Resurrection Walk
by Michael Connelly (A&U, $36.99)
Californiam crime maestro Michael Connelly’s most famous character, the grizzled sleuth Detective Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch, once mired in development hell, has now been portrayed on TV by Titus Welliver for nine excellent seasons in Bosch and Bosch: Legacy. And “Lincoln lawyer” Mickey Haller has leapt from silver screen to Netflix, too. In Resurrection Walk, Connelly brings together half-brothers Haller and Bosch in another struggle for justice. Lawyer and ex-addict Haller is chasing a new high: freeing the wrongly convicted. An ageing Bosch is battling blood cancer while working for Haller as a driver and sounding board so he can access a promising treatment trial. When Lucinda Sanz, convicted of killing her sheriff’s deputy ex-husband, writes to Haller, Bosch finds himself “across the aisle” from old colleagues and the life he’s known for decades as a cop. Can he live with working to free a “cop killer”? Connelly showcases his masterful touch for holistic crime storytelling: fascinating mysteries, rich characters, thematic undercurrents and a strong sense of time and place.
The Drowning
by Bryan Brown (A&U, $36.99)
Like Connelly, Bryan Brown has been telling stories for decades – although in his case he’s transitioned from screen to page. An Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated actor who has appeared in several dozen Australian and Hollywood films and TV series since the late 1970s, Brown recently turned to prose with Sweet Jimmy, a 2021 collection of gritty tales that was shortlisted for a Ned Kelly Award. Now, in The Drowning, he dives into his first full crime novel, and it’s a cracker. In a New South Wales coastal small town, the body of an indigenous teen washes up on the beach a few weeks after a Danish backpacker disappears. A bikie gang lurks in the back blocks and the locals are harbouring plenty of secrets and sins. Brown uses crisp language and kaleidoscopic perspectives – victim, perpetrator, locals – as the story and its mysteries unravel. Unsurprisingly, The Drowning has something of a cinematic feel and a strong voice across its varied cast. Brown delivers a compelling crime tale that, like his acting, is quintessentially Australian without being clichéd.
The Christmas Appeal
by Janice Hallett (Profile, $29.99)
For those looking for something more festive in their reading as 2023 draws to a close, the latest offering from English author Janice Hallett could be a great stocking stuffer. The Christmas Appeal revisits the small village of Lower Lockwood – the setting for Hallett’s smash hit debut The Appeal – and local amateur dramatic society The Fairway Players. A charity panto of Jack and the Beanstalk to raise funds to repair the church roof sparks power struggles within the players, but the discovery of a skeleton dressed as Santa raises the stakes significantly. Hallett once again blends Golden Age stylings with epistolary writing to create a clever and engaging mystery, told this time through WhatsApp chats, emails and transcripts of police interviews. The seasonal setting adds extra fun and the wit and quirky characters readers expect from Hallett are in full song. A good read that’s somewhat akin to Agatha Christie or Ngaio Marsh, spun into a modern setting.
