A Judgement in Stone

Eunice Parchman killed the Coverdale family because she could not read or write. So begins the crime novel, A Judgement in Stone, by English author Ruth Rendell (1930-2015). 

In this character driven crime novel we learn some of Eunice's story and how she came to be working as a housekeeper for the Coverdale family at Lowfield Hall. Eunice had had a hard life in contrast to the privileged life of the Coverdale family. However she was good at her job which she performed to her own exacting standards. When not working, Eunice preferred to be left to her own devices, especially watching television in her room.  Eunice was basically a recluse who did not want people to know that she was illiterate. Then she met Joan Smith at the local store. Joan befriended Eunice and for a time Eunice appreciated having a friend. But Joan was involved with a religious group and was critical of others who did not share her beliefs. 

A Judgement in Stone revolves around the relationship between the two women who are both aliens in their local community. This partnership ends in disaster.

Ruth Rendell is also known for the series of detective stories featuring Inspector Wexford. She also wrote books using the name, Barbara Vine. In her book, Backstage, by Donna Leon, Ruth Rendell is one of the authors Donna Leon refers to as having influenced her writing. 

The Underground Man

One of the crime authors that Donna Leon wrote about in her book, Backstage, was Ross Macdonald (1915-1983) so I decided to borrow one of his books from the library. He was best known for Lew Archer series of books set in California. The Underground Man was published in 1971 and is number sixteen in the series of eighteen books.

Lew Archer is a private detective. One morning he meets a six year old boy, Ronny, who is staying next door and together they feed the birds in the garden. When the boy's father arrives and takes him away in the car, Archer agrees to travel with the boy's mother to make sure that her son is OK. So begins a  story of murder, complicated family relationships with children brought up in unstable families plus danger from a nearby forest fire.

This is an old style, fast moving crime novel set in a time frame where life, for the most part, was lived differently from today.

The Beacon

Jack Harris, the son of a newspaper magnate, has been exiled to Byron Bay to work on the local newspaper, The Beacon. Shortly after his arrival Patrick O'Shaughnessy, the editor of the newspaper, disappears while surfing and first reports are that he was taken by a shark. The local police are prepared to believe this story but Jack becomes convinced that the shark attack was staged and he and Patrick's daughter, Caitlin, join forces to discover the truth.

Byron Bay has more than its fair share of anti-vaxers, opposers to 5G and other conspiracy theorists who had objected to articles opposing their views appearing in the local press. The main window of the newspaper office was regularly smashed with a brick. Caitlin was certain that her father was working on big story that would shock the local community. If they could find the files they may also find who had killed her father.

In The Beacon P. A. Thomas has written a fast moving, often humorous, crime novel involving  an array of often unusual characters. It soon becomes obvious that corruption abounding in the present and the past is the cause of the latest crime. Jack, Caitlin, Zoe and Ricky need to work quickly to solve the case before more innocent people become implicated.

The Jam Maker

The Jam Maker is the third historical fiction novel by Mary-Lou Stephens set in Tasmania. Twelve year old Harriet Brown is forced to pretend that she is a boy in order to work as a label-paster at George Peacock & Sons jam factory in Hobart. Her family needs her wage to survive. At the factory she is befriended by twelve year old Henry Jones. 

When she turns sixteen, Harriet, known as Harry in the factory, decides that she has had enough and leaves her job, much to the disapproval of her mother who promptly organises an arranged marriage for her daughter. Harriet's parents have misled her new husband into believing that she is an expert jam maker who will be an asset to his small jam making enterprise. 

Fortunately Harriet is willing to learn all she can about jam making and eventually helps her husband's business to expand. Meanwhile Henry Jones' career is progressing as he takes on higher positions in the jam making business. Henry marries Alice who becomes a friend of Harriet.

The novel follows Harriet's progress as a jam maker and the success of Sprouts Jams as she and Ruth experiment with making specialist jams with flavours not available elsewhere. However when her husband dies Harriet's life involves challenges she had not anticipated.

The Jam Maker, set in the years from 1874 to 1926, covers a range of events and issues affecting life in Tasmania including the economic depression of the 1890s, trade tariffs, the Boer War, Federation, The First World War and the rights of women to be financially independent. The novel is also the story of the development of the firm IXL - the firm developed by Henry Jones.

However this work of historical fiction is also the story of a determined woman fighting for the life and recognition that she wants for herself and her family. The book also interweaves references to the author's to previous historical novels - The Last of the Apple Blossom and The Chocolate Factory.

Sir Henry Jones - Australian Dictionary of Biography 

Henry Jones IXL - Wikipedia 

Always Home, Always Homesick

When Hannah Kent was seventeen she travelled to Iceland as a Rotary exchange student. She did not know the language and although there were a number of other Rotary exchange students in Iceland at the time they were in Reykjavik while Hannah was hosted in Saudarktokur in the north of the island. Arriving in mid-winter Hannah also had to acclimatise to only a few hours of sunlight during winter plus long periods of daylight during the summer.

Always Home, Always Homesick is an account of Hannah's experiences living in a land very different from home in Australia. During the twelve months she lived with three different host families, each providing different experiences. However it is with Petur and Regina and their ever-growing family that Hannah felt most at home.

While in Iceland Hannah decided that she really does want a career in writing and enrolled in a course to study creative writing when she returned to Australia. 

