Immortal Words

Retired lawyer Sybil Van Antwerp lives alone in Arnold, Maryland. There is routine to the septuagenarian's life. She reads, keeps her house by the river tidy, but mostly she sits at her desk with a mug of Irish breakfast tea and writes letters. Occasionally she will send an email, but Sybil prefers to write in cursive longhand and send the letters by post.  

Sybil writes to authors like Joan Didion, Ann Patchett and Larry McMurtry, telling them about her admiration for their books. She writes to her beloved brother, Felix now living in France with his husband. She writes to her daughter Fiona, a career-driven mother living in London, and to her son Bruce who lives near enough that he could visit more often. She writes to a child of a colleague, the local Garden Club, her neighbour, the editors of a newspaper and a company help desk. Sybil is also writing a long, unsent letter to another person in which she reveals some of her most painful memories and deepest fears. 

Virginia Evans' delightful debut The Correspondent (2025) is an epistolary novel, told in letters. Through the letters she writes and receives, we learn about Sybil and the secrets she holds, the regrets she has, and the belonging she desires. 

Sybil is a remarkable character you cannot help feeling affection for.  Externally she presents as strong-willed and cold, but underneath she is vulnerable and needs to make peace with her past. Evans has lovingly crafted Sybil and tenderly helps her to know and possibly forgive herself. 

The novel is engrossing and covers some deep themes - family, friendship, loss, aging, regret, companionship. I loved how it shined a light on the lost art of letter writing. In a world of social media, instant messaging and AI, the art of a handwritten letter has disappeared. I cannot even remember the last time I wrote or received a handwritten letter, yet I have fond memories of sending aerograms and cards in the time before the internet. If I could, I would love to write to Sybil (she would be an excellent pen pal) and exchange book recommendations with her.  

I highly recommend this unique novel. While it is only January, I have a feeling this will be among my top books for the year. I will be thinking about The Correspondent for a long time to come. 

Dance of Death

Agatha Christie's The Body in the Library (1942) begins with a murder. The body of a young woman is found lying on the hearth rug the library of Gossington Hall, the estate of Colonel and Mrs Bantry, by the maid. She wakes the Bantrys with a shriek.

While the Colonel contacts the local police - Inspector Slack and Colonel Melchett - Mrs Bantry has other ideas. She telephones her dear friend Miss Marple, the amateur sleuth. Marple is able to disarm witnesses with her charming, grandmotherly visage, and piece together a mystery with her fine intellect and quick wit. The police know Miss Marple and are keen to hear her perspective. 

The detectives need to identify this woman, who is unknown to the Bantry household. Their investigation takes them to the Majestic Hotel in Danemouth where an invalid guest, Conway Jefferson, has reported an 18 year old dancer, Ruby Keene, missing. She was onstage at 10pm, and seen dancing with a man at 11pm, but did not return for her midnight set. her cousin Josie, who recommended Ruby for the hotel job, confirms the identity of the body.

Suddenly there are a lot of potential suspects and when a second body is found, things become more complicated. There are many threads to pull in the investigation, revealing bitter rivalries, secret relationships and financial incentives among the many suspects. 

Miss Marple attends police interviews and notices things that others don't. She sees the state of someone's fingernails, the sideways glances another gives, and can tell if a person is lying. Marple figures everything out long before the police, and helps to solve both murders.

This is the second Miss Marple book, preceded by The Murder at the Vicarage (1930), and I enjoyed her as a character, even though she was in the background for much of the story. While Miss Marple worked alongside the police, she did not dominate or show them to be incompetent. Rather she partnered with them and helped them with the investigation. 

The Body in the Library is a delightful novel, brimming with humour. Christie is clearly having a great deal of fun telling this tale.  

I have had this book for a very long time, but had never read it. I recently stumbled across the "Read Christie" challenge, run by Agatha Christie Ltd (the company established by the author which owns the rights to her works). The 2026 challenge, 'Biggest, Best, Beloved' has selected twelve titles for a monthly read along. The Body in the Library has been given the category of 'Best Opening' and it certainly starts lives up to that description. I don't know if I will pursue the full Read Christie challenge this year, but I might give it a go. The Agatha Christie books I have previously enjoyed have generally been quick reads.

