S G Bryant’s Fresh Air and Foul Play (published independently through Ingram Spark, Australia, 2024; cover and internal design by Sandy Cull; cover images Silas Manhood/Trevillion Images; Chandra Ramsurrun/Alamy Stock Photo) is the third Inspector Harry Holloway book. It takes place over 17 summer days in 1898 in the Victorian seaside town of Sorrento.

Like many of his countrymen, Holloway has gone to Sorrento with his family for a relaxing holiday by the sea. However, the best laid plans of any literary detective are wont to go astray. Enter a dead body floating by the dock.

The local constabulary seems less than competent and Harry steps in, not originally intending to spend his whole holiday investigating. It is almost immediately apparent that this was no accidental death.

Furthermore, the victim turns out to be Russian and the big brass in Melbourne get involved in what they think may turn out to be a case of international intrigue.

S G Bryant launched his new historical novel Fresh Air and Foul Play at the Street Theatre last month. Photo: Supplied.

Harry’s wife Effie is increasingly left to her own devices to enjoy the seaside and all its attractions with her friends.

The author cleverly plumbs the fascinating historical material available to him: health spas and ‘taking the waters’; quarantine stations and the methods employed for disease control; the fear of invasion prevalent at the time with coastal defence systems in place around the Victorian coast.

But in the end, this is Harry’s story – he is a classic quiet achiever, getting on with the business of policing without fuss, brushing off pressure from above to come up with a particular solution. He is a logical thinker who makes use of all the crime fighting tools at his disposal at the time, including the relatively new science of fingerprinting.

S G Bryant makes it easy for us to indulge in nostalgia for this past and to wish away the bustle of current day Sorrento and numerous other similar coastal resorts. We look forward eagerly to more Harry Holloway adventures.

Little Bones by Sandy Bigna is a poignant study of grief for middle-grade readers.

Sandy Bigna’s Little Bones (UQP, Australia, 2025; cover design Tamlyn Teow and Madeline Byrne UQP; cover illustration Tamlyn Teow) is an exquisite allegory; a sensitive study of grief.

The narrative voice is 11-year-old Bones, and the story is told in free verse format. Bones, her mother and Nonna Frankie all deal with the death of Nico – brother, son, grandson.

Mum absents herself and buries herself in work, saving up for a better place for them to live. Nonna cares for Bones every day, providing food and a home, a watchful but not overly restrictive eye – the freedom to explore and gather small items from the natural world for her collection affording comfort and purpose to the child.

Bones has a sense of not belonging, accentuated by the dissolution of her friendship with Aiko when the bullying Edie ‘takes her away’. She likes her community of Housing Commission flat dwellers. It’s easy and friendly and non-judgmental. She’s allowed to be a child there.

In comes a new family, colourful and friendly Tenny and their artist mother with red spiky hair. It takes a while, but true friendship does develop. And Tenny proves their worth and loyalty while also having the courage to speak frankly to Bones.

Meanwhile, Bird comes into Bones’ life, a skeleton who is animated by Bones’ longing through the power of the moon. The limitations on Bird’s life – both living and dead – compound, and eventually a solution is sought to return Bird to its natural state of death. It’s a tough decision, though, for Bones to let go and is an indication that she has grown and found hope in a new stage of life.

This is a deeply affecting book that insistently points us to the light and to hope amidst darkness. What helps us all in dark times helps our small heroine – courage, kindness, love of friends and family, a sense of connection, nature’s wonder and books. The human capacity to love has its cost in grief and its reward in the capacity of the human spirit for regeneration.

This message is artfully and surely delivered in this fine debut novel.

Barbie Robinson is co-founder and a content creator for Living Arts Canberra, a not-for-profit media outfit supporting arts and community in the Canberra region and books worldwide through its website, podcast interviews and a 24/7 internet radio station at Living Arts Canberra.