Legacy

Martin Scarsden is once again the main character in this novel by Chris Hammer. We first met Martin in Scrublands, Silver and Trust. In this latest novel, Legacy, Martin and his family attend the launch of his latest book involving the investigation of a Melbourne crime family when the police evacuate the hall before a bomb explodes. Martin fears for the welfare of his family who are removed to a place of safety. On the advice of Jack Goffing from ASIO, Martin takes on a new identity and then disappears to Paroo in outback New South Wales where he hopes he will not be recognised.

So begins a fast paced thriller with Martin attempting to remain incognito as he tries to discover who has set out not just to kill him but also to totally discredit his reputation. He also discovers a long standing feud between two families - the Carmichaels and the Stantons. He considers this as a possible topic for a new book but his investigations lead to additional danger including an attempt on his life.

There are parallel stories in the book. As well as Martin's story we meet Ecco who has been employed by Clay Carmichael to write the family story. Her investigations lead to the discovery of a mystery that occurred more than one hundred years earlier. She also learns about a murder committed twenty years ago and the disappearance of  Clay's daughter, Chloe. Information from Chloe's diaries provide additional information.

Once again, when the police become involved, we again meet Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchannan from the Homicide Squad who have featured in other Chris Hammer novels. The environment of the outback is a feature of the story, especially the flood waters travelling into New South Wales from northern Queensland, hopefully resulting in the regrowth of pasture for any livestock remaining after a drought.

Legacy is another excellent addition to the genre often referred to a Aussie Noir.

Mischance Creek

Constable Paul Hirschhausen (Hirsch) runs the one person operated police station in Tiverton, north of Adelaide in South Australia. Part of the work of a country cop is to know the local community well and he starts each day by walking around the town first thing in the morning. But he is also responsible for the welfare of the many properties surrounding Tiverton. The main police station is at Redruth about a thirty minute drive from Tiverton.

Each November Hirsch conducts a firearms audit which involves checking that all weapons in the community are registered and stored securely. This also allows him to do a welfare check on those living in his area of responsibility as well as the opportunity to notice if anything usual or illegal is occurring in the region.

One day he assists the driver of a car which has ended up in a ditch. Initially he surmises that the driver is a tourist but then discovers that Annika is visiting the area to try and discover what happened to her parents when they visited the area several years before Hirsch came to the district. Her father's body had been found in a mine shaft but her mother had simply disappeared. Hirsch becomes interested in this cold case as well as maintaining his daily routine.

When a skeleton is found Hirsch works with the investigation team sent to solve the case. It is not long before links are found to other suspicious activity in the region. He also has to contend with several locals who are 'sovereign citizens' as well as another group who promote conspiracy theories.

Garry Disher has become one of my favourite Australian crime writers. In Mischance Creek the local environment and the range of country characters add an important element in the resolution of the crimes occurring in what should be a quiet country area of South Australia. Mischance Creek is the fifth book in the Hirsch series of novels.

An ill wind

Wind farms that had been installed in part of central Victoria divided the local community of Carrabeen. Some people thought wind turbines were essential for present and future power supply.  On the other hand some people were convinced that wind turbines were a blot on the landscape and interfered with local farming and the environment. Some conspiracy theorists believed the wind farms caused cancer. Differences of opinion had raged for many years. Then one morning a body was found hanging from a blade of a wind turbine.

When Senior Sergeants Belinda Burney and Will Lovett began to investigate they discovered that the body belonged to Geordie Pritchard, the owner of the energy farm,. When investigating Geordie's murder, Bel and Will uncover many secrets that had been hidden in the community. The dead man appeared to have been both loved and hated. Who had therefore committed this crime?

An Ill Wind by Margaret Hickey is another contribution to the ever growing collection of Australian crime fiction, often referred to as Aussie Noir. I became immersed with the characters and trying to solve the crime created in this novel which makes the reader want to just keep reading until the conclusion.

Broke Road

A woman has been found dead in her home in the Hunter Valley and Detective Sergeant Rose Riley has been sent to investigate. Riley is familiar with the area as she spent her childhood on her parents' farm in the region. Constable Priya Patel joins her in the investigation along with local detective Senior Constable Christian Rodrigues. It is not long before journalist and author Adam Bowman, who wrote a book about a previous investigation undertaken by Riley, also unofficially joins the team.

