Hear This 18th April 2025

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Episode Transcript

S1 (00:09):
Take a look. Take a look inside the book. Take
a look.

S2 (00:24):
Hello and welcome to hear this. I'm Frances Kelland and
you're listening to the Vision Australia library show. Today we
have a special tribute to a wonderful Australian author who's recently,
unfortunately passed away. And some samples of some reader recommended books.
I hope you enjoy the show. I wanted to start

(00:46):
off today with a tribute to the wonderful Kerry Greenwood,
who we sadly lost very recently. So Kerry Isobel Greenwood
was born in 1954 and passed away 26th of March, 2025.
Not only was she an author, she was also a
lawyer and she wrote many plays and books, most notably
probably most famous for a string of historical detective novels

(01:10):
centred on the character of Phryne Fisher, which was adapted
as the popular television series Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. Carrie
was a very Melbourne person. She grew up in Footscray
and lived most of her life in the Inner West.
She began writing books at 16, but remained unpublished. In 1988,
she entered one of her eight novels for the Vogel Prize, and,

(01:31):
although not successful, one of the judges offered her a
contract for two detective novels and Cocaine Blues. Her first
book in the Phryne Fisher series was published in 1989,
so I thought I'd start off with a sample of
the very first of the Frannie Fisher books. The Honourable
Phryne Fisher, bored with her partying lifestyle in London, sets

(01:54):
her sights on Melbourne, Australia, where she meets the beautiful
Russian dancer Sasha Delis. From then on, it's all cocaine
and communism until her adventure reaches its steamy end in
the Turkish baths of Little Lonsdale Street. Let's hear a
sample of Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood. It's narrated by
Deirdre Rubinstein.

S3 (02:16):
The glass in the French window shattered. The guests screamed over.
The general exclamation could be heard the shrill shriek of
Madame Sinclair, the wife of the ambassador, sir. Me? Bijou.
Phryne Fisher stood quietly and groped for a cigarette lighter.
So far the evening had been tedious. After the strenuous

(02:39):
preparations for what was admittedly the social event of the year.
The dinner had been a culinary masterpiece, but the conversation
had been boring. She had been placed between a retired
Indian colonel and an amateur cricketer. The colonel had confined
himself to a few suitable comments on the food, but
Bobby could recite his bowling figures for each county match

(03:01):
for two years and did. Then the lights had gone
out and the window had smashed. Anything that interrupted the
wisdom of the country house matches was a good thing,
thought Franey, and found the lighter. The scene revealed in
the flickering light was confused. The young women, who usually
screamed were screaming. Finney's father was bellowing at Franny's mother.

(03:26):
This too was normal. Several gentlemen had struck matches and
one had pulled the bell. Franey pushed her way to
the door and slipped into the front hall, where the
fuse box door hung open and pulled down. The switch
marked main. A flood of light restored everyone except the
most gin soaked to their senses, and Madame Sinclair, clutching

(03:48):
Melodramatically at her throat, found that her diamond necklace, reputed
to contain some of the stones from the Tsarina's collar,
was gone.

S2 (03:57):
And that was Cocaine Blues, Part one of the Phryne
Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood. Kerry is killed. Greenwood is
g e w g double e w o d. And
that book goes for 6.5 hours. Kerry Greenwood was one

(04:20):
of the founding members of Sisters in Crime, and she
was only 17 when she passed away. I'm reading from
the Sisters in Crime website here. So her prodigious output
has included over 60 novels, plus plays and nonfiction works,
including 23 Miss Fisher novels and seven novels in her
delicious Corinna Chapman Baker Sleuth series. Vice president of Sisters

(04:44):
in Crime Lindy Cameron and Carmel Shute, the secretary of
Sisters in Crime, wrote that they were both privileged to
attend Kerry's funeral in Yarraville, with a wake in nearby
Seddon in the western suburbs. She was farewelled with magnificent
singing and then quite a bit of eating and drinking.
For more about Kerry's remarkable life, you can read Sisters

(05:06):
in Crime's Tribute, and you can also send your tributes
to Carmel Shute. If you've got any memories of Kerry,
or if you would just like to have a few
words to leave about the impact that Kerry's books have
had on your life, even if it's just, you know,
a memorable time of reading a book on holiday, anything
like that, I'm sure that will be most appreciated. So

(05:27):
if you wanted to just write a little bit of
a tribute or a bit of acknowledgement of Kerry Greenwood,
the email for Carmel Shute is admin at Sisters in
Crime Dot. That's admin at Sisters in Crime. So I
thought I would also play a sample of the first
book in the Corinna Chapman series, which is Earthly Delights.

