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Tracie

@bookish_tk

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Book Reviewer | Crime Thriller Lover |👫💍👶👼|
2026 books read: 10 📚

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✨ From Me, To Me 🏷️🎁

A little birthday present to myself 🤭📚

I’ve had my eye on these books for quite some time, and when I had a couple of vouchers to use, I thought… why not?! 😆 You can never have too many books, right? 🫣

QOTD; Do you ever buy yourself a little birthday present? 🎁

#bookstagram #newbooks #tbrbooks #thrillerreader #bibliophile

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✨ BLOG TOUR | HELIDON ✨

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Helidon by Nikki Mottram, the third book in the Dana Gibson mystery series.

I’m always a sucker for an Australian crime story, and this one had plenty to keep me turning the pages. Set in rural Queensland, Helidon brings together a bikie gang, a mysterious commune, a missing child, a police shooting and a bushfire that feels like it’s getting closer and closer as the story unfolds.

At the heart of it all is Dana Gibson, a child protection worker who once again finds herself dealing with far more than she probably needs to! I really enjoy Dana as a character because she isn’t perfect. She makes mistakes, she follows her instincts and sometimes her heart gets her into trouble, but she genuinely cares about the people she is trying to help.

While Helidon can definitely be read as a standalone, having read the earlier books, I enjoyed seeing Dana’s character continue to develop and getting more of her backstory.

If you enjoy Australian crime, rural settings, small-town secrets and a story that keeps you guessing, this is definitely one to add to your TBR.

Thank you so much to @uqpbooks and @nikkiamottram for having me along on the tour and for the gifted copy. 💕

Have you read the Dana Gibson series yet, or is Helidon your first introduction to Dana?

Swipe to see all the other fabulous Bookstagrammers on the tour with me, next up is @books_bymybed the last stop on the tour.

#BlogTour #Helidon #Crime

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𝙷𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚍𝚘𝚗 ~ 𝙽𝚒𝚔𝚔𝚒 𝙼𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚖

The third instalment of the series with child protection worker Dana Gibson is an absolute page turner. Propulsive plot, pacey, with enough meat to keep you guessing. We’ve got a shooting, a commune, a 7 year old witness refusing to talk, bikie gang and maybe a crooked cop. Throw in a small town, a looming bushfire crisis and you’ve got yourself a book you won’t be able to put down.

I really enjoy Aussie crime fiction when it’s done as well as this.

Thankyou to @uqpbooks for having me on the tour.

Check out the tagged booksta creatives for more reviews. 🏷️

QOTD ~ Have you ever been witness to a serious crime? I was witness to a shooting many years ago 😳

About the book 📖

Child protection worker Dana Gibson is called to attend a fatal shooting at the pub in Helidon where a bikie gang war has exploded. Nineteen-year-old Savannah and her younger sister, Maddie, have been caught in the crossfire, and the rural town finds itself divided between two cultures – the commune on the edge of town where Savannah’s family live and an outlaw motorcycle gang.

As Savannah clings to life, Dana uncovers corruption that runs rivulets through the small town, eroding the community’s trust in law enforcement. When Maddie, the primary witness to the shooting, goes missing and Helidon is at the mercy of surrounding bushfires, Dana must expose the truth and find Maddie before it’s too late.

#newbooks #booktour #crimefiction #booklover

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Hurray for part three of the Dana Gibson series! Everyone’s favourite child protection worker has survived floods and corrupt cops and drug gangs. But can she survive bush fire season in a rural bush town!?

I sped through #helidon. This was incredibly quick paced and built tension beautifully, helped by the volatile environment of the encroaching fires.

It starts with a shooting at the local pub between the police and a renowned bikie gang. One of the victims is 19 year old Savannah, now in ICU in a coma. And a main witness is her 7 year old sister Maddie who now won’t speak a word.
Add in a fairly creepy commune.
And then a missing child.
Dana has her work cut out for her, as well as juggling her own traumatic past for the sake of her current mental health and ability to manage adopted child Angus.
Mottram packs a lot in 290 pages.

