The Bluff by Joanna Jenkins

On March 10, 2025 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery3 Comments

Publisher: Allen & Unwin (Trade Paperback – 4 March 2025)

Series: How to Kill a Client – Book Two

Length: 432 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Impressive new Australian author Joanna Jenkins presents another captivating piece of crime fiction with the gripping and emotionally charged read, The Bluff.

Back in 2023 I had the very great pleasure of reading the fantastic legal thriller, How to Kill a Client. The debut novel of Australian author Joanna Jenkins, How to Kill a Client followed various members of a prestigious Australian law firm who are forced to deal with the fallout of the murder of one of their biggest clients, a man who everyone in the firm had a motive to kill. Jenkins produced an outstanding story in her first novel, and How to Kill a Client ended up being one of my favourite debuts and pieces of Australian fiction of 2023. Due to how good her first book was, I have been keeping an eye out for anything else from Jenkins and I was very happy to see she had a new book coming out in 2025 with The Bluff. A surprising sequel to How to Kill a Client, The Bluff has been on my to-read list for a while, and I was very glad that I finally got the chance to check it out.

Plot Synopsis:

People like Dash didn’t die. He was only what? Mid-thirties? Well off. Adored. By some anyway. World at his feet. Well, Myddle at his feet, which was his world.

Ruth Dawson has taken a break from big city law to fill in for a few months at a mate’s small-town legal practice in Myddle. It’s not what she’s used to . . .

So when she hears the front door of her office open she’s expecting a weird demand, or a question she doesn’t know the answer to. But it’s Bea Baulderstone’s mum, worried that she hasn’t seen her seventeen-year-old daughter for five days, and Constable Gazza Parker is refusing to report the girl missing.

Ruth tries to find Bea, but Myddle is a wall of indifference. Then Dash Rogers is found at his farm gate, dead from a gunshot wound, and suddenly the town is very interested in Bea’s whereabouts.

An unputdownable thriller of deception and greed, The Bluff reveals an enmeshed web of family and community loyalties, set in the lush rural hinterland of east coast Australia.

The Bluff was an extremely captivating and complex Australian thriller from Joanna Jenkins that stands on its own feet while also serving as a great sequel to How to Kill a Client. Featuring a fantastic character-driven story loaded with mystery, impressive storytelling and an excellent rural setting, The Bluff had me hooked very quickly, and I ended up powering through it in a day.

I really enjoyed the amazing story that Jenkins came up with for The Bluff, as she provides both an intriguing mystery, and some great character development. A mostly standalone plot set after the events of How to Kill a Client, the reader is reintroduced to high profile layer Ruth Dawson, who is taking a break from the high-flying life to manage a small law firm in the small New South Wales town of Myddle. This change in setting and story focus towards a rural thriller, rather than the big-city legal thriller of Jenkins’ previous book, proved to be quite effective, as was the very clever way the author set out The Bluff’s story.

Jenkins ensured that readers get dragged into The Bluff’s tale almost immediately, with two very quick sequences at the start: one that showed a key moment of the plot without any context, and then a subsequent scene where the protagonist is reintroduced and then finds out about the narrative’s two main mysteries, a missing girl and a murder. With these important bits of information in your brain, the reader is then transported back six months and is shown all the events that occurred over this period that led up to the disappearance of Bea Baulderstone and the murder of Dash Rogers. Through this six-month period, you become acquainted with all the key players around Myddle and observe their interactions with the victims and the protagonist, and you begin the appreciate the complex web of relationships, problems and personalities that surround the case, as well as the many potential motivations for the book’s main crimes.

This dive back in time was an outstanding writing choice by Jenkins that allowed the reader to really appreciate the full breadth of the relationships and troubles that accompany the crime, all while perfectly utilising The Bluff’s excellent rural setting. With every brick of plot laid down to hint at the events to come, you find yourself becoming more and more involved with the plot as you try to picture how and why the murder will occur and which of the many interesting and emotional characters may commit it. The inclusion of a countdown at the start of each new chapter gives a great ticking clock vibe to The Bluff, and you become more and more anxious and excited as you get closer the plot’s principal event. The reader also begins to appreciate just how despicable the main murder victim is, and that allows for an even more compelling read, as you can see just how many potential people have a motive to kill him, as well as cause the disappearance of the missing girl.

