"A tasty amuse-bouche" - review of THE BABY IS MINE

THE BABY IS MINE by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Atlantic Press, 2021)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

When his girlfriend throws him out during the pandemic, Bambi has to go to his Uncle's house in lock-down Lagos. He arrives during a blackout, and is surprised to find his Aunty Bidemi sitting in a candlelit room with another woman. They both claim to be the mother of the baby boy, fast asleep in his crib.

At night Bambi is kept awake by the baby's cries, and during the days he is disturbed by a cockerel that stalks the garden. There is sand in the rice. A blood stain appears on the wall. Someone scores tribal markings into the baby's cheeks. Who is lying and who is telling the truth?

Readers around the world have been looking forward to another novel from Nigerian star Oyinkan Braithwaite since her superb My Sister, the Serial Killer debuted to global acclaim pre-pandemic. That darkly funny slice of Lagos domestic noir was shortlisted for the 2019 Women’s Prize and longlisted for the Booker Prize, among other accolades.

The wait is nearly over, as next month Braithwaite’s second novel, Cursed Daughters, will be released. In the meantime however, readers can enjoy this fascinating novella. Set during the pandemic, it sees our protagonist Bambi kicked out of his girlfriend’s house. With Lagos in a blackout as well as lockdown, and with nowhere to go, he drives across the city to his late uncle’s house, only to be surprised by his Aunty Bidemi, and his uncle’s mistress, Esohe. And a baby.

Already under pressure, longtime playboy Bambi finds himself in a surreal world of bottle feeding, dirty nappies, and two women who both claim to be the baby’s mother. A stray cockerel stalks the garden. Someone puts sand in the rice. His aunty has to scrub blood stains off a wall. The baby’s cheeks are scratched with tribal markings. Who can Bambi believe – his grieving aunty, or Esohe, who had once shared Bambi’s bed too?

Braithwaite crafts a fast-flowing read full of darkness and humour. Aptly touted as a ‘blackly funny piece of Lagos gothic’, The Baby Is Mine is a lovely wee gift from a talented storyteller; a tasty amuse-bouche between the fuller courses of her novels..

[This review was first published in the August 2025 issue of Good Reading magazine in Australia]

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, podcast host, awards judge, and event chair. He's the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards, co-founder of Rotorua Noir, author of Macavity and HRF Keating Award-shortlisted non-fiction work SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, editor of the DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER anthology series, and writes about books for magazines and newspapers in several countries.

"Lingers long after the final page" - review of THE GIRL IN CELL A

THE GIRL IN CELL A by Vaseem Khan (Hachette, 2025)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

Convicted of murder at seventeen, infamous killer and true crime celebrity Orianna Negi has always maintained her innocence. BUT IF SHE DIDN'T KILL GIDEON WYCLERC...

Orianna has a blind spot over that fateful she can't remember what happened. Forensic psychologist Annie Ledet is tasked with unlocking the truth... THEN WHO DID?

Orianna grew up in Eden Falls, ruled by the insular Wyclerc dynasty and its ruthless patriarch , Amos. As their sessions progress, Annie reaches into Orianna's past to a shattering realisation... Scandal. Sex. Power. Race. And murder. Between guilt and innocence lies a fallen Eden.. 

Mystery readers may be pretty familiar with Vaseem Khan, the most recent Chair of the famed Crime Writers Association, thanks to his two fabulous series set in India - the Baby Ganesh mysteries, and the Malabar House historical mysteries set in post-Raj years. But the British-Indian author provides something very different with The Girl in Cell A, the first of two curveballs the sports-loving storyteller is throwing in 2025 (keep an eye out for his ‘James Bond universe’ thriller later this year).

Alternating between doctor and patient perspectives of prison psychologist Annie Ledet and celebrity killer Orianna Negi, The Girl in Cell A is a masterful mix of psychological thriller and rural noir. While Orianna has always maintained her innocence, despite being unable to recall events, it was no surprise she was convicted of killing Gideon Wyclerc, scion of the family that founded Eden Falls. She was found lying near the body, her fingerprints were on the shotgun, gunshot residue on

her, and plenty of motive given events of that day, and her entire life. A black teen with dissociative amnesia, a controversial diagnosis fuelling Orianna’s true crime celebrity, and plenty of online conspiracy theories. Can Annie Ledet uncover the truth; should Orianna ever be released?

