This week, Jeff Popple reviews three enjoyable novels about lemons, crime and something darker. More of Jeff’s reviews can be found on his blog: murdermayhemandlongdogs.com
When Lemons Give You Life by Anna Johnston
Penguin, $34.99
Fans of feel-good novels will enjoy this latest book by Anna Johnston, author of the bestselling The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife. Retired Michelin-star chef Griff Barlow has lost his appetite for food and life. Tired of the slop that they serve at his aged care facility, he breaks into the kitchen one night to cook up a final tart, but finds his dormant joy of cooking re-ignited. Encouraged by the local residents, he branches out and discovers that food may give him the second chance that he needs. An uplifting novel with a sharp sense of humour and genuine empathy. Recommended.
Slash by Gavin Strawhan
Allen & Unwin, $34.99
Gavin Strawhan made a strong crime fiction entry with his first novel, The Call, and has now followed it up with the equally good Slash. Battered former Auckland cop Honey Chambers is barely getting by following the murder of her lover, but is coerced into tracking down a missing son who is suspected of murder. It is a bloody trail that takes her from New Zealand’s east coast to Fiji, and a deadly final showdown with a killer. This is good, gritty noir writing and a fine example of the quality crime fiction being produced across the Tasman. Tense and exciting, it grips to the end.
A River Red with Blood by John Connolly
Hodder & Stoughton, $34.99
Connolly’s latest novel opens with haunted private investigator Charlie Parker reluctantly agreeing to determine the truth about the death of a runaway teenager, whose body was found in the Maine wilderness. Very soon, however, he finds himself up against a deadly trio of thrill killers, and something much worse deep in the forest. This is another beautifully written and compelling thriller by Connolly, which mixes crime and mild supernatural themes with the dark reality of teenage institutional care in America. The story moves along at a good pace, with richly described characters and scenes, and a high degree of suspense. First class.
