Barbara Ludman reviews Robert Baker’s latest book about the indelible impact of epidemics.
Barbara Ludman reviews new police procedurals and a courtroom drama.
<i>Payback</i> by Mike Nicol (Umuzi) and <i>Dead Point</i> by Peter Temple (Quercus) are reviewed by Barbara Ludman.
Barbara Ludman reviews Rafael Reig’s <i>Blood on the Saddle</i> and <i>A Pretty Face</i>, set in a dystopian world where the oil has run out and parts of Madrid have been flooded, so one gets around by boat, bicycle or elevated electrobus, as well as Michael Harvey’s <i>The Chicago Way</i>.
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/ 21 February 2008
Crime fiction doesn’t always make easy reading, writes Barbara Ludman.
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/ 6 November 2007
Why are readers so stuck on series? Do we count the cast as personal friends or are we longing for the familiar in a world out of control? Whatever the reason, the authors of crime novels tend to be caught in a web of their own spinning, unable to jettison a likeable or interesting protagonist and create something different.
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/ 12 September 2007
In his new life Mac Faraday is a blacksmith set up on his late father’s spread not too far from Melbourne. In his old life, he was a senior detective in the Australian federal police, but he left after a stakeout went sour and he’s trying to forget the whole thing. Then his friend on the next farm is found hanging in a machine shed.
Psychotics knocking off young women feature prominently in three new releases. Barbara Ludman wonders why.
The legacy of apartheid has left schools in rural areas in a poor state contributing to poverty in these areas. The Emerging Voices report stresses that education must be at the heart of any poverty-reduction programme and looks at the need to improve the quality of education through the participation of rural communities.
Anthony Sampson, who passed away recently, was a fine journalist and an award-winning author of several books dissecting Britain, the oil industry and the arms trade. He was also the editor of Drum magazine in the 1950s. And nearly 20 years ago, he played a crucial role in the survival of a new, fearless tabloid, The Weekly Mail (WM), the Mail & Guardian‘s forerunner.