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Stella Hardy #1
Good Money
Introducing Stella Hardy, a wisecracking social worker with a thirst for social justice, good laksa, and alcohol.
Stella's phone rings. A young African boy, the son of one of her clients, has been murdered in a dingy back alley. Stella, in her forties and running low on empathy, heads into the night to comfort the grieving mother. But when she gets there, she makes a discovery that has the potential to uncover something terrible from her past — something she thought she'd gotten away with.
Then Stella's neighbour Tania mysteriously vanishes. When Stella learns that Tania is the heir to a billion-dollar mining empire, Stella realises her glamorous young friend might have had more up her sleeve than just a perfectly toned arm. Who is behind her disappearance?
Enlisting the help of her friend, Senior Constable Phuong Nguyen, Stella's investigation draws her further and further into a dark world of drug dealers, sociopaths, and killers, such as the enigmatic Mr Funsail, whose name makes even hardened criminals run for cover.
One thing is clear: Stella needs to find answers fast — before the people she's looking for find her instead.
Set in the bustling, multicultural innerwest of Melbourne, Good Money reveals a daring and exciting new voice in Australian crime fiction.
Stella's phone rings. A young African boy, the son of one of her clients, has been murdered in a dingy back alley. Stella, in her forties and running low on empathy, heads into the night to comfort the grieving mother. But when she gets there, she makes a discovery that has the potential to uncover something terrible from her past — something she thought she'd gotten away with.
Then Stella's neighbour Tania mysteriously vanishes. When Stella learns that Tania is the heir to a billion-dollar mining empire, Stella realises her glamorous young friend might have had more up her sleeve than just a perfectly toned arm. Who is behind her disappearance?
Enlisting the help of her friend, Senior Constable Phuong Nguyen, Stella's investigation draws her further and further into a dark world of drug dealers, sociopaths, and killers, such as the enigmatic Mr Funsail, whose name makes even hardened criminals run for cover.
One thing is clear: Stella needs to find answers fast — before the people she's looking for find her instead.
Set in the bustling, multicultural innerwest of Melbourne, Good Money reveals a daring and exciting new voice in Australian crime fiction.
278 pages, Paperback
First published October 21, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
November 1, 2015
An exciting new voice in Australian crime fiction.
My View:
What a wonderful discovery - JM Green I can’t wait for your next book!
What a fantastic new voice in Australian crime fiction! I loved every word written on these pages - the self-deprecating and often dark humour that is characteristically Australian, the colloquial language, and the locations – recognisable city scapes – multicultural Australia
(But really could be almost anywhere these days), the honesty and the friendships and of course, the great engaging narrative.
This is crime fiction at its most human level – a narrative that clearly shows the effect of acts of crime on the victims, families of the victims, the cops and the social workers. Corruption, drug use, gangs, prejudice, structural misogyny…all are highlighted in this work – but please don’t misunderstand me – this book is a joy to read (aside from the murders which are naturally, sad), the characters are so natural, the language, discussions, conversations so fresh and real, the relationships credible; everyday lives exposed but this is not an “ordinary” life, nor an “ordinary” narrative, at times it is fun, at times sad, bleak and grim and even romantic, occasionally optimistic and always with a thread of tension that pulls the narrative together tautly.
I really loved the protagonist, Stella Hardy and can’t wait to hear more of her adventures.
My View:
What a wonderful discovery - JM Green I can’t wait for your next book!
What a fantastic new voice in Australian crime fiction! I loved every word written on these pages - the self-deprecating and often dark humour that is characteristically Australian, the colloquial language, and the locations – recognisable city scapes – multicultural Australia
(But really could be almost anywhere these days), the honesty and the friendships and of course, the great engaging narrative.
