Latest from Book Reviews

Turning the heat on the Cold War

Marian remains a compelling heroine, whose many contradictions are all believable — even if, to the long list of men who are smitten by her, we can confidently add the name of Simon Mawer.

Revisiting a noir wasteland

There’s a neat conceit, albeit an unlikely one, to Joseph Kanon’s new thriller, Leaving Berlin.

Engineer's thriller questions real-life

Engineer Paul Hardisty, a veteran of working in developing nations, has set his first thriller in Yemen. It’s a novel which raises plenty of questions about real-life, he tells Craig Sisterson.

Stephen King's new moving novel

Almost 30 years later, Morris Bellamy, the pasty-skinned, red-lipped villain of King's new novel, Finders Keepers, takes a less nuanced approach when confronting his own literary hero.

When two cultures confront or bend

Stephanie Johnson on how to make merry mischief

A couple of years ago, Stephanie Johnson wrote a highly entertaining novel about a writing class at an Auckland tertiary institution.

When fiction meets fact

Five books that make you see the world differently.

Books: Recent releases June 21

Author exposes the emotion behind the glitter and the glamour.

Books: Search for light in heart of darkness

There's an eerie, existential quality about Melanie Finn's new novel, Shame. What tiny, mundane choices determine our fate? Why does life cut one way, not another?

Window on world of fashion

Bonding over bloodshed

Award-winning Auckland writers Linda Olsson and Thomas Sainsbury tell Craig Sisterson why they’re collaborating on a thriller trilogy.

Christopher McDougall - parkour, paleo and energetic prose

Those of us for whom the Great Outdoors is the walk from front door to car door need to read Christopher McDougall.

Rosaleen Madigan's poignant and poetic commentary on life

Rosaleen Madigan loves her four adult children but, it has to be said, she has a pretty funny way of showing it.

Books: Satisfaction in meaty characters

Six of the best in stories starring oddballs and good sorts.

Books: Constellations of light in tale of tragedy

In her new novel we encounter Julian in a state of profound grief for his lover, Julia, and their daughter, Mira.

Books: Powerful debut set in seedy Irish underworld

Meet the first novel by a Galway writer who blogs about life on a council estate under a name so forceful I can’t repeat it in a family newspaper. Meet also a terrific reading experience.