The Gambler

Private Investigator Vince Reid is on another case when a family friend asks him to investigate why a young girl was murdered. The person who shot Katie was also shot dead and the case is closed but it is not known why anyone would want to kill her.

During the investigation Reid discovers a gambling scam which might be behind the crime, but how could this involve Katie? He also finds links to another murder committed twenty years earlier. What is the connection to the two cases?

The Gambler by New Zealander J P Pomare, who now lives in Australia, is a fast paced crime novel set in America. The story is primarily told from the perspective of Reid who is investigating the case, Katie the victim and Barbara who pulled the trigger along with occasional links to the earlier crime. It is another crime fiction novel well worth reading.

17 Years Later: what really killed the Primrose family?

Australian true-crime podcaster, Sloan Abbott, decides to base her next series of podcasts on a cold-case - the murder of members of the Primrose family in New Zealand. Seventeen years previously Bill Kareamer was charged with the multiple murders and had been in prison ever since. He always protested his innocence and Sloan is not sure whether he actually is guilty of the crimes or not. However, she is sure that he was not given a fair trial and she plans to prove this in the podcast series.

Working with TK Phillips who was Bill's psychologist Sloan and her team begin to realise that Bill was not the only suspect for the crime. Many of the other suspects were not interviewed. TK is initially reluctant to become re-involved with the new investigation but he gradually realises that many questions about the case were never answered. Tracking down people who knew the Primrose family is not an easy task seventeen years later and many people who they do locate are not willing to be recorded, though most provide background information. 

17 Years Later by J P Pomare provides accounts of the search for information by Sloan and her team and TK as well as including copies of relevant documents discovered in the search. The reader learns of life in the Primrose household seventeen years earlier as well as the discoveries in the current investigation. 17 Years Later is another excellent crime novel that encourages the reader to keep reading until the end. Another good read for the holidays.

Home before midnight

Third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Melbourne and another curfew has been called. Everyone must be home by 8pm. Lou is worried. She is unable to contact her son Samuel to ensure that he knows about the impending curfew. He was going to visit his father but did not arrive. Lou becomes frantic. Samuel seems to have disappeared.

When Lou eventually hears from her son, he is evasive and hesitant about answering her questions. He indicates that he is staying with his girlfriend but Lou is not convinced that he is telling the truth. Where is her son and what has happened to him?

In Home  before midnight J. P. Pomare has written another psychological thriller that will keep the reader guessing. We know that Lou and her  ex - husband Marko have a secret but does it have any relation to the disappearance of their son? Lou knows that at all costs she must find Samuel and ensure that he arrives home safely.

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. This is book is number 1 in the Vince Reid series of books and was made into a television series. He has written a number of novels including The Last Guests.

The Last Guests

The Last Guests by J P Pomare, New Zealand born author now living in Australia, is a pychological thriller that you possibly would not want to read late at night. You might also not want to read it if you are a user of airbnbs. This is a book about secrets, not knowing who to trust, voyeurism and surveillance, the ability to trace people on various devices plus the intrusive power of the deep web.

Cain is a former member of the NZSAS and served in Afghanistan where he was injured. He and his wife, Lina, live in Auckland where Cain is trying to run a gym while Lina is an ambulance worker. Money is short, not helped by Cain's love of gambling. Lina owns another house that previously belonged to her grandparents near a lake in the Rotorua region of New Zealand. When visiting friends one evening, the suggestion is made that the house by the lake would be a great location for a WeStay property. A little work would be needed to make it ready, but not an impossible task to undertake. Lina eventually agrees to the plan as they need the money. Then the nightmare begins.