J.R. Carroll

J.R. Carroll was born and raised in Melbourne. A graduate of Melbourne University, he worked as a teacher for a number of years before turning to full-time fiction writing in the mid-eighties. His first book, about the Vietnam War was Token Soldiers, which appeared in 1983.

J.R. Carroll reviews 'Blind Justice' by Robin Bowles

October 1998, no. 205 • 01 October 1998

On the evening of 14 November 1984, the body of young mother and housewife Jennifer Tanner was found by her husband Laurie slumped on a sofa in their farmhouse at Bonnie Doon, a tiny hamlet near Mansfield, in Victoria’s high country. It looked as if she had shot herself: there was a gunshot wound in her forehead and a bolt-action .22 rifle between her legs. One of her hands was partly around the ... (read more)

J.R. Carroll reviews 'Nice Try' by Shane Maloney

June 1998, no. 201 • 01 June 1998

Murray Whelan – Labor Party fixer, spin doctor, branch-stacker, deal broker and, above all, true believer (his son’s middle name is Evatt) – returns for another tilt at the system in this entertaining and highly successful series. Presumably, our aptly named anti-hero was once good at his job, because these days everything he touches goes pear-shaped before you can say ‘travel rort’ or ... (read more)

'Guilt Edge' by J.R. Carroll

October 1994, no. 165 • 01 October 1994

For Englishman Michael Dibdin, the road to success in crime fiction has been long, frustrating, and somewhat circuitous. After studying English at Sussex University, he went to Canada to do his PhD, dropped out, hit the hippie trail in the 1970s, then founded a business that went bust. In amongst that, his marriage went down the gurgler too. In short he had seen and experienced a great deal withou ... (read more)

J.R. Carroll reviews 'Forget Me If You Can' by Peter Corris and 'The Dark Edge' by Richard Harland

November 1997, no. 196 • 01 November 1997

Just in case anyone hasn’t head of Cliff Hardy, Peter Corris leads off his new collection of short stories featuring the Sydney private eyes, Forget Me If You Can, with ‘The Hearing’ – an informative little piece in which Hardy, his license suspended, undergoes an interview with a ‘psycho-sociological profiler’ to see if he is a fit and proper person to carry on snooping. In compressed ... (read more)

John Carroll reviews 'The Japanese Job' by Peter Corris, 'The Misplaced Corpse' by A.E. Martin, and 'The Whispering Wall' by Patricia Carlon

September 1992, no. 144 • 01 September 1992

Yet another from the prince of crime, Peter Corris, and, in an age when recycling is desirable, two reruns that will make crime-addicts happy. The remarkable Peter Corris has done it again, producing his third book this year, with probably a couple still to come. I say remarkable because, with the occasional lapse, he manages to maintain a high standard of entertainment despite being prolific. No ... (read more)

J.R. Carroll reviews 'The Dragon Man' by Garry Disher and 'Black Tide' by Peter Temple

May 1999, no. 210 • 01 May 1999

Over the years, Garry Disher has made his considerable reputation as a crime novelist on the strength of his taciturn, emotionless, lone wolf criminal, Wyatt. It seems Wyatt has taken some sabbatical, or maybe he’s just lying low, planning his next heist, because The Dragon Man showcases all new characters in a new setting. Instead of a gritty, underworld perspective we have a law-enforcement po ... (read more)