My reviews of other Christie novels are available on this blog: 

• The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920)
• Murder on the Links (1923)

An Excellent Vintage

Matthew Spencer's debut novel Black River (2022) introduced readers to Detective Sargent Rose Riley, as she investigated a serial killer prowling Sydney. Journalist Adam Bowman covered the case and the two worked in parallel, each thriving in their respective jobs. Following this high profile case, Bowman wrote a book which changed his fortunes and, with Riley as a central figure, she lost some of her prized anonymity.

DS Riley is back in Broke Road (2025). Wakened by a phone call advising her of a murder in the Hunter Valley wine region, Riley quickly packs for a few days away and begins the two-hour drive north of Sydney. Riley is familiar with the area, having grown up nearby, in the part less frequented by tourists. Past the cellar doors and golf resorts, there is a seedier side to the region marked by poverty, drug abuse and a large prison. 

In a new estate near Pokolbin, a woman has been found strangled in her home. Riley calls in her colleague Priya Patel to assist, and the two book in to a local inn as they realise this case may take a while to solve. The woman's husband, a geologist working for the coal industry, has an alibi. But there are plenty of other suspects for Riley and Patel to investigate and rule out.

When the forensic analysis reveals similarities to cold cases interstate, Riley's investigation becomes much bigger. She needs to crack the case before the killer strikes again. With the local tabloids muddying the waters, she calls on Adam Bowman to resurrect the working relationship they established on the earlier case. He arrives in the area and quickly begins following his own leads, some of which may land him in trouble. 

Spencer has crafted a captivating thriller. He excels at the police procedural aspects of the case, and has created compelling new characters like the local cop Christian Rodrigues who has been assigned to help Riley and Patel. There are plenty of intriguing subplots and red herrings along the way to keep readers guessing. Riley is smart and diligent, but with an underlay of vulnerability. Patel is a perfect partner, with her quick wit and likability, she can build relationships to assist in their work. 

One aspect I really appreciated was the way in which Spencer covered the tension in the area. The tourism industry, which thrives on weekends, causes the towns and villages to swell and locals resent being priced out as homes are converted to AirBnBs and boutique hotels. Beyond the vineyards, farmers are struggling with increased costs, and the coal industry which has sustained generations of workers faces protest from environmentalists. 

Broke Road is an excellent novel which can be read on its own, but I would encourage starting with Black River to get the full effect. 

His Bloody Project

On a small island in Scotland's Outer Hebrides a shocking crime occurred in an otherwise peaceful crofter community in July 1857. Angus MacPhee, a troubled and troublesome man, brutally murdered his parents and aunt, then took off fearing capture. Locals formed a hunting party and found him, taking him to Inverness for trial. MacPhee's siblings are left to pick up the pieces.

Graeme Macrae Burnet has taken this true crime story and composed a novella, Benbecula (2025), narrated by MacPhee's brother Malcolm. Told retrospectively, Angus first appears to be a lazy man in a household which tolerates his weirdness. His father is disinterested, his mother is only focussed on the hearth fire at the croft, and his siblings are busy working to bring in sea ware to make a small living off selling kelp. Angus smokes his pipe and pleasures himself, without lifting a finger to help. His sibling do their best to avoid him.

Neighbours are worried about Angus. His creepiness disturbs passersby, and his odd behaviour has caused concern. One day he behaves so erratically that he is shackled and forced to remain at home, restrained. As the days pass, the family gives him more latitude and he seems to be better. Until he commits the horrendous act of violence for which he is incarcerated. Several years after the crime Malcolm MacPhee recounts the tale and the aftermath, alone from the croft. 

I always admire Macrae Burnet's writing style. By using Malcolm as narrator, he inhabits the brevity of the man's storytelling and infuses it with the local dialect. Readers can see the bigger picture, and read between the lines of what is not being overtly said. Relying on the scant records from witness statements, which would have been translated from Gaelic and made to sound more proper than the words of the illiterate locals, Macrae Burnet builds a whole world. He is able to depict the bleakness of this life - growing potatoes, harvesting kelp - on this small island. I appreciated the way the narration switched between Malcolm's later recall, and the lead up to the crimes. 

In less than 170 pages, Macrae Burnet has crafted a wonderful novella. While I greatly enjoyed it, I did not feel it was as good as Macrae Burnet's His Bloody Project (2015) which I absolutely adored. My review of Macrae Burnet's Case Study (2021) is also available on this blog. 

