Book Mutterings - 22-28 February 2008

Michael Robotham

The first few trickles of feedback about Michael Robotham's new novel, Shatter, featuring psychologist Joseph O'Loughlin from The Suspect are beginning to trickle in...and the book won't even be released for another couple of months. Peter Millar of the UK TimesOnline has called Shatter "a gripping journey into the weaknesses and strengths of the human psyche, a story of humanity and inhumanity".

Adrian Hyland

Diamond Dove (aka Moonlight Downs) by Adrian Hyland is still proving to be a hit in the States where bloggers are reading it, enjoying it and telling us all about it. The Literary Feline has read it and said that "Moonlight Downs is a captivating crime novel that brings to life its characters and the land it is set in."

Another blog, this one Mystery Books cautions: "To be sure, this isn't the easiest book to read. The dialog and even much of the narrative (written in first person) are replete with Australian and Aboriginal words and slang." but adds that the book is intricately plotted and at times mesmerizing.

Meanwhile the Boston Globe's Haille Ephron has also read and reviewed Moonlight Downs and begins with glowing praise: "Many crime novels are best consumed at breakneck speed. Australian Adrian Hyland's debut novel, "Moonlight Downs," with its startling turns of phrase, vivid Outback setting, and rich rendering of cultural differences, is best savored slowly."

So is it any wonder that Reviewing the Evidence has devoted one of their "Sixty Seconds with..." interviews with Adrian Hyland.

Peter Temple

While visiting with Reviewing the Evidence they have also doled out a passing mention to Dead Point by Peter Temple which has recently been re-released calling it "an excellent addition to his PI Jack Irish series".