 Broke Road is the second novel written by former journalist Matthew Spencer about Rose Riley and a murder case she is investigating. Once again he has produced a fast paced crime procedural following the investigation which becomes more complicated when it is realised that similar murders have occurred in Canberra and Adelaide, suggesting a serial killer. Once again an Australian crime novel that keeps the reader guessing to the end as the detectives strive to discover the perpetrator and prove their case. They also uncover other crimes during the investigation.

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.

No Trace

Gabe Ahern has a job working on the Goldmont Station in the Pilbara, the property of an old friend. After the events that occurred in Wild Dogs Gabe realises that he must attempt to vanish without a trace in order to hide from those wanting to kill him. He is relatively successful until a group of members of the public arrive at the station for a holiday. Once one person recognises him his identity becomes public knowledge. Gabe also receives a phone call from the police warning him that one of the men arrested for people smuggling and selling drugs is being released and will probably want to find him.

I know that this is a cliche but once again No Trace by Michael Trant is a fast paced, tension filled thriller that is difficult to put down. It is not long before things begin to go wrong on the station - the station helicopter crashes, the telephone and internet connection are broken and a guest is found dead. Gabe is also aware of other problems occurring on the station and has the feeling that he is being watched. Who is responsible? Is it one of the guests or are there other people hiding on the property who want to kill him?

No Trace is the second book in the Gabe Ahern Aussi Noir series by Michael Trant.

Wild Dogs

Gabe Ahern earns a living trapping dingoes and other wild dogs in Western Australia. He is grieving the loss of his partner, Valerie, and feels responsible for her death. Gabe is an experienced trapper but in order to make a living he occasionally uses unorthodox methods to increase his haul. He is also not permitted to trap dogs on Aboriginal reserves.

One day while checking traps he is aware of a disturbance nearby and when he investigates he witnesses a man being shot and a second man about to receive the same fate. He intervenes which  is where he meets Amin who has arrived in Australia from Afghanistan aboard a people smuggling boat. His wife and child arrived on another boat and Amin wants to find them. Gabe becomes involved in the attempt to rescue Amins's family. A young Aboriginal man and the local nurse also  inadvertently become involved in the chase.

In this fast paced, tension filled Australian thriller we encounter the crimes perpetrated by people smugglers and those who assist them in Australia. The novel also reveals how people can gradually understand  and accept people of different races and beliefs. Despite the violence this is a story of compassion as a group of individuals with their own challenges strive to assist those whose lives are in danger.  Wild Dogs by Michael Trant is the first book in the Gabe Ahern series.

Blood and Gold

What better way to spend the first day of autumn than sitting on the back verandah reading an Australian crime novel. I began reading Blood and Gold by Michael Trant last night and just had to spend today reading to finish the book. Blood and Gold is the third book in the Gabe Ahern series.

Terry Drage had wanted to fossick for gold and had asked Gabe advice for good locations. Gabe had suggested the old mining community of Cue, approximately 600 km from Perth. Then Gabe learned that Terry had disappeared. Gabe assured Terry's daughter that he would travel to Cue to look for Terry. His friend, Amin, went with him.

In Cue, Gabe and Amin learn that Terry is not the only prospector to have gone missing in the area recently. This makes them more determined to not only discover what happened to Terry but also the fate of the other prospectors. 

The novel has strong characters, especially, Gabe, Amin and Antonio, and as the story develops there is a strong feeling of friendship and responsibility to help others. As the story progresses we also learn about what happened in Cue when Gabe previously lived there.

Blood and Gold is definitely a fast-paced thriller that made me want to keep reading to discover what would happen next. I will now have to read the first two books in the series.

Aussie Towns - Cue, Western Australia

Clear to the Horizon

Clear to the Horizon by Dave Warner is the third title in the crime book series featuring Dan Clement and / or Snowy Lane. City of Light features Snowy Lane while Before it Breaks features Dan Clement. In this novel both of the men - Dan Clement a Detective Inspector and Richard 'Snowy' Lane a former member of the police force and now a private investigator- work together to solve a case in Broome where they discover connections that may lead to a series of crimes that occurred seventeen years previously in Perth.

