When Shadows Fall turned out to be cliched claptrap from start to finish. All the victims – blonde, white women, naturally – are targeted by the murderer because they put their location (where they were going hiking alone in the wilderness) on Facebook. This, in the year of our Lord 2025. And that just scratches the surface of my complaints... Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/when-shadows-fall-neil-lancaster/

If nothing else, My Friend Anna is an important reminder to listen to your instincts. I think it‘s incredibly brave of Williams to “out” herself as a mark, and to balance the narrative that has largely held Anna up to be some kind of folk hero, rather than the exploitative charlatan she truly is. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/my-friend-anna-rachel-deloache-williams/

Wild Dark Shore is likely to provoke some climate anxiety in sensitive souls. Even if the climate anxiety doesn‘t get you, the traumas the characters are reckoning with will. This book has A+ nature writing, and a fascinating premise, but it‘s a huge bummer, overall. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/wild-dark-shore-charlotte-mcconaghy/

Perfume is distinctly unsettling in the way that it sets up the story as the hardscrabble life of a gifted kid, worthy of any Dickensian novel, only to have him devolve into a particularly abhorrent villain. As readers, we‘re very familiar with seeing these characters overcome their hard-knock circumstances to “make good” – Jean-Baptiste does not do that. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/perfume-patrick-suskind/

First Name Second Name is an odd book, and I‘m not sure where to place it. It‘s not a straight ghost story, but it‘s not straight historical fiction, either. I think I would have been more engaged by it if it had been structured differently, or leaned more definitively in either direction. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/first-name-second-name-steve-minon/

I would recommend allowing yourself plenty of time to read Blonde – and be prepared for it to weigh on your mind for a long time after. It is both intimate and epic, deeply interior and panoramic simultaneously, and you probably won‘t look at another iconic image of Marilyn Monroe the same way ever again – even though Blonde is, as JCO has emphasised, actually fiction. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/blonde-joyce-carol-oates/

The Bluff is compulsively readable – I ‘just-one-more-chapter‘ed my whole way through. I was impressed with how Jenkins wove in legal issues that impact small town life: inheritance, divorce, development, discrimination. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-bluff-joanna-jenkins/

The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo is thoroughly readable, intriguing and compelling. Not only is its #BookTok popularity warranted, I think that it might actually be a force for good in society at large, as an introductory lesson to thinking critically about celebrity culture, and media literacy. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-seven-husbands-of-evelyn-hugo-taylor-je...

I can see why Helter Skelter has enjoyed such enduring popularity. It‘s gripping, it‘s scandalous, it‘s horrifying, and Bugliosi‘s role gives it a ring of authenticity that you don‘t get with an outsider‘s perspective on a crime. I wouldn‘t recommend it blindly, though – you need to have a stomach for graphic detail. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/helter-skelter-vincent-bugliosi/

Unfortunately, Noble Fragments suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. It is neither a straightforward explanation of Gabriel Wells‘ sales of the Gutenberg leaves and where they ended up, nor is it a memoir about Visontay‘s family connection to Wells. Instead, it‘s an uneven combination of the two, with many digressions. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/noble-fragments-michael-visontay/

I blame myself for going in with sky-high expectations, but The Jane Austen Book Club never quite took off for me. It‘s an interesting conceit, but maybe one I would‘ve preferred to see Fowler tackle later in her career, once she‘d really hit her stride. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-jane-austen-book-club-karen-joy-fowler/

First-Time Caller is a sloooooooow burn, best suited to readers in an ooey-gooey romance mood. Cynics will find it frustrating and a bit cringey. Much like the movie that inspired it, really… https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/first-time-caller-b-k-borison/

It‘s not one to read when you‘re in a dark state of mind, as it might be just enough to tip you over the edge, but it‘s a fascinating one to read when you‘re comfortable doing so. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-virgin-suicides-jeffrey-eugenides/

The epilogue of The Favourites is a bit schmaltzy, but aside from that it‘s an excellent and gripping read (even for those of us who know absolutely nothing about ice skating or high-level competitive sport). Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-favourites-layne-fargo-review/

After watching every single season of Grey‘s Anatomy at least a half-dozen times over, I‘m practically a doctor myself, but Kay offers a very different view of working in medicine than Meredith Grey and her friends. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/this-is-going-to-hurt-adam-kay/

The pacing of Panic is a little strange, in that there are two “climaxes” with a protracted trial briefly described in between. Even so, it‘s a solid Australian crime thriller that nails the cognitive dissonance of sovereign citizen nutjobs. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/panic-catherine-jinks/

The first half of Changeling is definitely spooky – at times, downright scary. It was silly of me to read it in the middle of the night, alone at home. I ended up having to finish it all in one sitting before I could confidently go to bed, otherwise I would‘ve been fretting over it and jumping up at every noise until dawn. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/changeling-matt-wesolowski/

The literal lols sealed the deal for me. I‘m so glad I set my skepticism aside and gave this one a real chance – I suspect it will be one of the best books I read this year. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-romantic-tragedies-of-a-drama-king-harr...

