Gunnawah

It is 1974 and in the Riverina in southern New South Wales we visit Gunnawah, a town with 989 residents. It is a small farming community on the banks of the Murray River where everyone knows everybody else, or do they? 

The local newspaper, the Gunnawah Gazette, is run by Valdene (Val) Bullark. Val has arranged to interview local girl. nineteen year old Adelaide Hoffman, for the role of cadet reporter. Adelaide hopes to escape from the area as soon as possible and getting a job on the newspaper could be the first step for escaping from the town.

Gunnawah by Ronni Salt, is very much a character driven crime novel. The town is populated by a range of sometimes eccentric characters who need to know everything that is happening in their community. When it is announced that a new irrigation scheme is to be introduced to the area there is divided opinion in the community. 

When Val and Adelaide go on a promotional tour of the proposed the irrigation scheme Adelaide begins to suspect that all is not as it should be. Her investigations prove to be correct. When Michael Di Rossi, the local federal politician disappears police converge on the area, especially when a body is found in a lagoon. 

There is a slow buildup as we meet and get to know the characters and the area where they live. The author also incorporates political events into the story that occurred in 1974. Gunnawah is a very Australian crime novel where the reader will enjoy exploring what is really happening in this country town.