Yarra Birrarung: Artists, Writers and the River

The Yarra River is an important feature of Melbourne though its significance is often overlooked. In Yarra Birrarung: artists, writers and the river Judith Buckrich has provided an historical perspective of the river before and since the arrival of Europeans in the colony of Port Phillip in the 1830s to the present day.

Much of the story of the river is told via paintings and photographs of the river during the past two hundred years. The author recounts the many ways that the river has been used and abused over time. Chapters include the effects on the river as the European settlement expands, changing landscapes, artists colonies that have been established along the river, flooding and changing the course of the river and the use of the river today.

This is a beautiful book with illustrations and accounts written by people associated with or living near the river in order to convey the importance of the river not only to Melbourne but also to other settlements near the course of the river. Anyone interested in the history of Melbourne should read this book.

Opal

Detective Sergeant Lucas Walker, a member of the Australian Federal Police, has time off work to visit his family in Caloodie in outback Queensland. His half-sister, Grace, is visiting from America and he wants to show her the family home and introduce her to family members. Their plans are disrupted when they travel an extra 400 kilometres to the opal mining town of Kampara to collect Lucas' cousin, Blair, who is returning home.

Arriving at Kampara they encounter unrest among some of the inhabitants as news is circulating that a large opal has been discovered and is to be sold in secret. Next morning they are ready to leave the town only to discover that heavy rains in northern Queensland have flooded the access roads into town and they are trapped until the floodwaters subside which could take several days. Then two people are murdered and Lucas becomes involved with the investigation, especially when he realises that his brother is one of the suspects.

Opal by Patricia Wolf is the third book in the D S Walker thriller series. Fortunately I read this enthralling, fast paced novel in the summer holidays when I could spend hours reading without interruption. It is another great example of Aussie noir with emphasis on the effects of the environment on the lives of those living in outback Australia. I have not read the first two books in the series but will definitely borrow them from the local library.

The Great Hippopotamus Hotel

Precious Ramotswe and Grace Makutsi once again have mysteries to solve in the 26th installment of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. The manager of the Great Hippopotamus Hotel approaches Precious when a number of incidents occur at the hotel which are ruining the hotel's reputation. Meanwhile Precious' husband, Mr JLB Matekoni, is approached by a client to purchase a fancy sports car for him. The problem is that the client does not want his wife to know about the purchase.

The Great Hippopotamus Hotel by Alexander McCall Smith is another thoughtful and amusing account of the dilemmas faced by the two women as they attempt to resolve the challenges presented to them. The Great Hippopotamus Hotel provides another gentle, entertaining account of the thoughts and lives of Precious Ramotswe and Grace Makutsi and their family and friends in Botswana.

The Girls From Fitzroy

Melbourne on Victory in the Pacific Day and the streets are thronging with people jubilant that the war is over. Maggie Johnson is one of the crowd and as she wanders through the city streets she is approached by a young woman, Lil Kelly, who is handing out peace tokens that her mother has made. Maggie and Lil team up and by the time they leave to go home the beginnings of a friendship have formed.

Maggie and Lil both live in Fitzroy but Fitzroy in the 1940s is a divided suburb. Maggie lives with her parents in an upper class area while Lil lives with her mother and sister in the midst of the slums in southern Fitzroy. Initially the girls agree to meet once a week in the public gardens but then Maggie is determined to meet Lil's family. Maggie helps Lil when she can though she has to be careful that her parents do not learn of this friendship. Then life changes dramatically for both Maggie and Lil and they work together to try and improve their living conditions and to have the opportunity to live independent lives.

The Girls from Fitzroy by Jennie Jones is story of friendship, relationships, poverty, bereavement,and hope. 

This work of fiction is set at the end of the Second World War and deals with families hoping that sons return home safely, rationing and the role of women in a changing society. The book also explores the lives of those living in the slums and touches on plans for proposed slum clearances and the effects of this on those living in slum communities.