Khan soaks readers in a town full of secrets and scandals and a crumbling dynasty with its own mythology. The Girl in Cell A is an impressive novel about the stories we believe and the lies we tell others and ourselves, that lingers long after its final page.

[This review was first published in the Summer 2025 issue of Deadly Pleasures magazine in the USA]

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, podcast host, awards judge, and event chair. He's the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards, co-founder of Rotorua Noir, author of Macavity and HRF Keating Award-shortlisted non-fiction work SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, editor of the DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER anthology series, and writes about books for magazines and newspapers in several countries.

"Rich in character and place, beautifully written" - review of THE VANISHING PLACE

THE VANISHING PLACE by Zoe Rankin (Moa Press, August 2025)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

On the remote West Coast of the South Island, vast forests stretch out between mountain ranges and rugged beaches. There, in the small town of Koraha, not a lot happens - until a young girl with blood on her hands walks out of the bush and into the local store, collapsing to the floor.

She can't - or won't - speak to anyone. It's the town's sole policeman who recognises her face. She looks exactly like a local girl who disappeared twenty years ago. She has the same red hair. The same green eyes. What horrors has she left behind in the bush? Who will come looking for her? And what secrets are about to come to light?

A twisty and daring thriller about how those close to you can be even more dangerous than the deadliest wilderness. 

Scotland-born author Zoë Rankin’s passion for the outdoors seeps through the pages of her outstanding debut The Vanishing Place, which takes readers deep into the rugged, deadly magnificence of the New Zealand bush. It’s a compelling, atmospheric tale set on the ‘wild West Coast’ of her adopted homeland’s South Island, entwined with smalltown secrets, past sins, atypical upbringings, and religious fervour. With an exceptionally strong sense of people and place; you can almost smell the fern-encrusted undergrowth as you read, hear the babbling streams and birdsong, and feel the scratching anxiety of just how easy it would be to vanish in such isolated back country.

As we begin, Effie is a highly capable police officer on the Isle of Skye in Scotland who has a habit of sometimes stubbornly getting in over her head. Putting herself and others in danger, with the best of intentions. She has always loved remote places, despite mixed memories of growing up in a cabin deep in the bush outside of Koraha, a tiny West Coast settlement, before escaping to the far side of the world as a teenager. But when a girl who looks just like Effie stumbles into a Koraha store, covered in blood, bringing back echoes of a troubling past to the small community, Effie is called back to New Zealand to try to find answers, including what happened to the rest of her own family?

There is a lot to love about The Vanishing Place. Rankin, who has won prizes for her short story writing and been knocking on the door of the (novel) publishing world for a while, masterfully immerses readers in Effie’s tale, past and present, along with that of Lewis, the boy who saved her many years ago, and is now a sole-charge policeman on the West Coast who is trying to deal with Anya, the bloodied young girl who’d appeared out of the bush. The Vanishing Place is an exceptionally well-crafted thriller, rich in character and place, beautifully written.

[This review was first published in the Summer 2025 issue of Deadly Pleasures magazine in the USA]

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, podcast host, awards judge, and event chair. He's the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards, co-founder of Rotorua Noir, author of Macavity and HRF Keating Award-shortlisted non-fiction work SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, editor of the DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER anthology series, and writes about books for magazines and newspapers in several countries.

