Karen from AustCrime

Australia

Profile Information:

Hometown:: Pyrenees Ranges, Victoria, Australia
About Me:: A reader. A constant reader. Less than 200 books in Mt TBR will cause me to break out in an uncontrollable panic sweat. Failure to stand in the middle of a well-stocked book store once a fortnight causes further panic attacks. The arrival of a Postpak full of review books causes uncontrollable shivers of joy. Basically I'm a simple creature - feed me books, ignore the dust and crud in the house and tell me about your favourite author.
I Am A:: Reader
Website:: http://www.austcrimefiction.org
Books And Authors I Like:: Crime fiction in all its guises! I love Reginald Hill's books, I'm a huge fan of Scandinavian crime writers - Mankell, Wahloo and Sjowall, Nesbo, Fossum, Alvtegen, Larsson and their ilk. Indridason from Iceland is another favourite as well. Louise Welsh, Caro Ramsay, Denise Mina, Christopher Brookmyre and many Scottish authors as well.

In terms of local writers Adrian Hyland, Peter Temple, Shane Maloney, Malla Nunn, Lindy Cameron, Caroline Shaw, David Owen, Geoff McGeachin, Paul Thomas, Leigh Redhead, Katherine Howell, JR Carroll, Paul Cleave, Claire McNab and......

How long do I have?
Movies And TV Shows I Like:: TV: Unit One, Eagle - Crime Odyssey, Dalziel & Pascoe, Black Books, Spicks & Specks, Kingswood Country

Movies: Bollywood! oh and Gangster Number 1, Layer Cake, Lock Stock etc recently (don't watch many movies).

Comment Wall:

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Chris Ewan

Hi Karen. Thanks for the welcome. I think S&S are distributing AMSTERDAM in Australia in June. If you do have chance to have a read, let me know what you think.
Cheers
Chris

Feb 28, 2008
Chris Ewan

Ah yes, I fell into a similar Book Depository/Amazon trap myself today...

Feb 28, 2008
Carol Exline

Thanks for the welcome.

Feb 28, 2008
Jim Gracie

Hi Karen.
Thanks for your kind invite. I'm so looking forward to exploring what this site can offer, though it's all a bit confusing at the moment!

My late wife's sister lives in Melbourne - Endeavour Hills I think the district is called. I'm glad you like Scottish crime fiction. A writer called Catriona McPherson lives not too far away from me.

Mar 1, 2008
Kitty

your welcome, and thanks for accepting ~ dog lovers always seem to know about the best reading material as well.

Mar 2, 2008
Kenneth L. Hisel

Thanks for your welcome, thank goodness only two of the dogs in my picture are ours and the other three a nephews. I can't wait to check out this site.

Mar 6, 2008
Vikki Petraitis

Thanks Karen. I wanted to have a look at Aust Crime as well. They were both recommended to me. It's great to be able to correspond with other writers and fans of the crime genre.

Mar 12, 2008
Lisa

Hi back Karen, so nice to hear from you. Translating is so much fun. For me it's one of the most intimate ways to get to know a book. There are some wonderful crime novels published in Germany which just deserve to come out in English, too.
All the best, Lisa

Mar 20, 2008
Cameron Trost

Hi Karen, great to see an Aussie Crimespace here... I'm going to check out the austcrimefiction site too, I've been looking for such a site.

Mar 24, 2008
L.J. Sellers

Just saying Hi
I loved Layer Cake too.

Mar 24, 2008
Bronwyn

Hi Karen, was interested to your yours and others comments re the Tuesday Book Club on Crime. Your website looks great. Thanks for sending me a message. Bronwyn

Apr 1, 2008
Rose Mercer

Karen, I'm so glad you made it to a SinC event; wish you'd told me you were going because I may have managed to find some energy for it. Maybe it was better I rested though. Did you have fun? Looked at your blog and it sounded a very interesting night.

Apr 13, 2008
Rose Mercer

That's just great, Karen. I am definitely making sure I attend the May event, so hopefully we'll get to meet then.

Apr 13, 2008
Rose Mercer

Bummer Karen. Yes, I'm off to SinC tonight since I can't wait to hear Betty King. Well, if I do anything about it, I'll write it up for your blog ... don't promise since I'm there with a friend and who knows how much wine I'll be having, LOL.

Maybe next time?