Handle the Heat

If you a senior leader, facilitator or board chair, Larry Dressler's Standing in the Fire (2018) is definitely worth a read. In this short book, Dressler explores what to do if a meeting goes off the rails, participants are polarised, or you find yourself in the middle of a fiery situation. The book is subtitled 'Leading high-heat meetings with clarity, calm, and courage' - and addresses how to do just that.

In my career I have had to have many difficult conversations, participated in intense board meetings, mediated grievances, and managed challenging group dynamics. Despite my experience, every so often a curve ball is thrown and upon reflection I wonder what I could have done differently to take the heat out of a situation or responded more effectively when I was the target of other's emotions.

Business books often have models - a pyramid or Venn diagram which purports to solve all your woes. Thankfully, Dressler doesn't really do that. Instead he focusses on practical tips for managing group dynamics. 

He begins with an analogy of fire and how in groups a fire can be destructive or productive. Heat can escalate in a group environment and degrade into aggression, personal attacks, misinformation and rumour. Conversely, fire can serve groups by bringing passions to the surface, illuminating issues, clearing the air, and allowing creativity to flourish. 

I like his depiction of leaders as fire tenders - 'people who can stand in the face of incendiary conflicts and perplexing challenges and help others hold the tensions, emotions and uncertainties long enough to arrive at new insights and common ground' (p25). In order to master this skill, we have to look inward at how we react and adapt to situations. We need to know our own triggers and what we can do to tend our own fires.

Dressler shows six ways of standing in fire by being present, self-aware, open, empathetic, ready for the unexpected and knowing what you stand for. He gives examples from his work and interviews with business leaders to showcase different skills, provides reflect questions to provoke introspection and homework for those who want to develop their skills.  

Not all of his tips will work for everyone. Indeed, there were many where I thought I am never going to do that. But there was much that resonated for me. 

Standing in the Fire is a quick read, but a book I can see myself go back to overtime to hone these important skills. 

Dust and Division

Day's End (2022) is the fourth novel in Garry Disher's Hirsch crime series and his best to date. 

Paul Hirschhausen (Hirsch) has been stationed at the single-officer police station in Tiverton, South Australia for three years now and has gradually become part of the community. He covers a huge rural area, and does the rounds twice a week to check in on locals and providing a visible police presence. The pandemic has reached the town, bringing with it division and isolation. 

A Belgian visitor, Janne Van Sant, is in town looking for her son. He was a backpacker working on a rural property before he allegedly took off to Queensland with a girl. A body has been found in a smouldering suitcase, but it is not Van Sant's son. On top of this, some residence have been the victims of online scams, including Hirsch's partner Wendy. Up in the more populated Redruth, his colleagues are dealing with racist graffiti, druggies and other crime. 

There is a lot going on in Day's End and Disher handles it all brilliantly. I really appreciated the way he depicted the COVID lockdown impact on the regional area and the challenges young people face in a town which gives them little to do. 

Disher is such a great crime writer. He is an expert with pacing and uses short chapters which always leave the reader wanting more. As such, I was easily able to finish this 400 page book in two days. You really get feel for the landscape here, and Van Sant, as a foreigner in this strange land, comments that places are named for ill-adventure - Mischance Creek, Desolation Hill etc. 

I was fortunate to receive book five in this series, Mischance Creek (2025), for Christmas so will be returning to Hirsch's world before long.   

You don't need to read the first three Hirsch books to enjoy Day's End, but I would encourage fans of the genre not to miss them. My reviews of other novels in the Hirsch series are available on this blog:

• Bitter Wash Road (2013)
• Peace (2019)
• Consolation (2020) 

I also recommend Disher's standalone novels, like: The Way it is Now (2021) and Sanctuary (2024). 