(05:51):
Banking is an alchemical process for Corinna Chapman. At 4 a.m.
she starts work at Earthly Delights, her bakery in Calico Alley.
But one morning Corinna receives a threatening note saying the
wages of sin is death and finds a syringe in
her cat's paw. A blue faced junkie has collapsed in
the dark alley, and a mysterious man with beautiful eyes

(06:14):
appears with a plan for Corinna and her bread. Then
it is Goth's dead drug addicts, witchcraft, a homeless boy
and a missing girl. And it seems she will never
get those muffins cooked in time with flair, chutzpah and
a talent for kneading. Corinna Chapman will find out who
exactly is threatening her life and bake some beautiful bread.

(06:35):
Let's hear a sample of Earthly Delights by Cory Greenwood.
This one is also narrated by Deirdre Rubinstein.

S3 (06:43):
4 a.m.. Who invented 4 a.m.? I dragged myself out
of bed, slapped at the alarm, thrust bare feet into
slipper wards, stood on what felt like a furry rope
and was rewarded with a yowl. Oh, shit. Horatio was
waiting politely at my bedside to deliver his morning greeting,

(07:04):
and I had just begun the day with a bad deed.
Merry would frown at the effect on my karma. Of course,
if Horatio didn't insist on sitting in my slippers, it
might cut down the number of times this happened and
the consequent karmic debt. I'll probably come back as a mouse.
And that would be on my good days. Suppressing an

(07:26):
unworthy thought that he carefully positioned his tail so that
I would stand on it, and then spend ten minutes
apologizing to him. I spent ten minutes apologizing to him.
Poor Kitty. Did the big fat woman stomp on his
innocent stripey tail? I would see if a little milk
would assuage his sense of insult. It did. While Horatio

(07:48):
was giving the milk his reverent, devoted attention. I had
time to flick on the heater, put on the coffee,
without which no baker ever commences the day. Survey the
squalor of my small stone flagged kitchen. Shiver a bit
and drag on some clothes. I tend to dress in
the kitchen because there is no heating in my bedroom

(08:08):
until the ovens come on automatically at four. I had
heard the fans cut in as I shut off the
alarm clock. Not a pretty sight on a cold, dark morning.
A baker, long mousy, hair tied back ruthlessly. Face entirely
devoid of makeup, eyes dark ringed as a result of
waking when all others are sleeping. Thin faces look skeletal

(08:33):
at this hour. Fat face is like an illustration in
a textbook on forensic pathology under the heading Adipocere.

S2 (08:41):
That was a sample of Earthly Delights by Kerry Greenwood,
the first in the Corinna Chapman series of books. And
that book goes for 8.5 hours. So an author. If
you haven't tried, you might like to embark on, or
if you have tried and loved, they might be really
nice to revisit though it is very sad that. Zavala
Cory Greenwood. Now to a couple of reader recommended and

(09:10):
thank you to Karen from for your recommendation for the
book Through Ice and Fire The adventures, science and people
behind Australia's famous icebreaker Aurora australis. This is by Sarah Laverick.
The wild and desolate expanses of Antarctica have been the
setting for many famous exploits and misadventures, a place where

(09:33):
every decision has life or death consequences. Legendary explorers such
as Shackleton, Mawson and Scott continued to inspire to this day,
and their faithful ships, the endurance, Aurora and Terra Nova
are vivid characters in their fateful voyages of discovery. The
first and only Australian built Antarctic flagship. Aurora Australis and

(09:57):
her crews have likewise secured a place in Antarctic history.
This is the 30 year story of Aurora australis and
her diverse charges crew, technicians, scientists, explorers, writers and artists.
It's the tale of a problem plagued construction to devastating fires,

(10:17):
a crippling besetment in ice and a blizzard induced grounding
in Antarctica. It tells of brave rescue missions of other
ships and their grateful crews, and of the heroic administering
of medical help while battling life threatening temperatures and hurricane
force winds. This is a tale of engineering brilliance, team tenacity,

(10:38):
and human resilience. It brings polar research to life and
unveils stunning scientific discoveries. It transforms the Aurora australis into
a compelling character in Australia's chapter of Antarctic history, and
makes heroes of the men and women who have guided
her through the most inhospitable seascapes on earth. Let's hear

(11:00):
a sample of Through Ice and Fire The adventures, science
and people behind Australia's famous icebreaker Aurora australis. It's written
by Sarah Laverick and it's narrated by Fiona McLeod.