The final third of The Bluff is probably the best, and I flew through it to find out how the story ends. The final series of events leading up to the pivotal killings are particularly dark (and potentially triggering for some readers), and it was fascinating to see everyone’s emotional state in advance of this crime, especially as there are so many potential suspects. However, rather than show the killings there, Jenkins instead jumps back to the timeline from the front of the book and spends the last 100 or so pages dealing with the subsequent investigation, with the protagonist pulling events together. I liked this delay, as it provided an excellent trickle effect for the twists and also allowed the protagonist to shine as she uses her knowledge of events and her own skills at deduction to identify the culprit and protect her friends in the town. The eventual solutions for the mysteries were very clever, and Jenkins did such a great job subtly dropping the clues throughout the backstory of the plot and setting up the various motivations. I really appreciated the many complex and compelling twists which fit into the plot perfectly, especially the last one that really made you think.

This entire brilliant story is wrapped up in some great character arcs, as Jenkins features a range of protagonists and potential suspects, each of whom were quite compelling and brought different shades of drama to the plot. I loved seeing their complex relationships and interactions throughout the plot of The Bluff, especially those that could lead to them committing the book’s main crimes. There are some really great characters here, and it was especially interesting to see more of series protagonist Ruth Dawson, who is not only continuing to move on from the personal trauma and loneliness that was a key part of How to Kill Your Client, but is also trying to figure out where her life is going after the collapse of her previous law firm. These character arcs come together in a very satisfying manner at the end of The Bluff, and a lot of this book’s complexity and strength came from how relatable and compelling Jenkins’ made these various characters, especially when it comes to their anger, fear and potential ability to commit murder.

Overall, The Bluff was an exceptional and deeply impressive sequel from Joanna Jenkins that I think was even stronger than the excellent first book. Featuring a very clever and well-written narrative that brings together powerful character storylines and a great rural setting with complex mystery, The Bluff proved to be extremely captivating, and you will become engrossed in uncovering the full extent of the plot. One of the best Australian crime fiction books of 2025 so far, The Bluff comes highly recommended and is really worth checking out.

Amazon

Quick Review – Conviction by Frank Chalmers

On September 6, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Quick Review, Thriller1 Comment

Conviction Cover

Publisher: Allen & Unwin Australia (Trade Paperback – 5 July 2022)

Series: Standalone/Book One

Length: 354 pages

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

The Australian crime fiction debut hits keep on coming with the excellent and highly exciting first novel from Frank Chalmers, Conviction, with takes the reader on an amazing journey back into 1970s rural Australia.

Plot Synopsis:

A town ruled by fear. A cop who won’t be broken. A pulse-pounding debut thriller that pulls no punches.

A STUNNING NEW VOICE IN CRIME FICTION

Queensland in 1976 churns with corruption. When Detective Ray Windsor defies it, he is exiled deep into the state’s west. It’s easy out there to feel alien in your own country.

Royalton is a town on its knees, stricken by drought, riven by prejudice, and plagued by crimes left largely uninvestigated by the local police chief, Kennedy, and his elusive boss.

Mutual dislike between Kennedy and Ray gradually turns ugly as Ray and his new partner, Arshag, uncover a pattern of crimes that no one seems concerned about solving. But when two girls from local immigrant families are found dead and another disappears, Ray and Arshag are forced to take the law into their own hands. Not knowing who to trust, nor how deep the corruption runs, how long will it be before their lives are also threatened?

A spare and uncompromising crime thriller that pulls no punches.

Conviction is a compelling and fun crime fiction thriller that sets a bold protagonist against a brace of criminals and dirty cops in a remote and hopeless town. Essentially reading like a contemporary Australian western, with protagonist Detective Ray Windsor acting as the new sheriff in town, Chalmers crafts together a compelling read that is very easy to get through.

