Pile by the Bed reviews Better the Blood the debut fiction novel by screenwriter and true crime author Michael Bennett dealing directlt with the ongoing impacts of New Zealand’s violent colonial past.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz, a heartfelt and engaging novel full of likeably unlikeable characters that explores and comments on a range of aspects of modern life.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra, a multilayered character and incident filled historical novel set around a small American film studio in World War 2.
Pile by the Bed reviews Maror by Lavie Tidhar an underbelly look at the history of Israel bewteen the mid 1970s and the early 2000s in the vein of James Elroy. Recommended
Pile by the Bed reviews The Accomplice by Steve Cavanagh, the seventh in his consistently enjoyable Eddie Flynn conman-turned-lawyer series .
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, a reimnagining of the HG Wells classic set in 19th Century Mexico.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends The Perfect Golden Circle by Benjamin Myers a story which reimagines the story of the men behind a series of complex British crop circles that appeared in the late 1980s.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Lying Beside you by Michael Robotham the third book in his outstanding Cyrus Haven / Evie Cormack crime series
Pile by the Bed reviews The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah – debut and first of The Sandsea Trilogy set in a fantasy world based on Middle Eastern mythology. Recommended
Pile by the Bed reviews Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings, a science fiction debut that uses time travel and space opera tropes to great effect. Recommended
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Book of Night by Holly Black, the first foray by the successful YA author into fantasy for more mature readers.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends The Flight of the Aphrodite by SJ Morden a gritty space survival tale in which a slowly disintegrating sceintific expedition make huge discoveries around Jupiter,
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Devil House by John Darnielle – a thematically rich and resonant series of tales of crime and murder that deconstruct the true crime genre to explore why we tell stories.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi, a fun riff on monster movies from Godzilla to Pacific Rim and beyond.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Hovering by Rhett Davis – a worthy winner of the Victorian Premier’s Unpublished Manuscript Award
Pile by the Bed reviews Jade Legacy the final epic book in Fonda Lee’s Godfather meets martial arts fantasy Geenbone Saga. Recommended.
Pile byt the Bed reviews The Hood, the second book in Lavie Tidhar’s Anti-matter of Britain Quartet this one deconstructing the legend of Robin Hood and his gang.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends The Darkest Sin, the second book in DV Bishop’s historical crime series set in renaissance Italy featuring Cesare Aldo.
Pile by the Bed reviews Joan is Okay by Weike Wang, an insightful novel exploring the experience of Chinese Americans from the author of Chemistry.
Pile byt the Bed reviews The Sentence by American indigenous author Louise Erdrich set in a small Minneapolic bookstore impacted by the tumultuous events of 2020.
