This is the only book of Peter Carey’s I’ve ever actually liked. He’s one of those writers you know you’re supposed to admire but I just don’t quite get most of his books. But this one is a winner. Written phonetically and often hilariously from the perspective of Ned Kelly, it’s as much about police […]
True Crime
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale
This one’s a ripper read, as compelling as any thriller. It relates to the brutal killing of a three year old boy in 1860. The crime is pure Agatha Christie; a house in the country full of unhappy, oppressed people, a shocking crime, a clever detective. But it’s also real, and Summerscale brings it vividly […]
The Tall Man by Chloe Hooper
This vastly underrated true crime novel concerns the 2004 death in custody of Cameroon Doomadgee, an Aboriginal man who was arrested on Palm Island for a swearing at a police officer. Hooper is an outsider: she’s not a local of Palm Island, nor is she close to the police, but she responds to what she […]
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
It’s a classic for a reason; it feels so alive and vibrant, more than sixty years after its publication. Do read it.
Joe Cinque’s Consolation by Helen Garner
When Helen Garner sees accused murderer Anu Singh, she writes that Singh “raised my girl hackles in a bristle.” That is Garner’s writing in a nutshell; succinct, sincere, spare. We’ve all felt that sensation without ever voicing it, and we all know exactly what she means. In 1997 Singh murdered her boyfriend Joe Cinque in […]
The Red Parts by Maggie Nelson
Maggie Nelson’s aunt Jane was murdered before Nelson was born. This is Nelson’s account of the murder trial that followed, 35 years after the crime. The parts of the books about the murder trial and the reactions of Nelson and her family to it are quite riveting, but overall this book suffers from Nelson’s habit of over […]