Conviction has a very interesting and complex story to it that sees the new cop arrive in the remote town of Royalton and get caught up in a series of crimes. Not only is he forced to deal with the corruption of his peers and a local crime ring that has been stealing stock and damaging the local farms, but he is also investigating two recent violent deaths of young immigrant women. This results in quite a fantastic series of investigation elements, as Detective Windsor attempts to solve these crimes while being constantly hampered by his colleagues. The novel also deals with Ray’s attempt to integrate into the Royalton community, and he soon finds some unexpected connections and friends which draw him in. Taking place over the course of several months, Conviction’s plot goes in some exciting and intense directions, and the reader is provided with intriguing plotlines that are loaded with action and excitement. The eventual reveals lead to some big moments, and while the identity of the book’s villains is well-foreshadowed and not especially surprising, watching the protagonist attempt to overcome them is fun. This ended up being a great and enjoyable piece of Australian fiction, and I had a good time getting through this awesome debut.

Like many impressive Australian crime fiction novels, one of the best things about Conviction is its excellent setting in a rural Australian town. Royalton is a compelling location, which even in the 1970s, is starting to fall apart and feel the strain as more and more people left the country to live in the big cities. Royalton has many of the best features that make up a small-town setting, from the sunburned countryside, the various surrounding farms, the neglected buildings within the town itself, as well as a colourful cast of people living in it. I felt that Royalton in Conviction was a pretty good example of this compelling Australian setting, and the intriguing historical context makes it stand out from other recent Australian crime fiction books. I particularly liked how Chalmers depicted the town as having a large migrant population, which is an accurate representation of most of Australia, and the stratification of classes that resulted based on nationality and culture gave the story another fascinating dimension that I felt added a lot to the story. The farms surrounding the town are also under siege by an organised group of criminals who are working to bankrupt them for their own nefarious reasons, and this adds to the tension in Royalton. All this proves to be rich ground for the intense and compelling crime fiction narrative that Chalmers crafted together, and I felt that this was an amazing setting for Conviction.

However, the best thing about Conviction was the eclectic and troubled group of characters who can be found within. The author comes up with some great and flawed figures throughout Conviction, and the reader soon gets some intriguing views of the sort of people who would live in such a remote and troubled town. Naturally most of the focus is on Detective Ray Windsor, who immediately finds himself in all manner of trouble once he arrives in Royalton. Now, I must admit that I had a hard time liking Windsor in this book, as he is a bit of an over-the-top hero who is prone to violence at a drop of hat. While this attribute does help him out in some of the situations, I was never too attached to him as a character, especially when he flew off the handle. Still, I liked the compelling background that Chalmers attributed to Windsor, especially his dark childhood, and the portrayal of an honest cop sent out to the country as a punishment was well explored. There are some great moments with Windsor in the book, and I did enjoy seeing his take on the case and the corruption going on around town. The author also did a good job setting up Windsor’s growing attachment to Royalton, especially once he gets to know the people within. This, as well as his commitment to getting the job done, eventually win the reader over, and you are rooting for him to succeed as the story continues. The rest of the cast are also really good, and I deeply enjoyed some of the other characters featured within Conviction. I felt that Chalmers did a particularly good job with the villains of this book, and it was satisfying to see Windsor standing up to them and finally bringing them to justice. An awesome group of characters that Chalmers did a good job bringing to life.

Overall, I felt that Conviction was a pretty awesome novel that the debuting Frank Chalmers should be proud of. This fantastic novel has a great crime fiction narrative that not only crosses into historical fiction territory but which works as an exceptional example of a rural Australian story. All these elements work extremely well together, and I had a blast getting through Conviction, which is really worth checking out.

Amazon Book Depository

The Unbelieved by Vikki Petraitis

On September 6, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Five-Star Books, Murder Mystery9 Comments

Publisher: Allen & Unwin Australia (Trade Paperback – 2 August 2022)

Series: Standalone/Book One

Length: 373 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

Debuting author Vikki Petraitis delivers an impressive and deeply moving Australian thriller skilfully set around the powerful subject of sexual violence with The Unbelieved. This is Petraitis’s first novel, which has been receiving a large amount of buzz, including some awards. As such, I was very interested in checking it out, especially as it had a very interesting plot, and this ended up being one of the most compelling and memorable Australian debuts of 2022.