May 16, 2008
Donna Carrick

Hi, Karen, great to visit such an avid reader! People never understand when I tell them I love rain just as much as sunshine -- it gives me a chance to kick back under the skylights and rain to the sound of rainfall...
All the best,
Donna Carrick www.donnacarrick.com

Jun 26, 2008
Phillipa Martin (PD Martin)

Hi Karen,
Just saw your post on my blog - by all means, borrow away! Thanks for the support!

Phillipa

Jun 26, 2008
Phillipa Martin (PD Martin)

Yep, I'll see you at the Crime and Justice Festival. After the 12pm sessions. It'll be great to meet you all. Missed the Sisters in Crime event - still jetlagged then! But I'm appearing at one 15 August and will hopefully get to a few others this year too.
Phillipa
www.pdmartin.com.au

Jun 27, 2008
P.M. Newton

Thanks for the welcome, Karen. Fellow Cracker fan and Wahloo and Sjowall aficionado. Enjoy the upcoming Crime & Justice fest in Melbourne - looking forward to reading your reports.
Pam

Jul 3, 2008
JJ Cooper

Hi Karen,

We're aiming for an August 2009 release for Interrogated. I'll be keeping all the updates and happenings on my blog and here. I've also signed up for your site now. Thanks for the warm welcome.

JJ

Jul 5, 2008
Beth Groundwater

Thanks for becoming my friend, Karen. I'd love to come back to Australia for a visit sometime. My last trip years ago was to Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns & Port Douglas.

Aug 6, 2008
Mitzi Szereto

Thanks very much!! Memorable titles... I surely hope so! So long as people remember the titles when they go into the bookshop!

Aug 11, 2008
Libby

Hey Karen.....i am currently reading Written on the Skin: An Australian Forensic Casebook by Liz Potter....it is really good....also reading the Lindy Chamberlain autobiography and a book on the Sue Snow poisening in America by Gregg Olsen. I really do read alot...all the time on the train, i have to do something! And yeah i love true crime.

Nov 13, 2008
Libby

That's the only thing about true crime....sometimes it is hard to sleep after you have finished reading...it sucks you in....I always have trouble putting books down or i simply don't want to get off the train, so i can keep reading!

Nov 13, 2008
Tony Black

Hi Karen...thanks for comment. Luv the dogs, Aussie Terries rule! You should check out the mutt pix on my page. And, yep on your Q...PAYING FOR IT is out in Oz now and getting nice reviews, ta.
Tony.

Nov 24, 2008
Sarah Byrne

... and it's not half-finished yet! Very pleased to meet you - your website is a wonderful resource! Any chance you might be going to LCC in Hawaii? I know there will be a few Antipodeans making the trip (including me).

Jan 9, 2009
Dorte

Hi Karen.

I have not quite found out yet what crimespace really is but apparently it doesn´t much matter because interesting people keep inviting me in :)

I can see in your profile that we do have much in common, "Mankell, Wahloo and Sjowall, Nesbo, Fossum, Alvtegen, Larsson and their ilk. Indridason from Iceland ... ". I have read all of these, and Alvtegen is not really a favourite but I certainly love the others.
Another thing I don´t quite know is whether this community is also related to people´s blog addresses? - if not, I think you should visit my very new crime fiction blog: "DJs krimiblog". So far there are only a few reviews (all Norwegian, by coincidence) but there should be something for you, e.g. "Anne Holt" some of whose books are truly excellent.

Jan 14, 2009
Gavin May

The Melon blog, nice one! I could post updates on current melon conditions and standout attributes such as shininess, fluff length and pimple distribution. Now where did I put that book on synoptic terminology…

Jan 27, 2009
Lisa

Gee, Karen, what told you that? That was taken up at Glenrowan somewhere in the area of last year. I haven't read any of your favourite writers, I'll have to check them out. I've just started the Stephanie Plum (Evanovich) series and I'm well and truly hooked!

Jan 30, 2009
Lisa

Yeah, I've been sleeping in the lounge for the past two nights because my bedroom gets too hot in summer. What's it like up where you are?Maloney confused me a fair bit, it was funny in parts but it just didn't pack enough apunch for me. If a book can make me sit up and say "No *way*!" at least once, then it's great.

