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nicjohnston's review
3.0
Having read the author’s previous book, The Stoning, I was really looking forward to another slice of outback noir crime fiction. However, that wasn’t really what I got as the blurb is misleading.
The book is well written. It starts off promisingly, with a care home resident, Bob, calling the police and wishing to turn himself in for a murder. Sparrow takes the call and he agrees to accompany Bob on a road trip back to the scene of the murder. The concept is flimsy, not least why Sparrow would go on the trip, notably when a 3rd traveller is added to the mix; Luke who is disabled following a motorbike accident.
Thereafter I found it a little odd. Flipping between Bob’s time 30 years previously and the ongoing road trip, it is more of a social commentary than a crime fiction. Added to that I didn’t find the characters particularly plausible or likeable and the plot felt disjointed.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.
The book is well written. It starts off promisingly, with a care home resident, Bob, calling the police and wishing to turn himself in for a murder. Sparrow takes the call and he agrees to accompany Bob on a road trip back to the scene of the murder. The concept is flimsy, not least why Sparrow would go on the trip, notably when a 3rd traveller is added to the mix; Luke who is disabled following a motorbike accident.
Thereafter I found it a little odd. Flipping between Bob’s time 30 years previously and the ongoing road trip, it is more of a social commentary than a crime fiction. Added to that I didn’t find the characters particularly plausible or likeable and the plot felt disjointed.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.
kate66's review
2.0
2.5 stars
The blurb for this book sells it as a murder mystery type book. It is most definitely not that as far as I could see. We start with DC Sparrow being contacted by Bob, an ex-Kalgoorlie miner, who wants him to take a trip across country to dig up the bones of a murder victim. What's to lose? Sparrow gets the glory, Bob gets peace of mind; job done. However when Sparrow meets up with Bob he finds a third member of the party in Luke, a thirty something paraplegic confined to a wheelchair since a bike accident.
There follows a very strange road trip and its this that the book centres around. I dislike blurbs that lead you up the garden path. If this book had described itself as a road trip with three very disparate characters I'd probably still have requested it since I know next to nothing about the Australian outback or the mining "towns". However the storyline is all over the place. Luke is permanently angry, characters that appear to have very little to do with the plot come and go as the three drive across Australia and Bob tells us his history.
I got very bored with this book about a third of the way through. It told me a lot about gay sex in the outback and how to fleece people in the outback and how prejudiced Australians appear to be about anyone who isnt a red-blooded male. This book simply wasn't for me. I've read better books about struggling with sexuality/AIDS. Luke's character was simply obnoxious and Sparrow seems to spend half his time doing nothing rather than pulling up at the nearest cafe and getting his police buddies to sort out the mess.
I gave it 2.5 stars - 1 because I managed to finish it and the other because it didn't give me a headache. The half is for the final paragraphs which were funny at least.
Thanks anyway to Netgalley and Quercus Press for the advance review copy.
The blurb for this book sells it as a murder mystery type book. It is most definitely not that as far as I could see. We start with DC Sparrow being contacted by Bob, an ex-Kalgoorlie miner, who wants him to take a trip across country to dig up the bones of a murder victim. What's to lose? Sparrow gets the glory, Bob gets peace of mind; job done. However when Sparrow meets up with Bob he finds a third member of the party in Luke, a thirty something paraplegic confined to a wheelchair since a bike accident.
There follows a very strange road trip and its this that the book centres around. I dislike blurbs that lead you up the garden path. If this book had described itself as a road trip with three very disparate characters I'd probably still have requested it since I know next to nothing about the Australian outback or the mining "towns". However the storyline is all over the place. Luke is permanently angry, characters that appear to have very little to do with the plot come and go as the three drive across Australia and Bob tells us his history.
I got very bored with this book about a third of the way through. It told me a lot about gay sex in the outback and how to fleece people in the outback and how prejudiced Australians appear to be about anyone who isnt a red-blooded male. This book simply wasn't for me. I've read better books about struggling with sexuality/AIDS. Luke's character was simply obnoxious and Sparrow seems to spend half his time doing nothing rather than pulling up at the nearest cafe and getting his police buddies to sort out the mess.
I gave it 2.5 stars - 1 because I managed to finish it and the other because it didn't give me a headache. The half is for the final paragraphs which were funny at least.
Thanks anyway to Netgalley and Quercus Press for the advance review copy.
jmatkinson1's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Detective Sparrow is still recovering from a fatal shooting when he receives a phone call confessing to murder. Following this lead he ends up on a road trip to the mining heartland of Australia accompanied by dying man and a young man confined to a wheelchair. Bob has his own motivations for confessing to the crime but Luke is merely along for the ride.
I hadn't read the previous books in this series but I fell into the tale quickly and really enjoyed it. Told in the present (2017) and the past, it shows the crude underbelly of Australian life. the topics explored are unpleasant - sexism, racism and anti-Gay prejudice - and the author doesn't shy away from this. The story is essentially redemptive but is quite hard-hitting on the way.
I hadn't read the previous books in this series but I fell into the tale quickly and really enjoyed it. Told in the present (2017) and the past, it shows the crude underbelly of Australian life. the topics explored are unpleasant - sexism, racism and anti-Gay prejudice - and the author doesn't shy away from this. The story is essentially redemptive but is quite hard-hitting on the way.
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