Dead Heat (Bronwyn Parry, Hachette)

Bronwyn Parry proves once again that crime is not just the provenance of cityscapes in her genuinely chilling third romantic suspense novel. Dead Heat tells the story of a wounded ranger looking for space and peace in the bush, and a place to start over. Instead, she finds a burgeoning drug cartel, with all the inherent violence this implies. Leading the investigation of the cartel is a former undercover cop, damaged and with a few demons of his own. Fans of Parry’s previous novels will notice a darker tone to Dead Heat, a willingness on Parry’s part to push deeper into the crime aspect and the most sinister side of humanity. New readers should enjoy the extra layer of suspense that the growing emotional connection between the main characters provides. Dead Heat is a well-crafted novel that makes excellent use of its wild setting—and a plot so successfully suspenseful that I stopped reading it before bed!

Kate Cuthbert is publishing manager for the Australian Library and Information Association

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Category: Reviews