"Fun read with nods to Christie, grief, and memento mori" - review of FIVE FOUND DEAD

FIVE FOUND DEAD by Sulari Gentill (Poisoned Pen Press, August 2025)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

On a train, there are only so many places to hide… Crime fiction author Joe Penvale has won the most brutal battle of his life. Now that he has finished his intense medical treatment, he and his twin sister, Meredith, are boarding the glorious Orient Express in Paris, hoping for some much-needed rest and rejuvenation. Meredith also hopes that the literary ghosts on the train will nudge Joe's muse awake, and he'll be inspired to write again. And he is; after their first evening spent getting to know some of their fellow travelers, Joe pulls out his laptop and opens a new document. Seems like this trip is just what the doctor ordered…

And then some. The next morning, Joe and Meredith are shocked to witness that the cabin next door has become a crime scene, bathed in blood but with no body in sight. The pair soon find themselves caught up in an Agatha Christie-esque murder investigation. Without any help from the authorities, and with the victim still not found, Joe and Meredith are asked to join a group of fellow passengers with law enforcement backgrounds to look into the mysterious disappearance of the man in Cabin16G. But when the steward guarding the crime scene is murdered, it marks the beginning of a killing spree which leaves five found dead―and one still missing. Now Joe and Meredith must fight once again to preserve their newfound future and to catch a cunning killer before they reach the end of the line.

The Orient Express. An iconic multi-day train journey between Paris and Istanbul that for more than a century has symbolised both luxury travel, and murder, thanks to Agatha Christie’s iconic 1934 novel. The mere words can’t help but conjure images of a moustachioed Belgian sleuth, in whichever of his various forms, from Albert Finney to Kenneth Branagh, Alfred Molina to David Suchet.

While there is no Poirot in sight, there are plenty of sleuths on board in Five Found Dead, Sri Lankan-Australian crime writer Sulari Gentill’s modern homage to the Christie Classic. Narrator Meredith is a lawyer accompanying her twin Joe on a once-in-a-lifetime trip, celebrating Joe surviving a life-threatening illness, and to hopefully rekindle his crime writing mojo. Their fellow passengers include former spies, police officers, private eyes, and a pair of sisters on the trail of a swindler. Suspicious? Or merely to be expected given the iconic train’s drawcard mix of literary history and luxury?

Joe’s muse is stirred by the setting and company; on the first evening he begins to write again. But the next morning the murder mysteries become all-too-real, as the cabin next door is bathed in blood. But where’s the body? Cut off from the outside due to various factors, including a COVID strain tearing through parts of the train, Joe and Meredith are requested to join a group looking to find answers. But what if one of them is the killer? Especially as other bodies begin to show up.

Gentill, who earlier this year won the Mary Higgins Clark Award for her novel The Mystery Writer at the 2025 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, clearly has lots of love for Golden Age-style mysteries given her own terrific series set in 1930s Australia starring artist-sleuth Rowly Sinclair. She appears to be thoroughly enjoying herself with Five Found Dead, a clever and engrossing mystery that like her prior novel plays with the mystery genre, and has plenty of winks and nods to Christie, Hitchcock, and others. There’s even an appearance by real-life Australian books podcasters Flex & Herds (who host "Death of the Reader", which deep-dives into classic and foreign mystery fiction), who enthusiastically (and dangerously?) insert themselves into the investigation.

It’s a fun read, and more, that like Christie herself at times, rides the implausibility curve to its limits. But there’s depth here too, Gentill threads in nods to memento mori and meditations on the fragility of life – perhaps inspired by her own cancer scare - as Joe and others confront their mortality..

[This review was first published in Deadly Pleasures magazine in the United States]

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, podcast host, awards judge, and event chair. He's the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards, co-founder of Rotorua Noir, author of Macavity and HRF Keating Award-shortlisted non-fiction work SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, editor of the DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER anthology series, and writes about books for magazines and newspapers in several countries.

Review: THE SECRET OF THE ANGEL WHO DIED AT MIDNIGHT

THE SECRET OF THE ANGEL WHO DIED AT MIDNIGHT by Rosy Fenwicke (June 2025)

Reviewed by Karen Chisholm

In the quiet wine-growing town of Martinborough, Detective Senior Sergeant Kate Sutton is called to investigate the murder of respected local physician Dr. Geoffrey Scott. Found dead in his own garden, the doctor's death sends ripples of unease through the close-knit community.