This is crime fiction at its most human level – a narrative that clearly shows the effect of acts of crime on the victims, families of the victims, the cops and the social workers. Corruption, drug use, gangs, prejudice, structural misogyny…all are highlighted in this work – but please don’t misunderstand me – this book is a joy to read (aside from the murders which are naturally, sad), the characters are so natural, the language, discussions, conversations so fresh and real, the relationships credible; everyday lives exposed but this is not an “ordinary” life, nor an “ordinary” narrative, at times it is fun, at times sad, bleak and grim and even romantic, occasionally optimistic and always with a thread of tension that pulls the narrative together tautly.
I really loved the protagonist, Stella Hardy and can’t wait to hear more of her adventures.
February 5, 2017
Good Money is an ok read set in inner Melbourne with a protagonist that won’t suit everyone’s tastes, unfortunately this included me. The three plot elements are each ok in their own right but not without flaws. There’s the murder of one of Stella’s clients, then her neighbor goes missing, and a mystery crime from her past all tied together by lies, gold and large scale corporate corruption.
If the author hadn't mentioned throughout the book that Stella was a social worker, I wouldn't have picked up on her occupation – there is very little in the book about Stella actually working a day job. I like the concept of a social worker becoming actively involved in the investigation into one of her clients murders but the link was tenuous at best. The rationale behind Stella donning the quasi PI just isn't there. Sure, I get why she’d want to know why a kid she seemingly cared for was murdered but the sleuthing and easy acquiescence of her cop buddy to uncover the mystery surrounding the homicide doesn't feel plausible.
Good Money could have been, well, good, but fell short on back-story and the why/when/how Stella came to be supporting the African family and her motivations moving forward. Not all is lost though, Stella is set to return in 2017 in Too Easy, the follow-up to Good Money. With a couple of subtle tweaks, I think this series could work for me – I know others who enjoyed this book, perhaps this one just goes into the ‘not for me basket’ for the time-being. 2.5/5.
If the author hadn't mentioned throughout the book that Stella was a social worker, I wouldn't have picked up on her occupation – there is very little in the book about Stella actually working a day job. I like the concept of a social worker becoming actively involved in the investigation into one of her clients murders but the link was tenuous at best. The rationale behind Stella donning the quasi PI just isn't there. Sure, I get why she’d want to know why a kid she seemingly cared for was murdered but the sleuthing and easy acquiescence of her cop buddy to uncover the mystery surrounding the homicide doesn't feel plausible.
Good Money could have been, well, good, but fell short on back-story and the why/when/how Stella came to be supporting the African family and her motivations moving forward. Not all is lost though, Stella is set to return in 2017 in Too Easy, the follow-up to Good Money. With a couple of subtle tweaks, I think this series could work for me – I know others who enjoyed this book, perhaps this one just goes into the ‘not for me basket’ for the time-being. 2.5/5.
August 12, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed this local crime thriller. Loved all the Melbourne references including one of my favourite Footscray Vietnamese places Thien An.
December 10, 2015
Set mostly in the Western suburbs of Melbourne, JM Green’s Good Money introduces Stella Hardy. A social worker by vocation, Hardy is the sort of laksa-loving, inner-city woman who fits into the role of accidental detective with considerable aplomb.
Reviewed at http://newtownreviewofbooks.com.au/20...
Reviewed at http://newtownreviewofbooks.com.au/20...
February 16, 2020
Ahhh! What an underrated gem is Stella Hardy?!? Why aren’t more readers falling in love with this self-deprecating anti-hero?!?
This is my second Stella Hardy novel (having read the third one first, mistakenly) and I am ever-more besotted with Green’s ultra-relatable, super smart, fierce, foolish, and self-destructive amateur sleuth. Stella is perceptive and genuinely funny. Her descriptions capture life in Melbourne with insightful detail, and a hint of playful cynicism. At the same time, Green knows how to pull together a complex murder mystery plot.
Perhaps people are a bit hesitant to fall in love because - to be fair - this series tries to be a lot of things. Romance, Bridget-Jones-style-character-driven-plot, murder mystery, political thriller, comedy. Maybe the trouble is that people struggle to categorise it.
Well, whatever it is, it is a joyous and thrilling ride.
