Cutters End

Margaret Hickey's first novel, Cutters End, is another addition to the ever-growing genre of crime novels set in Australia, often referred to an Aussie Noir. The story is set in outback South Australia with the landscape and the large distances between settlements being a feature of the book.

Detective Sergeant Mark Ariti is on long service leave when he is offered a temporary promotion to investigate a death that occurred 32 years earlier and had originally been classed as an accident. He leaves his home in Adelaide to travel north along the Stuart Highway eventually arriving at a roadhouse stop not far from where the body was discovered and 300 km south of the small town of Cutters End.

When interviewing the people originally associated with the case Mark meets again two people from his schooldays, Ingrid and Joanne, and he suspects that there is information that they are not disclosing. 

While working with Senior Constable Jagdeep Kaup at Cutters End it is soon clear that this is not the only mystery case in the area over the years. A number of young women had disappeared from the area and a discovery at the sight of the presumed accident, unrelated to the original case, confirmed that this was not the only case requiring investigation.

As well providing a well written crime novel encapsulating life in small outback communities the author examines past attitudes and cover-ups relating to family violence and assault as well as the possible dangers of hitch hiking in the outback. I look forward to reading the next book by this author.