Melbourne's hidden slum history - University of Melbourne

Photos of 1930s slums in Collingwood, Fitzroy and Carlton

The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl Gone

Eloise and Garth with their dog, Stevie, run the bookshop, Sherlock Tomes. They have a loyal clientele who regularly visit the store and keep them entertained. Then they are told that famous author, Isabella Garrante, wants her latest novel to be launched at their bookshop. There is so much to do to get the shop ready for the big event but then a strange envelope arrives at the shop with the message that they should investigate the disappearance of seventeen year old Tracey Jervis twenty years earlier.

Eloise and Garth were members of the police force in England before moving to New Zealand to start a new life. Their initial fear when they received the envelope was that it was connected to a criminal in England who they had helped put in prison. Before long they discover that they need to be worried about dangerous people closer to their new home including members of the Black Dogs motor cycle gang. As their investigation continues, with the assistance of a local police officer, they have a suspect for Tracey's disappearance but how are they to prove it?

The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl Gone by Gareth and Louise Ward is an entertaining romp as Eloise and Garth encounter danger as they investigate this cold case.

Frankie

When eighty-four year old Frankie Howe broke her leg her friend, Norah Forester, arranged for a carer, Damian, to look after her at night. Initially Frankie was not impressed with the arrangement but as she came to know Damian she gradually tells him the story of her eventful life.

Frankie was born in Ireland but was orphaned when she was a young child and brought up by relatives. Her life was lonely until she made friends with Norah at school - a friendship, despite the occasional ups and downs, that lasted a lifetime. After completing school Frankie (or Frances as she was then known) attended a cookery school which she enjoyed and provided her with skills that that became an important part of her life. From Ireland she moved to London and eventually found herself in New York where she  met Jack, a young man with desires to become an artist. 

Frankie by Graham Norton is primarily a study of relationships. Frankie recounts events in her life covering the years from 1950 to 1987 interspersed with conversations with Damian and Norah. We learn of the many challenges she faced in discovering how she really wanted to live her life. The background story provides information about the art scene in New York and also on the affects of AIDS when the first cases appeared in the community.

Graham Norton has written a heart warming novel about loneliness, trying to establish one's place within a community, love, kindness and facing despair. It is also a study of how people of different ages and backgrounds can come to an understanding and learn to care for each other. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this sensitive novel and learning about Frankie's world.

The Christmas Stocking Murders

It is 1976 and once again Inspector Frank Grasby recounts events recorded in his diaries. Three days before Christmas in 1953 he is summoned to the office of Superintendent Juggers and informed that they are to travel to the fishing village of Uthley's Bay to investigate a murder. The body of a man with a stocking wound around his head had been found on the beach. Shortly after their arrival another body is found and in the evening quantities of packets of ladies' stockings cover the beach. Grasby soon realises that they are in Uthley's Bay to investigate a murder.

What follows is the often bungling attempt of the two police officers as they attempt to solve the crimes. Snow has arrived in the area and the White Christmas is not helping the investigation. The villagers are closing ranks and it is difficult for the police to know who to trust. Superintendent Juggers also has a tendency to make rash decisions leaving Grasby with the task of finding a solution. Grasby is well aware that Superintendent Juggers will claim the credit for any success made in the investigation.

The Christmas Stocking Murders by Denzil Meyrick a sequel to Murder at Holly House.  There is plenty of action, an array of eccentric characters and lots of humour as the two policeman attempt to solve the crime against the odds.

The Lost Book of Magic

Another year of sharing and enjoying the reading of books with my grandson is almost over. During 2024 we finished reading Runt by Craig Silvey. This was followed by going on adventures with The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien. Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell took us on our next fantastical adventure. The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff provided an introduction to historical fiction. Then Aiden read me Scar Town by Tristan Banks - he became so involved with the book that I was not allowed to participate in reading any of the text. Our final book for the year was The Lost Book of Magic by Amelia Mellor which he also enjoyed.

The Lost Book of Magic is the third and final book in the series of books that began with The Grandest Bookshop in the World. Once again Vally, Pearl and Ivy Cole find themselves battling against the Obscurosmith and the Wraith in order to save Coles Book Arcade before their parents return from Sydney. They  are assisted in their endeavours by Mr Pyke (Billy Pyke) and Miss Kwon (Kezia Nobody) who we previously met when they were children in The Booksellers' Apprentice. The Obscurosmith once again sets puzzles for the children to solve but this time they also have to contend with the Wraith who does not want them to succeed.

