Before It Breaks

Detective Inspector Dan Clement has returned to Broome. His marriage to Marilyn has ended but he needs to be in the area to have occasional contact with his daughter, Phoebe. Having worked much of his career investigating murders he is struggling to settle into the routine of 'normal' police work.

Then a body is found in the bush and Dan Clement is in charge of the investigation team. When another man is found murdered - probably by the same weapon - plus an associate of first murdered man is kidnapped, the police have to call in help from police in Perth - especially as a large cyclone is about to hit the area in the next day or two.

There is a race against time to solve this crime which may have links to a police investigation in Germany in 1979. The bush settings and the threat of the impending storm add to the threat of danger and atmosphere as the police try to solve this spate of recent crimes in their region.

Before It Breaks is the second book in the Dan Clement series by Dave Warner.

The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: true stories of the magic of reading

American author James Patterson has collected stories from booksellers and librarians, throughout North America, describing why they enjoy providing books for people to read. Finding the right book for someone to read is a challenge enjoyed by most librarians and booksellers. However recommending books to read is not a one way street. When I worked in libraries library patrons would often also recommend authors or titles to me. Reading can and should be a shared experience. 

The book is divided into five sections:

• To be a bookseller, you have to play detective
• I could talk about books forever
• I can't imagine what people do without books in their lives
• It doesn't matter what you like to read, as long as you love to read
•  Just one more chapter, please, just one more chapter
  

Stories in the book include a number of discussions on choosing books for people of different ages, interests and needs at a particular time. Promoting collections is also an important part of running a bookshop or working in a library and a range of promotional and outreach projects are described as well as arranging author talks. COVID-19 provided challenges for those operating bookshops and libraries. Censorship of collections and campaigns to ban books is also discussed. Libraries and bookshops (especially independent bookshops) are increasingly becoming community hubs. Research indicates that readers continue to enjoy reading physical books.

The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians is a book that the reader can dip into at leisure to enjoy reading the observations of people who love books and reading. 

As an aside, some of the accounts refer in passing to books by Patterson while there is a long list of books he has written or co-written at the end of the book.

Glorious Exploits

Glorious Exploits is the first novel by Irish author, Ferdia Lennon. The story is set in Syracuse in 412 BC during the Peloponnesian War - the conflict between Athens and Sparta that lasted from 431 until 404 BC. While attempting to invade Syracuse in Sicily the Athenians were defeated with many soldiers being captured and left to die in a quarry outside the town. Occasionally citizens from the town would visit the quarry to view the starving prisoners in their chains.

Gelon and Lampo are two unemployed potters who occasionally visit the quarry, taking small amounts of food and drink for some of the prisoners. Gelon, a fan of the plays of Euripides, decides to give food to those prisoners able to recite lines from plays, particularly Medea. Lampo agrees to help and the two men decide to become directors of a production to be staged in the quarry. As well as Medea they plan to stage another play by Euripides, The Trojan Women.

There are many challenges to be overcome before the performance but the two men push on enlisting assistance in obtaining finance, costumes, scenery, music and, of course, choosing the actors to perform the play. The play also needs to be promoted to ensure an audience for the performance. It is not smooth sailing but eventually it all comes together. Despite some initial hesitation, the plays appear to have made a good impression on the audience. Then disaster occurs.

There are many wonderful characters portrayed in this novel with its universal themes of friendship, loyalty, the horrors of war, compassion, love and loss, grief and how an appreciation of art and literature can be a unifying force for all people despite other differences.

The story is told by Lampo using Irish dialect. I found it took a while to work out what was going but after a few chapters I became thoroughly involved with the characters and story being told. Although the setting is more than two thousand years ago, unfortunately the message of the story is still valid today.

Glorious Exploits is the book read by the Monash Alumni Book Club in February 2025.

The Battle of the Generals

Australian author, Roland Perry, has written a readable account of the battle of egos between MacArthur and Blamey during the second World War in his latest book, The battle of the generals: MacArthur, Blamey and the defence of Australia in World War II.