S4 (11:13):
The Aurora australis and her crew had just begun a
busy day delivering cargo at Mawson Station. The bright orange ship,
nestled comfortably within the arms of Horseshoe Harbour and the
inhabitants of the colourful buildings dotting the rocky Antarctic hillside,
supervised the resupply operations with interest. The aurora's cranes danced

(11:34):
over the ship brightly, punctuating the overcast sky as they
feverishly lifted heavy pallets onto barges waiting patiently beside the icebreaker.
The squat craft motored back and forth across the steel
water to the snow speckled granite shores of the station,
where a shore crane eagerly took possession of the valuable bounty.

(11:58):
But a slight breeze that had begun to ripple the
water at lunchtime soon intensified to a gale that sent
wavelets and spray whipping across the harbour, bringing the hectic
operations to a halt late in the afternoon. A blizzard
was coming. The crew and Expeditioners packed up their equipment,
and the cranes and barges were stowed for the day.

(12:20):
Their efforts had already paid off. The ship and shore
teams had managed to unload a large portion of the
precious stores that would see Mawson Station through the harsh,
dark months of the approaching Antarctic winter of 2016. It
had been a good day. That evening, the auroras complement

(12:41):
lined up for their well-earned dinner in the ship's mess.
The room slowly filled with buzzing chatter and the chink
of cutlery on plates. And someone pointed out that snow
was now swirling against the portholes. Unperturbed, the 68 people
on board continued their evening's business.

S2 (12:59):
That was through ice and fire. The adventures, science and
people behind Australia's famous icebreaker Aurora Australis by Sarah Laverick.
And that goes for 12 hours. Sarah is spelt S.a.r.a.h. S.a.r.a.h.
Laverick is l e r I c k l a

(13:22):
v e r I c k. Thank you, Karen, for
that recommendation. And Karen wrote in an email that the
term triumph over adversity is a great way to describe
this really interesting story of our beloved Aurora australis. And
Karen mentions she was very fortunate a long while ago
to see her moored at the harbourside in Hobart. A

(13:43):
really orange and unusual looking ship. Thank you, Karen, for that.
And thank you for continuing to listen to the show
and recommend books. It's lovely of you. The next recommendation is, um,
definitely a challenging book. It is evil in the suburbs,
another nonfiction book by Cindy Wockner and Detective Michael Porter.

(14:04):
The book will be difficult for some people to read,
so just be aware. Yeah. In August 2000, a gang
of guys just lured 12 victims from train stations and
via the internet in a series of planned attacks. These
cases caused volatile debate about race and religion in Australia,
and the cases have focused attention on multiculturalism and have

(14:27):
split the Muslim Christian communities of Western Sydney. Andrew recommended
this book and in his email he wrote um, somehow
Sydney never got over this, and he says it's also
a book about the backdrop to Western Sydney and life
in the dangerous area of Bankstown and the violent crime
that was around there. So this book tells the full

(14:48):
story of each of the cases, beginning with the first case,
which occurred just as Sydney was dressing up for the
2000 Olympics. Michael Porter was the detective who worked with
the writer Sydney Wockner. And I thought it does come
with a lot of warnings, but it sounds like a
really interesting book. And there is a conversation that Richard

(15:10):
Fidler conducted with Cindi Wockner about this book. So if
you're kind of thinking, should I read it or not,
you might want to test yourself by listening to that
interview with Cindy Wockner. Cindy is a senior reporter at
the ABC based in Southern Queensland newsroom in Toowoomba. She
previously served as the network investigations editor at News Corporation

(15:34):
Newspapers in Australia, and has worked as a foreign correspondent.
And she's co-authored three books The Past and the Painter,
Bali Nine and Evil in the suburbs. So let's hear
a sample of evil in the Suburbs by Cindy Wockner
and Michael Porter. It's narrated by Hamish Monckton.

S5 (15:54):
Natalie Vickers opened her eyes. The last vestiges of darkness
were fading, and a brilliant dawn was promising to awaken
the city. If she closed her eyes and kept them shut,
perhaps she would not have to face the day. Perhaps
the dawn would be suspended in half darkness. This was
one day Natalie did not want to face. Dreaded facing.

(16:16):
Couldn't bear facing. She had spent the night in tears,
hardly sleeping a wink. But as the half light invaded
her cocoon, the 18 year old realized the time had come.
She could not put it off any longer. And besides,
she owed it to so many people to drag herself
out of bed. But what was she going to wear?

