What I’m Reading: Marie Connolly
Perhaps not surprisingly, I’m reading a lot of crime novels lately. My favourite is Better the Blood by Michael Bennett, the first in the Hana Westerman series. Bennett has a rare talent in being able to write a suspenseful plot that makes you gasp in all the right places.
I also enjoyed Double Jeopardy by Stef Harris. Set in the US, all the characters, including bad-tempered protagonist and retired cop Frank Winter, harbour secrets that intertwine with the plot in a satisfying read.
I’m not usually drawn to books that have talking animals, but Catherine Chidgey’s The Axeman’s Carnival is remarkable.
The way she penetrates the avian mind is insightful, funny and deeply disturbing. No surprise Chidgey carried off the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for fiction at the Ockham Awards last year.
Emily Perkins’ book Lioness is a terrific read. Saige England’s unsettling novel
The Seasonwife is a beautifully told story of barbarism in 1830s New Zealand. And Claudia Jardine’s sexy collection of poems, Biter, is a joy to read.
Despite this focus on fiction, I do like to mix my reading up. I’ve always loved Gaylene Preston’s films and her memoir, Gaylene’s Take, is every bit as fascinating. She’s had quite a life, both inside and outside the film industry. Penelope Jackson’s book Females in the Frame is another gem that overturns existing understandings about women’s involvement in art crime.
Right now I’m reading the new book by Andy Buchanan, Alpine Panorama. It is a fabulous book that pays tribute to Canterbury’s alpine ranges that Buchanan has climbed, photographed and painted.
Marie Connolly started writing fiction and children’s books after a career researching children’s development, rights and child protection systems. Her recently published crime novel Dark Sky is published by Quentin Wilson Publishing, RRP $37.99.