Recently divorced and still settling into her new home, Kate methodically begins to piece together the puzzle. As the investigation deepens, she discovers unexpected connections to the three-year-old disappearance of a young French woman—a case that has lingered unresolved in her career.

In this meticulously crafted mystery set in New Zealand's picturesque Wairarapa region, Rosy Fenwicke delivers a compelling police procedural that rewards careful attention and offers satisfying twists in the tradition of classic detective fiction. As Kate follows the clues to their logical conclusion, she discovers that even in the most idyllic settings, the past never truly stays buried.

The first in a new series from NZ author Rosy Fenwicke, THE SECRET OF THE ANGEL WHO DIED AT MIDNIGHT is a police procedural novel introducing DSS Kate Sutton.

Set in a wine-growing region of New Zealand, the sense of place in this one is pretty strong, drawing on a small town, with tensions between the old residents and newcomers staying very close to home. The victim in this novel is the local GP, Dr Geoffrey Scott, a man who has taken over his father's practice, a well known figure in the small community in which he's lived his life, his wife being the incomer. Younger, an artist, and right from the start seemingly somebody very different from her quiet, garden loving husband. Turns out that the relationship between these two is complicated, as it the truth behind Dr Geoffrey Scott's own position.

The investigation itself centres around recently divorced, and adjusting to a very different life, DSS Kate Sutton. She's got a supportive boss, a resentful underling, one son who remains close, one who is distant and an ex-husband who, frankly, sounds like a bit of a dick. She's also got a mostly absent, very eccentric father who arrives out of nowhere whilst Sutton is knee-deep in investigation problems and really not in the mood. Particularly when he temporarily moves into the spare room in her brand-new townhouse, although his presence does somehow smooth the path between Sutton and her youngest - part just a grumpy pain in the rear teenager, part the victim of a fairly acrimonious divorce.

The balancing act achieved between a complicated investigation - mostly because of what seems like a decidedly absent list of potential suspects - and the personal is good in this one though. The reader is allowed to get to know Sutton easily, as she navigates the complications of leading what turns into a pretty high profile case, at the same time that she works out how to start living on her own after many years juggling the job and the demands of a family. When a potential suspect does come to light, the pressure ramps up as the chance to arrest him is blown, and a second murder really makes the residents of this small town very twitchy. It's really only constant digging, and pushing and looking for things out of place, that ultimately connect events around the disappearance of a young French backpacker three years before, and the current murders.

In a police procedural style novel, readers will be looking for a believable investigative scenario, something not necessarily new, but well delivered, and increasingly a good balance between angst and hard work, inspiration and solid investigation. All of which THE SECRET OF THE ANGEL WHO DIED AT MIDNIGHT delivers well. The characters are good, the tension within the team believable and the slightly different angle of supportive boss / tricky colleague is a nice touch. As were the complications about the victim that were revealed as the case went on, and the way that the problems in his life took a while for people to be willing to talk about.

I think I saw somewhere that the second novel in this series is due out early in 2026, which is very good news as this is definitely a series worth keeping an eye out for.

Karen Chisholm is one of Australia's leading crime reviewers. She created Aust Crime Fiction in 2006, a terrific resource - please check it out. Karen also reviews for Newtown Review of Books, and has been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards and Ngaio Marsh Awards. This review was first published on Karen's website; she kindly shares some of her reviews of crime and thriller novels written by Australians and New Zealanders on Crime Watch as well as on Aust Crime Fiction. 

Review: GLASS BARBIE

GLASS BARBIE by Michael Botur (Lasavia Publishing, 2024)

Reviewed by Karen Chisholm

'Cockroach' Karl Copley, a crackhead crim with a small brain and a big mouth, convinces his former best friend Richie McMullan - now a squeaky-clean senior cop - he can help rescue Barbara 'Barbie' Konstantinou, a high school crush apparently held for ransom by bikers in New Zealand's sunny north.

Problems pile up quickly, though, when Barbie doesn't want to go back to her effed-up family and it emerges there's much more at stake than a simple kidnapping.

