Three Reasons for Revenge by Dervla McTiernan - a terrific crime thriller set in Melbourne, about Judith Lee, a detective who is drawn into a nasty case that has the police baffled. Alexis Turner walks into the police station to report an assault which Judith recognises as the mirror of an identical assault which was brought to her attention some years prior. Then three people (one of whom is Judith) each receive a beautifully wrapped box with an individually tailored, insidious gift inside which will tear their lives apart. Somehow, these things are connected and Judith embarks on a race against time to stop the perpetrator and save innocent lives. 

The Valley by Asher Emanuel - the culmination of over two years of field research and hundreds of hours of interviews, this extraordinary book follows three Hutt Valley men through courtrooms, prison, hospital, rehab, boarding houses and welfare offices, two of whom are recidivist offenders, the other being their legal aid lawyer. Told largely in verbatim dialogue, it’s a remarkable up-close and personal account bringing the realities of the New Zealand criminal justice system to life through the voices of those who experience it first-hand. 

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