May Releases

With the year one-third over we have again seen a slow trickle of locally published crime novels (only 7 by my count). This appears to be the trend in recent years. But as we enter May the pace is picking up with 5 new releases. We've already seen a few of Australia's bigger names release novels this year and we see a couple more this month as well as a newie from an emerging author and a couple of debuts.

The big names…
The Night Ferry by Michael Robotham (Sphere) is the third thriller by the Ned Kelly Award winning author. As mentioned a couple of days ago, this is a thought-provoking thriller that touches on surrogate parenting, but slipping into a vastly more dodgy and lucrative business of baby brokering.

Sucked In by Shane Maloney (Text Publishing). Man oh man how long have we been waiting for this to finally be released? Murray Whelan’s getting on a bit, stuck in Canberra as a minor player in the Labor Party. Then he gets caught up in the long-forgotten death of a union official. The sixth Murray Whelan book has been much anticipated.

Emerging...
Amongst the Dead by Robert Gott (Scribe Publications). The third book in the Will Power series takes place in Australia’s top end. It’s a great example of an unreliable narrative with plenty of humour and a nasty little murder. These books are finely crafted, wickedly amusing and well worth tracking down.

Debutantes...
The Shadow Maker by Robert Sims (Allen & Unwin). This debut thriller introduces us to Melbourne police detective sergeant Marita Van Hassel of the Sexual Crimes Squad. Someone is preying on Melbourne’s prostitutes, raping and mutilating them and leaving them for dead. I’m reading it right now and it’s a fast-paced thriller that has been very enjoyable to date. It looks like the start of the career of an author to watch out for.

Frantic by Katherine Howell (Pan Macmillan Australia). Another debut thriller features paramedic Sophie Phillips who faces the prospect of a husband who has been shot and the abduction of her 10 month old son. Howell’s background is as an ambulance officer so I’m expecting the voice of experience to sound prominently. Looking forward to this one, with her second, Panic, already in the works.

There'll be more on each of these as I read each book.