The Americans, led by General Douglas MacArthur, arrived in Australia in 1942 after the Japanese army captured the Philippines. MacArthur was determined to return to the Philippines as soon as possible to retake the islands but the attempted invasion of Papua New Guinea by the Japanese slowed down his plans. 

General Blamey was in charge of the Australian forces but MacArthur ensured that he was in charge of military proceedings even though the Australian soldiers were far more experienced than their American counterparts as they had experience fighting overseas before returning to Australia to defend their country.

The Australian forces did most of the fighting in Papua New Guinea although some American units were involved towards the end of the campaign. MacArthur's publicity campaign, however, made it look as if he was responsible for allied victories. When the campaign to retake the Philippines began, MacArthur was determined that Australian troops should not be involved as they might be shown to be superior to American forces. There was also tension between the American navy and other military forces.

When the Japanese began attacking the Australian coastline the Australian government tried to obtain additional aeroplanes and ships from the UK and the USA but MacArthur indicated to the Americans that Australia was well supplied. This did not improve the relationship between Blamey and MacArthur. Winston Churchill had made it clear that his emphasis was on Europe though some equipment was sent towards the end of the war.

Both the generals had character flaws that impeded relationships with troops and other military and political leaders from time to time. However, reading this book, I felt more sympathetic towards General Blamey who had extensive previous military experience in both the First and Second World Wars compared with his American counterpart who had his eyes set on political aspirations once the war was over.

Fire and Bones

Temperance Brennan's plans for a holiday with Andrew Ryan are destroyed when she is asked to travel to Washington DC to investigate a fire at a house at Foggy Bottom. It is believed that there may have been four people in the house at the time of the fire but then a fifth body is discovered in the sub-basement. Investigations suggest that the fifth body may have been in the house since the 1940s and Tempe is determined to discover more about this mystery as well as uncovering the identity of the recent deaths. 

Then there is another fire in the neighbourhood. Both houses were owned by the same company. When the son of one of the company owners is also shot there is obviously a vendetta against the company and Tempe naturally wants to help in the investigation.

Fire and Bones by Kathy Reichs, the twenty-third novel in the Temperance Brennan series, is a fast paced crime novel that does not disappoint.

After the Flood

After the Flood opens with an account of the collapse of a dam wall in Brazil, resulting in many deaths including the partner and unborn child of an Australian working in the country for a multinational company. 

Back in Broome, Detective Inspector Dan Clement misses his teenage daughter who lives with her mother in Perth. Meanwhile the police in the region are busy with a number of cases including dealing with animal rights protestors at the local abattoir, where cars had been torched weeks earlier, a break-in at the Early Childhood Centre resulting in drugs being destroyed, and a break-in at a small mining company in Halls Creek where explosives and a booster were stolen. 

Then the police learn of a brutal murder at a large cattle property off the Gibb River Road. The body had been staked out on the ground as if crucified and then run over repeatedly. Who is this man? What was he doing in such a remote location? And why would be be killed in such a brutal way?

The police gradually realise that the series of crimes could be related and may be connected to a larger crime.

As the plot is revealed we learn about the lives and concerns of the characters - the police and their families as well as those involved in expressing their views, often through illegal means. The terrain of the Kimberley region is also an important factor in the novel.

Dave Warner has written another fast paced crime novel in the Dan Clement series - book four.

The Valley

Another great book by Chris Hammer. The Valley combines events occurring in 1988, then in the 1990s with an investigation in 2024. The story is revealed using a variety of voices as well as a general narrator.

Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic travel to The Valley near Saltwood in southern New South Wales to investigate a murder. This leads to the unravelling of a series of crimes, including murder, that had occurred in The Valley. For Nell, this investigation becomes personal when DNA tests reveal that she is related to the victim of the latest murder. She also learns more about the life of her mother.

There are many characters to follow in this sometimes complex plot but the author's creation of the small community in The Valley living near a forest, shear escarpments and a lake, surrounded by a national park, is an important feature of the book. The old goldmine is a focal point. Will reopening the mine provide a life-line for the local community? Who is behind the murders that have occurred over the years and why? As Nell and Ivan become increasingly aware of political corruption, who can be trusted?

Chris Hammer has written another Australian crime novel that is difficult to put down until the end of the book is reached.