Senior Detective Antigone Pollard has spent many years investigating terrible and destructive crimes in Melbourne. After one case goes horribly wrong, Antigone decides to seek the quieter life and moves to her grandmother’s house in the Victorian coastal town of Deception Bay, where she was raised. However, her attempts at finding peaceful policing quickly go up in smoke when a series of drug assisted sexual attacks occur throughout Deception Bay and the neighbouring towns.

After a sting operation at the local pub reveals a suspect who attempts to drug her, Antigone believes that they have perpetrator dead to rights. However, they are soon forced to let him go when the male witnesses to the event refuse to cooperate and her superior attempts to brush the case under the rug. Reaching out to the community, she finds a wall of silence and shame surrounding sexual crimes in Deception Bay, which has failed to lead to any convictions in the town.

Determined to stop the attacks no matter what, Antigone continues her investigation against her superior’s wishes, and uncovers a series of attacks across town. Attempting to break through the fears of the women of Deception Bay, Antigone and her partner begin closing on the information they need. However, Antigone also finds herself under threat from all corners and must work swiftly before she is shut down for good. But can she succeed before another girl is attacked, and what happens when the darkness from her past rears its ugly head again?

Wow, I was not prepared for just how good and moving The Unbelieved was going to be. Vikki Petraitis has really shown off her skill and talented as a writer with her first book, presenting a powerful read on an extremely relevant subject that strikes the reader hard. Featuring an exciting and very clever mystery storyline that also intensely examines violence against women in Australia, The Unbelieved is an outstanding novel that gets a full five-star rating from me.

At its centre The Unbelieved has an exceptional multifaceted narrative that follows detective Antigone Pollard as she finds herself investigating terrible events occurring around Deception Bay. Detective Pollard initially attempts to stop a series of sexual attacks, but she soon becomes involved in several other cases while trying to fit in to the community, despite opposition from some of its male residents. As her case develops and more victims come forward, Pollard also finds herself investigating a suspicious death, a historical murder-suicide, a series of domestic violence cases, and more. These investigations are often hampered by her superior and problematic members of the community, and Pollard also finds herself being threatened or attacked as she attempts to do her duties. At the same time, elements from her past in Melbourne are revealed through a series of well-crafted flashbacks that expand on her motivations and begin to bleed into her current cases, especially once a prior suspect is brought back into the light.

Petraitis takes the story in some interesting directions throughout the course of The Unbelieved, and I loved the fantastic combination of the compelling yet heartbreaking cases that are explored throughout. This investigation angle is well balanced with the character development of the protagonist, as well as the emotional exploration of several interesting supporting characters, and you really get involved in the narrative and the character’s fates as The Unbelieved continues. The story becomes more complex as the book unfolds, and the protagonist finds herself caught up in a devious local conspiracy that seeks to take her down at the same time. There are some brilliant twists and reveals throughout the plot, and I loved how several of the storylines developed. The entire book was very well paced out, and I found myself getting really absorbed in so many key elements of the plot, especially as the author blends compelling investigations with dark, emotional examinations of the victims. This all leads to up to a moving, thought-provoking and extremely satisfying conclusion that will leave every reader caught up in the plot happy. I particularly enjoyed the final twist that Petraitis left the story on, and the way it was hinted at through the rest of the novel was extremely clever. I honestly had such a remarkable time reading this great narrative, and there are so many excellent story elements to enjoy within it.