Dana is a fascinating FMC. A combination of foolhardy, emotive, intuitive and tenacious.
I look forward to the next Dana Gibson instalment where she saves a child from neglect whilst surviving a volcano/viral outbreak/ earthquake.

I have a soft spot for Nikki Mortrams’ Aussie thriller novels. Crows Nest was the first book tour I’d been involved with 🙌. So thank you to @uqpbooks and @nikkiamottram for including me in this tour, sending a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

Swipe for all the wonderful booksters involved in the tour 🥰

🔥 QOTD 🔥 What’s your fav story set with a natural disaster?

Bookstagram - Bookish post - Aussie author - Thriller reader - Book review - Book reader - Crime Thriller

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🔸 Welcome to my stop on the Helidon by Nikki Mottram Review Tour 🔸

When a bikie war implodes the small local pub in Helidon young Maddie and her older sister Savannah are caught in the crossfire and Savannah ends up in hospital with almost fatal injuries.

Child protection worker Dana Gibson is sent to work with Maddie to try and understand why two young girls were at a pub on their own?! Dana quickly learns the girls are from the commune on the outskirts of town and their mother is less than forthcoming with reliable information.

When young Maddie goes missing from the hospital, tensions rise as Dana tries to find her while the looming bushfire nearby also threatens the town

Wow! This was my introduction to Dana Gibson, and what an amazing character she is! Will definitely be reading the first two in this series - can absolutely be read as a stand alone!

From the first chapter I was hooked, between the cult like commune and small town drama, I needed to know Maddie was ok, and then there’s Dana fighting with her own past demons. While she made she questionable judgment calls, her heart was always in the right place. It was so good to see her look after herself too

Thank you so much @uqpbooks @nikkiamottram for having me on the book tour - swipe to see the other fab bookstas involved in the tour!

🔸

💭 What town or location is your current book set in?

Bookstagram - Bookish post - Aussie Author - Thriller Reader - Book review - Australian book - Book Reader - Aussie Bookstagram - Crime Fiction

#helidon #aussieauthor #nikkimottram #bookreviewtour #aussiebookstagram

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Welcome to my STOP on the Helidon Review Tour hosted by @uqpbooks and written by @nikkiamottram

✍️ Child Protection worker Dana Gibson is back in the spotlight after a fatal bikie war shooting occurs in the local pub. Savannah and her younger Sister Maddie are thrust into the conflict which leaves Savannah fighting for life and Maddie as the only witness to the incident who has disappeared. Dana embarks on a search to find Maddie which in turn will lead to hidden truths in the Helidon community.

This is the third book in the "Dana Gibson Mystery Series" and I have to admit probably my most favourite one by far. I thoroughly enjoyed it and couldn't put it down. Highly recommend. Riveting storytelling.

I was engrossed in the atmospheric narrative that took me on a thrilling, tense, suspenseful and dangerous adventure to the rural and small-town setting of Helidon in Queensland's Lockyer Valley which was filled with an abundance of secrets, corruption and crime.

The themes of Community, Family, Isolation and Identity were prominently featured by the Author to illustrate the importance of how experiences and relationships are shaped.

Be sure to check out all the other fabulous Bookstagrammers on this tour.

Thank you @uqpbooks for having me on the Tour #helidon #danagibsonmysteries

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📚BOOK REVIEW📖Helidon by Nikki Mottram

My stop on the HELIDON review tour, with thanks to Nikki Mottram and UQP Books.

HELIDON is the third book in Nikki Mottram’s QLD-based crime thriller series about child protection worker Dana Gibson.

This third book is another page-turning read with mystery upon mystery, mounting drama in Dana’s personal life and an ever-present bushfire threat.

Dana comes across as very real on the page. She’s a character with faults and is capable of making decisions that can ultimately be mistakes, especially when driven by her heart rather than her head.

I liked the focus on Dana taking action to support her mental wellbeing after a few missteps - surely a necessity and priority for the dedicated people who work in child protection.

Dana is slightly removed from the initial mystery in HELIDON, a fatal shooting being investigated by the police, before being swept up in the disappearance of the child witness.