Planning for 2026

My reading year begins with a review of the stack of books on my 'To Be Read' pile to see which ones I really want to read and which can be shelved a little longer. I have also recently done a major clean up and cull of my library and found many forgotten gems. So I have the following prioritised for 2026: 

• 
  Emma Donoghue - The Paris Express
• Mick Herron - Dead Lions
• Alan Hollinghurst - Our Evenings
• Dervla McTiernan - The Unquiet Grave
• Philip Pullman - The Rose Field
• Heather Rose - A Great Act of Love
• Elizabeth Strout - Abide with Me
• Graeme Macrae Burnet - Benbecula

I am looking forward to a number of new books due to be published in 2026, including:

• George Saunders - Vigil (January) 
  
• Julian Barnes - Departure(s) (January)
• Tayari Jones - Kin (February)
• Lauren Groff - Brawler: Stories (February)
• Louise Milligan - Shelleybanks (March)
• ML Steadman - A Far Flung Life (March)
• Alba De Cespedes (trans. Ann Goldstein) - There's No Turning Back (March)
• Tana French - The Keeper (March)
• Natalie Haynes - No Friend in this House (March)
• Yann Martel - Son of Nobody (March)
• Colm Tóibín - The News from Dublin (March)
• Brian Bilston - How to Lay and Egg with a Horse Inside (April)
• Kae Tempest - Having Spent Life Seeking (April)
• Elizabeth Strout - The Things We Never Say (May)
• Kristin Hannah - Between Sisters (May)
• Douglas Stuart - John of John (May)
• Maggie O'Farrell - Land (June)
• Ann Patchett - Whistler (June)
• Jennifer Saint - This Immortal Heart (June)
• Lisa See - Daughters of the Sun and Moon (June)
• Colson Whitehead - Cool Machine (July)
• Daniel Mason - Country People (July)
• Robert Harris - Agrippa (August)
• Jon Ronson - The Castle (August)
• Emily St John Mandel - Exit Party (September)
• Louise Kennedy - Stations (September)

While I won't get to all of them this year, I have preordered many from my library. 

I have renewed my Quarterly Essay subscription and am looking forward to coming issues by Michael Wesley, Anna Goldsworthy and others. I have also renewed my Audible subscription so will be able to explore audiobooks to enhance my reading.

Having nearly completed Hilary Mantel's epic Cromwell trilogy (Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies -read in 2025, and The Mirror and the Light - not quite finished by year end!), I am thinking I should complete some other big series that I have started - like Frank Moorhouse's Edith Campbell Berry series, Robertson Davies' Cornish Trilogy, or Colson Whitehead's Harlem Trilogy. Or maybe I should start something new like Solvej Balle's seriers On the Calculation of Volume.

For the past few years I have consistently been able to read at least 30 books a year. In 2025 I exceed this, reading 45. For 2026, I will aim for 40 books! I will continue to explore new authors, genres and subject matters, however I am also enjoying my Box Sets plan to read the back catalogues of authors I admire. I also need to get cracking on my Fifty/Five list of what I planned to read before the end of 2028 as I have not done very well so far. 

Happy reading everyone!

My Reading Year 2025

I read a lot in 2025! My reading goal for 2025 was 35 books, which I surpassed reading 45 titles this year - over 15,500 pages! When planning for 2025, I had a stack of books on my to-be-read pile, and managed to read only a handful before I got distracted, as I always do, by other titles. 

So here's what I read in 2025:

Fiction

This was the year I finally immersed myself in the Elizabeth Strout universe. I began the year with Olive Kitteridge, Strout's Pulitzer Prize winning novel. I jumped ahead to her latest novel, Tell Me Everything, which was shortlisted for the 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction. I then went back to the beginning and read her debut novel,  Amy and Isabelle. I am now fully converted to her genius and plan on exploring more of her work next year.

Another author that I have had on my radar for years but never conquered was Hilary Mantel. This year I read two-thirds of her Cromwell Trilogy with the Booker Prize winning Wolf Hall and its sequel Bring Up the Bodies.  I have started the final novel in the series, a hefty hardback of The Mirror in the Light, but will not complete it this year. 

Literary award longists added many titles to my reading list. Among my favourite novels this year were by Australian authors - Melanie Cheng's The Burrow (Stella Prize), Emily Maguire's wonderful Rapture (Stella Prize) Fiona McFarlane's linked short stories in Highway 13 (Miles Franklin Award), and Evie Wyld's ghostly tale, The Echoes (Victorian Premier's Prize). The 2025 Women's Prize introduced me to two heartbreaking novels which I still think about: Yael Van Der Wouden's The Safekeep and Roisin O'Donnell's Nesting. Carys Davies' lovely novel Clear (RSL Ondaatje Prize) was also brilliant. 

