Carpe Librum: Good Reading Magazine

June 2013 cover of
Good Reading Magazine

I'm thrilled to announce that Good Reading Magazine has published not one, but two of my book reviews in the Special Crime Guide of their June 2013 edition (pictured left and below right).

My photo and review of Blackwater
Moon, and The Collector published in
the June 2013 edition of
Good Reading Magazine

A number of weeks ago GR staff invited readers to submit a review of their favourite crime novel for the special crime guide, and I decided to submit two. I wasn't sure what other readers might submit and thought I would increase my chances of being published if I chose to review a contemporary crime novel and a vintage classic.

I love supporting Aussie writers, so I decided the first had to be Australian, and there was no question I would be submitting a review for crime novel Blackwater Moon by B. Michael Radburn.

For balance, the second review I chose to submit was a vintage classic in the form of The Collector by John Fowles (4 stars).

I was both surprised and ecstatic to find out a few weeks later that both reviews would be published, and included in the guide alongside a photo in an article called Caught Reading. Woohoo!! Without gloating, I've now had a review published each year since 2011 and I'm so proud of this accomplishment.

The special June crime edition of Good Reading Magazine is out now!

Carpe Librum!

Caught Reading article on page 24 & 25 of June 2013 edition of Good Reading Magazine

Rocks in the Belly by Jon Bauer book cover

Rocks in the Belly is narrated by an eight year old boy, an only child desperate for his parents' affections. His mother brings in foster boys which incites a fierce and sometimes dark jealousy. Possessive of his mother's attention, her son does whatever he can to monopolise her affections and when Robert joins their family, all this is set to escalate.

Originally from the UK, but now an Australian citizen living in Melbourne, it's hard to believe this is Jon Bauer's first novel. I read a sample chapter in Good Reading Magazine a long time ago and I recall it had me hooked right away.

The reader never learns the name of the troubled young boy in Rocks in the Belly, however his observations are unique and dark, strangely youthful and sometimes quite funny. Offsetting the humour are unexpected sociopathic thoughts and shocking behaviour that reminded me of movies like The Good Son.

Interspersed between the chapters we meet the young boy as an adult, returning to the family home to look after his mother in the very last stages of a terminal illness, her mind almost lost to a brain tumour. The two of them together dance around the shadows of the past slowly revealing to the reader the shocking events of years ago.

This is an excellent read and I thoroughly enjoyed the sections narrated by the young boy, they were piercing and unpredictable and definitely kept the pace flying along. I'd definitely recommend Rocks in the Belly by Jon Bauer; the young character is likely to stick with you for a while afterwards.

My rating = ****

Carpe Librum!

N.B. I'm also pleased that this novel qualifies for the Aussie Author Challenge 2012.