‘Whether it’s a farce or a forecast, The Speechwriter is a romp. Only a flint-eyed journo could write a fiction so absurdly believable. And believably absurd. Could not put it down even after I coughed up regular cocktails from laughing. Bravo, and damn you Martin.’
Tim Rogers
‘The Black Mirror Australian politics has been waiting for … A strange, joyful, absurd, and cutting take on politics, spin, and modern-day media.’
Zan Rowe
‘When I began reading, I thought it was farce. By the end, I understood it was closer to realism … brutal, hilarious, harrowing.’
Sean Kelly
‘An entertaining story of folly set in a unique, exaggerated world of backroom politics. The Speechwriter will most likely appeal to readers of Steve Toltz, as well as fans of TV comedies like Veep and Utopia.’
Brad Jefferies, Books+Publishing
‘Martin McKenzie-Murray’s skewering of Australian bureaucracy and political lethargy is one of the funniest books I’ve read in years.’
Keeping Up With the Penguins
‘You’ll laugh out loud.’
Happy Magazine
‘A satire needs heart as much as cleverness to be effective, and in these moments Martin McKenzie-Murray delivers.’
Marie Matteson, Readings
‘The novel’s main subject is the absurdity of the disconnect between politicians’ public announcements and the reality of events. Fans of Martin McKenzie-Murray’s journalism will have been looking forward to this book, and there are some clever insights and some laughs to be had.’
Kerryn Goldsworthy, Sydney Morning Herald
Praise for A Murder Without Motive:
‘Honest, sympathetic, reflective — this is true crime at its best. A striking debut from McKenzie-Murray, which pursues uncomfortable truths with candour and care.’
Damon Young, author of Philosophy in the Garden and Distraction
Praise for A Murder Without Motive:
‘McKenzie-Murray’s adolescence is closely entwined with the crime, and his deep, thoughtful examination of the suburban male psyche is one of the many strengths of this remarkable book … Insightful and eloquent … His immaculate prose cuts cleanly through the social murk, and his clarity of vision renders the complicated ideas of male aggression and the ugly side effects of suburban malaise at once shocking and shockingly readable.’
Michaela McGuire, The Saturday Age
Praise for A Murder Without Motive:
‘[T]akes an unorthodox but illuminating approach to his subject, beginning with introspection and, perhaps, atonement … McKenzie-Murray firmly rejects the proposition that the murder was an aberration in a life otherwise considered “normal”, something Duggan’s defence counsel submitted in the absence of a criminal history. Indeed the notion of “normality”, particularly in the light of Duggan’s heinous crime, meets with the author’s disdain.’
Martin Leonard, Weekend Australian
