Category: Book Reviews

Book Review: ‘The Tribute’

~ melreviewsherbooks ~ Leave a comment

August 2021

John Byron is a debut Australian Crime Author. The Tribute was our August book for my Crime Fiction Fanatic Book Club. We were all excited and anticipating this read as it’s out first ‘serial killer’ esk type of crime fiction. The Tribute has also been shortlisted for the Victorian Premiers Literary Awards of 2021. This inaugural award recognises Australian literacy for its writing, reading and standout factor.

The Tribute surrounds seven killings taking place in modern day Sydney. Each murder is displayed as a dissection, with a specific body organ or system being focused on by the serial killer. His planned, professional and sickening murders are inspired by and recreated from the Fabrica, the 16th-century foundation text of modern European anatomy.

This multi-perspective thriller/murder mystery had be gripped at the beginning. We meet Murphy who one of the main homicide Detective’s on the case. Murphy was a challenging character to read from as his air of male dominance, feminist-hate type behaviour, coercive control in his marriage to Sylvia, and persistent alcoholism makes him quite an unlikeable voice. As I believe, John Byron has purposely done. Flipping and seeing the story from Sylvia’s perspective at times also encourages the reader to gain insight into the manipulative control, questioning and uncertainly domestic abuse can inflict on a woman. Jo, who is Murphy’s sister is also a main character. She is a well educated woman in the field of Art History and teaches at the local university. Due to her increased knowledge around the Fabrica, the State Commissioner has funded her as a resource on the serial killer case – much to Murphy’s dislike as he refused to be shown up by any woman, including his sister.

The use of the Fabrica, I have to say was extremely clever, well researched and a unique element of this novel. I throughly enjoyed how interwoven the serial killers thinking patterns, plannings and actions connected to this historical resource. Sadly, at some points I did feel that aspects of the plot were predictable. I wasn’t kept at a gripping pace or in a page-turning frenzy to get to the end of this book.

I am interested to hear the thoughts of my book club soon. Did they feel slightly let down as I did? Did the despise Murphy as much as I did? Do they think that the women of this story got the justice they deserved in the end? Were they shocked by the ending?

Have you read this book? Comment below!

Book Review: ‘The Wattle Island Book Club’

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August 2021

Sandie Docker’s novels always feel like a warm, comfortable and familiar hug to me. I am immersed in them within the first 3 chapters and next thing you know, I’ve been reading for an hour and have myself totally invested in the characters, their challenges and their experiences to come.

The Wattle Island Book Club is a dual perspective story following the wonderful Grace and Anne (with an e, just like Anne of Green Gables 😊). We’re initially introduced to Grace and she is strapped in to bungie jump off a cliff! Writing and curating ‘Bucket Lists’ has always been a tradition for her and she believes that life is full of unexpected curve balls and challenges, therefore it is time to start ticking off some of these adventures. Grace is a librarian and prides herself in the founding and organising of library bookclubs. She gives regular recommendations, offers support and lives to help her members. One day she receives a call from Anne in need of her immediate assistance.

Anne’s character is multi-dimensional as we follow her life in present time, as she works to resurrect her Wattle Island Book Club, and in the past through the period of the 1940-50’s Australia. Anne is made an orphan from a young age and is shipped off to Wattle Island to live with her Aunt. The small, quiet and isolated island prompts her love for reading to grow. Anne’s life has been full of love, loss and trauma as we learn throughout the book and I really resonated with her character – she was so strong and still so kind!

The elements of book clubs, reading lists, book shop and art were so well woven into The Wattle Island Book Club, that I wouldn’t have asked for a better lockdown read. Sandie’s writing takes me away and puts my mind at ease. I always find myself finishing her novels too soon (this one before it is even published!!) and desperately craving more!

Sandies other books are:

The Kookaburra Creek Cafe

The Cottage at Rosella Cove

The Banksia Bay Beach Shack

All of which I have throughly enjoyed and would highly recommend 📚

Book Review: ‘The Reading List’

~ melreviewsherbooks ~ Leave a comment

August 2021

The Reading List was an enjoyable and quick read for me. I found myself at a crossroads of what to read. There were multiple DNF’s before picking up ‘The Reading List’ so I have to say I was incredibly excited when this hit our New Release shelves at work.

Immediately I was captured by our main characters, Mukesh and Aleisha.

Mukesh is an English/Indian widowed older man. He has lost his life long companion to cancer and is starting to feel his life and body slowing down. His three daughters smother him with food, phone calls and check-ups. He feels a loss of independence and cannot stand being talked about rather than talked to by his family.

Aleisha is a 16 year old girl spending her summer break working in her small local library. She isn’t a reader so this jobs comes as a suggestion from her older brother Aidan, mostly to keep her busy while all her friends are away having spontaneous adventures and partying (as she sees on social media and through group chats). Aleisha’s mum also struggles with serious depression and needs full-time shift care from both her and her brother.

On Aleisha’s first day, a grumpy old man asks her for a book recommendation as he has just finished ‘The Time Traveller’s Wife’ and enjoyed it. This being one of the first books he has ever read, he wants something else to capture him and fill the void of lost connection to his wife. They have a little disagreement, make some quarrelsome remarks and a library book ends up being stolen – it’s quite a funny scene to initiate their meeting!

Taking a breath and walking around the library, Aleisha finds a crumpled up note in a copy of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. The note is a Reading List that has anonymously been left by someone for others to find. The Reading List looks well used and as Aleisha looks around the library, she wonders how many other people have come across this and maybe, just maybe, she can use this list to give book recommendations to that grumpy old man.

From here we see Mukesh and Aleisha’s friendship slowly bloom. Their slow growing connection to the world of books, the lives of each character and the emotional journey they all face creates such meaningful discussions and allows them to see more to life than they did before.The Reading List really highlighted for me the importance of reading. How it can allow us to travel into the worlds and minds of people who think and feel differently to us. Not only that, reading allows us to explore new and exciting worlds – both real and make believe. It encourages us to grow our insight of ourselves and others, learning to understand compassion and empathy. Maybe I may just have to make a little reading list of my own and leave it sitting in my local library 😉📚