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Canticle Creek

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Jesse Redpath is a good cop working in the remote Northern Territory town of Kulara, at the top of Australia. Adrian Hyland is the award-winning author of Diamond Dove, Gunshot Roadand 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. I have just finished reading this book,it was a little different from the fiction I usually read but thoroughly enjoyed it. The plot is Jesse investigating the murder of Daisy and the resistance she comes up against. Criticism is difficult to take, doubly so when it comes from an outsider, but this outsider brings an objectiveness to play. Along with a stubborn persistence and a casual approach to danger this makes Jesse a loose canon to some, but eventually a grudging acceptance from others as they realise what a great cop she is.

On the Radar: Follow the desert star | Crime Fiction Lover

There is a lot to like about this novel. The cover (such a stunning cover, I’d have it as a print on my wall), the storyline, the characters – particularly Jesse and Possum, the art, the nature, the respect it shows to the First Nations people of Central Australia; this really is a terrific novel, one that I can highly recommend. When Jesse heard through her boss that Adam had been found not far from Melbourne in Victoria, she wasn’t prepared to hear he was dead. She also wasn’t prepared to hear he’d murdered a woman and had crashed a stolen car into a tree while fleeing the town. Jesse was certain the Adam she knew wouldn’t have a bar of killing, so she and her dad headed for Melbourne, then a small town about an hour north-east of there, called Canticle Creek, to unofficially look into the deaths. A common story seen within this genre, predictable plot lines, however still enjoyable. There wasn’t much character development, and there was a lot of predictability. I feel I’d recognise his people if I ran into them in a dusty pub (or an art gallery). His descriptions of characters and landscape are memorable. I really enjoyed this and his two Emily Tempest books. I hope we don’t have to wait another ten years for a new one. He and Garry Disher are both worth waiting for, though. When she arrived she introduced herself to the local police as an acquaintance of Adam Lawson with a casual interest in the case. She wasn’t surprised to find that her boss had called ahead to let them know, and she was allowed some access to information.Become a Readings Member to make your shopping experience even easier. Sign in or sign up for free! This author has been on my radar for his Emily Tempest series, but this recent release (a standalone) is the first of his novels I've read. I'll be moving Diamond Dove up my TBR to read soon. Blazey Best was a great choice of narrator for this audiobook. The flamboyant fellow cruising in to greet us turned out to be Clive Carpenter, the senior curator. He was flaxen-haired, with a wheat-bag belly, a bright blue suit and a nose like a burst sausage.”

Canticle Creek – Ultimo Press Canticle Creek – Ultimo Press

More direct than Disher, but really well written and plotted, with more twists and turns than many a country road! So much for the city folk. But while admiring Takada’s painting, they meet his daughter, Lucy, with her husband Sam and teen-aged daughter Possum. They invite Ben and Jesse to visit the Bluehouse, their home, if they’re ever in the Canticle Creek area.A nice little murder mystery set in rural Australia. I enjoyed the small town dynamics and the descriptions of the setting were strong enough to give me a real sense of place. I’ve read all of Adrian’s books, several of which are set in NT. He experienced the Kinglake area Victorian bushfires and has written a book about this (from the perspective of a local policeman I think) so I wasn’t surprised to see the bushfire theme in his latest book. Robert Kenny’s memoir of the same fires still haunts me, for example his boots melting. For mine, the other outstanding crime novel by an Australian in 2021 was Unforgiven by Sarah Barrie whose books are gripping. Hyland has mastered the architecture of noir – his sinister tale seethes with small-town atmosphere and satisfying twists, set against the dangers and harsh beauty of the Australian landscape.’ ― Sydney Morning Herald When two dead bodies are discovered, the local police are convinced that Adam Lawson, a stranger to town is guilty. It appears to be an open and shut case. Adam murdered Daisy and while escaping the scene he killed himself by running a stolen car off the road. However, Jess Redpath – not a local to Canticle Creek – knows Adam and she does not believe him capable of murder. Enduring the unbearable local heat, Jess is determined to prove that Adam did not murder Daisy… however, as she digs, she uncovers a lot more than she thought she would. Adam Lawson was a loveable rogue, he left his graffiti everywhere but Jesse could see potential in his graffiti, when he came up before the magistrate, Jesse persuaded the magistrate to allow Adam to live with her father and work at a local bar, this worked well, her artist father could see Adam's talent and nurtured it.

Canticle Creek - Kindle edition by Hyland, Adrian. Mystery

The mystery itself is well set up and we care for the characters. However, I did find some of the possible suspects rather two dimensional and would have liked much more depth. The same was true of the main character. She's a hard hitting woman sheriff in a male dominated environment and I loved the way she stood her own and went out on a limb investigating a crime outside her own jurisdiction (with a grumpy father in tow!). She was a character I wanted to know so much more about but I was left with only seeing the outside of her and her drastic and sometimes clever actions, rather than getting to know her from the inside out.The novel is set in Australia and the author does a fantastic job of transporting you there through vivid descriptions of what is a beautiful country. Seems like Nash has enemies. And what looks like a close knit community might just be cover for dark secrets. A brilliant Aussie thriller, The Wiregrass is perfect for fans of Jane Harper, Chris Hammer and Candice Fox.’ - Books and Publishing The witty, funny and descriptive nature of the storyline was interesting and gave way to a good imagination. I loved the characters and how the author focused more on female protagonists. Although Daisy was already dead, author makes us fall in love with a character who doesn’t even make an appearance except in prologue and in memories. The common narrative that pits humanity against nature assumes that our “innate greed” implicates us all in climate change. The environmental movement, too, buys into this myth with its longing for pristine wilderness unspoiled by humankind, argues Jeff Sparrow. This urgent, incisive work resoundingly refutes this arbitrary divide by showing how industrialisation, in the hands of the wealthy and powerful, drove a wedge between ordinary people and the natural world. Hence, the simplistic “jobs versus environment” binary that stymies our current climate-change debate. The alternative, however, is right under our noses. “In pre-capitalist Australia, humans did not despoil the land.” They worked in harmony with it, enhancing nature rather than plundering it. And it was a collective endeavour. It is in this understanding of human nature that Sparrow finds hope.

Canticle Creek – Peter turns the page Canticle Creek – Peter turns the page

She had earned herself a law degree, didn’t like that side of the law, so surprised everyone by training with the Territory police. She knows her people and she knew Adam. No way he did that. Canticle Creek is a gripping murder mystery, just a brief examination of the crime scene is enough to convince Jesse that the police, who believe Adam killed his girlfriend, Daisy, and died when his car left the road as he attempted to flee, are wrong. Looking for an alternative narrative, Jesse puts several of the locals, and a Melbourne mobster, offside as she noses around the small community. Jesse a Police officer in a small Australian town tries to help a young man to keep out of trouble. Hyland frames his plot and murder mystery well, issuing his readers with plenty of plot stops, turns, detours, secrets, codes, suspects to consider and disputes to settle. My response rate went up and down with this one, but I think Canticle Creek would be ideal for seasoned readers of Australian crime noir. Nash Baker was once a celebrated cop, but his career was ended when he chose to take justice into his own hands. Now he’s living a quiet life in a small town caring for the local wildlife and trying to stay away from trouble.

So she leaves the Territories for Melbourne on a period of leave to investigate. Trying to find out why Daisy was killed, and by whom, brings danger to Jesse and all who are trying to help her. The final scenes where the rogue fires are threatening to engulf both evidence and investigators was just amazing.

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