It‘s nice that Fake isn‘t totally introspective, and Wood doesn‘t only focus on Joe‘s destruction in her own life. She gives significant weight to the harm he has done to others, and looks at other similar cases of emotional manipulation and fraud from around the world. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/fake-stephanie-wood/

I sat down to read a few chapters of Cold Truth before bed, and ended up finishing the whole thing in one sitting 😳 It‘s an intriguing mystery, with incredibly evocative place writing, a combination that‘s hard to beat. My favourite character was, of course, Caesar the Pomeranian, and I can happily confirm that he comes to no harm. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/cold-truth-ashley-kalagian-blunt/

I suppose this one needs some expectations management. Don‘t come to The Orchid Thief looking for a profile of an interesting man or an account of a baffling crime. Treat it more like a memoir, the story of Orlean‘s lost year (or two) following orchid obsessives around Florida and reading the police blotter for intriguing stories about plant crimes. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-orchid-thief-susan-orlean/

From a distance, The Hook Up looks great: snarky heroine, spunky hero, lots and lots of sex… but I‘m afraid the contents don‘t quite bear up to closer scrutiny. The passionate “banter” is very forced, and the characters are beyond melodramatic. Unfortunately, the spicy bits just weren‘t enough to overcome the cringe (especially with the cheesy ending). Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-hook-up-kristen-callihan/

This is a good book - a great one even - in the sense that it‘s incredibly creative and meticulously crafted and really well-written. I found it nearly frustrating to read, though, in the sense that I could just TELL I would need to re-read it two or three times to fully appreciate it 😵‍💫 Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/a-visit-from-the-goon-squad-jennifer-egan/

A couple of elements of The Grand Scheme Of Things felt undercooked – not disastrously so, but enough to distract me from the delicious schadenfreude of the villain‘s eventual take-down. I could‘ve done without the J.K. Rowling stand-in for instance, she seemed an unnecessary addition. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-grand-scheme-of-things-warona-jay/

The Reading List is very earnest, a little saccharine, occasionally wistful, and mostly cozy – but, most importantly, it‘s a testament to the importance of libraries and access to stories. It‘s one to pick up when you want a feel-good read that won‘t challenge your mind too much. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-reading-list-sara-nisha-adams/

It‘s an intricate and well-plotted mystery that will keep you turning pages. Burke maybe tries to do a bit Too Much with it, but she‘s crafted a really fascinating character in Kelsey, the real estate heiress who is widely suspected of murdering her estranged husband. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-note-alafair-burke/

The Ex Talk is a fine novel, but not the knock-it-out-of-the-park romance I‘ve come to expect from Solomon. If you‘re just starting out with her oeuvre, this isn‘t the one I‘d recommend. In retrospect, it‘s easy to see The Ex Talk as Solomon‘s warm-up act, the gentle trot around the track before she truly got off to the races. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-ex-talk-rachel-lynn-solomon/

If you‘re into sexual power games and revealing the seedy under-belly of the upper crust, you should probably read Dangerous Liaisons – maybe just check out a few Wikipedia pages on pre-Revolution French nobility, if you‘re not already familiar ahead of time. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/dangerous-liaisons-pierre-choderlos-de-lacl...

While Sheffield doesn‘t shy away from Taylor Swift‘s failures and missteps (“when she fails, she doesn‘t do it modestly,” page 9), it‘s not a critical work or a take-down. This is a book of admiration, of curiosity and wonder, one that highlights Taylor Swift‘s commitment to creative autonomy (e.g., the phenomenon of Taylor‘s Versions). Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/heartbreak-is-the-national-anthem-rob-sheff...

I mostly enjoyed Boy Swallows Universe, more than I thought I would, but it goes a bit off the rails in the third act 😕 It‘s definitely a different perspective on Australia – less sun-kissed beaches and beautiful bushland, more suburban noir and seedy underbelly. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/boy-swallows-universe-trent-dalton/

Matt, the love interest, is just a bit too perfect – if a male main character in a romance book can even be such a thing. Bonam-Young clearly knows just how hard to push the bounds of realism for the reader. With a caveat for trigger warnings (anxiety, grief, and PTSD), I‘d happily recommend Next To You to anyone looking for a spicy read with a hot mess heroine. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/next-to-you-hannah-bonam-young/

This is a contemporary Japanese re-telling of the Faustian bargain. It‘s an interesting philosophical novella, one that falls smack bang in the middle of Paulo Coelho and Haruki Murakami. Pick it up when you‘re in a pensive mood but short on time. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/if-cats-disappeared-from-the-world-genki-ka...