Easily the most distinctive part of The Unbelieved is the author’s detailed and powerful examination of the current situation of sexual and domestic violence in Australia. Most of the book’s plot revolves around the investigation and attempted conviction of multiple sexual predators, and the author does not hold back in showcasing just how dark and damaging these sorts of cases can be. Multiple viewpoints of the impacts of these crimes are examined throughout The Unbelieved, and readers are in for some emotionally devastating moments as you see so many of the different aspects of them. There is a particularly good and dramatic look at how police investigating sexual crimes are impacted, especially when they are unable to get justice for the victims. More importantly, Petraitis spends a lot of time exploring how Australian society perceives sexual crimes, and the book is loaded up with characters who don’t see them as a big deal or attempt to blame the victim. There are multiple interludes within The Unbelieved that show short transcripts of interviews with people involved with these crimes, either as a witness or the accused, and the unguarded and unsupportive comments they make are both enlightening and a little infuriating. Throw in some comments and interviews by the author’s accurate depiction of a typical Australian radio shock jock, which really boil the blood, and you have an excellent depiction of some of the main issues and attitudes towards sexual crimes, such as victim blaming. These issues become a key part of the book’s plot, especially when the system fails so many victims, and it leads to some extremely emotional and painful moments. I felt that Petraitis did a spectacular job working this confronting subject into the plot of her novel, and it certainly gave The Unbelieved a powerful edge that is hard to ignore.

I also really appreciated Petraitis’s examination of regional towns in Australia, which proves to be a great setting for this compelling book. Rural and remote settings are always an excellent feature of Australian fiction, and I think that Petraitis used it extremely well in The Unbelieved. The transfer of a big-city cop to the small town she grew up in results in a great change of pace for the protagonist, and the change in priorities and issues helps to add to the narrative complexity of The Unbelieved. The use of this small-town setting comes into play throughout The Unbelieved in multiple intriguing ways, from the constant spread of rumours, the lack of secrets, and the fact everyone knows each other, and I liked how this affected several aspects of the police investigation plot line. However, the most important part of this setting is the wall of silence that springs up during the book. Many people know about the sexual and domestic violence going in in Deception Bay, but are unwilling to talk for various reasons, often keeping secrets from the police. This becomes a key complication in the investigation, and it was fascinating and moving to see the protagonist attempt to overcome it. As such, I felt that this small-town setting worked extremely well for The Unbelieved’s plot, especially with its specific criminal focus, and it definitely enhanced the story for me.

The final thing that I need to highlight is the excellent protagonist that Petraitis works the story around in Detective Antigone Pollard. Pollard is an emotionally charged badass who has returned to her hometown after a devastating case in Melbourne, and now finds herself amid all manner of dark criminal activity. While she is raw from the impacts of her last case and there are some dramatic moments surrounding here, the author portrays her as a practical and very capable cop, who takes charge and starts to clean up Deception Bay. I really do think that Petraitis hit the right balance of vulnerable and determined in Pollard, and you grow quite attached to her as the book continues, especially once you learn the full extent of her last case. Combine Pollard with several other fantastic characters in The Unbelieved, such as her partner, Detective Senior Constable Warren “Wozza” Harvey, and her loyal dog, Waffles, as well as some slimy villains, and you have a great cast for The Unbelieved that really add to the overall quality of this remarkable book.

With her impressive debut novel, The Unbelieved, Vikki Petraitis has set herself up as an exceptional talent in the Australian crime fiction game and she is a major new author to watch out for. The Unbelieved has an outstanding crime fiction narrative to it that does an amazing job balancing a compelling mystery storyline with powerful dive into a sensitive and highly relevant subject. Thanks to its well-written plot, clever mystery, distinctive setting and great characters, The Unbelieved comes together perfectly, and it proves to be extremely hard to put down. While this book might be best avoided by those readers triggered by depictions of sexual violence, I cannot recommend this powerful novel enough, and it stands as one of the better Australian crime fiction books and debuts of 2022 so far.

Amazon Book Depository

Quick Review – Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor

On August 23, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Drama, Murder Mystery, Quick ReviewLeave a comment

Dirt Town Cover

Publisher: Macmillian (Trade Paperback – 31 May 2022)

Series: Standalone

Length: 359 0ages

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

Intriguing new author Hayley Scrivenor presents her powerful and excellent debut novel with the powerful and dramatic Australian mystery, Dirt Town.

Plot Synopsis:

My best friend wore her name, Esther, like a queen wearing her crown at a jaunty angle. We were twelve years old when she went missing.

