups of paratroopers landed near Bruneval and then proceeded to secure the beach from the Germans stationed there. One team of paratroopers dismantled the radar and packed it into carts to transport the equipment to the sea where boats were waiting to collect the soldiers and equipment to return to England. Unfortunately all did not go to plan but the English scientists and engineers did eventually receive the equipment enabling them to become aware of how the Germans were using radar. The expedition was declared a success.

Information learned about the construction of the German radar unit assisted the TRE staff in Malvern in their work on projects to improve radar surveillance of the coast warning of approaching enemy aircraft. They were also creating radar units for use in aircraft to alert them of approaching enemy planes and also to assist in navigation, especially when on bombing raids. The author also discusses the implementation of Windows, a system to confuse enemy radar.

SAS Shadow Raiders by Damien Lewis is an informative book about this important mission during the Second World War told from the viewpoint of the many men involved in this courageous and dangerous undertaking.

The Radar Army: winning the war of the airwaves

The Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) was one of the major secret research centres that contributed to the war effort of the Allies during the Second World War.The Radar Army by Reg Batt provides a detailed account of some of the work of TRE from when he joined as a young researcher in 1940 until the end of the Second World War. Despite the name, TRE, use of radar was the major focus of the research there.

In this book this author describes some of the projects undertaken including the development of centimetre technology and H2S to produce radar systems for aerial navigation, aid to locating bomb sites, plus warning of oncoming aircraft on planes and also on land during the day and at night. The author provides a detailed account of the progress of the research including what worked and what didn't work. He also discusses the other research centres that TRE worked with in order to solve the challenges presented. Although TRE was part of the airforce there was also contact with researchers in the army and navy.

TRE made a number of moves during the war including several years at two locations at Swanage in Dorset. In May 1942 TRE was relocated to Malvern College at Malvern. The author describes the challenges in moving the equipment and staff of a major research establishment in three weeks.

The Radar War provides a detailed insight into the challenges faced by scientists and engineers as they raced against time to develop practical equipment to assist the military and protect the general population in Britain. 

Science Comes to Malvern: TRE a story of radar 1942-1953

Science comes to Malvern by Ernest Putley provides a brief introduction to the important work undertaken by the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) during the Second World War. TRE was transferred to Malvern in May 1942 where it operated from Malvern College during the war. At the end of the war TRE was transferred to another location in Malvern.

Like the code-breaking work undertaken at Bletchley Park, the research in use of radar undertaken by TRE staff at Malvern College was top secret and made an important contribution to the military in defeating Germany. 

The author worked at TRE and chapters in the book provide an introduction to different secret projects undertaken during the war including an overview about ground radar, centimetres, airborne radar and use of radio during the war. There is also a chapter about co-operation with the Americans also stationed in Malvern as well as a brief section on further research after the war.

There are a number of books available about the important secret work undertaken at TRE but Science Comes to Malvern provides a short introduction to the important work undertaken by that organisation in radar research and development.

Sister Viv

Most Australians will have heard of Sister Vivian Bullwinkle and the massacre of Australian nurses by a group of Japanese soldiers during the Second World War. In Sister Viv Grantlee Kieza provides a detailed, readable story about the sixty-five nurses who escaped from Singapore as the Japanese took the island only to have their ship bombed and sunk and then having to struggle to reach land and then be captured by Japanese soldiers.

Many of the nurses plus others who had been on the ship did not make it to the shore but one group of twenty-two nurses, including Viv, made it to Radji Beach on Banka Island near Sumatra. The nurses were separated from the other survivors, forced back into the water and shot. Viv was the only nurse in this group to survive. She was then a prisoner of war for more than three years.

Grantlee Kieza provides a detailed account of the mistreatment of nurses by the Japanese in the prisoner of war camps. At the first camp Viv was reunited with other nurses who had escaped Singapore and they remained as a group as they were moved from one location to another. In the various prison camps the prisoners lived in squalor and had little food. Disease was rife and many of the nurses died. Still those remaining worked as a team assisting each other and trying not to give up hope until eventually peace was declared and they could return home. 

After the war Viv continued to work as a nurse holding senior positions in major hospitals. She never forgot her colleagues who had died during the war and made sure that their story was told. There is now a statue of Viv at the Australian War Memorial and a memorial at Radji Beach in remembrance of the massacre and the twenty-one Australian nurses who were murdered at the site. 

Isle of the Dead

Isle of the Dead by T G Reid is number 5 in the DCI Duncan Bone crime series of books set in Scotland. During a swim in the loch, Duncan notices that there has been a dramatic change in the weather. He retreats back to his cabin by the loch as a storm envelops the region. During the night Duncan notices lights on an uninhabited island in the loch. Next day he convinces one of the locals to take him to the island to investigate, although the conditions are still not good for a boat trip on the loch. It is then that the body count begins.

The roads are blocked with snow drifts and power and communication systems are down so it is some time before members of his team are able to assist him with the investigation. The crimes have also occurred in another jurisdiction so two crime teams are working together. He also later learns that one of the suspects is also under suspicion for other crimes.

The Isle of the Dead continues the eventful story of the lives of DCI Bone and his team as they investigate crime in their area and also try to look after their families. In this book, the Scottish weather and local environment contribute to the atmosphere and threat of danger as the police team attempt to discover the murderer.

The Killer Parade

Civic Week Celebrations are about to begin in town and the star of the final show will be a local singer made good. However, when Dee Dee is found murdered DCI Duncan Bone and his team have to work overtime to catch the killer, especially as he has left a message that this will not be the last murder. Although the police recommend that the celebrations should be put on hold, the organisers are determined that the parade and other events will go ahead. 

There are obvious suspects, but when links are made to a similar murder that occurred in another town many years ago the police suspect that they may be dealing with a serial killer. 

