Nothing Personal (Alex Dook, Echo)

In Alex Dook’s Nothing Personal, Lola McKenzie is tired of always being one step ahead, only to find herself two steps back. Her father, broke after a few years of retirement, can’t pay his bills or cover house repairs on his own. Her low-paying job and dodgy boss aren’t helping ease the pressure at all. So, was it really wrong of her to steal a bag full of cash she found on her boss’s desk to alleviate some of her financial troubles? When her boss goes missing shortly after, trouble comes looking for Lola. At the bottom of the bag was also a USB drive, but what could be stored on it that has so many people after her now?

Amid the fast-paced action and high stakes, the novel poses an interesting moral dilemma to the reader: Was what Lola did okay because her struggles are systemic and beyond her control? Or is there no excuse for stealing, no matter the circumstances?

Dook (Gunpowder Creek) balances sharp humour with genuine tension through incredibly compelling writing that keeps readers turning pages. He creates characters who feel messy, believable and deeply human, making it easy to become invested in Lola’s choices even when they spiral out of control.

Nothing Personal is a gritty, darkly comedic crime thriller that is perfect for fans of Garry Disher and Tim Ayliffe, and a character study that questions what is morally defensible and what is a step too far.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Aurelia Orr is a freelance reviewer and bookseller at Readings Kids. 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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