Review: Decent Australian Mystery
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 20, 2013
I already own, and will read one of these days, the second book in this series and read with more enthusiasm the Agatha Christie Club that she wrote. This new character, basis for a series, left me cold for a number of reasons which may not be generalizable to other readers, so I am inclined to say to those who think they might like a book built around a  bright, single ghost writer-investigative reporter,  working in one of Australia's cities, heed the more  positive reviews and give it a try. I suppose that after reading my last mystery, a classic, I was not in the mood for an old-fashioned (in these days of CSI and its many variants) amateur detective's  propensity, with the barest claim to news person's accreditation, to tamper with crime scenes (taking evidence from said), illegally invade the most private and sacred data held by a hospital, and, in general behave with no consideration for the law or the rights of others. In addition, as one previous reviewer has put so well, her arrogance knows no bounds in dealing with people she believes are killers. On the other hand, I am well aware, these are not unique failings among the amateur detectives (and  professional as well) being created en masse these days. The heroine has her virtues, the writer is accomplished and there is much to like in this character who appears to have major difficulties in forming and maintaining strong interpersonal attachments