Australia’s Biggest Ever Bank Robbery!...

So just when did Australia’s biggest bank robbery occur? Where did it happen? How did it happen? Who was involved? And what was the outcome and ramifications of the robbery? Can you answer any of these questions? I know I sure couldn’t. But you’ll find answers to all of these and many more in Carol Baxter’s book “Breaking the Bank“. I have recently finished reading this book, and like her other titles, it is a true page turner. As with her other titles, this is none-fiction true story is written in the style of a novel. She makes you ‘feel’ the happenings through her words, and she educates you on an amazing part of Australia’s history while doing so. I’m not going to answer the questions above … so this probably isn’t considered a “book review” as such, so I’m not sure if it qualifies for the “Australian Womens Writers Challenge“, however it is a book written by a female Australian author … so it still may. Instead of answering the questions above, I’m going to suggest you either buy or borrow a copy of the book, and read it for yourself. And while I know it is incredibly clichè to say that you won’t be disappointed, but I do truly believe that. Enjoy!! Book Details Title: Breaking the Bank: An Extraordinary Colonial Robbery Author: Carol Baxter ISBN: 9781741754490 Year: 2008 Available from: Carol’s website, and Allen & Unwin’s...

Book Review: Black Widow, Australia’s First Female Serial Killer...

On rare occasions I have done the odd book review, and as I’ve just finished reading Carol Baxter’s “Black Widow: The True Story of Australia’s First Female Serial Killer” (… and wow what a read!), here’s one more for you. Written in Carol’s usual style of “true crime” written as if it was a novel, it is rivetting and most certainly a page turner. The story follows Louisa Collins, mother of seven. Was she really a husband killer? Inquests, trials, hung juries, it’s all here in this book, and it is all TRUE history! If you live crime or thriller novels, and history this is a must for you. Readers are taken into Sydney as it was 1888, and Carol sets the scene beautifully, with little tidbits adding in detail. With details from newspapers, autopsies, trials and so on … the words written are the words the people actually said! You can’t get better than that for a true crime thriller.                         To read more about this title, or to order it,  head on over to Carol’s website www.carolbaxter.com I’m not a prolific reader, of books anyway (blogs and magazines, yes! which doesn’t leave so much time for books). But earlier this year I decided that I wanted to take part in the Australian Women Writers Challenge for 2015, which means reading books written by Australian women authors (fiction or non-fiction) and reviewing it. Sadly it is now September and this is my first one – still, one is better than none. For more about the Challenge, click...

Discovering the “Australian Women Writers Challenge” 2015...

Do you love reading? And love a blog challenge? If you said yes to both, you’ll certainly love this! Late last year I discovered the “Australian Women Writers” Challenge. This is where readers read books written by Australian women and write reviews about them, through their blog or other means. Why only women you might ask? Well, it seems that the female authors don’t get their fair share of reviews. So the idea of the AWW Challenge was formed and the concept has taken off. By 2014 they were on their way to , and they are now getting several thousand reviews a year. Don’t you love it!! Anyone can participate (men or women), so long as you’re willing to do some kind of review of the book you read afterwards. You don’t have to be a professional reviewer, but just don’t give away the plot in your review. Fiction, or non-fiction, there’s no genre restrictions, and they don’t even have rules on how many book you are to review during the year. So I think I’ll take up this Challenge during 2015, and as my passion is history and genealogy, I’ll go with the genealogy and history genre. Though there does seem to be lack of Australian female authors in this genre – at least at this stage. For more information on the Australian Women Writers Challenge for 2015, visit their website. And be sure to read their About page to learn how it all started, and their FAQ for questions you might have, then head on over to their Sign Up page and fill in your details. And in this world of social media, you can keep up with the latest news (and reviews) by following the Australian Women...

Reality is Stranger than Fiction...

I don’t often do book reviews, but I wanted to share something about this one with you. Having just finished reading Carol Baxter’s book “The Peculiar Case of the Electric Constable: A True Tale of Passion, Poison and Pursuit” it leaves me without a doubt that reality most certainly can be far stranger than fiction. A Sydneysider, Carol Baxter is an internationally acclaimed author who has made her mark in the literary world with her unique genre – one I’m not even sure of the title of – but it is  true history written like a novel. Based on what I’ve read I would she’s mastered it. Carol doesn’t write a novel adding in some historical references as some do, but rather the entire story she tells is based on history. As historians we are used to reading documents with names, dates and places, and other tidbits. But to be able to takes those details and transform them into a story is nothing short of skill. And for that I truly admire Carol. In Carol’s own words … “Like Dr Who, I hunt ordinary individuals who unwittingly had such an extraordinary impact on their world that the consequences changed the course of history, then I tell their true stories as true-crime thrillers.” I read this book for two reasons. Firstly I had heard that it was a really good read, and secondly I wanted to see how she manages to write history as gripping as fiction and was hoping to pick up some tips on that. I’m not going to go into the story at all, instead I’ll just let  you read the back cover spiel (as below), but let me tell you there are so many twists that...