The Wiregrass (Adrian Hyland, Ultimo)

With wild weather, swollen rivers, falling trees, a disgraced cop, a cult and a dead man, Adrian Hyland’s The Wiregrass is a thrilling mix of wry humour and page-turning crime. This is a whodunnit police procedural where the freshly minted Officer-in-Charge, Jesse Redpath, does nothing by the book. She races against time to confirm her suspicions as she works to uncover truths in Satellite, a fictional former mining and timber boomtown in Victoria. She believes something far more sinister is going on than the actions of drug dealers and ‘dole-bludgers’; she is convinced that the death of a popular local farrier was not an act of God during a howling alpine storm, but rather a case of murder—and that the main suspect was framed. Jesse’s is an unconventional approach to investigating crimes, much to the chagrin of her new superiors, and it lends humour and compassion to the otherwise tense and grisly story. The stunning depictions of the landscape are a balm to the action-packed narrative, offering a glimpse into the fragile, hidden world of various native flora and fauna that populate the Victorian Highlands. Readers can delve into this novel first or meet Jesse in Hyland’s 2022 Canticle Creek, before following her to Satellite and the Wiregrass Valley. A brilliant Australian thriller, The Wiregrass is perfect for fans of Jane Harper, Chris Hammer and Candice Fox.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Kate Frawley is a former bookseller and a librarian in training. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

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