Too Many Murders by Colleen McCullough

© 2010 by Colleen McCullough
ISBN 978 0 00 727186 3
Harper Collins, London
Reviewed by Lesley Ann Smith, August 2012

Lieutenant Carmine Delmonico is challenged again. Why did so many murders happen on one day? And who is the murderer?

In another intricately plotted story Colleen takes on the journey to uncover the murderer and establish the motive. Carmine is now married to the tall, talented, independent Desdemona and they have an infant but their romance continues in a sweet sub-plot.

In contrast to her historical sagas where character is established over pages if not chapters, in her crime novels character is drawn swiftly in a few words. Colleen seems to draw on the reader’s detailed knowledge of humanity to remind us of someone we once knew.

Like all of Colleen’s books there’s work to be done by the reader. You have to keep track of several murders, the clues, and the suspects…but it’s worth the work. Not known as a romance author, Colleen deals with romance in marriage with a light, realistic touch. No purple prose here.
Colleen McCullough is a multi-published Australian author and information on her other books can be found at  http://www.AuthorTracker.co.uk

This review has been written as part of WInk Girl’s commitment to the 2012 Australian Women Writers Challenge.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Australian-Women-Writers/176862202396763


http://www.australianwomenwriters.com/p/australian-women-writers-book-challenge_25.html

On, Off by Colleen McCullough

© 2005 by Colleen McCullough
ISBN 978 0 00 780510 5
Harper Collins, London
Reviewed by Lesley Ann Smith, August 2012

The queen of the sublimely researched historical saga turns her hand to crime with Great success. On, Off introduces Lieutenant Carmine Delmonico who is tasked with solving a grisly murder in small town Connecticut.

As he investigates the murders grow in number and a pattern emerges. The murderer has been choosing and disposing of his victims with metronomic precision for years. As Carmine gets closer the murderer is forced to vary his pattern but the murders continue.

Carmine’s pursuit of the villain is complicated by his growing feelings for Desdemona who works at the site of the first murder. When Desdemona is under threat Carmine becomes personally as well as professionally involved.
Colleen creates character in a sentence. The protagonists are refreshingly original and flawed but we cheer for them until both the law and love win out.

There are a lot of victims and a lot of suspects, all with interesting back stories and a complicated plot. It’s a book to be read when you want to work along with Carmine in solving the murders rather than a relaxing late night read.

I've already started the next book in the series.

Colleen McCullough is a multi-published Australian author and information on her other books can be found at  http://www.AuthorTracker.co.uk

This review has been written as part of WInk Girl’s commitment to the 2012 Australian Women Writers Challenge.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Australian-Women-Writers/176862202396763

http://www.australianwomenwriters.com/p/australian-women-writers-book-challenge_25.html

Reading green

This month we’re blogging on signs of the times. And one of the biggest changes for readers and writers of romance is the growth in e-publishing. Not only do you get a great read you also do something for the planet.

Sales of e-books more than doubled from 2010 to 2011 and are expected to reach over 9 billion in 2016. Interestingly owners of e-readers say they read more.

I have an e-reader and have bought e-books but mainly for travel. I still prefer a paperback book for regular use. With stacked bookshelves and an ever increasing number of books that I want to keep to read again I’m going to have to switch more of my reading to ‘green’ reading.

How do you prefer to read?
Do you see that changing in the future?

Are you Flexible?

I'm not talking about if you are flexible and can do back flips and bend backs or any other sort of acrobatic trick, I'm talking about being flexible in your thinking and the way you approach things.

As an author you have to be flexible. You have to be able to listen to critiques and maybe delete that scene you love. When you get edits from your editor you have to put aside the 'but it's my story' mentality and make the changes that will ultimately make your book better.

The same is said for how you want to be published. When I first got into writing 10 years ago, when someone sold to an 'e-publisher' people congratulated them but secretly were thinking, e-publishers won't last, print is more stable.

Fast forward 10 years and as we all know the role is reversed. I've sold to an e-publisher and have a request from another e-publisher, but I'm also still pursuing the print route.

Today there are so many more options for us as authors and individuals that we have to let got of our preconceived snobbery and embrace the 'new world'. After all isn't our goal to get our work published?

Some things change….some things stay the same

Since I started writing about eight years ago there have been plenty of changes in publishing. The biggest is probably the rise of e-publishing and more recently self-publishing. 

I remember going to my first conference and learning the difference between a long and short synopsis (does anyone do a long synopsis anymore?). I’ve been hearing vampires are dead for years and yet I still read them and write them and publishers still buy them. They are kind of their own paranormal subgenera now.

There’s been the rise of erotic romance, inspirational and Young Adult. And now rural lit is taking off in Australia (kind of our equivalent of cowboy romance).

Yet despite all the changes in the industry, and what is hot and what isn’t, that sends writers fluttering one thing remains true: readers want a good story. They want the rush of falling for the vampire/billionaire/farmer/rock star/sports star/Duke. 

And as long as there are readers there will be writers. It’s human nature to love a good story and that hasn’t changed in thousands of years.