This is my second Stella Hardy novel (having read the third one first, mistakenly) and I am ever-more besotted with Green’s ultra-relatable, super smart, fierce, foolish, and self-destructive amateur sleuth. Stella is perceptive and genuinely funny. Her descriptions capture life in Melbourne with insightful detail, and a hint of playful cynicism. At the same time, Green knows how to pull together a complex murder mystery plot.
Perhaps people are a bit hesitant to fall in love because - to be fair - this series tries to be a lot of things. Romance, Bridget-Jones-style-character-driven-plot, murder mystery, political thriller, comedy. Maybe the trouble is that people struggle to categorise it.
Well, whatever it is, it is a joyous and thrilling ride.
December 22, 2019
P M Green is a new author to me. I’ve read two of her books and think she’s a very entertaining writer. Main character Stella Hardy is a social worker who lives in Ascot Vale. She’s a city woman now but there are many links to her farming childhood in the Mallee. She and her family are a bunch of tough nuts, crazy, reckless, determined, rough with others and loose with the truth. Despite this, Stella has a good heart and some principles. Corporate crime is the basis of this novel. We roam around Melbourne a lot, chasing it down to a satisfying conclusion.
February 19, 2017
Too realistic to be interesting, too corny to be believable.
February 8, 2018
‘My bedroom. Population: one. I was horizontal under the covers imitating sleep, when my mobile buzzed .’
Meet Stella Hardy, a social worker in her forties, working in the western suburbs of Melbourne. Stella works with the Western Outer-Region Migrant Support Unit (WORMS) which is short of funds, but not of clients. A familiar story. Stella was in a relationship with a married man. But now the relationship is over, and Stella is finding some solace in wine and whisky. Another familiar story.
But back to the 4 am phone call. It’s Mrs Chol, one of Stella’s clients. Her son has been murdered. Stella heads over to Mrs Chol’s housing commission flat (which she notes is bigger than hers and has better views of the city) to offer solace. While there, Stella makes a discovery which worries her.
Back home, Stella discovers that her neighbour Tania has disappeared. Tania’s disappearance is out of character, but as Stella quickly discovers, there’s a lot that she didn’t know about Tania. Others are looking for Tania as well.
As she tries to both find Tania and make sense of the Chol boy’s murder, Stella seeks the assistance of her friend Senior Constable Phuong Nguyen. From this stage on, there’s plenty of action.
I enjoyed the humour in this novel: who else would have a corrupt police minister launching a new initiative named ‘Justice Uniting Neighbourhood Knowledge with Inter-Agency Expertise’ (JUNKIE) and have a really bad guy known as ‘Mr Funsail’? And, just if Stella’s life isn’t complicated enough, her brother (fresh from gaol) comes to stay.
This is a very busy story, and while I questioned some of Stella’s choices and wondered about how various aspects tied together, I enjoyed the read. Stella Hardy is an intriguing protagonist, and I’m looking forward to reading the second book in this series.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Meet Stella Hardy, a social worker in her forties, working in the western suburbs of Melbourne. Stella works with the Western Outer-Region Migrant Support Unit (WORMS) which is short of funds, but not of clients. A familiar story. Stella was in a relationship with a married man. But now the relationship is over, and Stella is finding some solace in wine and whisky. Another familiar story.
But back to the 4 am phone call. It’s Mrs Chol, one of Stella’s clients. Her son has been murdered. Stella heads over to Mrs Chol’s housing commission flat (which she notes is bigger than hers and has better views of the city) to offer solace. While there, Stella makes a discovery which worries her.
Back home, Stella discovers that her neighbour Tania has disappeared. Tania’s disappearance is out of character, but as Stella quickly discovers, there’s a lot that she didn’t know about Tania. Others are looking for Tania as well.
As she tries to both find Tania and make sense of the Chol boy’s murder, Stella seeks the assistance of her friend Senior Constable Phuong Nguyen. From this stage on, there’s plenty of action.