In January 2000,  Lane is hired to find what happened to Caitlin O'Grady one of three young women who disappeared without trace near Perth. His contacts in the police force are limited but an officer who is about to retire provides him with background information. For the rest of the investigation he is on his own. Eventually a person of interest in the case dies, apparently by suicide - case closed.

In 2017 Lane is given the job of investigating the disappearance of the daughter of the owner of a mine in northern Western Australia. He therefore heads to Broome to investigate. Dan Clement and his team are trying to catch a young burglar who has been eluding police for some time. Eventually they catch him but he disappears when on bail. When checking items he has stolen an item belonging to one of the three missing girls in Perth is discovered. With this new clue Dan and Snowy work together to locate the killer who now appears to be in the Broome area.

Dave Warner has written another fast-paced crime novel set primarily in rural Australia.

Opal

Detective Sergeant Lucas Walker, a member of the Australian Federal Police, has time off work to visit his family in Caloodie in outback Queensland. His half-sister, Grace, is visiting from America and he wants to show her the family home and introduce her to family members. Their plans are disrupted when they travel an extra 400 kilometres to the opal mining town of Kampara to collect Lucas' cousin, Blair, who is returning home.

Arriving at Kampara they encounter unrest among some of the inhabitants as news is circulating that a large opal has been discovered and is to be sold in secret. Next morning they are ready to leave the town only to discover that heavy rains in northern Queensland have flooded the access roads into town and they are trapped until the floodwaters subside which could take several days. Then two people are murdered and Lucas becomes involved with the investigation, especially when he realises that his brother is one of the suspects.

Opal by Patricia Wolf is the third book in the D S Walker thriller series. Fortunately I read this enthralling, fast paced novel in the summer holidays when I could spend hours reading without interruption. It is another great example of Aussie noir with emphasis on the effects of the environment on the lives of those living in outback Australia. I have not read the first two books in the series but will definitely borrow them from the local library.

Before It Breaks

Detective Inspector Dan Clement has returned to Broome. His marriage to Marilyn has ended but he needs to be in the area to have occasional contact with his daughter, Phoebe. Having worked much of his career investigating murders he is struggling to settle into the routine of 'normal' police work.

Then a body is found in the bush and Dan Clement is in charge of the investigation team. When another man is found murdered - probably by the same weapon - plus an associate of first murdered man is kidnapped, the police have to call in help from police in Perth - especially as a large cyclone is about to hit the area in the next day or two.

There is a race against time to solve this crime which may have links to a police investigation in Germany in 1979. The bush settings and the threat of the impending storm add to the threat of danger and atmosphere as the police try to solve this spate of recent crimes in their region.

Before It Breaks is the second book in the Dan Clement series by Dave Warner.

After the Flood

After the Flood opens with an account of the collapse of a dam wall in Brazil, resulting in many deaths including the partner and unborn child of an Australian working in the country for a multinational company. 

Back in Broome, Detective Inspector Dan Clement misses his teenage daughter who lives with her mother in Perth. Meanwhile the police in the region are busy with a number of cases including dealing with animal rights protestors at the local abattoir, where cars had been torched weeks earlier, a break-in at the Early Childhood Centre resulting in drugs being destroyed, and a break-in at a small mining company in Halls Creek where explosives and a booster were stolen. 

Then the police learn of a brutal murder at a large cattle property off the Gibb River Road. The body had been staked out on the ground as if crucified and then run over repeatedly. Who is this man? What was he doing in such a remote location? And why would be be killed in such a brutal way?

The police gradually realise that the series of crimes could be related and may be connected to a larger crime.

As the plot is revealed we learn about the lives and concerns of the characters - the police and their families as well as those involved in expressing their views, often through illegal means. The terrain of the Kimberley region is also an important factor in the novel.

Dave Warner has written another fast paced crime novel in the Dan Clement series - book four.

The Valley

Another great book by Chris Hammer. The Valley combines events occurring in 1988, then in the 1990s with an investigation in 2024. The story is revealed using a variety of voices as well as a general narrator.

Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic travel to The Valley near Saltwood in southern New South Wales to investigate a murder. This leads to the unravelling of a series of crimes, including murder, that had occurred in The Valley. For Nell, this investigation becomes personal when DNA tests reveal that she is related to the victim of the latest murder. She also learns more about the life of her mother.

There are many characters to follow in this sometimes complex plot but the author's creation of the small community in The Valley living near a forest, shear escarpments and a lake, surrounded by a national park, is an important feature of the book. The old goldmine is a focal point. Will reopening the mine provide a life-line for the local community? Who is behind the murders that have occurred over the years and why? As Nell and Ivan become increasingly aware of political corruption, who can be trusted?

Chris Hammer has written another Australian crime novel that is difficult to put down until the end of the book is reached.

When it Rains

The wet season is about to break in northern Western Australia and then the reports of crime begin. Detective Inspector Dan Clement and his team investigate. Detective Sergeant Shepherd is attacked in a hotel carpark. A young woman is found badly injured at a local motel. Then the remains of a woman tied to a post are found in a river. She had been attacked by a crocodile. At first it is thought that the same person was responsible for these crimes, however further investigation reveals otherwise.

Dan had just met Lena but he needs to leave her at his home in Broome while the investigations take him to various locations in The Kimberley including Derby and Kununarra.  

When It Rains by Dave Warner is an action-packed novel which moves at a fast pace. As the story unfolds the reader experiences the landscape and climate of north-west Australia as well as a partial glimpse of life in outback communities. Another great addition to the ever growing collection of Aussie Noir. Number 5 in the Dan Clement series.

The Chilling

 

In the days before television I remember listening to part of a radio serial set in Antarctica where there was the danger of falling down a crevasse - very scary. Reading the debut novel, The Chilling, by Australian author, Riley James, caused part of that long ago memory to resurface.

Kit Bitterfield has the opportunity to spend a winter in Antarctica assisting her friend, Sally, in a project involving Wendell seals. On the journey to Macpherson Station they learn that another ship, The Petrel,  has become stuck in the ice. While waiting for orders to attempt to rescue the passengers they then learn that the ship is on fire. By training Kit is a dentist though she now works primarily on research projects so, because of her medical training, she is involved in the search for the passengers of the stricken vessel. They only locate one passenger who they take back to their ship. Where are the remaining passengers? What caused them to leave the ship? How did the fire start?

Being in Antarctica was a very different experience for Kit. Early on it was explained to her about the mood swings suffered by some of those spending a winter in Antarctica. If a boiling point is when people cannot contain their anger, the chilling point is when they cannot suppress their hostility or lack of sympathy. (p 45) All is well initially at MacPherson Station, apart from the concern about the missing people from the other ship, but then a malaise begins to afflict many of the staff. What has happened to cause this?

Nick, the geologist rescued from the other ship, has lost his memory though his general health rapidly improves. Kit hopes that Nick will recover his memory and be able to explain some of their concerns. Meanwhile the search for the passengers of The Petrel and their general scientific investigations continues while the the survivors of The Petrel disaster attempt to make their way across the ice to Macpherson Station - provided that they do not starve or freeze to death. In The Chilling Riley James has written a tension filled thriller of survival in an extreme climate and terrain.

Either Side of Midnight

Either Side of Midnight by Benjamin Stevenson is a sequel to his first novel, Greenlight. Sam and Harry Midford are twins born either side of midnight. Sam is the host of a television program, Midnight Tonight, which regularly appears on channel 14. Then one night during the opening monologue, Sam reaches for a gun taped under his desk and shoots himself.

When Jack Quick, a former television producer, is released from prison he is hired by Harry Midford to discover how his brother was murdered. As Jack investigates he discovers links to another suicide many years earlier that also have been a murder. He also gradually comes to understand the real relationship between the two brothers.

As the investigation continues Jack concludes that there are many ways to murder someone and also the definition of murder has evolved over the years. Benjamin Stevenson has written a gripping, sometimes dark, novel including a study of grief and and how families cope after the death of a loved one. It is also a study of the growing power of social media to influence people's lives and beliefs.

