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