I enjoyed the humour in this novel: who else would have a corrupt police minister launching a new initiative named ‘Justice Uniting Neighbourhood Knowledge with Inter-Agency Expertise’ (JUNKIE) and have a really bad guy known as ‘Mr Funsail’? And, just if Stella’s life isn’t complicated enough, her brother (fresh from gaol) comes to stay.
This is a very busy story, and while I questioned some of Stella’s choices and wondered about how various aspects tied together, I enjoyed the read. Stella Hardy is an intriguing protagonist, and I’m looking forward to reading the second book in this series.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
September 22, 2019
I would like to be more positive than my rating reflects. I enjoyed the humour and turns of phrase in the writing but I found the protagonist under developed and the denouement over the top. It’s nice to read a book set in Melbourne.
November 19, 2015
Good Money is an Australian crime story with a number of differences that make it stand out in this crowded field. One, it has a woman as the heroine – Stella Hardy, who definitely isn’t a cop. She’s a social worker who assists migrants and who has a few dodgy things up her own sleeve. It’s refreshing to have a main character who isn’t a jaded, chain smoking detective with a string of bad relationships under her belt. Sure, Stella likes the odd wine or whiskey, and she has made some dumb relationship decisions but it’s not the focus of her dysfunction. In fact, she’s pretty functional!
Two, this story has some serious girl power. There’s Stella of course, but her recently reunited best friend Phuong is a rising gun in the police force and she knows how to kick some butt. Even the minor characters such as Mrs Chol, mother of a murdered boy, takes life by the horns and twists it to ensure her remaining son is safe. Similarly, Constable Raewyn Ross wants to be taken seriously in the male environment of the local police station and Stella’s friend Tania has taken drastic measures to take control of her life – with insurance.
The story reads like a hard-boiled detective novel, only with strong women in its place. The opening is particularly strong (it has the short, powerful sentences that set the scene and the tone) and the story just zooms from there. Stella is easy to relate to (even for all her faults) and the introduction of Phuong (who is awesome, holding her own with the idiot colleagues and breaking into things before finding the best food in town) makes things fun. There’s a lot of dark humour involved, mainly on Stella’s part, which brings some light to the dark moments. It’s very Australian with the black humour and Stella’s world-weariness. Some of the language used will make the reader crack a smile – J.M. Green knows just where to place the colloquialisms for maximum effect.
Essentially the story is based around the murder of a young boy, the family of which Stella has dealings with in her day job. Things are complicated by a notebook with Stella’s address in it, which has her panicking that she could be targeted for some misdemeanours years ago. Meanwhile, her nice-but-kind-of-ditzy neighbour Tania gives her some DVDs to mind and then disappears. Stella’s tangled up in two police investigations – could they be linked? Later the narrative moves to Western Australia, which is where I had a couple of plot issues – one, there’s more than just Cottesloe as suburb options and the plot seemed to almost be on a runaway train to over the top. Fortunately, Green winds it back to reality in the desert and the story finishes on a high note.
I think one of the things that pleased me is that the cover of Good Money mentions this is the first Stella Hardy novel, which means we will have more of Stella to enjoy. I’m hoping that means more of Phuong and the precocious young Marigold, in addition to Stella’s light fingered brother Ben – there’s plenty more here to explore!
Thank you to Scribe Publications for the ARC. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
Two, this story has some serious girl power. There’s Stella of course, but her recently reunited best friend Phuong is a rising gun in the police force and she knows how to kick some butt. Even the minor characters such as Mrs Chol, mother of a murdered boy, takes life by the horns and twists it to ensure her remaining son is safe. Similarly, Constable Raewyn Ross wants to be taken seriously in the male environment of the local police station and Stella’s friend Tania has taken drastic measures to take control of her life – with insurance.
