Debbish | A blog about books and life

Book review: The Neighbours by Emma Babbington

Wednesday, July 30, 2025 Permalink

The Neighbours by Emma Babbington is the journalist’s debut novel and it’s a very good one. As lovers of books we have very similar tastes, so I guess it’s not surprising that I would enjoy something she’s written. And The Neighbours is a complex thriller with layers of murky moral dilemmas for readers to traverse. It predominantly unfolds from the point of view of Liv – a physical therapist and mother to 19 year old university student Gracie. And then there’s Meredith, an orthopaedic surgeon who knew Liv as a teenager and who moves into the same street as her former friend and the arrogant, lecherous and recently-dead plastic surgeon Richard Wellington.

Book review: Guess Again by Charlie Donlea

Wednesday, July 23, 2025 Permalink

Guess Again by Charlie Donlea is the eighth book I’ve read by the American author. I’m conscious that Donlea’s not a household name but certainly a go-to author for me – offering up consistently good thrillers. Here we’ve got a likeable lead in Ethan Hall – a cop-turned emergency room doctor convinced to return to try to solve one last case and maintain his (former) 100% solve-rate. It helps however that he’s being given clues by a prisoner – who killed Ethan’s police officer father 32 years earlier.

Book review: What the Night Brings by Mark Billingham

Friday, July 18, 2025 Permalink

What the Night Brings by Mark Billingham is the 19th in the series featuring Detective Tom Thorne (and Nicola Tanner). I was a latecomer to the series, kicking off with book #13 in 2015. I was relieved a few books ago when Tom broke up with this then girlfriend and fellow cop Helen and moved on with a new love interest. For reasons I now cannot remember I was not a fan of Helen. And wouldn’t you know it… he’s back with Helen here. A reunion I somehow did not share in my review of book #18 The Murder Book, though I didn’t bemoan the fact so maybe whatever irked me about her has dissipated a little. She’s left the police now so perhaps the career move has made her less-irksome in my eyes.

Book review: The Forsaken by Matt Rogers

Sunday, July 13, 2025 Permalink

I first heard of The Forsaken by Matt Rogers at BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival late last year when Rogers spoke on a panel. He’s not exactly a debut author as he’s had a successful self-published career before getting picked up by Simon and Schuster. I LOVE Gregg Hurwitz’s Orphan X series and I believe Rogers gives him a shout-out or hat-tip here by referencing his creation – the black ops government program using orphaned children. And Rogers’s lead Logan Booth is reminiscent of Orphan X (Evan Smoak) himself. There’s the brawn and fancy weaponry but also cunning street smarts.

Book review: The Surf House by Lucy Clarke

Thursday, July 10, 2025 Permalink

The Surf House by Lucy Clarke is an intriguing read set in Morocco. And who knew Morocco even had surf beaches? My geographical ignorance means I’d always pictured it as desert-like and land-locked, not the type of place where you’d find retreats on hilltops overlooking surf beaches! It’s certainly a world away for Bea, a young English model who has become disillusioned with her profession and life in general.

Book review: We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter

Wednesday, July 2, 2025 Permalink

I very much enjoyed We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter so was even happier when I discovered it’s actually labelled North Falls #1. Slaughter does such a great job developing the characters and their lives, so it makes complete sense not to waste fabulously rounded creations on just one book. In fact, part-way through the novel it felt a bit like I was really embedded in the lives of the Clifton family and community of North Falls as if we’d been hanging out for years. It meant I was somewhat surprised when just over a third of the way through I discovered the unfolding plot (where I was happily ensconced) had been in the past and we move forward twelve years into the present.

Book review: Eden by Mark Brandi

Saturday, June 28, 2025 Permalink

I must confess I had no idea that Eden by Mark Brandi was a follow-on from his 2017 award-winning novel Wimmera. I recognised the name when it was mentioned in the novel but hadn’t remembered the plot of the book so ‘Tom’ (and the crime for which he was imprisoned) wasn’t familiar at all when I launched into this. It didn’t matter but I did wonder if I might have engaged a little more with him had I remembered our previous outing. I certainly liked him – though he was frustrating and the direction he was heading was akin to the proverbial train wreck looming in slow motion.

Book review: A Beautiful Family by Jennifer Trevelyan

Wednesday, June 25, 2025 Permalink

A Beautiful Family by Jennifer Trevelyan is a coming of age story told from the viewpoint of 10 year old Alix, holidaying with her 15 year old sister Vanessa and parents at a beachside holiday house in New Zealand. This was a nostalgic read for me as it’s set in 1985/86 and references cassette tapes, Walkmans and Dolly magazine. It’s also quintessentially NZ/Australian in some ways as Alix describes the hot sticky weather, BBQs and her father spends much time watching the cricket.

Book review: No One Would Do What The Lamberts Have Done by Sophie Hannah

Monday, June 23, 2025 Permalink

No One Would Do What The Lamberts Have Done by Sophie Hannah is a hard book to review. Firstly it’s a book within a book. A cop purportedly finds a box containing a manuscript. It was out of order he tells his boss, but he puts it together and discovers it’s about a recent tragedy in the community. One the cop and his boss thought was resolved. However, the manuscript raises a number of questions.

At its most simple, it’s about two neighbouring families – the Lamberts and the Gaveys. Not even warring families, though we learn the daughters didn’t get along. It kicks off with a police officer knocking on the door of the Lamberts following an accusation that the Lamberts’s dog – Champ – has bitten the Gavey’s daughter (Tess).