On a sweltering Friday afternoon in Durton, best friends Ronnie and Esther leave school together. Esther never makes it home.

Ronnie’s going to find her, she has a plan. Lewis will help. Their friend can’t be gone, Ronnie won’t believe it.

Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels can believe it, she has seen what people are capable of. She knows more than anyone how, in a moment of weakness, a person can be driven to do something they never thought possible.

Lewis can believe it too. But he can’t reveal what he saw that afternoon at the creek without exposing his own secret.

Five days later, Esther’s buried body is discovered.

What do we owe the girl who isn’t there?

Character-rich and propulsive, with a breathtakingly original use of voice and revolving points of view, Hayley Scrivenor delves under the surface, where no one can hide. With emotional depth and sensitivity, this stunning debut shows us how much each person matters in a community that is at once falling apart and coming together.

Esther will always be a Dirt Town child, as we are its children, still.

Dirt Town was a fantastic and clever novel that contains a lot of interesting elements and moving parts to it that I had an amazing time reading. Set in the small Australian country town of Durton in late 2001, the crux of Dirt Town’s plot revolves around the sudden disappearance of local schoolgirl Esther, who vanishes on her way home. The subsequent search and police investigation into the disappearance soon involves several different inhabitants of Durton, including Esther’s friends, family and other connections, many of whom are dragged into the case over the course of the following days. The investigation and the eventual reveal of what happened to Esther slowly but surely tears the town of Durton apart, as everyone’s secrets come spilling out.

The story focuses on several intriguing protagonists, including Esther’s best friend, Ronnie, who attempts to find her without really realising what is going on; their fellow schoolmate Lewis, who witnessed something relevant to the case but is unable to say anything out of fear of being outed; the various relatives to the children; the cops that come to investigate; and more. This strong focus on these complex characters allows Scrivenor to weave together a compelling and exciting tapestry of personal stories that are altered for the worse when Esther goes missing. All the characters react to the disappearance in different ways, and the reader gets a deep and captivating look into their lives, which often reveal long-buried secrets, fears and insecurities that the investigation brings to the light. At the same time, the hunt for the missing child reveals other crimes going on around Durton, and everyone is moved in some way by the events of the narrative. The eventual reveal about what happened to Esther and who was involved is very intense, and I really loved the clever, heartbreaking twist that Scrivenor utilised here. The author layers the story with some clues, but it is still shocking to see what unfolded, and the series of events that led up to it and followed from there. Dirt Town ends with a satisfying, if very bittersweet, conclusion, and I really appreciate the impressive debut narrative the Scrivenor produced here.

This was a pretty moving and distinctive novel, as Scrivenor blends several genres together into a single riveting tale. While mostly framed as a mystery novel, Dirt Town also has a strong drama aspect to it, especially when it comes to examining the lives and secrets of the various townsfolk. This ensures that you get quite a lot of unique character interactions throughout Dirt Town, and it was very moving and powerful to see how everyone was impacted by the events of the plot, often in quite substantial and painful ways. It is also a particularly good piece of rural Australian fiction, as Scrivenor, who grew up in a small country town herself, does an amazing job portraying the tight-knit community, isolated landscape, and the feeling of decline that many of these towns experience during times of hardship. Scrivenor added in a distinctive, disassociated chorus narrator, which is essentially the joint voice of the town, which produces some poetic and insight examinations of the impacts that the case has on the town and its people, as well as providing compelling insights into how the town is generally faring. These separate elements blend well into a captivating and moving story, and you can find yourself getting quite drawn into Dirt Town as a result.

Overall, I felt that Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor was an outstanding and very distinctive debut novel, and one that sets Scrivenor up as an interesting rising talent in Australian fiction. A recommended read, especially for those who love complex stories in Australia’s unmatched rural setting, Dirt Town was an outstanding book that is well worth checking out.

Amazon Book Depository

Prisoner by S. R. White

On August 30, 2021March 16, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery17 Comments

The Prisoner Cover

Publisher: Headline (Trade Paperback – 31 August 2021)

Series: Hermit – Book Two

Length: 421 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

Prepare for a twisty and dark Australian murder mystery novel as author S. R. White presents the compelling and powerful Prisoner.