(16:37):
It seemed her wardrobe, despite its abundance of clothes, never
had just the right outfit. In a mood already brought
on by stress and lack of sleep, she whinged to
her mother, annoyed that her mind was being plagued by
such a petty drama when she had so much else
going on. Red. Where? Red. It's a power color, her

(16:59):
mother suggested helpfully. Of course. Wear red. Natalie told herself.
Why hadn't she thought of that herself? She needed to
be powerful for the day ahead, and she needed her
appearance to reflect that power, even if deep down, all
she really felt was a mixture of fear and indignation,
bile rising in her throat. She tried to forget why

(17:21):
she was getting dressed, as she chose a bright red shirt,
black pants and jacket from her wardrobe. After showering, she
meticulously put on each garment as though she were dressing
for the job interview or performance of her life Before
leaving the apartment, Natalie ensured she had her good luck
charm with her. It was just a simple card printed

(17:44):
for the funeral of her former boyfriend, who had been
tragically killed. But it was much more than that. She
knew that more than ever before. Today, she would need
the comfort and solace that the poignant card brought her.

S2 (17:57):
And that was evil in the Suburbs by Cindy Wockner.
Cindy is c I n d y c I n
d y. Wockner is w o k n e r
w o n e r. And that book goes for
nine hours and 45 minutes. Evil in the suburbs was
originally published in 2010, and that is the only book

(18:21):
we have by this, um, investigative reporter in the collection.
And if you want to listen to that in conversation,
you can just go to ABC. And just in the
search box, you can probably search searched just by Cindy's surname. Wockner.
W e r. Thank you, Andrew, for that. Very challenging

(18:43):
but interesting slice of Australia's not so great bit of
history there, but still very current. Another writer that recently
passed away is Mario Vargas Llosa. He was born in
1936 and recently passed away. And we've got a couple
of books by him in the collection. He was a
Peruvian novelist, essayist and aspiring politician who was awarded the

(19:07):
Nobel Prize for literature in 2010. His books, published in
the 60s, firmly established him as one of the leading
authors of what came to be known as the magic
realism school of writers. He also developed a comic vein,
most evident in Aunt Julia and the scriptwriter, which was
published in 1977. At a very young age, he was

(19:29):
working as a crime reporter on a daily newspaper, and
at 19 he eloped with his much older aunt by marriage, Julia,
whom he married in 1955. And that's where his novel
Aunt Julia and the scriptwriter came about. William Boyd wrote
the screenplay for this 1990 film, which starred Peter Falk,

(19:49):
Keanu Reeves and Barbara Hershey, and in The Guardian obituary,
they say, um. He wrote extensively also for the theatre
and acted in several of his own plays. And he
once said in an interview, when asked what he thought
would make a suitable epigraph for him, and he said
he lived life to the full and loved literature above
all else. So let's play a sample of Aunt Julia

(20:12):
and the scriptwriter. Ribald, sophisticated tale of life and love
in Lima in the 1950s, told from the viewpoint of
18 year old marito. Reality merges with fantasy as Moreno's sexy,
sophisticated older aunt. Julia, now divorced, seeks a new mate
who can support her in high style. She finds instead

(20:32):
her libidinous nephew, and their affair shocks both family and community.
Mario's success at writing and romance contrasts with the fortunes
of Pedro Camacho, the protagonist of the other half of
the story, who is a devoted but declining author of
radio soap operas. Let's hear a sample of Aunt Julia
and the scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa. It's narrated by

(20:57):
Stanley Magee.

S6 (20:59):
I was very young and lived with my grandparents in
a villa with white walls in the calle in Miraflores.
I was studying at the University of San Marcos law,
as I remember. Resigned to earning myself a living later
on by practicing a liberal profession. Although deep down what
I really wanted was to become a writer someday. I
had a job with a pompous sounding title, a modest salary,

(21:22):
duties as a plagiarist, and flexible working hours. News director
of Radio Panamericana. It consisted of cutting out interesting news
items that appeared in the daily papers and rewriting them
slightly so that they could be read on the air
during the newscasts. My editorial staff was limited to Pasquale,
a youngster who slicked down his hair with quantities of

(21:45):
brilliantine and loved catastrophes. There were one minute news bulletins
every hour on the hour, except for those at noon
and at 9 p.m., which were 15 minutes long. But
we were able to prepare several of the one minute
hourly ones ahead of time, so that I was often
out of the office for long stretches at a time.
Drinking coffee in one of the cafes on La Colmena,

(22:07):
going to class now and again, or dropping in at
the offices of Radio Central. All was much livelier than
the ones where I worked. The two radio stations belonged
to the same owner and were next door to each
other on the Calle Belén, just a few steps away
from the Plaza San Martin. The two of them bore
no resemblance whatsoever to each other, I rather like those

(22:30):
sisters in tragic drama, one of whom has been born
with every possible grace and the other with every possible defect.
What was most noticeable was the contrast between them.