Look, the conceit is a bit of a stretch (I don‘t know much about the Canadian foster care system, but I feel like two young, single, first-time guardians would have a bit more oversight than the occasional phone check-in with their social workers?), but it's delightfully easy reading all the same. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/next-of-kin-hannah-bonam-young/

Icebreaker is a completely unrealistic wish-fulfillment spicy romance novel, and I won‘t have anyone disparage it on those grounds. It does exactly what it does on the tin, and it does it well. It‘s a delightful, satisfying read – one million #Bookstagrammers can‘t be wrong! Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/icebreaker-hannah-grace/

It‘s like a biblical Slumdog Millionaire, with a more reluctant (and regretfully horny) heroine. My trust in Maguire was well placed, as I found myself fascinated and eager to read more all the way through Rapture. So, even if it doesn‘t sound like your type of book, I encourage you to give it a go regardless. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/rapture-emily-maguire/

It‘s very delicately and cleverly handled – Backman has remarkably accurate insight into the psychology and perspective of teenage girls. It‘s all too rare for a male writer, and he should be applauded for doing it and doing it well. And as much as Beartown feels like a departure from the rest of his oeuvre, there are still a few moments of classic Backman. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/beartown-fredrik-backman/

White Noise will probably be more meaningful and resonant for readers closer to the target demographic. I found some of the adolescent communication failures a bit grating, and there were a few plot threads that just didn‘t quite tie together by the end. Still, it‘s a perfectly serviceable read, and a quick one if that‘s what you‘re after. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/white-noise-raelke-grimmer/

It‘s a remarkably complex story for one so short, and you can read a lot into it. I read it as a book about isolation – physical and psychological – and cruelty. It will send shivers up your spine, and it will no doubt frustrate you at times, but it‘s still an arresting read and you‘ll struggle to look away. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/we-have-always-lived-in-the-castle-shirley-...

Here One Moment is a slower burn than some of Moriarty's other novels, and it doesn‘t land quite as firmly, but it‘s still a solid beach read – albeit one that will make you contemplate your own mortality. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/here-one-moment-liane-moriarty/

True Story traces the fallout of a high-school rumour as it reverberates throughout the lives of the subject, the perpetrators, and the onlookers. It sounds simple enough, but it‘s actually a wonderfully complex interrogation of who gets to tell stories and who gets to decide if they are true. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/true-story-kate-reed-petty/

Diving, Falling is a book set in the inconceivably large shadow cast by a volatile patriarch, even after death. It‘s an intense subject for a debut, but one that Kylie Mirmohamadi handles well, with moments of amazing pith and insight. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/diving-falling-kylie-mirmohamadi/

There‘s a lot going on in this one besides the main romance storyline. I really liked this aspect of Love In The Time Of Serial Killers, especially seeing as it gave room in the story for conflict in the relationship without the guy simply being an arsehole. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/love-in-the-time-of-serial-killers-alicia-t...

We'll Prescribe You A Cat is a cut above some of the other Japanese best-sellers that have found their way onto Anglophone shelves lately, more nuanced and layered. It‘s sweet without being cloying, and insightful without being heavy-handed. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/well-prescribe-you-a-cat-syou-ishida/

Schmidt doesn‘t style See What I Have Done as a whodunnit, though, and there‘s no neat answer to ‘solve‘ the crime by the end. Instead, she gives the reader glimpses into possibilities, what could have happened, and leaves us to drawn our own conclusions about the identity of the murderer. Really, it‘s not even her focus – the focus is the Borden family. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/see-what-i-have-done-sarah-schmidt/

Kenwood captures the disorienting feeling of overwhelming frustrated desire really well. Even though it doesn‘t follow the standard rom-com structure, it flows from the wedding to the situationship to the resolution really well. So, The Wedding Forecast is a perfectly serviceable rom-com – you just need to make sure you know what you‘re getting going in. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-wedding-forecast-nina-kenwood/

The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle, at its bones, is a great concept, but I think Turton was a bit ambitious in the execution. There‘s a LOT going on, a lot of secrets and at least three central mysteries, and most of the time the narrator is just as confused and clueless as the reader. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-seven-deaths-of-evelyn-hardcastle-stuar...

It‘s delicious, horny fun, with intense feelings and surprising insight – everything you‘d expect and desire from a McQuiston novel. I loved how Theo and Kit explored sex and gender, mirroring their culinary explorations in the most gorgeous settings. I‘m afraid The Pairing has only whetted my appetite for more. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-pairing-casey-mcquiston/

I didn‘t find Shrill to be a particularly funny book, despite all the blurbs and reviews calling it “hilarious”, “uproarious”, and “laugh-out-loud funny”. I did, however, find it thought-provoking, and galvanising, and insightful, and surprising, and honest. All of these are wonderful things that don‘t need to make us snort-laugh. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/shrill-lindy-west/

If you want to read a murder mystery set in regional Australia, you could hardly be in better hands than Margaret Hickey‘s. What I found most interesting about The Creeper was the perspective on policing in a small town. The young new cop is a bit “not like other girls”y at times, but she has a tough row to hoe and it‘s interesting to watch her piece it all together. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-creeper-margaret-hickey/

I read The Roommate in one sitting. It‘s exactly the kind of rom-com I love, spicy and seasoned with wish-fulfillment. It‘s definitely one for more open-minded readers, so I wouldn‘t recommend it to anyone who prefers their romances replete with chaste kisses and closed doors, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-roommate-rosie-danan/