At times the reading experience felt a little like the looming bushfire, on the periphery of the action but circling ever closer. It all culminates in a rapid and action-packed clash that will have readers flying through the pages to find out what happens next.

Aussie crime thriller fans must surely add HELIDON and the Dana Gibson series to their to-be-read piles!

My thanks to @uqpbooks & @nikkiamottram for a gifted copy of this books.

📖 Synopsis in the comments

Swipe to see the other bookstagrammers on this tour and check out their reviews.

#bookreview #helidon #crimethriller #thrillingreads #bookseries

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✨📚Book Review📚✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
This is the third Dana Gibson book and while you can read it as a standalone, I recommend that you read it as part of the series so that you can see Dana’s growth as a character and be fully involved in the series.

When Dana, who is a child protection worker, is called to attend a fatal shooting at a pub in Helidon, she finds Savannah and her younger sister, Maddie caught in the crossfire. As Savannah is placed on life support, Dana needs to investigate why Maddie has suddenly disappeared from the hospital. It also features an outlaw bikie gang and a commune which add to the thrill ride of the story.

This is a page turning read, it will have you trying to figure out what’s happening in this small town. I’ve read all three and I can highly recommend them to you if you love a good crime thriller. I hope this isn’t the end of Dana’s story and there are more installments on the way.

Thanks to @uqpress for a review copy of the book.

I hope you enjoy it. Happy reading!

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★彡𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌 𝒯𝒾𝓂𝑒 彡★

🅷🅴🅻🅸🅳🅾🅽
✍️ Nikki Mottram @nikkiamottram
📆 1 September 2026
🏭 @uqpbooks

Today is my stop on the Helidon Book Tour with thanks to Nikki Mottram and UQP Books.

Dana Gibson is back in the third book of this series by Nikki Mottram.

Dana is a case worker involved in child protection. She is such a great character, albeit she has her flaws. She’s endured some horrific events in her past and this endears her to me even more.

This was a very bingeable read. Throw in the commune lifestyle of some of the characters, along with a bikie gang and I was hooked.

Whilst you could easily read this is a standalone, I am glad I have read the previous two books to get more of an understanding of past events and personalities.

Thank you for having me onboard this tour. As much as I really enjoyed the first two books, this one has become my new favourite.

Please swipe across to see the other accounts taking part.

❓I am so fascinated by the work of Dana Gibson. I can imagine some of the harrowing things Child Protection workers have to deal with and how confronting it must be.

What’s a career that fascinates you and one you would like to see represented more often in our fictional lives?

📚 Child protection worker Dana Gibson is called to attend a fatal shooting at the pub in Helidon where a bikie gang war has exploded. Nineteen-year-old Savannah and her younger sister, Maddie, have been caught in the crossfire, and the rural town finds itself divided between two cultures – the commune on the edge of town where Savannah’s family live and an outlaw motorcycle gang.

As Savannah clings to life, Dana uncovers corruption that runs rivulets through the small town, eroding the community’s trust in law enforcement. When Maddie, the primary witness to the shooting, goes missing and Helidon is at the mercy of surrounding bushfires, Dana must expose the truth and find Maddie before it’s too late.

#helidon #booktour #bookreviewer #newrelease #whatimreadingnow

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Welcome to my stop on the Bookstagram tour for Nikki Mottram’s Helidon. This is book 3 in the Dana Gibson series, but it can easily be read as a standalone. I have enjoyed each of these three novels but Helidon is now my favourite and I have my fingers crossed for more Dana Gibson to come.

Dana is a child protection worker who has witnessed more than her fair share of trauma, both in her personal and professional lives. Now living and working near Toowoomba, she is asked to look into a fatal shooting at a pub in Helidon which appears to be linked to local bikie gangs. Nineteen year old Savannah was caught in the crossfire and is now in a coma and her younger sister Maddie was a witness to the shooting. Maddie and Savannah are both part of a commune living on the edge of town and Dana must try and ascertain whether it’s a safe place for Maddie to be. As she digs, Dana uncovers corruption running through this small town and it calls into question the integrity of local law enforcement. With the backdrop of bushfires, this is a town on edge and the tension ramps higher and higher to a stunning conclusion.