I wanted to read Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead ever since it was published and won the Women's Prize (among other accolades) in 2023, but I felt compelled to re-read Charles Dickens' David Copperfield first. I am so glad I did, as it greatly enhanced my reading of Kingsolver's remarkable novel. Having recently tidied my bookshelves, I find that I already possess a number of her novels so I look forward to exploring her back catalogue.

Other titles that had been languishing unread on my shelves finally moved up the to-be-read pile. I loved Anne Enright's The Green Road and am slowly working my way through all of her books.  Alex Miller's A Brief Affair, Penelope Lively's Heat Wave, Sarah Waters' The Paying Guest and Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here were great reads in 2025. I also finally read Barbara Trapido's Brother of the More Famous Jack which I had heard about for years. 

Some of the series that I have been following had new novels published. I really enjoyed Suzanne Collins' Sunrise on the Reaping, Tara Moss' The Italian Secret and Philip Pullman's The Secret Commonwealth. I have been saving Pullman's latest and last novel in the Lyra Bellaqua series - The Rose Field - but will read that next year. 

Taylor Jenkins Reid's Atmosphere, a novel I read without any expectations, was such a beautiful, heartbreaking story it left me sobbing. Another great standalone novel was Liz Moore's The God of the Woods.

I love a good crime thrillers, especially 'Aussie Noir'. This year I read Hayley Scrivenor's Girl Falling, Chris Hammer's  Legacy (another Martin Scarsden pageturner), Jane Harper's Last One Out and Garry Disher's Sanctuary. I read two Irish crime novels by Dervla McTiernan - The Scholar and  The Good Turn in the DS Cormac Reilly series. I enjoyed the latest in the Strike/Ellacott series by Robert Galbraith, The Hallmarked Man. I also started Mick Herron's Slow Horses series after being gifted a box set of his novels, and will undoubtedly work my way through these next year. 

Non-Fiction

This year I didn't read as much non-fiction as I had planned to and will need to rectify this in 2026.

I really enjoyed the Quarterly Essays this year. I have subscribed for the past decade and each year there are usually one or two on topics that I am not that interested in. This year I read George Megalogenis' Minority Report (QR96), Hugh White's Hard New World (QE98) and Sean Kelly's The Good Fight (QE100).

I read Anne Applebaum's Autocracy Inc when it was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction.  Janet Malcolm's essay collection Nobody's Looking at You, had been lingering unfinished for a while so I was pleased to have completed that. 

I read two memoirs this year which I loved. I borrowed Kate Grenville's Unsettled from my mother after she raved about this personal journey of reconciliation. Hannah Kent's Always Home, Always Homesick was such a delight - transporting me to Iceland and making me long to read Burial Rites again. 

I will read anything Helen Garner writes, including a book about footy - The Season. I also loved her book with Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein, The Mushroom Tapes, about the trial of Erin Patterson who bumped off her husband's family with a deadly beef wellington.

My last book for the year was Niki Savva's Earthquake on the 2025 federal election

Best of 2025

I read so many great books this year. If I had to whittle down the 45 into my absolute favourites for 2025, without any hesitation I would pick Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead and Hannah Kent's  Always Home, Always Homesick.  

I would give honourable mentions to:

• Carys Davies - Clear
• Anne Enright - The Green Road
• Robert Galbraith - The Hallmarked Man
• Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein - The Mushroom Tapes
• Kate Grenville - Unsettled
• Mick Herron - Slow Horses
• Emily Maguire - Rapture
• Fiona McFarlane - Highway 13
• Roisin O'Donnell - Nesting
• Taylor Jenkins Reid - Atmosphere
• Elizabeth Strout - Olive Kitteridge
• Yael Van Der Wouden - The Safekeep

Well, that's my year of reading! A new year starts tomorrow and I cannot wait to discover new books and rediscover old favourites. Happy New Reading Year!

Landslide

Acclaimed journalist Niki Savva has written three must-read books about the Australian government and the rise and fall of Prime Ministers. The Road to Ruin (2016) covered the working relationship between PM Tony Abbott and his Chief of Staff Peta Credlin (now Sky TV host), which led to his ousting as leader in September 2015. Her next book, Plots and Prayers (2019), charts the fall of Abbott's successor PM Malcolm Turnbull via the back room machinations of Scott Morrison. PM Morrison's brief leadership was covered in Bulldozed (2022), the inside story on how Morrison lost the 2022 election to Anthony Albanese. 