This trilogy of books is not just an excursion into a world of fantasy but also introduces the reader to places and events in the history of Melbourne during the latter part of the nineteenth century. My grandson and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the books in this series.

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret

Once again Ernest Cunningham narrates his involvement in solving his third murder mystery after he receives a message from his former wife requesting his help when she is arrested for murdering her new partner - a crime she is sure that she did not commit.

This time most of the suspects are connected to the theatre including a magician, the magician's assistant, a theatre manager, a hypnotist and her twin sister, a counsellor and a stagehand. During a stage performance next day, a second murder occurs.

As in the previous two crime novels involving cases solved by Ernest Cunningham, Benjamin Stevenson has his narrator explain the clues as they appear including any red herrings and encourages the reader to help him solve the puzzle. 

As the plot of Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret occurs immediately before Christmas each chapter has the date of a day in an advent calendar. Ernest is also interested in the parcels left under a Christmas tree for a theatre staff Kris Kringle. Naturally there is a need to solve the case so those not directly involved can enjoy their Christmas.

Rockin' Around the Chickadee

Christmas is fast approaching so what better to relax than to read another cosy crime Christmas book by Donna Andrews. In Rockin' Around the Chickadee a legal conference regarding wrongful criminal convictions is being held in Caerphilly and, not surprising, members of Meg Langslow's family are organising the conference and involved in presentations. Meg attends to offer support.

All goes well until one of the attendees at the conference constantly verbally attacks the speakers and other attendees. After he is finally evicted from attending the conference a body is discovered near the barn on Meg's property. The investigation is then on to discover the murderer.

As usual Donna Andrews has written a light-hearted crime novel with Meg and her circle of family and friends assisting the police in attempting to solve the crime. On this occasion I worked out who the murderer was quite early in the piece but this knowledge did not distract from entertainment of reading the novel.

Rockin' Around the Chickadee is the thirty-sixth book in the Meg Langslow series and is the ninth book with a Christmas theme.

The Grey Wolf

When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team discover a plot to poison the Quebec water supply they realise that they must act quickly with their investigation but also not tell anyone in order to avoid panic in the community.

The investigation leads to the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups (Saint Gilbert Between the Wolves). During the visit Armand explains to Jean-Guy the story behind the name. An Indian tribe had the story that a Chief felt that he had two rival wolves inside him. The grey wolf wanted him to be strong and compassionate and forgiving while the black wolf wanted him to be vengeful, to be cruel and cunning and to attack first. When asked which wolf would win the Chief replied, "The one that I feed". Armand and Jean-Guy knew that they had to find both 'wolves' quickly to avoid disaster. However they also realise that they do not know who they can trust.

In The Grey Wolf Louise Penny describes the frantic investigations undertaken by Armand, Jean-Guy and Isabelle Lacoste as they strive to discover who is involved in the plot and prevent the deaths of possibly thousands of innocent people.

In this nineteenth book in the Armand Gamache series, the inhabitants of Three Pines do not feature to the extent that they do in the other books but they are there in the background providing support to Armand Gamache and his family. The mystery in The Grey Wolf will be continued in the The Black Wolf to be published in 2025.

The Life Impossible

Recently I read Susie Dent's novel, Guilty by Definition, which reveals the plot through the examination of language and the solving of puzzles. In The Life Impossible by Matt Haig, mathematical concepts frequently appear throughout the novel as former mathematics teacher, Grace Winters, tells her story.

When Grace received an email from a former student who was going through a difficult time she replied by sending him a story about her recent challenges as she attempted to come to terms with perceived mistakes in her life.

When Grace received a letter saying she had received an inheritance of a cottage in Ibiza she decided to take a one-way ticket to the island. A letter from Christina provided suggestions of things she should do including visiting Albert at Atlantis Scuba at Cala d'Hort. Albert suggests that if she really wants to discover what happened to Christina she should go on his boat with him to explore part of the sea at midnight. While swimming she encounters a blue light in the water and her life changes.