Jan 30, 2009
Lisa

what is this, the third rack of hell or something? the cool change hits tonight, apparently, so I said, "That's it, I'm sleeping in my own bed." I'm at the library tomorrow, so I'll see if I can dig up some of this other guy's stuff - thanks!

Jan 30, 2009
Harmony

LOL ur about me is discribing myself :D thanx for the add ..:) Venessa

Mar 9, 2009
steve reeder

Hello new buddy.

Apr 1, 2009
Matt Hilton

Hi Karen, don't want this to sound like a shameless plug, but keep your eye out for my debut, Dead Men's Dust, which will be hitting your shores in the next couple of weeks. Always nice to meet new crime fans. Thanks for adding me as a friend. Matt.

Apr 19, 2009
Craig Sisterson

Thanks for the welcome Karen. I posted a couple of comments on your AustCrimeFiction website, about your reviews of Tropic of Death and Fear the Worst. Not sure if they posted correctly though. In short I too was disappointed with ToD, and thought FtW was a great thriller.

Aug 6, 2009
Christine Bongers

Hi Karen
It's not out yet, still a w-i-p, but thanks for the add. Enjoyed hearing Lisa Unger and Gregg Hurwitz at "Crime Pays" at Brisbane Writers Festival today with Briz writer JJ Cooper. Blog to be posted on it tonight!

Sep 10, 2009
Marianne Delacourt

Hi Karen,
nice to meet you. I'll go and check out your AustCrime website.
best
Marianne

Sep 23, 2009
Marianne Delacourt

Thanks, Karen. Hope its been behaving itself :)

Sep 24, 2009
caroline howard

Hi Karen, thank you for the welcome, yes, loved Layer Cake as well, and I don't watch many movies either. Have paid attention to your authors and looking forward to checking them out. Glad to have found someone else who enjoy tartan noir !

Nov 5, 2009
Nick Brownlee

Thanks Karen - nice to be here. Glad you enjoyed Bait, and I hope you'll like Burn too. It's a bit darker than the first one, but plenty of rough and tumble! Cheers N

Nov 18, 2009
Michael Baker

hey Karen, good to meet you!

Quack! Quack!

Feb 3, 2010
Michael Baker

How brilliant is that, to have your own ducks!

Feb 4, 2010
Cherylle Gardiner

Hi Karen....it was great to hear from you. I must admit to being a bit on the lazy side when it comes to my writing but I have been getting plenty of research down, alsoi loyts of books of notes but I have been quite sick with visits to hospitals. I know Ovoca quite well....the nightmare of pulling a two horse float on an empty tank of petrol from there to Ballarat. We did stop the panaic attacks by playing two up to see which one of us was going to get a horse from the float and ride to Ballarat to get a Jerry Can. LUckily I got to drive the car and the horse trainer rode in the panic seat. lol

Feb 21, 2010
Gaile Hughes

Hi Karen, Thanks for the heads up for AustCrime, have already joined and had a recon. If you lived in the city before the 'Tree Change' you will know how it feels to stand outside and hear, well, very little.... Just luv the head space, enough noise going on in there without suburbia butting in... he he. Have you had the lovely rain, hope so, think central west needs it. Joining up with the two sites produced half a chapter yesterday, that's progress. Now, just someone down here for coffee and chats...

Mar 5, 2010
Helene Young

Hi Karen, thanks for the friend invite! Very jealous of the number of books you get to read!!

Apr 14, 2010
Helene Young

Ha, housework is sooo over rated, Karen.

I had a fabulous night with Sisters Inc! Very nervous but they were all so lovely and Lindy kept the room buzzing so I had a ball.

Apr 15, 2010
Shane Maloney

I like your dogs.

Jul 2, 2010
Vic

nice to see someone from the bush with an avian bent :) Just avoid the bigger quackers!

Jul 2, 2010
Vic

as you know - quackers = eeekkkk! I much prefer the four pawed hairy, slobbery and dopey :) And enjoying CS very much already!

Jul 2, 2010
Lee Franklin

Hi Karen, nice to meet a fellow Aussie from the bush! I hope the Vic fires didn't effect you too much, we had our own here in 2007 and almost lost everything. There's nothing like country air to fuel the reading bug is there? ;)

Sep 30, 2010
Ian Edward

Karen, thanks for the invite from a fellow Aussie. I know exactly what you mean about finding an inner calm hanging out in the local bookstore (or any bookstore for that matter!)

Sep 30, 2010