Discover new books on Goodreads

See if your friends have read any of D.A. Cairns's books

559 ratings | 552 reviews | avg rating:3.71

D.A.’s Year In Books

D.A.’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at D.A.’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to D.A.’s 2025 Year in Books

D.A. Cairns’s Followers (53)

D.A.’s Bookshelves

to-read (30)
currently-reading (3)
read (578)
did-not-finish (0)
did-not-wish-to-finish (12)
not-read (1)

D.A.’s Friends (396)

Josie Hink

13,357 books | 394 friends

✰ BJ's Book Blog ✰Janeane ✰

6,909 books | 1,388 friends

Robin

41,862 books | 36 friends

Dominic

1,106 books | 61 friends

Emily Boivin

18,769 books | 262 friends

Rebecca Stephen

92,651 books | 404 friends

Donna

10,831 books | 168 friends

Rachel Poynter

3,067 books | 105 friends

More friends…

D.A. Cairns

Goodreads Author

Born

in Bankstown, Australia

Website

https://dacairns.com.au/

Twitter

da_cairns

Genre

Contemporary, Paranormal, Memoir

Influences

C.S.Lewis,Stephen King, Bryce Courtney, Jeffrey Archer ...more

Member Since

June 2009

edit data

Heavy metal lover and cricket tragic, D.A. Cairns lives on the south coast of New South Wales, in Australia. where he works as a ghostwriter and English language teacher. He's had over 100 short stories published, and has authored eight novels, as well as three collection of short stories, and a superficial and unscientific zoological memoir, I Used to be an Animal Lover. His latest book is called The Secret to Happiness is Death.. ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask D.A. Cairns questions, please sign up.

Combine Editions
D.A. Cairns’s books

Average rating: 4.23 · 44 ratings · 27 reviews · 20 distinct works

	Ashmore Grief 3.92 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 2013 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Loathe Your Neighbor 4.63 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2013 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Muddy Red River 3.50 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2015 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Scorpion's Breath (Callumron #1) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Devolution it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2009 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Sorcerer's Tusk (Callumron Book 2) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Secret to Happiness is Death 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Love Sick Love it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2017 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Satan's Choppers (Callumron, #3) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Schlock! Webzine: Vol 16 Issue 26 by D.A. Cairns (Goodreads Author), Nenad Pavlović (Goodreads Author), Claudia Christian really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by D.A. Cairns…

593 posts
D.A. Cairns's Blog

A Dog's Eye: I've moved.

Square Pegs posts can now be found at D.A.CAIRNS AUTHOR.

Quite a long time ago, Blogger changed their interface, (or whatever you call it - sorry for my non technical knowledge/awareness), and I was displeased. The functionality I had enjoyed since beginning Square Pegs back in 2009 had been impaired and it was no longer as easy or enjoyable to use.

Two things in particular annoyed me every time I w

D.A. is Currently Reading

D.A. Cairns is currently reading

Longing for Love: Gender, Sexuality and Our Experience of God

by Michael Frost (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Aug 06, 2026 02:50AM

D.A. Cairns is currently reading

The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession

by Michael Finkel (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Aug 06, 2026 02:09AM

D.A. Cairns is currently reading

World Without End (Kingsbridge, #2)

by Ken Follett (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Jul 10, 2026 07:06PM

rss
D.A.’s Recent Updates

D.A. Cairns rated a book really liked it Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Until page 173-174, EOICF reminded me of Graham Greene's The Quiet American in that the protagonist was completely unlikeable. Initially, I thought Eleanor was on the autism spectrum, but I felt no sympathy for her nor any liking or interest. I thoug ...more
Aug 06, 2026 02:56AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
D.A. Cairns rated a book it was amazing Life: My Story Through History by Pope Francis	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I wish I could give Life more than 5 stars. It was so inspiring and moving and so cleverly put together. I've never read a biography like this. Such a great idea to look at Pope Francis life at different significant points in history. The holocaust, ...more
Aug 06, 2026 02:51AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Life by Pope Francis. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Life by Pope Francis <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
D.A. Cairns is currently reading Longing for Love: Gender, Sexuality and Our Experience of God by Michael Frost (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 06, 2026 02:50AM · like
D.A. Cairns is currently reading The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 06, 2026 02:09AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Art Thief by Michael Finkel. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Art Thief by Michael Finkel <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
D.A. Cairns rated a book liked it Hot sand: An anthology by Susan Kurosawa	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A hit and miss collection of what I thought were going to be themed short stories, but turned out to be personal essay related to water - mostly beaches. Some of these stories were heavily nostalgic and a little dull. Some were crass and seemingly po ...more
Aug 06, 2026 01:58AM · like · see review
D.A. Cairns rated a book really liked it Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Until page 173-174, EOICF reminded me of Graham Greene's The Quiet American in that the protagonist was completely unlikeable. Initially, I thought Eleanor was on the autism spectrum, but I felt no sympathy for her nor any liking or interest. I thoug ...more
Jul 21, 2026 01:19PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
D.A. Cairns is currently reading Life: My Story Through History by Pope Francis	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 17, 2026 05:28PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Life by Pope Francis. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Life by Pope Francis <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
D.A. Cairns rated a book really liked it The Hospital by the River by Catherine Hamlin	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
An almost overwhelming book about tragedy in Ethiopia, yet one infused with tremendous love and hope. Basically, it's the story of a hospital, the people who work there and the patients, but it's so much more than that. It's a story of true compassio ...more
Jul 17, 2026 05:11PM · like · see review
D.A. Cairns wants to read Annihilation (Southern Reach, #1) by Jeff Vandermeer (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 10, 2026 07:07PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
D.A. Cairns started reading World Without End (Kingsbridge, #2) by Ken Follett (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 10, 2026 07:06PM · like

More of D.A.'s books…

D.A.’s Quotes

“Of this I am quite sure. If we open up a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future.”
― Winston Churchill

0 likes

“Our life is a warfare and a mere pilgrimage.”
― Marcus Aurelias

1 likes

“A perfectly decent fellow may be driven by circumstances to commit a crime and if he's found out he's punished; but he may very well remain a perfectly decent fellow.”
― W.Somerset Maugham

tags: footprints-in-the-jungle

2 likes