As Grace endeavours to learn how to use her new power she also has to come to terms with the grief and guilt she is still suffering after the death of her son and later her husband. In time Grace realises that she needs to work with Marta and Albert to carry out Christina's goals of protecting the wildlife on the island and saving the island from further development.

Matt Haig has written another thought provoking novel taking the reader into another world.

The Death of Dora Black

After writing a PhD on the life of Katie Cocks, South Australia's first policewoman to be paid the same wage as a policeman, Lainie Anderson wrote the crime novel, The Death of Dora Black, as a work of historical crime fiction with Kate Cocks as the main character.

When Dora Black's body is found in the water off the pier at Glenelg beach, Kate Cocks and Constable Ethel Bromley who were employed as the Women's Police Branch in the South Australian Police Force, were told it was not their place to investigate. They had their own work to do in preventative crime, especially in regard to women. Then a friend of Dora Black also disappears so the two women are determined to investigate.

The Death of Dora Black is set in Adelaide in 1917. Many men were serving in the armed forces overseas during World War One while some had returned home injured. Then there were those who would never return. This crime novel provides background information of life in Adelaide during the war years plus  issues faced by the growing city. 

It is the first book in A Petticoat Police Mystery series.

Kate Cocks: South Australia's first policewoman. - State Library of South Australia  

Hidden women of history: Kate Cocks - The Conversation

The real Kate Cocks - Lainie Anderson  

Fanny Kate Cocks - Australian Dictionary of Biography

The Ledge

In February 1999 sixteen year old Justin Smith kept a diary on his computer where he describes the relationships between four friends and how they react when one of the boys goes missing. Text from the records for Thursday 4 February to Monday 8 February make up alternate chapters in this novel by Australian author, Christian White. Twenty-four years later a body is found and the reaction of the former friends and the local community to this news is explored in alternate chapters to the diary entries.

The Ledge is a coming of age story set in the isolated mountains in western Victoria. It is also a psychological thriller with a twist that I definitely did not see coming. The Ledge by Christian White is definitely a book that should be read when the reader has plenty of time as you will want to continue reading to the end.

Guilty by Defintion

Susie Dent is well known as the language expert on Countdown in Britain. Letters and Numbers was the Australian version of the show. Susie Dent also appears in Eight Out Of Ten Cats Does Countdown which can be seen on Australian television. She has written a number of books about words in the English language.

Guilty by Definition is Susie Dent's first novel and, not surprisingly, the meaning of words feature strongly in this crime novel. After ten years in Germany, Martha Thornhill has returned to Oxford to work as senior editor of the Clarendon English Dictionary. One morning, Martha and her team receive a letter written in code which they eventually work out refers to the disappearance of Martha's sister, Charlie, in 2010. The letter is followed by other letters and a series of postcards referring to past events in the lives of the recipients. Martha, Alex, Safi and Simon unravel the clues concealed in the messages and investigate leads that may reveal what happened to Charlie.

The reader also becomes involved in attempting to decode the messages and is introduced to a variety of words they may not have previously encountered. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. This book was Dervla McTiernan's selection in September for her Book club that isn't a book club.

Now or Never

For a light entertaining read, Janet Evanovich in her Stephanie Plum series rarely lets the reader down. In this thirty-first book in the series, Stephanie, Lula and Connie continue to locate those who have broken their bond conditions so that they can be rebonded and a new trial date set.

As usual, things do not always go to plan as Stephanie and Lula pursue their targets - Eugene Fleck, Bruno Jug and Zoran (also known as The Vampire). During the investigations Herbert, who used to go to school with Stephanie, insists on helping her refurnish her apartment after it was fire-bombed and also tags along for part of the investigations.

But Stephanie has an additional problem. She is engaged to both of the special men in her life - Ranger and Morelli - and it is time that she made a decision as to to who she really wants to marry.

Now or Never is another fun read in the Stephanie Plum series.