The story reads like a hard-boiled detective novel, only with strong women in its place. The opening is particularly strong (it has the short, powerful sentences that set the scene and the tone) and the story just zooms from there. Stella is easy to relate to (even for all her faults) and the introduction of Phuong (who is awesome, holding her own with the idiot colleagues and breaking into things before finding the best food in town) makes things fun. There’s a lot of dark humour involved, mainly on Stella’s part, which brings some light to the dark moments. It’s very Australian with the black humour and Stella’s world-weariness. Some of the language used will make the reader crack a smile – J.M. Green knows just where to place the colloquialisms for maximum effect.
Essentially the story is based around the murder of a young boy, the family of which Stella has dealings with in her day job. Things are complicated by a notebook with Stella’s address in it, which has her panicking that she could be targeted for some misdemeanours years ago. Meanwhile, her nice-but-kind-of-ditzy neighbour Tania gives her some DVDs to mind and then disappears. Stella’s tangled up in two police investigations – could they be linked? Later the narrative moves to Western Australia, which is where I had a couple of plot issues – one, there’s more than just Cottesloe as suburb options and the plot seemed to almost be on a runaway train to over the top. Fortunately, Green winds it back to reality in the desert and the story finishes on a high note.
I think one of the things that pleased me is that the cover of Good Money mentions this is the first Stella Hardy novel, which means we will have more of Stella to enjoy. I’m hoping that means more of Phuong and the precocious young Marigold, in addition to Stella’s light fingered brother Ben – there’s plenty more here to explore!
Thank you to Scribe Publications for the ARC. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
April 13, 2017
I really enjoyed this Australian crime novel from a debutant author with clear storytelling talent. GOOD MONEY, touted as the first Stella Hardy novel, is one of those books that's good across the board - good characters, a good crime plotline, interesting prose that's smooth but with enough of a unique voice to seem fresh, and a well-evoked contemporary setting (both the physical place, and some of the social issues entwined with that place and the people living their lives there).
There's also a really nice vein of humour running throughout the book. Some of the themes and events in GOOD MONEY are very dark, but Green does a great job balancing things with humour and quirky wee things here and there, so it never gets too bleak, fatiguing, or depressing.
Stella Hardy is one of those people full of good intentions, and wanting to do the right thing (even though she feels jaded and all out of empathy at times), but who often manages to get herself 'up shit creek without a paddle', as we'd say down our part of the world. She's a bit of a trouble-magnet.
Although Hardy comes across as a bit gruff at the start, I found her very engaging overall, and was easily drawn in to follow her along as the social worker looks into a murder in one of her client families, as well as the disappearance of her neighbour. She's a good central character, with Green drip-feeding us more information about her background throughout the book. We get a good sense of a rounded person, full of complexities and a variety of experiences that have shaped her.
Green also did a very good job with the settings, capturing a variety of places that make up modern-day Australia, from stratified living and increasing multiculturalism in urban areas, to the changing face of country life in a nation where farmers and farmers were once the backbone of the economy. Now, it is the massive mining industry that drives money flow in Australia, but may be fool's gold.
Overall, GOOD MONEY is very good debut, that introduces both a fresh new voice in antipodean crime writing, and an engaging heroine who has the potential to be a strong series character.
I look forward to whatever comes next from JM Green and Stella Hardy.
There's also a really nice vein of humour running throughout the book. Some of the themes and events in GOOD MONEY are very dark, but Green does a great job balancing things with humour and quirky wee things here and there, so it never gets too bleak, fatiguing, or depressing.
Stella Hardy is one of those people full of good intentions, and wanting to do the right thing (even though she feels jaded and all out of empathy at times), but who often manages to get herself 'up shit creek without a paddle', as we'd say down our part of the world. She's a bit of a trouble-magnet.
Although Hardy comes across as a bit gruff at the start, I found her very engaging overall, and was easily drawn in to follow her along as the social worker looks into a murder in one of her client families, as well as the disappearance of her neighbour. She's a good central character, with Green drip-feeding us more information about her background throughout the book. We get a good sense of a rounded person, full of complexities and a variety of experiences that have shaped her.