So it is no surprise that Savva's next expose would be on the first term of the Albanese government. She has just published Earthquake: the election that shock Australia (2025) which explores how Labor won a landslide this year and demolished the Liberal party. 

I preordered this book and when it arrived I was surprised by its heft. How could Savva write 424 pages on the May 2025 election, especially when the fall out from the event is still unfurling?  Part of the reason is that the first 215 pages are filled with Savva's columns The Age/SMH beginning in August 2021 when Morrison's government was unravelling. I enjoy Savva's columns but including them in this book created a disjointed reading experience. Especially since these columns tread over ground covered in Bulldozed. I would have much preferred her to condense these 215 pages into 50-60 pages of quality writing on Albanese's first term.

When the new content commences, Savva had mined many sources to get the inside scoop on what went wrong for the Coalition and right for Labor.  Dutton's campaign was plagued by own-goals: failing to have substantial policies; alienating women and minorities; not trusting his team; and playing the hard man when voters reject alignment with Trumpism. Savva explores the identity crisis within the Liberal party which has lost its sensible centre and moved to the fringes. They failed to learn the lessons from the 2022 election which saw a record number of independents elected in formerly blue-ribbon Liberal seats, and double down on irrelevant nonsense when Australians were facing cost-of-living pressures. Savva, who interviewed Dutton for this book, expresses concern that the softer, more human, side of Dutton never surfaced. His misguided loyalty meant that he did not reign in Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa-Price when she went full MAGA, and he didn't quash poisonous policy ideas like return to work. Nor did he engage with the media beyond Sky After Dark, in which he spoke to his own echo chamber.

Indeed, with all the problems in the Coalition, it is easy to think Albanese 'did a Bradbury' and skated to victory when his opponents fell over. However, Albanese ran a disciplined campaign and was surrounded by competent, diverse Ministers. Albanese had trusted advisers and listened to those around him. He stayed on message and was able to distinguish himself from Dutton. Where errors were made, they were quickly rectified and not left to fester. Albanese always had faith in himself, that he would win and come away with a majority. He was humble and kind to Dutton after what would have been a humiliating loss.

Overall, Earthquake is not up to the standard I expected from Niki Savva. I feel she was let down in the editing process (which would have removed the annoying typos and streamlined the content) and a rush to print before Christmas (which would have allowed more time for Savva to explore the post-mortem). However, I am glad that I read it and acknowledge that Savva is a gifted journalist. Her ability to tap into sources, gives readers a delicious room-where-it-happened insight into the political machinations at play. 

Deserted

Jane Harper is known for writing gripping crime novels in which information is drip-fed to the reader. Her novels portray different aspects of the Australian landscape - outback towns, sleepy coastal hamlets, dense forests. Best known for her debut, The Dry (2016), the first in a trilogy featuring Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk, her books have been adapted in to feature films and a Netflix series. 

Harper's latest novel is Last One Out (2025) is set in the fictional town of Carralon Ridge, a small town in rural New South Wales that has been hollowed out over time by the Lentzer mining company which has bought up properties to expand operations. The buy outs have caused tension within the town between those who will fight to remain in their homes and those who have 'sold out' and sought to leave the town behind. The dusty main street is full of boarded up buildings and the pub opens infrequently. Those who stayed live with the distant thrum of the mine and the occasional heavy vehicle rattling past their doors. 

Rowena Crowley moved to the Ridge over twenty years ago, married a local man Griff, and raised two children - Sam and Della. Ro worked in the small medical practice and enjoyed her life. Five years ago, on her son's 21st birthday, he disappeared. Sam's rental car was found near some abandoned buildings along with his footprints. His absence caused the family to disintegrate with Ro and Della moving to Sydney and Griff staying behind, working for the mining company. 

It has been five years since Sam disappeared. Ro has returned to Carralon Ridge for her son's annual memorial service. She also wants answers about what happened to her child. With only a few families remaining, she starts to unravel the events of what happened to her son that day.

Unlike other crime novels, there is no gruesome murder, no police procedural. Last One Out is a novel about loss. The loss of a child, of a home. of a community, of a way of life. The impact of the large mining company looms large over this town, with those who remain in this dusty place grieving for the loss of their friends, family and heritage. 

