Phillip Parker > Recent Status Updates

Fast and furious, 5 out of 6 dead, 4 murdered and the protagonists are having to consider their marriage date and now the plot thickens because there was fire all those years ago.
The reasons for murders will arise out of the ashes. Good reading so far.

Enjoying the book so far.
Occasionally I feel I should have started DI Nick Dixon at book 1 and not book 14 however as a stand alone it’s a good read.

Enjoying each page. 5 star rating.

The book is nearly finished.
It is well written by Stuart Coupe. His having been an important influence in Paul Kelly’s life in his careers infancy and then to publish this book in 2020 taking the reader through the evolution of Paul Kelly the singer songwriter poet and person it is a thank you from this reader. So much content so well covered.

The book gets better as the story progresses.
Enjoyable read. An endearingly complicated icon of Aus music and his story is like a spiritual experience as are his concerts. There is an edge to each page and Paul Kelly does not fall over although he pivots.

The book is a 4 star read at this point.

I am at that part of the book where a reader dreads the inevitable finding out how lives will crumble, friends will be let down, love hurts and life is a zero sum game. Well my heart was being ripped apart leading up to this. Like life nothing worked as a protagonist and the reader would wish. It all turns ugly. Like life the book handles it as life is that it’s grim , however it’s not all that bad I think!!!!!!!

The book rips your heart out page after page.
I doubt this book anticipated a 76 year old retired accountant being a reader.
I have read one other Colleen Hoover book and It was a good read.
I needed a break from crime , a favourite genre of mine and selected this Colleen Hoover on spec.
Cannot call it romantic however it is well written and themes of love in a family and protective sense are strong.

Fascinating story at this point Paul Kelly living in the shared house and constantly taking in the business of show business. Have to smile at his muso mates who are a bit mystified as to the size and types of books he reads.
His star is starting to shine, his songs are different to pop rock templates and he only wants to sing his own songs.
The legend is mid apprentice ship.

Interesting book. Stuart Coupe an accomplished author and Paul Kelly an interesting subject. That’s a good combination.
Am enjoying the nitty gritty early life of muso’s in Melbourne in the 1970’s at this stage of the book.

So good. 5 Star writing. Martin has really got himself into strife. Great reading. Not enough of Mandy in this book. Being cooped up with Liam whilst the A-Team and B-Team give Martin a bit of a difficult time.
Story line great, detail is great. Chris Hammer is a superb story teller.
I am a little lost with the ASIO moles and China connections concerning Martin’s misfortunes however incidental to a great read.

The cold case is being worked.
Hirsch has been attacked in his one man Police Station. The citizens from the alternate community are seemingly out of control and the good guys are wondering if the area north of Clare in SA is safe.
I am enjoying the story, the pace, the currency of the issues in the plots. Being a former resident of SA looking after clients north of Clare it’s like reading about home.

A broken record. That pretty much sums up police work.

Mischance Creek - Hirsch #5. P 126
He’s still driving his Toyota, the roads are dusty.Dealing with everyday stuff, sovereign citizens from a parallel place , boofheads sideswiping cars, and throwing dim sims at targeted “peoples”.
Not yet at solving the cold case Hirsch stumbled on earlier when winching a stranded driver out of a ditch.
Enjoying.

Easy to read. Too early to comment.

Oh this book is getting better and better.
The Feud just like Romeo and Juliette only bitterer between the families is unfolding.
In the meantime Martin and Mandy and Liam have been separated as there is a contract against Martin.
Such a good read.

So good to be reading a Chris Hammer book again.
60 pages in so good.

It’s an ok book and DI Carter an interesting character.
I admit I am used to the DI Nikki Galena / DS Joseph Easter books and tumbling straight into murder and mayhem.
This so far has meandered a bit.
In fairness that meandering may be relevant later in the book. & Joy Ellis is a gem of a writer.
So no prediction on rating just yet and I best get back to the crime. Cheers

Can only agree …….”Engaging … and beautifully written”

This book will be a 5 star rating read
A life lived and written beautifully and honestly.
My inspiration for reading came from seeing Lucinda Williams and her band open for Paul Kelly in Sydney in August 2025.
The music the stories in the lyrics and the power of the musicianship was just so good.
Regrettably I was not aware of Lucinda Williams until that concert. I am now.

This book is a reflection of a life lived.
What inspired me to read this book was the opportunity to see Lucinda Williams perform at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney August 2025.
Lucinda and her band opened for Paul Kelly. Lucinda Williams and her Band were just so good.
At 72 , the voice and the passion were strong and I was captivated by the performance. I trawled wiki saw the book and ordered it.

The plots are thickening Chaos has been shopped for shopping the intruder to the art theft and 5 bodies from a wartime bunker have been identified.
What’s not to like.
Great reading

After finishing the DI Galena series I jumped straight into book 11 of the Jackman & Evans series.
A bit hesitant at first after leaving DI Nikki and DS Joseph. I thought it was not as gripping as I was used to with Galena series however I was a little hasty in my judgement at 60% through I am saying to myself this is good. Plot complicated, characters very visual as you read and I am hooked. You a gem Joy Ellis.

This possibly last book?
Certainly shaping that way.
New characters introduced, existing characters stepping up, Eve and Wendy linking up with an MOD colleague to investigate his sons murder, DI Galena and DS Easter wanting to put love before work however putting work before love one more time. Feeling a tad uncomfortable given the myriad of “ deaths” occurring at once. 5 stars 10% in. Enjoying the read

This book published 2024 is a tad more gruesome than the earlier books.
Same formula, same DI Nikki and a good read.
I am amazed at the stories and the by line stories and the cross overs that Joy Ellis puts into these books. I have said Joy Ellis is a gem of an author.
This story is good. More Gruesome, Sharper and Gravely than previous.
Unable to predict at 55%. 5 Star. See you at the finish line

We have:
*order online thieves
*DI Nikki Galena receiving harassing phone calls
* one petty thief brutally murdered and
* Eve Anderson having 2 of her RAF - MOD colleagues die under suspicious circumstances.
I am at Chapter 8 and I need to get back to the book. It’s looking good. Talk to you when I finish. 4.5 stars at least.

Too busy caught up in the book to provide an interim review. Great story great pace 4.5 stars so far. See you at the end.

Near finished.
Where I am up to in the book has been a bit of heart stopper.
Whilst Carl is the protagonist, he has an assistant, Assad, who drops occasional cameo dialogue and surprise law enforcement procedures into the scene.
In fact he steals the occasional scene.
Easily a 4 star read so far.

My First read for this author. It’s dark. It’s interesting. It moves quickly and not your ordinary crime formula.
The victim is not dead (yet?), is held captive, and the reasons for that captivity are fully revealed more than half way through the book. Though they are in face as you read.
The Protagonist / Antagonist Carl is the usual offbeat Detective who is in trouble with the bureaucracy. 👍

A laugh a page. The dialogue is amusing and Irene Turnbuckle is a fair bit of that laugh a page. The backdrop story of Oscar and Hazel’s romantic fling is charming. This is going on whilst the fight to stop the cafe bar machine taking over the tea lady’s job and the Hazel, Betty and Mrs Li tea lady sleuth group figure the cryptic clues to Irene’s legacy left to her by her deceased husband, Tweezers, continues.

This is a DI Nikki Galena 4 star read. Same team a different storyline to the prior 4 books, fast pace and an all round good read.
The book starts as exciting as a James Bond movie with a semi trailer rig ploughing into a building . Conveniently close to the accident scene Nikki Galena and Joseph Easter ignore the advice of structural engineers and climb into the building debris and save a woman. The story builds.