S2 (22:40):
And that was Aunt Julia and the scriptwriter by Mario
Vargas Llosa. So three words Mario m a r I
o m a r I o Vargas or Vargas is
v a r g s v a r g s.
Llosa is double Llosa. Double Llosa. And that book goes

(23:03):
for 14 hours and 20 minutes. And the other novel
that we have in the collection by this author is
death in the Andes, published in 1993, nearly 20 years
after Aunt Julia. And it's been called both a fascinating
detective novel and an insightful political allegory of Peruvian society.

(23:24):
Now to author Anna mazzola and her novel The Book
of Secrets. This is historical mystery and this book is
up for an award. Rome, 1659 months after the plague
has ravaged the city, men are still dying in unnatural numbers,
and rumor has it that their corpses do not decay
as they should. The papal authorities commission prosecutor Stefano Bracci

(23:48):
to investigate, telling him he will need considerable metal to
reach the truth. To the west of the Tiber, Girolama
and her female friends are at work helping other women
with childbirths and foretelling their futures. Elsewhere in the city,
a young wife, Anna, must find a way to escape
her abusive husband. But in a city made by men,

(24:09):
for men, there are no easy paths out. Stefano's investigation
at the tour di Nona prison will introduce him to horror,
magic and an astonishing cast of characters. He will be
left wondering if certain deeds should remain forever Ever unpunished.
Laodicea a sample of The Book of Secrets by Anna mazzola.

(24:30):
It's narrated by Genevieve Gaunt.

S7 (24:33):
The angels stare stone eyed at the casket. Their chiseled
faces are smooth and untroubled. As they are throughout the
many funerals, marriages and baptisms that take place beneath them
every day. Mostly this past year it has been funerals,
for the plague has swept through Rome and the mosaic

(24:55):
of states that make up Italy. Now, though, the plague
is silent, having burnt itself out. It is not plague
that killed this man on the floor of Santa Maria
del Popolo. Girolamo watches the mourners as they walk past
the body laid out for burial, bowing their heads, murmuring,

(25:18):
some touch the arm or gloved hand of the willow,
tall young woman who stands near her dead husband's casket,
her face shrouded in a black veil. Behind her waits
another woman, older, broader, but with a similar bearing. This,
Gerolama thinks, must be the widow's mother, for her protective

(25:39):
gaze doesn't leave her daughter. There are two young men
by the casket now. They're peering too closely, speaking in
a manner not suited to a funeral, to the death
of a man who died at just 30 years of age.
Death might have ravaged Rome, the plague carrying off the

(25:59):
good and the evil, the young and the old. But
it has in Girolamo's experience, not inured people to it.
They still grieve as deeply as they ever did, each
loss a puncture to the soul. These two young men, though,
seem untouched by grief or pity. They might be visiting
the waxworks at a fair. She hears one Say what?

(26:23):
Rosy cheeks. He looks better in death than he did
in life. I'd say it rather suited him.

S2 (26:29):
And that was a sample of The Book of Secrets
by Anna mazzola. Anna is a double Anna. That's a
double a. Mazzola is m a double z o m
a double z o a. And that book goes for
12 hours. This book was originally published in March of

(26:50):
last year. The website Hachette Australia, Hachette call it chilling
and mesmerizing and darkly delicious. It's a new novel from
Anna mazzola, author of The Clockwork Girl and The House
of whispers, both of which we have in the collection.
And we also have Anna Mazzola's first novel, The Unseeing,

(27:10):
which was published to critical acclaim in 2016. She is
a criminal justice solicitor and lives in London with her
husband and two children. So this is her fifth novel,
The Book of Secrets, and it's been shortlisted for the
gold and historical CWA Dagger award list for mystery detective fiction.

(27:41):
Thank you for joining us on Hear This today. I'm
Frances Keeland, and thank you to Karen and Andrew. Any
recommendations you would like to send in? Please do. We
always love a good recommended title. Books that we would
not normally discover come to light. If you'd like to
join the library, the number to call is 130654656. That's 1300 654 656.

(28:06):
Or you can email. Library at. Org. That's library. Org.
Have a lovely break and we'll be back next week
with more. Hear this.