Over two wild weeks of love/hate hangouts and rescue attempts, from Whāngarei to Kaitaia to the Bay of Islands, we find out if Crooked Karl has what it takes to solve the mystery and bring back Barbie.

If you're looking for something that's wild, ranty, full to brim with nobody (including the good, bad, and slightly deluded) winning at anything, then GLASS BARBIE could be just the ticket.

It's a roller coaster ride alongside wild man, crackhead, Karl Copley. He of the big mouth and small brain, who somehow convinces an old mate, now a senior cop, Richie McMullan that the two of them can rescue Copley's high school sweetheart Barbara Konstantinou (the Barbie from the title), who is being held for ransom by bikies. I mean why wouldn't a senior cop buy into a plan which doesn't bother to take into account a hefty bit of reluctance on the part of the victim, and a few more complications than just kidnapping? Basically it's a couple of weeks in their madness whilst the reader hangs onto the edge of the page, wondering what the... why the... when the... oh, they won't, will they? 

Of course they will. It's almost a guarantee that any book from this author will involve a hefty dose of what do you mean this is all madness, of COURSE it's all madness, where did you think that blurb was hinting this was all going to go?

Of course it will lack quite a bit of nuance, the point here is madness, violence, no brains, and men being utter dickheads, and it's delivering that. In spades ... chucked at heads mostly. 

Of course it will come with a hefty dose of ranty humour, and violence, and pace, and crazy. The whole thing is crazy really, and if you're here for crazy, dark, bitter twisted funny, and don't mind a heap of violence, lots of sweary language, and a scenario that's as daft as a bucketload of brushes, then go for it. This is your moment.

Karen Chisholm is one of Australia's leading crime reviewers. She created Aust Crime Fiction in 2006, a terrific resource - please check it out. Karen also reviews for Newtown Review of Books, and has been a regular judge of the Ned Kelly Awards and Ngaio Marsh Awards. This review was first published on Karen's website; she kindly shares some of her reviews of crime and thriller novels written by New Zealanders adn Australians on Crime Watch as well as on Aust Crime Fiction. 

Review: DARK SKY

DARK SKY by Marie Connolly (QWP, 2024)

Reviewed by Karen Chisholm

Criminal psychologist Nellie Prayle loves solving murders. The more complicated, the better. But when a professor of astronomy is found dead at Tekapo’s Mt John Observatory during its internationally-attended 50th anniversary conference celebrations and Detective Jack Simmons calls on Nellie to help with the police investigation, she soon realises that this is not your typical murder – and nor are these your usual suspects.

As Nellie and Jack venture into the Dark Sky Reserve in Aotearoa New Zealand’s beautiful Mackenzie Country, they uncover a universe of rivalries, infidelities and emotional turmoil that pushes people to the edge. International intrigue and a tangle of motives unfold against a glittering backdrop of bright stars in this gripping tale of crime and passion, and as Nellie knows only too well, nothing in the world of academia is straightforward.

When the Director of the Mt John Observatory Professor Evelyn Major is murdered, just as an international conference is kicking off at the observatory overlooking Lake Tekapo, there are a lot of academics in the vicinity, with a lot of secrets, making the pool of potential suspects surprisingly wide. Enter Criminal Psychologist Nellie Prayle who loves solving complicated murders, and finds plenty to be going on with in this web of rivalry, infidelity and emotional turmoil. One thing is for sure, this investigation does not lack for motives, nor does it lack intrigue.

A modern day locked room style mystery in the style of Ngaio Marsh (this is from New Zealand after all), or Agatha Christie, DARK SKY is a really engaging procedural style novel that is heavily sprinkled with potential clues and reveals for the astute reader to be going on with. 

There's even a nice twist on the typical Golden Age finale, which sees Nellie going "off the record" with the murderer, working through the motivations and reasons for the killer's actions - not quite the grand reveal of whodunnit, but a most welcome whydunnit final phase to the investigation.