Deep in rural Northern Australia, a dead body has been found in the middle of a dank and dangerous swamp. The corpse is staged to appear like a crucifixion, with the man’s arms and legs tied to poles, and his chest caved in with several blows. Called to the scene of the crime, Detective Dana Russo soon discovers that the victim was a convicted rapist who had only been released from prison a few hours earlier and whose crime occurred only a short walk away from his murder site.

Determined to get to the bottom of this unusual murder, Russo and her team swiftly begin tearing apart the victim’s life in prison and find that he had been in communication with two local sisters who offered him a place to stay once he was released. Investigating the sisters, they discover a unique pair of siblings who have been irreparably damaged by trauma and abuse and who live separate from the rest of society. Believing that the solution to the mystery may lay with them, Russo brings them both in for questioning, but finds them uncooperative and elusive.

Under pressure to solve the crime, the detectives slowly unwind an intriguing case, concerning corruption, drugs and prison gangs. However, the further they dig, the more apparent it becomes that the sisters are hiding some dark secrets about themselves and the victim. Forced to dig deep within herself, Russo uses the memories of her own traumatic childhood to analyse the suspects and find some common understanding with them. Can Russo break through these two unlikely suspects, or will the solution to this murder never be revealed?

This was a pretty cool and captivating novel from former British Police officer turned author S. R. White. Prisoner is White’s second novel and serves as a sequel to his 2020 debut, Hermit. This proved to be a fantastic read and I deeply enjoyed the intriguing and powerful narrative, especially as White loads his book with a complex mystery and some deeply damaged characters. I got pretty hooked on this book as it progressed and ended up finishing it in only a couple of days.

Prisoner contains a very impressive and compelling narrative that I really found myself getting drawn into. The novel mostly starts off focusing on the murder, with the discovery of the body in the first few pages, and then the protagonists immediately jump into the investigation, including the interrogation of one of the main suspects. As the story progresses, you get some other interesting elements thrown in, mostly around Dana Russo and one of her other colleagues as they deal with some dark personal history. There is also a captivating subplot regarding internal police politics that produces a real shakeup in the department and has some potential series-wide ramifications. However, most of the story remains on the mystery, and I really appreciated the creativity and darkness that the author fits into the case. Despite being a sequel to White’s first book, Prisoner can easily be read as a standalone novel, and no prior knowledge of the characters or the setting is needed. I felt that the entire narrative progressed along at a great pace, and there were no slow bits throughout the book, as the reader was either reading about the case or dealing with the intense personal demons of the various characters.

I must highlight the fantastic writing style that White featured throughout this novel. While most of the focus of Prisoner is on central character Russo, the author makes good use of multiple perspectives, mainly of the other detectives on the investigation team, to move the story along and provide some alternate points of view and different investigative threads. White utilises a very detailed writing style, which encourages a slower reading pace to make sure you don’t miss anything, and I felt that enriched the mystery and increased the realism of the plot. I also must highlight the incredibly detailed descriptions of the swampy landscape that surrounded the crime scene and the Northern Australian town where the plot is set. White paints a grim picture of small, isolated community on its last legs, where even the landscape has turned against it. You can really feel the stickiness and deadliness of the swamps, and it proves to be quite a haunting background to several scenes. I also must mention the really fun and unique take that several of the characters had on the film Signs. This film, which I personally rather enjoyed, is brought up several times and becomes a key plot point. While that does sound a little strange, its inclusion worked surprisingly well, and the subsequent discussions and insightful analysis of the film and its themes, ended up fitting into the overall narrative quite seamlessly, helping to create quite a unique tale.