The Creeper

Ten years ago five people died while hiking in the mountains in north-east Victoria. Police officer Sally White has been alerted to increased public interest in the case caused by some of the media wanting interviews and the one survivor of the murdered group who plans to return to record a documentary with members of families of the victims. Her interest in the case increases when the brother of the man accused of the crime tells her he is undertaking his own investigations as he suspects that the police came to the wrong decision about the murderer.

As Sally investigates the cold case, she discovers that the members of the hiking group all had stories that had not been investigated as police at the time were convinced that they had the killer.

In The Creeper, Margaret Hickey has written another Australian crime thriller that, once started, readers will find difficult to put down until they have finished reading the book. As well as the descriptions of the inhabitants of Edenville, the mountains of the Victorian High Country are an important feature of this novel. Another excellent book by Margaret Hickey.  

The Creeper won the 2025 Ned Kelly Award - Best Crime Fiction.

Girl Falling

Finn and Daphne have been friends since school but, although a friendship of sorts continues, they have grown apart. Finn continues to live at home and has a job guiding people on walks in the mountains when she is not serving coffee in the local cafe. Daphne, however, has gone to University and is now working towards her PhD. They occasionally meet up when Daphne returns home but meanwhile Finn has made new friends, especially Magdu who studying psychology at university.

Finn and Daphne enjoy rock climbing and it is decided to invite Magdu to join them. Then Magdu falls. Is it suicide or is it an accident?

Told in the first person by Finn, we gradually learn of events that have occurred in the past as well as the current events. In Girl Falling, Hayley Scrivenor has produced a psychological thriller as past events defining the friendship between Finn and Daphne are gradually revealed. Descriptions of the landscape add to the build up of tension. This is a novel that should be read with few interruptions.

Tipping Point

 

Set in a country town in northern NSW, Luke, the brother of Detective Kate Miles returns for the funeral of Marcus, a school friend, who was shot. Ant, another school friend appears to have committed suicide recently. The three boys, Luke, Marcus and Ant were a close-knit group at school. Now only Luke is left, and he becomes a person of interest to the police as he appears to be the last person to have seen Marcus alive. 

In Tipping Point by Dinuka McKenzie we learn about the relationships between the three boys over the years. Much of the focus hearkens back to events at an eighteenth birthday party held seventeen years earlier and how these may be impacting on the present events. Luke has also just lost his job and is being questioned by police about an incident that led to his dismissal.

This book provides a study of how inappropriate (often forgotten) acts from the past can impact upon future events and continue to affect people over time. Topics in the book cover date rape, the sharing of intimate media clips, domestic violence and coercive control as well as depression and suicide.  

As in the previous two books in this series, the focus continues to be on how Kate juggles with her police work and looking after two young children as well as her relationship with other family members. When the press learns of Luke’s possible involvement in the death of Marcus, Kate has to step down from the case but investigates another line of enquiry.

Tipping Point is another well written, fast moving crime novel – a welcome addition to the sub-genre of Aussie Noir.

The Good Dog

When Detective Sergeant Zoe Mayer is called to a crime scene on Mt Macedon in Victoria she finds the body of a man slumped next to the Memorial Cross. A local policeman was the first to arrive on the scene and is able to identify the body. Then Harry, Zoe's service dog, discovers a second body some distance in the bush. First impressions are that it is probably a murder suicide. But Zoe and her new partner, Detective Senior Constable, Ben Tarro, soon come to a different conclusion.

The two victims were recently involved in a fraud case where the first victim, Piers Johnson, had faced charges of fraud when a project in which he and others had invested in Bali proved to be a scam. Everyone, including Piers Johnson, lost money. The second murder victim was Johnson's lawyer, Antony Peterson, who succeeded in having the court case dismissed. There are therefore many suspects to investigate.

The Good Dog by Simon Rowell is a fast paced detective novel set in Victoria. Many of the locations mentioned are places that I know which perhaps made the book even more interesting to me when I read it. 

Harry is one of the main characters in the book, not just in supporting Zoe who has PTSD but also in comforting some of the other characters in stressful situations. He also makes some significant finds in the plot. Zoe's new partner in this case also learns there is more to solving a crime than he first believed. The Good Dog is the third title in the Zoe Mayer series.