Green also did a very good job with the settings, capturing a variety of places that make up modern-day Australia, from stratified living and increasing multiculturalism in urban areas, to the changing face of country life in a nation where farmers and farmers were once the backbone of the economy. Now, it is the massive mining industry that drives money flow in Australia, but may be fool's gold.
Overall, GOOD MONEY is very good debut, that introduces both a fresh new voice in antipodean crime writing, and an engaging heroine who has the potential to be a strong series character.
I look forward to whatever comes next from JM Green and Stella Hardy.
October 6, 2019
Good Money was shortlisted for the 2014 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript and I can certainly see why now that I have read this hard-boiled take on Melbourne’s western suburbs featuring Stella Hardy, social worker turned sleuth. This recommendation came up on my Twitter feed answering a call for good authors to read who live in Victoria and while I had read a good number of the recommended authors I had not come across J.M. Green. Stella is full of guilt, a little bit bitter, a little bit hopeful and struggling with her day to day life, especially her work with migrant families. Called to one family after their teenage son, Adut, is murdered in a drug deal gone wrong, Stella comes across her name and address written in his drug running book. Looking into Adut’s murder is a necessity as Stella cannot rule out a past regrettable action as having caused it, Stella and her best friend Senior Constable Phuong Nguyen get drawn into a dark side of Melbourne’s inner west, full of drug deals gone wrong, good money taking a dark turn, violence and killers. Mining, wealthy families, the high profile professionals are all in J.M. Green’s sights in this novel and not in a good way. And they all have Stella in their sights so she had better find those answers fast, before violence comes directly to her door. Are there a few too many coincidences in this novel? Probably but that does not take away from a really fast-paced crime novel, that surprises you into smiling and chuckling at odd times as we are charmed by Stella, as she lurches from cool to crazy, from sleuth to manipulative social worker, from empathetic friend to mean girl determined to survive. If you enjoy good mysteries, with engaging characters who can wise-crack their way through some dangerous experiences then I can really recommend J. M. Green to you. And as a bonus you know she understands that sometimes your AFL team is hereditary and part of your DNA and her take on the abbreviations of Government programs such as WORMS (Western Outer-Region Migrant Support) is an added delight.
November 29, 2015
A great read by a Melbourne crime writer. JM Green places the city, particularly its Western suburbs, front and centre and paints vivid pictures of the streetscapes and characters that populate it. The central character, Stella, a social worker, is fabulously raw, flawed, dry-witted and jaded with a heart of gold. The surrounding characters are also uniquely drawn - my favourites were Ben, Stella's shifty, two-faced brother who is also a clean and culinary freak; and Phuong, Stella's best friend, a detective, who provides a striking contrast to Stella by the fact she can rock a tight floral mini-dress and prefers champagne to Stella's choice of cask wine. The story rollicks along and keeps you turning the pages, with the page building towards the end. Looking forward to Stella's next adventure.
June 28, 2016
Debut novel by Melbourne author J M Green. My library service is hosting this author in July so I wanted to buy her book and read it before going along to hear her story.
As a debut novel it was pretty good. Coming from Melbourne you could visualise the locations and landmarks she quotes in the novel which was a bit of fun.
The storyline is quite fast paced and keeps you interested all through the book until the conclusion which is always a good thing for me. The only criticism I have is that the main character Stella Hardy is supposed to be a social worker, but there is very little narrative of her actually doing her job, she seems to be out investigating the kidnapping and murders throughout the book. Perhaps she would have been better cast as a private investigator.
As a debut novel it was pretty good. Coming from Melbourne you could visualise the locations and landmarks she quotes in the novel which was a bit of fun.
The storyline is quite fast paced and keeps you interested all through the book until the conclusion which is always a good thing for me. The only criticism I have is that the main character Stella Hardy is supposed to be a social worker, but there is very little narrative of her actually doing her job, she seems to be out investigating the kidnapping and murders throughout the book. Perhaps she would have been better cast as a private investigator.