Last One Out is a slowly paced novel which takes a while to get moving. In parts it felt a bit repetitive, as Ro tried to grab on to her memories of Sam's last day, but I understand what Harper was trying to achieve. I liked the depiction of Ro and her relationship with Griff, irrevocably altered by the loss of their son and her moving away. The only thing I struggled with was trying to get my head around the landscape of the town. I have grown used to the maps Chris Hammer includes in his novels and I wish there had been one here. 

The Last One Out is rather sombre but well worth a read. 

My reviews of other Jane Harper novels are also available on this blog:

• The Dry (2016)
• Force of Nature (2017)
• The Lost Man (2018)
• The Survivors (2020)
• Exiles (2022)

A Question of Belief

Quarterly Essay, the Australian journal about politics and culture, has just hit a major milestone with the publication of QE100 - its 100th issue. Each issue features a single essay (about 20,000-25,000 words in length) written by some of Australia's leading thinkers and writers including David Marr, Don Watson, Laura Tingle, Margaret Simons, George Megalogenis and many more. 

I have been a subscriber for over a decade and, while some topics at first glance seem uninteresting I have always learned something. While I don't always blog about them, some essays have lingered long in my mind and among my favourites are:

• QE51 The Prince (2013) by David Marr
• QE52 Found in Translation (2013) by Linda Jaivin
• QE57 Dear Life (2015) by Karen Hitchcock
• QE83 Top Blokes: The Larrikin Myth, Class and Power (2021) by Lech Blaine
• QE92 The Great Divide (2023) by Alan Kohler

I was excited when I heard Sean Kelly was going to be writing QE100 as his book The Game: A Portrait of Scott Morrison (2021), one of the best political books I have read and I enjoy his articles in The Age/SMH. Plus, the subject of QE100 is The Good Fight: What Does Labor Stand For? - a topic worth exploring. 

One would expect the Labor party - that established Medicare and the NDIS - would be working hard on social equity. A huge part of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese narrative is growing up in council housing, having been raised by a single mother on a disability pension. Throughout his 30 years in Parliament he has always championed the working class. Albo's 'father figure' was Tom Uren, who served in the Whitlam and Hawke governments, and was a champion for social justice, civil rights, indigenous land rights and protection of the environment.

Kelly is clearly disappointed in the federal Labor party. They appear to be well positioned for success - a competent team in a majority government, without a viable opposition, and their party is in power in most states - but for whatever reason they seem tentative in their approach to governing. This should be a period for nation-building reform, so what is going on?

Rather than declaring a definitive stance of what it means to be Labor, the party have spent a long time defining themselves as what they are not.  They have positioned themselves in opposition to the Liberal/National Coalition. But the Coalition has lurched further to the right, and as the past few elections have shown, the Coalition appears to no longer have a defining ideology. How does Labor position themselves against something so ill-defined? 

Kelly points to the consensus making that has been a hallmark of Albanese's leadership. While it may seem like unity is a good way to govern, it can result in bad policy - aiming for safe rather than brave. Kelly writes (p17):

'how hard it can be to spot the distinction between cooperation and submission; between solidarity and insipid obedience. One might easily become the other, unnoticed until it is too late; one might even be both at once.' 

Albanese has had moments of political bravery. His efforts to establish a Voice to Parliament for our First Nations people was courageous, but ultimately unwise as there was not bipartisan support. He also backtracked on the Coalition's 'stage three tax cuts' which would have done little to help those struggling most with cost of living. But more often than not, Labor does not pursue policies that you would expect of them - on climate change, LGBTQIA+ discrimination, tax reform - preferring the 'path of least resistance' (p 33). Given Albanese's long-held desire for high speed rail, I figured that would be one of his nation-building projects but it is not on the agenda. It seems that Kelly reckons Jim Chalmers (like Paul Keating before him) may be the braver person on the front bench.

Kelly writes (p36)

'If you want the very best outcome - not simply the one which you can convince most people to support - then conflict is inevitable. You may not win, but that is not the same thing as deciding not to fight.'

I had expected Kelly to dig more into the behind-the-scenes of the modern Labor Party, especially given his past experience working in the Rudd/Gillard office. For example, the weird factions at play in the party room that led to the dumping of competent ministers (like Mark Dreyfus, Ed Husic) and of not making the most of talents like Tanya Plibersek.  

