kcNov 25, 2022

@bookstodon

It's Friday afternoon and any excuse to not do the day job, so a quick list of favourite Aus/Nz authors for your disagreement 😘

1/ Garry Disher (AUS) - master at dark arts of rural noir / (and suburban / city noir) as well as morally ambiguous central characters (fingers always crossed for more Wyatt books from him).

2/ Paul Thomas (NZ) under-discussed author of the terrific Tito Ihaka series. Well worth tracking down if you're a fan of police procedurals with a great set of twists.

3/ Dave Warner (AUS) - great back catalogue of police procedural / pi / accidental detective novels with a strong sense of place and time (some of the early ones were just gloriously funny).

4/ and 5/ Recent Ngaio Marsh Award Winners Becky Manawatu and Jacqueline Bublitz (NZ) - astounding books from both of these writers exploring very different aspects of crime and consequence.

6/, 7/ and 8/ Aoife Clifford, Shelley Burr and Margaret Hickey who are following in the footsteps of Jane Harper (AUS) when it comes to rural Australian crime.

9/ Sulari Gentill (AUS) who writes an historical series that's packed with factual components, serious subject matter delivered in a seriously entertaining manner (her recent couple of meta-fiction have been fab as well).

10/ From the no longer with us and boy do we miss them category - the Peter's (Temple and Corris: AUS). Trailblazers.

#CrimeFiction
#books
#SouthernCrossCrime
#YeahNoir

Show threadLinkmeisterNov 25, 2022
@kcfromaustcrime @bookstodon Jon Cleary?
Show threadkcNov 25, 2022

@Linkmeister @bookstodon

As yes - the Inspector Scobie Malone series - one of my earliest introductions to the joys of local crime fiction. The High Commissioner was the first in that series from memory - mid 1960s?

Show threadLinkmeisterNov 25, 2022

@kcfromaustcrime @bookstodon

That's right.1966. That's the only one I've ever read, but I see there are nearly 20. I enjoyed it, but I had no clue it became a series until a year or two ago. Are they worth the read?

https://www.amazon.com/High-Commissioner-Jon-Cleary/dp/0688017878/ref=sr_1_1

Show threadkcNov 25, 2022

@Linkmeister @bookstodon

It's been many years since I read them, so I'm not sure how or if they have aged well - but I read most of them back in the day and really enjoyed them.

Show threadLinkmeisterNov 25, 2022
@kcfromaustcrime @bookstodon Thanks. Unfortunately they're not all in E-book format and they must be out of print, because the prices for used copies are pretty high (in America). Maybe in Australia they're cheap, but shipping costs would be prohibitive, I imagine.
Show threadRonsboy67
@Linkmeister @kcfromaustcrime @bookstodon For a different sort of crime novel, Wendy Wilson's Frank Hardy series. An expat Kiwi and Canadian academic, her historical mysteries set in the 1860s and on have taught me much about history in the Manawatū and Hawkes Bay especially
Nov 25, 2022 at 7:01amWeb
Show threadLinkmeisterNov 25, 2022

@ronsboy67 @kcfromaustcrime @bookstodon

Thanks, I'll give her a looksee.

Show threadkcNov 25, 2022

@ronsboy67

@Linkmeister @bookstodon

I've read a couple from that series, it's a really interesting time and place, and a great central character.

Show threadLinkmeisterNov 25, 2022

@ronsboy67 @kcfromaustcrime @bookstodon

Here's a pleasant surprise: they're all in Kindle format and they're all under $4 US. I just bought the first one and will see how I like it before splurging further. Thanks again for the pointer.