February 6, 2017
A satisfying crime novel featuring Stella Hardy, a social worker and set in Melbourne's West. I loved everything about this book, but especially a strong female protagonist and my side of town-the western suburbs as the backdrop.
November 18, 2015
Great new Australian crime series 4.5
December 6, 2015
Cracking first novel.
January 8, 2017
Cracking read. Well written & hooks you in by the end of first chapter. Hope there will be more from this author.
December 2, 2019
2.75 stars - This book was recommended to me by my local secondhand bookstore seller, because it's set in the same area that we were in. This premise enticed me into the purchase. Subjectively, I enjoyed J.M. Green's debut novel. Being from the inner west myself, the descriptions of the streets and restaurants mentioned were vivid in my mind. I've had birthday dinners set in Thien An and the Station Hotel, which were the two places that our protagonist mentioned. I never read books set in Melbourne, let alone a suburb that I frequent on a weekly basis - so I think this was the largest contributing factor to why it got more stars than it should've. The diversity was great, which is a true reflection of Melbourne's inner west.
Objectively, this book had a few flaws. The plot was quite unbelievable, as it all felt very far-fetched. The build up was non existent due to the author's tendency to go excessive details about minor things, which took away from the reading experience. I felt like the author spent more time describing Stella's directions on Union Road, or grabbing a flat white. The descriptions were unnecessary. More time could've been spent to develop the characters, the plot, the mystery. How did Stella come to work with her clients? We barely knew her as a character. Maybe that's just me, but I did not feel invested in her as a character that held the plot.
In saying that, the flaws were not so immense that I loathed it. It didn't affect my reading experience all that much, actually I enjoyed it enough that I finished it within a day. Green's writing style was easy to follow, and had a wide range of characters.
Objectively, this book had a few flaws. The plot was quite unbelievable, as it all felt very far-fetched. The build up was non existent due to the author's tendency to go excessive details about minor things, which took away from the reading experience. I felt like the author spent more time describing Stella's directions on Union Road, or grabbing a flat white. The descriptions were unnecessary. More time could've been spent to develop the characters, the plot, the mystery. How did Stella come to work with her clients? We barely knew her as a character. Maybe that's just me, but I did not feel invested in her as a character that held the plot.
In saying that, the flaws were not so immense that I loathed it. It didn't affect my reading experience all that much, actually I enjoyed it enough that I finished it within a day. Green's writing style was easy to follow, and had a wide range of characters.
December 15, 2020
I really tried to like this book. I was excited to read something set in the area where I live, and interested to read a crime thriller with a non-cop protagonist.
It was faithful to the tropes of the genre but poorly executed. Characters were once-dimensional, I couldn't pick up on anyone's motivation for doing anything. From the mother of the murdered teenager to the 10 year old daughter of Stella's love interest, as well as Stella herself, everyone seemed to be props to support the slow-moving and unconvincing plot. I can forgive the clunky attempts at creating the emotions associated with crime thrillers (fear, intrigue etc.) and I can appreciate the plot point of Big Bad Australian Mining Companies, but the writing style itself was hard to get through. The style was recounting and expository with weird grammatical choices that I found distracting - 'It had been a bad day' etc. There was humour in there, but attempts at connection between characters felt over-laboured (Stella's amazement that someone else had seen the Lord of the Rings movies, for example, or asking a mining magnate 'Why don't you pay tax?'), dialogue was unbelievable as all the characters kind of sounded the same.
It was faithful to the tropes of the genre but poorly executed. Characters were once-dimensional, I couldn't pick up on anyone's motivation for doing anything. From the mother of the murdered teenager to the 10 year old daughter of Stella's love interest, as well as Stella herself, everyone seemed to be props to support the slow-moving and unconvincing plot. I can forgive the clunky attempts at creating the emotions associated with crime thrillers (fear, intrigue etc.) and I can appreciate the plot point of Big Bad Australian Mining Companies, but the writing style itself was hard to get through. The style was recounting and expository with weird grammatical choices that I found distracting - 'It had been a bad day' etc. There was humour in there, but attempts at connection between characters felt over-laboured (Stella's amazement that someone else had seen the Lord of the Rings movies, for example, or asking a mining magnate 'Why don't you pay tax?'), dialogue was unbelievable as all the characters kind of sounded the same.