I flew through this book over the weekend, desperate to know what would happen to Maddie and what had occurred the day of the shooting. I found the commune aspect incredibly gripping especially as it was more cult-like than peaceful community. Between the commune leader, the local police who were on scene at the shooting and a cast of other seedy characters, I was suspicious of so many and did not figure it out until all was revealed.

I loved being back with Dana who although makes some questionable judgement calls is always doing so with kids’ wellbeing at the forefront of her thinking. I was holding my breath on a number of occasions as she found herself in dangerous situations, but I also had faith that her tenacity and courage would get her through the worst.

Helidon is a book for all lovers of rural crime especially if you enjoy a mystery involving cults. Thanks to @nikkiamottram and @uqpbooks and thank you @indoor.g1rl for reading this with me. Be sure to check out her review from this morning as well as the other accounts joining the tour.

❓ in commen

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📚 Book Tour Stop 📚

❓ Have you read any rural/small town thriller lately? 🚨🔥

Welcome to my tour stop for *Helidon* by Nikki Mottram (@nikkiamottram)! I buddy read this with @bmichie31 - don’t forget to check out her post later today.

Thanks to @uqpbooks for a gifted review copy. Out 1 Sep 26.

📚 My Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5/5)

Child protection worker Dana Gibson attends a fatal shooting at a Helidon pub where a bikie gang war has exploded. Caught in the crossfire, nineteen-year-old Savannah clings to life while her younger sister, Maddie, becomes the primary witness. As Dana uncovers deep-seated corruption eroding the community’s trust in law enforcement, Maddie suddenly goes missing. With surrounding bushfires threatening the town, Dana must expose the truth and find Maddie before it’s too late.

I’m glad I decided to rush-read ‘Killarney’ before diving into this one, as the events from that previous book were referenced in this third instalment. I really liked seeing Dana work on improving her life and mental health here. After all the adventures she went through in the first two books, she certainly needed it! Dana’s conversations with her therapist actually reminded me of Anne Buist and Graeme Simsion’s ‘Menzies Mental Health’ series - I think a Dana Gibson x Doctor Hannah Wright crossover would be brilliant!

…

➡️ Swipe to continue…

⬅️ Cont’d from

The mystery in this one is deliciously multi-layered, and nothing is as straightforward as it seems. There were scenes that had my heart racing, and my heart genuinely ached for Maddie and Savannah. I think this book hits the absolute sweet spot between thriller mystery and action-adventure elements.

Romantically, I really enjoyed seeing Dana build the healthiest relationship she’s ever had. I’m glad this aspect didn’t turn cliche or overtake the central suspense. I did wish we could have seen a bit more of her relationship with Ryan that developed off-screen between books two and three, though.

This ended up being my favourite so far. The ending came together brilliantly, and I was more than happy to have guessed some of the twists incorrectly. The looming bushfires heightened the stakes, and I can’t w

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✨Old-Skool Challenge Club ✨

My goodness, what a crazy week it’s been!

What started as a germ of an idea last Thursday has captured the imagination of Booksta and given it a good old shake up!

A sign—if ever one was needed—that people want to return to the Booksta of yore, when no one had heard of algorithms, engagement groups and follow trains. When it was all about the community, the books, the banter and, most importantly, the FUN!

So, I’m here today to share with you the second of this week’s old-skool challenges, as set by @jac_in_a_book — an #IAmAnAutumn stack.

Now, I have to confess that this is an expression I’ve never heard of. I keep thinking a word is missing — an autumn what? An autumn leaf? An autumn breeze? An autumn day?

But, I’m reconciled to the fact the I am clearly the ‘old’ in ‘old-skool 👵🏼

Never mind 🙄

The challenge was to create a post showcasing all the glorious colors of autumn. And I think I’ve managed that 🍂🍁🍂

And, in true old-skool style, I’m using my 20 tags to invite some old friends to attempt the challenge. No pressure, of course.

Want to join in the most trending group on Booksta? Drop an ‘I’m in’ below 👇

⁉️ What’s your favorite season and why?

#OldSkoolChallengeClub #HereForTheFunNotTheNumbers

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