Ultimately, the picture painted of Albanese is one of beige blandness, playing it safe to stay in government as long as possible. You need an effective opposition to have a good government, and as the Coalition cannot decide on where they stand either, that currently seems a low prospect. I like Albo. He is a good bloke and means well. Here's hoping he reads QE100 and gives some thought to articulating a clear direction for our country, one beyond electoral cycles. Now's the chance to do something that makes a positive impact for generations to come. 

Mycology and Murder

 Last week I attended a Sydney Writers' Festival event at Sydney Town Hall called 'The Mushroom Tapes' - authors Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein in conversation with ABC journalist Fran Kelly. The session was to promote the authors' new book, The Mushroom Tapes: Conversations on a Triple Murder (2025).

The murders in question are the sensational 'Mushroom Murders' in which Erin Patterson served a lethal beef wellington laced wth death cap mushrooms to her in-laws on 29 July 2023. Erin invited Don and Gail Patterson, the parents of her estranged husband Simon, along with Gail's sister Heather and her husband, pastor Ian Wilkinson (Simon's aunt and uncle), to her new home for lunch. Within 24 hours, all four were in hospital with liver failure and all but Ian Wilkinson died in the next few days. By November, Erin was arrested and charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder (four of these were for prior attempts at poisoning her husband). Ms Patterson's ten-week trial took place in mid-2025, with the jury convicting her on 7 July 2025. Patterson was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 33 years. Erin Patterson is appealing her conviction. 

The case was sensational with media from around the world descending on the tiny town of Morwell in Victoria's Latrobe Valley. These authors are among my favourite writers, and each is known for their courtroom reportage of true crime. If any one of them had chosen to cover this case, it would have been brilliant, but bringing the three of them together was genius.

Instead of doing a podcast, the three chose to record and transcribe their thoughts about the case. As they drive to and from Morwell, about 150 kilometers from their homes in Melbourne, or sit in a local cafe or hotel room, they discuss the day's evidence, the vibe of the town, the court attendees, and their own discomfort with the matter. Written in conversation form, the women endeavour to try to understand this remarkable crime, while also contemplating the public fascination with the murders. 

In the Town Hall session, as in the book, they spoke about why this crime garnered such interest and the long history of women as poisoners. They dissected the ways in which Erin confounded them - presenting herself as a victim, then getting caught in her own web of lies, and becoming belligerent on the stand. They grapple with the ethics of the case, and the horror of what Patterson did. 

I loved the form of this book, and felt as though I was on the journey with them. I particularly appreciated the depiction of the stoic Ian Wilkinson. While I followed the case from afar and knew about the orange plate, the dehydrator, and the true crime Facebook group Erin participated in, The Mushroom Tapes revealed many things I did not know and added to my understanding of this case. What I enjoyed most though was the camaraderie and banter between these three intelligent women as they bear witness and contemplate the complex issues and themes of the case.  

There are plenty of books about this case that have recently been published, including Greg Haddrick's The Mushroom Murders and Duncan McNab's Recipe for Murder. There were also several podcasts and documentaries about the case. I doubt I will engage in these others as I feel The Mushroom Tapes is enough for me.  

About the authors

Readers of this blog know that I adore Helen Garner.  Her coverage of the Farquharson case - in which a father drove his three young sons into a dam - was brilliantly captured in This House of Grief (2014). Likewise her book Joe Cinque's Consolation (2004) about a Canberra murder trial is a must read for those interested in true crime. Her novels, like The Spare Room (2008), capture her storytelling and her diaries showcase her humble insights on life.

I have long admired Chloe Hooper as a writer. Her Walkley Award winning coverage of the death of Cameron Doomadgee was captured in her non-fiction account The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island (2008). More recently she investigated the Black Saturday bushfires in The Arsonist: A Mind on Fire (2018). I also enjoyed her debut novel A Child's Book of True Crime (2002), shortlisted for the Orange Prize (which I read long before I began blogging).

Sarah Krasnostein is best known for her award winning book The Trauma Cleaner (2018), the true story of Sandra Pankhurst a transgender woman who, after a lifetime of her own challenges, started her own business as a trauma cleaner - attending to crime scenes and hoarder homes. She also wrote The Believer (2021) about individuals and groups with deep-rooted beliefs in the paranormal or other phenomena. Krasnostein has a PhD in Criminal Law.