June 5, 2018
It's always a challenge, for an author creating an amateur sleuth, to justify why they're investigating alone. A common solution is for the police to dismiss or belittle the amateur (think Father Brown), so they go it alone until they have enough evidence to be taken seriously. That's not the case here, because Stella's best friend is a policewoman, Phuong, who's more than ready to listen. So every time Stella hid a piece of evidence or investigated alone, it felt wrong. I couldn't understand her motivation for (a) wanting to investigate in the first place and (b) hiding evidence or failing to tell Phuong about what she'd done.
The other thing that caught me out occasionally was her job. I kept forgetting she was a social worker, since she hardly ever seemed to have any work to do.
Leaving those things aside, though, I enjoyed this book. Stella's character is believable, and I liked the romance that was thrown in. The dramatic ending in the desert felt slightly contrived as I couldn't see why she went there, but it was OK.
The other thing that caught me out occasionally was her job. I kept forgetting she was a social worker, since she hardly ever seemed to have any work to do.
Leaving those things aside, though, I enjoyed this book. Stella's character is believable, and I liked the romance that was thrown in. The dramatic ending in the desert felt slightly contrived as I couldn't see why she went there, but it was OK.
September 21, 2019
2.5 stars
Stella Hardy, a social worker (not that she ever seems to be working in that role) becomes involved with an African family whose son has been killed. Then her neighbour Tania goes missing and Stella believes the two are connected. With her best friend S/C Phuong Nguyen assistance, connections are also made with a mining company.
Green injects humour into her writing which ticks along at a good pace. However, too much belief has to be suspended in order to buy the story.
Stella Hardy, a social worker (not that she ever seems to be working in that role) becomes involved with an African family whose son has been killed. Then her neighbour Tania goes missing and Stella believes the two are connected. With her best friend S/C Phuong Nguyen assistance, connections are also made with a mining company.
Green injects humour into her writing which ticks along at a good pace. However, too much belief has to be suspended in order to buy the story.
May 9, 2018
I just wasn't a fan of Green's writing style. It felt like events were being recounted one after the other rather than a story being woven and told tactfully. I thought that I would get past the writing style to eventually enjoy the read but unfortunately this didn't happen for me. Over all a bit disappointed with this novel.
May 20, 2017
An entertaining read that unfortunately gives away a central mystery to readers with a background in linguistics. I didn't bothered finishing it when it became obvious one third of the way "whodunit".
June 23, 2019
2 1/2 because I did actually read it all. The characters are very real, and the pace and rhythm is fine, but a 4o something woman saying 'we fanged out of there'... and many other ridiculous plot threads, meant I lost patience with it, by the silly end.
November 20, 2019
Couldn’t find this in paperback so listened to it on audio which was one of the worst experiences of my life. The narrator was appalling and I was entertained only by her dreadful mispronunciation of words. I also lost count of the number of references to excrement. Never again
February 5, 2020
really enjoyed this first book in the Stella Hardy series. Loved that I am familiar with the areas and situations.
Stella is a flawed support worker who has more adventures than most.Easy read and just couldnt wait to find out what happened.
Stella is a flawed support worker who has more adventures than most.Easy read and just couldnt wait to find out what happened.
April 28, 2020
I love Stella. If you enjoyed Peter Temple’s Jack Irish books, give this series a try. Gritty Melbourne locations, flawed protagonist, mates in the police force, unlikely resolutions. It’s all here and it’s funny with a pleasing number of library references.
August 27, 2017
Great. Very easy to read, enjoyable and engaging crime set in Melbourne's west.
September 29, 2017
This book is amazing. Great writing, a heroine any western suburbs girl aspires too. What's not to love.
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