An investigation that relies a lot on conversations, asides and overheard hints from a large cast of people, some of which does get, unavoidably and perfectly understandably, a little on the repetitive side. To even that out there are some nicely done interactions, particularly between Nellie and members of both the investigation team and colleagues within the large cast, set against a most unusual locked room backdrop, which provided the opportunity for some lovely descriptive elements. 

All in all, DARK SKY does have a bit of setup going on, which hints that Nellie Prayle may be back, with Detective Jack Simmons one hopes, because there's nothing like a novel like this one to make you hope for a follow up.

Karen Chisholm is one of Australia's leading crime reviewers. She created Aust Crime Fiction in 2006, a terrific resource - please check it out. Karen also reviews for Newtown Review of Books, and has been a regular judge of the Ned Kelly Awards and Ngaio Marsh Awards. This review was first published on Karen's website; she kindly shares some of her reviews of crime and thriller novels written by New Zealanders adn Australians on Crime Watch as well as on Aust Crime Fiction. 

Review: THE DEFIANCE OF FRANCES DICKINSON

THE DEFIANCE BY FRANCES DICKINSON by Wendy Parkins (xx, 2024)

Reviewed by Karen Chisholm

A woman who braved public disgrace to expose a brutal marriage.

1838, England: When eighteen-year-old heiress Frances Dickinson impulsively marries Lieutenant John Geils, she soon discovers there is much about her husband she did not know. A cruel and violent man, John keeps Frances in isolation on his family's estate in Scotland, while spending her fortune and preying upon their maids.

Frances yearns to break free from her marriage but the law is not on her side. Only when John's abuse escalates can she set in motion a daring plan to secure her freedom.

A story of gaslighting, control and one woman's fight, The Defiance of Frances Dickinson is the true story behind one of the most sensational divorce trials of the nineteenth century.

The This novel, soberingly based on a true story, is set in the 1830's in England, telling the story of a sensational divorce trial instigated by Frances Dickinson after years of enduring abuse and degradation at the hands of her appalling husband. 18 years old and wealthy when she married Lieutenant John Gells, she soon discovered there was much more to him. A cruel, violent, predatory man he subjected her to years of physical, sexual and mental abuse, spending her money with abandon, whilst preying on their staff, she was kept separate from everyone, hidden away on his family's Scottish estate. 

Using letters, diary entries, and witness statements from the trial Parkins has built up a picture of a woman who was badly treated, by a society that permitted divorce but made it incredibly difficult to obtain, despite the fact that her husband was blatantly a monster. Fortunately, Frances is made of very stern stuff, and determined to save herself, and her daughters from this man, she, taking advantage of her position in society, and family support is able to firstly bring a legal action, and ultimately obtain the divorce she so rightly deserved.

Told from a variety of viewpoints, with the author's note ultimately explaining the factual source documents used, as well as the fictional byways taken, this story is not easy reading. That domestic abuse occurred back then is of absolutely no surprise, and it should surely form as a warning for the weird anti-divorce, anti-women's rights movements that seem to be crawling out of the slime again, but the extent of this man's actions were truly breathtaking, and profoundly disturbing. That the only reason Frances, and her daughters, survived is down to her determination, and to their "position" in society is extremely discomforting, as is the idea that she had to battle against potential "disgrace" to free herself from such an appalling situation. Says a huge amount about the world's attitude then (and increasingly again now) to women. 

The story is reasonably well crafted, although there is a bit of repetition in the first part that readers will have to work through. The tone feels very apt for the time, and the tension, once that repetition is in the past is palpable. If nothing else THE DEFIANCE OF FRANCES DICKINSON shows just how powerful gaslighting, coercive control and domestic violence are - they're still around, and there's still a sick cohort of deplorable human beings that deny they exist, or decry opposition to them.

Karen Chisholm is one of Australia's leading crime reviewers. She created Aust Crime Fiction in 2006, a terrific resource - please check it out. Karen also reviews for Newtown Review of Books, and has been a regular judge of the Ned Kelly Awards and Ngaio Marsh Awards. This review was first published on Karen's website; she kindly shares some of her reviews of crime and thriller novels written by New Zealanders adn Australians on Crime Watch as well as on Aust Crime Fiction.