While in Iceland Hannah learned about the belief in local spirits and ghosts held by the locals. She learned to appreciate the traditions of the country and that she is in a special place. Then she visited the site where the last execution was held in Iceland and began to learn the story of Agnes Magnusdottir who was beheaded in 1830.

Back home, Hannah found that she could not forget the story of Agnes and was determined to find more information about the story which became the basis for her first novel - Burial Rites. 

Always Home, Always Homesick by Hannah Kent is an account of the author's visits to Iceland over the years  as well as the challenging journey of researching and writing the novel.

My name is Emelia Del Valle

Emilia Del Valle lived with her mother and step-father in San Francisco. She wanted to be a writer and began her career writing dime novels under the pen-name of Brandon J Price. She then worked as a columnist for a daily newspaper but because she was female she could not use her real name. Emilia eventually took the opportunity to travel to Chile to write columns relating to the unrest in that country. This time she was allowed to use her own name but shared the writing with Eric Whelan, a journalist at the newspaper.

Emilia knew that her father lived in Chile but she had had no contact with him except for a photo taken on her fourth birthday which her mother forwarded to her father. When her mother discovered that Emilia was going to Chile she insisted that Emilia should locate her father and give him a letter that she had written to him. Emilia gradually realises that she needs to know more about the country of her father.

As well as covering the challenges faced by Emilia, much of the novel provides graphic depictions of life during the civil war that occurred in Chile in 1891. 

My Name is Emilia Del Valle by Isabel Allende begins slowly, but eventually the pace increases as the book develops into an interesting work of historical fiction as well as the study of a young woman finding herself in a world ruled by men as she attempts to follow the life she wants. 

An ill wind

Wind farms that had been installed in part of central Victoria divided the local community of Carrabeen. Some people thought wind turbines were essential for present and future power supply.  On the other hand some people were convinced that wind turbines were a blot on the landscape and interfered with local farming and the environment. Some conspiracy theorists believed the wind farms caused cancer. Differences of opinion had raged for many years. Then one morning a body was found hanging from a blade of a wind turbine.

When Senior Sergeants Belinda Burney and Will Lovett began to investigate they discovered that the body belonged to Geordie Pritchard, the owner of the energy farm,. When investigating Geordie's murder, Bel and Will uncover many secrets that had been hidden in the community. The dead man appeared to have been both loved and hated. Who had therefore committed this crime?

An Ill Wind by Margaret Hickey is another contribution to the ever growing collection of Australian crime fiction, often referred to as Aussie Noir. I became immersed with the characters and trying to solve the crime created in this novel which makes the reader want to just keep reading until the conclusion.

Backstage

In 2023 I read a collection of short stories, Wandering Through Life, written by Donna Leon, concerning life experiences. In Backstage, Donna Leon provides us with another collection of short stories providing the background to her love of books and music plus life experiences which have influenced how and why she creates her characters and writes her novels.

Authors that Donna Leon refers to include novels by Ruth Rendell, Ross Macdonald, Reginald Hill, Charles Dickens, Patrick O'Brian, Sir Walter Scott and Jane Austen plus some of the works of playwrights and poets from Ancient Greece and Rome. Guido Brunetti often refers to works of literature when he is trying to relax at home. 

Some of the excerpts in the book explain the research undertaken when writing her novels including writing the initial chapter of a book and also researching the background for some of the characters and crimes. 

Backstage by Donna Leon is an interesting collection of short stories that the reader can dip into and gain additional information about Donna Leon and her world of writing.

Time Together

Phil's mother has died recently and his father is away, so he is looking after the family home near the beach in New South Wales. He decides to invite a group of friends from his past for a beach holiday. The friends are now in their mid 40s and have not seen each other for many years. Bella and Timothy bring their two children aged seven and twelve, Jo and Lucas bring their young daughter while Annie arrives alone.

Time Together by Luke Horton is a story of relationships, past and present, complicated by twelve year old Millie's mood swings and strained relationship with her mother. Phil is mourning his mother's death and is obviously not well. The dynamics between the members of the group invited to the house become strained at times as the individuals bring out the best and worst in each other. The characters find it hard to let go past frustrations, rivalries, tensions and disappointments during their supposedly relaxing holiday.

The novel reveals the story through the thoughts of the main characters but the location of the house set near the beach, lagoon and the bush adds a special dimension to the book.

This Has Been Absolutely Lovely

Families can be complicated. Annie Jones is looking forward to having control of her own life for a while after many years of dedicating her time to bringing up her children and looking after her parents before they died. Annie had been a member of a singing group, The Love Triangle. Then she married fellow band member, Paul, and had her first child. Her career was then placed on hold. 

Her three children are now grown up and her third grandchild is due. Annie and Paul divorced long ago and Paul is now in a relationship with Brian, the third member of the former singing group. Annie should now be free to decide what she wants to do in the future. Perhaps she may even once more have a career in music.

The extended family has arrived at the family home for Christmas. Some are not sure when they will leave again. For many years Annie's father had continued a feud with next door neighbour, Ray. Then Ray's son comes to look after his father who is dying. The next door neighbours are invited to Christmas dinner which does not go as planned as long held family secrets are revealed.

In This Has Been Absolutely Fabulous Jessica Dettmann provides us with a story of a family having to face the past in order to decide how to live their future lives.