The Killing Parade by T G Reid is number 4 in the DCI Duncan Bone series. Like the other books in the series it is a fast paced crime novel that encourages the reader to keep reading to discover what will happen next. The camaraderie and humour that exists between the team members continues to be a feature though there are still challenges to be faced in life outside work for some of the team. However they all look out for each other and provide additional support when required.

Dead Man's Stone

DCI Duncan Bone is still on sick leave when he receives a message to visit a dying man in a prison hospital. The man refuses to talk to anyone else. Bone reluctantly visits the prison where the man tells him where to find an item hidden at a former POW camp. The item is a biscuit box containing a photograph of a possible crime. Investigation proves that the victim in the photo is a teenager believed to have committed suicide in 1979.

It is agreed that DCI Bone can work from home to assist investigating the case. However, as some of the other people identified in the photo are murdered, he takes control of solving the crime - especially as a former senior police officer may be involved. Obviously the investigation is a race against time before more people are killed. 

The DCI Bone series consists of more than just thrilling crime stories as T G Reid allows the reader into the  lives of the main characters. Bone has been suffering from severe PTSD as a result of events in the first novel in the series and is striving to regain control of his life. His wife left him and in the second book she refused him access to their young son but part way through book three she reverses her previous decision. Mark Mullens' father has dementia and his attempts to keep an eye on his father and do his best to help him is another story throughout the novels. Another sub-plot is that DI Rhona Walker and her partner have adopted a baby girl.

Dead Man's Stone is another fast faced crime thriller by Scottish author, T G Reid. It is number 3 in the DCI Duncan Bone series.

White Mulberry

In 1928 Korea was occupied by Japan. Eleven year old Miyoung lives in a village with her mother and one of her sisters where she attends the local school. Miyoung has a good relationship with her teacher who suggests that she should continue her education. Her older sister has just had a marriage arranged for her and Miyoung does not want the same thing to happen to her.

Eventually it is decided that Miyoung should go to Japan to attend school and live with her sister and her new husband. Miyoung soon discovers that students from Korea are not welcomed by Japanese students. To fit in, she adopts a Japanese name, Miyoko, but life is still extremely difficult. Miyoung wants to continue her studies but cannot afford the cost so finds work as a nurse's aid and a maid. Meanwhile she meets Hojoon and they have a son, Ko-chan. However when Hojoon dies, Miyoung once again has to decide how she can earn money to support her son. What she really wants to do is to return to Korea but by this time Japan is involved in the Second World War making the decision to travel home more difficult.

White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton is a novel based on the life of the author's grandmother and her father. It is a story of living in a time of challenge and mistrust. It is a world of hatred but love and understanding may still be found as Miyoung is determined to make a good and safe life for her young son. The novel is also a study of a young woman choosing to live her own life in an environment where females are meant to be subservient.

This book was one of three books selected as a possible title for discussion by the Monash Alumni Book Club in August-September 2025.  

The Whisky Widow

In 1921, I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Good Wife of Bath by Karen Brooks. I was therefore pleased to receive a copy of Karen Brook's new novel, The Whisky Widow, to read and review. I was not disappointed.

Set in Scotland between 1780 and 1784, this is the story about Greer MacAlister and her daughter Fen as they strive to find a home in a new community. When Greer's husband died she received a message that, as his widow, she should go to Montrose and collect money owing to him. Once there, however, she discovered that the money had gone and she was left to defend for herself and her daughter. Meeting Tam Gorden provided the chance for a new life living in a small village in the Scottish Highlands.

Greer soon encountered the prejudices that existed in the village regarding outsiders, especially Lowlanders, and that becoming accepted would not be an easy task. She also discovered that although there was some farming and fishing, the villagers mainly made their living from distilling and smuggling whisky. Although they were allowed to keep a small amount of whisky for their own consumption, a high excise was applied to the sale of whisky, hence the need for the smuggling operations.

The villagers lived in constant fear of raids from excise officers and Red Coats. A system was devised to alert the villagers of possible intruders. It was only after Greer stood up to an excise office during a raid that many of the villagers began to accept her presence in this tight-knit community. When disaster strikes and some of the men, including Tam, are arrested it is up to Greer to manage the community and to devise a rescue plan. Tam has been accused of murder and it is up to the village community to prove his innocence.

This is a story of a community bonding together for its survival when required. Life is hard but basically members of the village look after each other. Although most attend the village church there is still a strong belief in supernatural forces - just in case. This is also a story about relationships, especially between family members. It also explores love and war and seeking justice.

The Whisky Widow is a work of historical fiction that graphically portrays the difficulties faced by the workers living in small villages in the Highlands. It is a time of change with the Clearances already occurring in some areas. Eventually a decision needs to be made whether to remain in Scotland or try for a new life overseas.

Many thanks to Better Reading and HQ Books for a preview copy of this book.

The Unquiet Grave

When a mutilated body is found in a bog Cormac and his team investigate. At first it was thought that the corpse was an historical burial as similar burials in bogs had been found dating back thousands of years. However investigations reveal that the dead man was the principal of the local school who disappeared two years previously. 

The Unquiet Grave by Dervla McTiernan contains multiple stories that combine together before the end of the book. While Cormac is investigating this case he receives a phone call from Emma telling him that her husband has disappeared in Paris. Emma has contacted the local and French police forces who have not been helpful in looking for her husband. Cormac therefore unofficially works on this case as well as trying to solve the murder of the school principal. Then the bodies of two more men are discovered in bogs. Does this mean that there is a serial killer? Cormac also has to decide whether to accept a new position in the police force with a promotion.

Dervla McTiernan has written another fast paced, character driven crime novel that makes the reader want to know what will happen next and keeps them guessing until the end of the book. The Unquiet Grave is number four in the Cormac Reilly series.