I also deeply enjoyed the crime fiction/mystery elements of Prisoner, which really helped to turn this into quite a compelling and exciting story. White crafts together a really clever and psychologically intense mystery for this book, and I had a wonderful time seeing the protagonists unwind it. The author sets up a great methodical criminal investigation, with the characters slowly uncovering clues, backstory and various suspects throughout the story. While the police do achieve an impressive amount in just a couple of days, there is a gritty sense of realism to much of the story, and I really enjoyed seeing the police in action. The best part of the investigation is easily the focus on interrogations as the protagonist engages two uncooperative suspects in several separate interviews throughout the course of the book. These interrogation sequences are among some of the best parts of the entire book, as Russo really dives into the pasts and minds of her suspects, which also requires her to reach back and harness some of her own trauma to break through to them. This, combined with the rest of her team’s investigation, proved to be quite fascinating, and I really enjoyed seeing the cooperative work and professional skills involved. I also quite enjoyed the solution to the murder, especially as White comes up with quite a unique and dark motivation for the crime. There are several good suspects and motivations for the murder, which at times made me question who the killer might be. However, I thought the overall resolution of the mystery was extremely clever, and it really made great use of the dark psychology of some of the characters.

One of the biggest highlights of this book were the damaged and traumatised central characters, who White spent a substantial amount of time exploring throughout the course of the story. This includes a mixture of characters who previously appeared in Hermit and some new characters brought in for Prisoner. This includes central protagonist Dana Russo, the detective in charge of the investigation. Dana had a very traumatic childhood, brought on by an abusive mother who beat and emotionally tormented her following her father’s death. While this was revealed in the previous novel, it was recounted once again in Prisoner, especially as details of the case end up mimicking parts of Dana’s life. The protagonist is forced to dive deep into her prior experiences to help solve this case, and it was fascinating to see how she could instantly spot signs of abuse, as well as rationalise the various reasons behind it and the impacts it can have on a young person. The protagonist also uses her experiences to get into the minds of her two main suspects, resulting in some intense and extremely powerful interrogation scenes, where both suspect and interrogator are broken down at the same time. White also produces some more revelations about Dana’s terrible childhood, including a certain reveal on the last page that was pretty memorable, and I really liked the compelling picture he painted around this impressive leading character.

The other characters who proved to be extremely compelling were the main suspects of the murder case, Suzanne and Marika Doyle. The Doyle siblings are instantly identified as persons of interest in the case due to their house’s proximity to the crime scene and the fact that they wrote to the victim in prison and helped to organise his parole, despite having never met him. Upon examination of their history, as well as an insightful look at their house, it soon becomes apparent that both siblings had a hard childhood because of their controlling mother. Their life story becomes a key part of the overarching plot as Russo attempts to uncover their full history and personalities, as she believes it is important to solve the case. The eventual reveals about the siblings and their relationship, their past and their emotional states is extremely captivating, and White paints quite a dark and troubled narrative around them that was really fascinating. The way that this ties into the murder and their relationship with the victim is very clever, and White really outdid himself making these two sibling suspects.

I also must give a quick shout out to the character of Lucy Delaney, one of Dana’s co-workers and an invaluable resource in the case. Dana and Lucy got quite close to each other in the previous novel, with Dana revealing some of her childhood trauma to her, something she rarely does. In this novel, you get a much closer look at Lucy, who reveals some of her own personal issues, and the shared grief becomes a major part of her connection to Dana. Unfortunately for Lucy, she gets dragged into some internal police politics, which impact her and her secrets quite severely and will likely become a recurring issue in the series, especially if the relationship between Dana and Lucy progresses. Aside from Lucy, I felt that the police characters represented an interesting blend of personalities and skills, such as the wily veteran Mike or the similarly damaged officer Ali, who helped to give the film more personality. It will be interesting to see how these characters are featured in the future, and I look forward to learning more about them.

Prisoner by S. R. White is a clever and moving piece of Australian crime fiction that proved to be a real treat to read. White has produced a deep and compelling murder mystery narrative that focuses on a fantastic group of damaged protagonists and suspects, and who have some dark stories to tell. I really loved the more methodical and grounded police investigation angle of this book, especially the inclusion of some powerful interrogation sequences, and I was impressed with how the narrative unfolded. An excellent and captivating murder mystery, Prisoner comes highly recommended, and you will have a great time getting through the latest book from this fantastic Australian author.

Amazon Book Depository