Carpe Librum

The Body Next Door by Zane Lovitt book cover

* Copy courtesy of Text Publishing *

The Body Next Door by Zane Lovitt is a suburban whodunnit set in the Melbourne suburb of St Albans. Recently separated, Jamie is in his mid thirties and has moved back to Carnation Way to look after his Dad who has dementia.

Claire is a middle aged woman also living on Carnation Way and when she goes missing, Jamie wonders if her disappearance could be connected to the discovery of a body next door thirteen years ago.

Unfolding in alternating chapters - Jamie's in the present and Claire's thirteen years earlier - the characters were immediately identifiable and the novel contains many enjoyable Australian references. I liked this one from Claire because who doesn't love fresh stationery?

"... and so it was off to Officeworks the very next day. I already had pens and notebooks, but is there anything better than fresh stationery?" Page 15

No there isn't and I was just at Officeworks on the weekend! Back to the book and Lovitt has a great sense of humour that reminded me a little of Benjamin Stevenson's light and relatable writing style. Here, the author is able to strike a surprise sombre note with mention of the late Michael Mosley and then make the reader chuckle immediately afterwards:

"I had a ready line for that, one I'd planned to use with Andrew if I ever did anything clumsy in front of him. I told her that Michael Mosley says balance is an excellent indication of life expectancy, and I said, if that's true, I've been dead for four years." Page 160

As you can see, Claire is a likeable character with a great sense of humour. She's also curious about her surroundings and started a diary the day the body of a teenage male was found underneath the house of one of her neighbours.

Thirteen years later, Claire goes missing and Jamie is determined to find out what happened to her by nosing about, chatting to the neighbours and unearthing all manner of secrets; including some about his Dad. Jamie is also a very likeable character:

"By the time I'd finished my second cup of tea, during which I'd had nothing to do but listen and stress-eat as Tess related her story in detail, we'd made it through a whole pack of Tim Tams and half an Arnott's Tina wafers, though in truth, 'we' implies a degree of participation by Tess not reflected in reality." Page 298

Longer term followers of Carpe Librum may have noticed that Zane Lovitt has been featured here before. In 2016 I ran a giveaway for his collection of short stories entitled Crime Scenes and he's clearly been working hard since then.

Published today, The Body Next Door by Zane Lovitt is a double cozy mystery and Aussie whodunnit that plays out in a very entertaining way and is highly recommended for fans of Benjamin Stevenson and the lighter side of Jack Heath.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Bored of Lunch Healthy Slow Cooker Even Easier by Nathan Anthony book cover

I use my slow cooker all year around and recently came across Bored of Lunch Healthy Slow Cooker Even Easier by Nathan Anthony at the library. Written by a Northern Irish home cook, the book contains 'recipes with minimal prep, all under 500 calories' and I was keen to give one of them a go.

First up was the Chorizo Carbonara Orzo from Page 166 based on the mouthwatering photograph in the book. After learning orzo is called risoni here in Australia, this meal was a disaster. It took 2 hours longer to cook than the recipe mentioned so we had to have something else for dinner that night while we waited for the chicken stock to be absorbed. When it was finally finished cooking, the taste and texture wasn't very nice at all so we won't be making that one again, ever. The left over risoni went into the bin too.

Next up was the Pork with Creamy Apple Sauce from Page 176 which was a real hit. I haven't cooked pork tenderloins before and sitting in the slow cooker among the diced apple they looked like gross tongues. It was also our first time using creme fraiche in a recipe but it was lean and tender and a hit with the husband so I think it'll be on the menu again.

All in all, one hit and one definite miss before it was time for this little hardback to go back to the library. Nathan Anthony's latest book, Bored of Lunch Six Ingredient Slow Cooker sounds like it might be worth checking out at some point. Published in December 2024 it's not available at my local library yet but I'll keep an eye out.

What are you having for dinner tonight?

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★