Violent Exposure is the fourth and arguably the best novel by former paramedic and talented crime author Katherine Howell featuring Detective Ella Marconi. Howell has received a number of accolades for her second novel The Darkest Hour, and as her work continues to improve and impress, there are likely to be more on the cards. When paramedic Carly is called to the scene of a suspected domestic she has no idea that in less than 24 hours the woman she treats will be found dead, and the woman’s partner, the suspect of a violent stabbing, will be missing. With adultery, secrets, murder and lies in the mix, the borders between business and personal and law and life blurred, and detective Marconi left trying to find an ‘invisible’ murderer, readers will need to strap themselves in for an exhilarating read. Fast-paced, gutsy and intriguing, Violent Exposure will appeal primarily to female fans of both detective and forensic investigation stories, and can be read alone or as part of this very readable series.
Lucy Meredith is a former bookseller of nearly 10 years who currently works as an internet content writer and freelance reviewer. This review first appeared in the summer edition of Bookseller+Publisher magazine.
Back in the 
In the summer edition of Bookseller+Publisher Hannah Cartmel reviewed 
I really liked your heroine Sibeal in Seer of Sevenwaters—her strength and vulnerability, and her desire to learn. Do you have a favourite Sevenwaters heroine?
Jeff Kinney has monopolised the charts this week with his ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ series (Puffin) blitzing the competition and taking the number one spots on 
The free weekly street press is a bible of sorts for music lovers around Australia. While the quality of writing and editing in these papers is sometimes frustratingly bad, the street press informs music lovers of weekly gigs and CD releases, and promotes bands via interviews and gig advertisements. Sean Sennett, editor of Time Off magazine (Brisbane’s street paper since the mid-70s) and Simon Groth have compiled a selection of ‘best of ’ band interviews. Beginning with Hunters and Collectors in 1986 and moving chronologically through almost 100 interviews to Angus and Julia Stone in 2010, Off the Record covers vast ground. It can be dipped into at any page but a chronological read provides a fascinating look at how the music industry has changed over the years, from vinyl to CDs through to the influence of iTunes and myspace. Personal favourites in this collection include Jello Biafra discussing Queensland’s censorship laws and the confiscation of his albums in 1989 and a Jeff Buckley interview from 1996 (a poignant reminder of music’s sad loss). The interviews are concise and not always in-depth, but there’s enough variety within Off the Record to appeal to music lovers of all styles.
‘Sex, drugs, art, suicide, love, death and, possibly, murder are the themes of this exceptional debut novel,’ writes Paul Landymore in his 
The idea of sexual freedom within artistic communities has been a constant throughout history. Do you think the pursuit of art feeds this freedom? Are people with more relaxed sexual boundaries more likely to be artistic? Or is it less direct than that?
For every innocent man sent to prison, there is a guilty one left on the outside. This is the idea behind John Grisham’s latest novel
The picture/humour/gift book is a genre that really comes into its own at Christmas, particularly for last-minute purchases and those tricky Secret Santa gifts. 
Di Morrissey’s novel, 
Rosie Black is a 16-year-old girl living 500 years in the future. Tides have risen and the world is separated into the poorer Bankers, like Rosie and her ailing father, and the rich Centrals, like Rosie’s Aunt Essie, an Orbitcorp pilot travelling between Earth and the Mars colonies, which is Rosie’s ambition. The Ferals live around the edges, avoided and feared. When Rosie finds a mysterious box in the old city, she unknowingly activates a series of events with terrible consequences. Rosie must find out who to trust—the authorities, who should protect her, or Pip, a Feral, and his boss, who say that her life is in danger?