Dead Cat Bounce (Peter Cotton, Scribe)

Timeliness is next to godliness if you’re a popular fiction author, and Peter Cotton’s debut novel Dead Cat Bounce is about as on the money as it gets in terms of the current political climate in Australia. Set during a federal election campaign, the up-and-coming federal environment minister, Susan Wright, is found dead on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin (that’s in Canberra, by the way). On the case is detective Darren Glass (I know, West Coast Eagles fans!)—a reasonably steady conduit for this police procedural that aims to uncover the ‘murky’ world of power and corruption that mark the game of federal politics. Cotton was an experienced ministerial media adviser and political journalist who knows Canberra well and, you’d think, would be able to give an insider’s view of federal political life. Unfortunately this book sticks to the well-worn tale of Canberra masking ‘unfathomable’ secrets that has been trotted out regularly in this centennial year—a tale with little meat on its bones. Having said that, however, this is a competently put together and reasonably solid crime novel that will do well with those looking for a little colour in what promises to be a long election year.

Shane Strange is an ex-bookseller and writer who teaches writing at the University of Canberra

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Category: Reviews