Two bodies. One long hot summer. A town that will never be the same.When Adam Lawson’s wrecked car is found a kilometre from Daisy Baker’s body, the whole town assumes it’s an open and shut case. But Jesse Redpath isn’t from Canticle Creek. Where she comes from, the truth often hides in plain sight, but only if you know where to look. When Jesse starts to ask awkward questions, she uncovers a town full of contradictions and a cast of characters with dark pasts, secrets to hide and even more to lose.
As the temperature soars, and the ground bakes, the wilderness surrounding Canticle Creek becomes a powderkeg waiting to explode. All it needs is one spark.
A twisty crime thriller set in small town Australia perfect for readers of The Dry and Scrublands.
Adrian Hyland is the award-winning author of Diamond Dove, Gunshot Road and Kinglake-350, which was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for non-fiction in 2012. His books have been published internationally, including in Britain and the US, and translated into a variety of languages, including German, French, Swedish and Czech.
My thoughts: an excellent addition to the Outback noir genre, with murder and intrigue aplenty out in the bush.
Jesse Redpath is a copper from the hardscrabble Northern Territory, who thinks something isn’t quite right about an apparent murder in Canticle Creek, a small town over the border in Victoria. She knew the accused killer, himself dead in a car accident, and he just wasn’t the type.
So, accompanied by her artist father, and her suspicions, she heads off to investigate. Aided, and occasionally stymied, by the local police officers, she starts to take a closer look, but could be putting herself straight into the firing line.
There’s conspiracies and drug dealers lurking in the Creek, locals put in danger and several near attempts on her life, but Jesse is determined to solve Daisy and Adam’s deaths and put a stop to whatever is going on in Canticle Creek, ideally before a terrible wild fire hits.
Gripping and cracking crime drama here, with an interesting cast of characters and a great protagonist. I hope this is the start of a series of Jesse Redpath novels.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 