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Let’s get cosy with 3 Aussie atmospheric reads about murder, mistaken identity and the power and beauty of the brutal ever-changing Australian landscape.
In this post, we dive into 3 gripping novels that serve up mystery, menace, and the kind of atmosphere that sticks to your skin like red dust.
Whether it’s the stillness that hides a town’s secrets, the promise of buried treasure laced with danger, or the wild stretches of Far North Queensland – these books deliver distinctively Aussie tension in spades.
We review Still by Matt Nable, a brooding noir set in Darwin’s sweltering streets; Treasure and Dirt by Chris Hammer with secrets hidden in mineshafts; and Crimson Lake by Candice Fox, featuring investigators under their own clouds of suspicion.
Happy Reading, friends!
Series or Standalone? :
This is Book One in the Crimson Lake series.
"Crimson Lake" Book Blurb:
Six minutes – that’s all it took to ruin Detective Ted Conkaffey’s life. Accused but not convicted of abducting a teenage girl, he escapes north, to the steamy, croc-infested wetlands of Crimson Lake. Amanda Pharrell knows what it’s like to be public enemy number one. Maybe it’s her murderous past that makes her so good as a private investigator, tracking lost souls in the wilderness. Her latest target, missing author Jake Scully, has a life more shrouded in secrets than her own – so she enlists help from the one person in town more hated than she is: Ted Conkaffey. But the residents of Crimson Lake are watching the pair’s every move. And for Ted, a man already at breaking point, this town is offering no place to hide
What did we think?: 4 Stars!
Candice Fox does a great job of creating defined characters. The story is set in Far North Queensland and the humid small-town atmosphere acts a character in itself. Our two leads, Ted and Amanda are both battling their own wrongful convictions, and the struggle this brings in acclimating into the community. I found Amanda especially to be a really interesting personality to follow – damaged, intelligent and harbouring her own secrets. Readers should be aware the content includes child abuse and police brutality/corruption in places. I’d definitely pick up the next book, and keen to check out the TV adaptation ‘Troppo’ when I’m further into the series.
“… ‘Of all the places we could go to pursue a killer, a bookstore is probably one of the best.’ She grinned. ‘Right?’. ‘There are worse places’ I yawned…” (p246)
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"Treasure & Dirt" Book Blurb:
In the desolate outback town of Finnigans Gap, police struggle to maintain law and order. Thieves pillage opal mines, religious fanatics recruit vulnerable young people and billionaires do as they please. Then an opal miner is found crucified and left to rot down his mine. Nothing about the miner’s death is straightforward, not even who found the body. Sydney homicide detective Ivan Lucic is sent to investigate, assisted by inexperienced young investigator Nell Buchanan. But Finnigans Gap has already ended one police career and damaged others, and soon both officers face damning allegations and internal investigations. Have Ivan and Nell been set up and, if so, by whom? As time runs out, their only chance at redemption is to find the killer. But the more secrets they uncover, the more harrowing the mystery becomes, as events from years ago take on a startling new significance. For in Finnigans Gap, opals, bodies and secrets don’t stay buried forever.
What did we think?: 4 Stars!
Police corruption, cults, scavengers, family intrigue, posed corpses all under an unforgiving sun that will cook you if you stay too long outdoors. This was my first read of Chris Hammer’s work, and he managed to hold my interest for over 500 pages. Our detectives were solid and believable, with their own baggage to overcome – and we managed to steer clear of a lot of stereotypes and interpersonal dynamics that small-town drama tends to lend itself to. I wouldn’t say Hammer’s writing is particularly lyrical or atmospheric in itself, but he does manage to carve out a sense of place that enables the characters to operate fluidly in the story. I’d read more from this author, and would recommend to those looking for a well-paced Aussie mystery. Just bring a hat.
‘Opal lust, like gold fever, lighting up the eyes of the desperate and the dreamers.’ (p47)
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"Still" Book Blurb:
Darwin, Summer, 1963. The humidity sat heavy and thick over the town as Senior Constable Ned Potter looked down at a body that had been dragged from the shallow marshland. He didn’t need a coroner to tell him this was a bad death. He didn’t know then that this was only the first. Or that he was about to risk everything looking for answers. Late one night, Charlotte Clark drove the long way home, thinking about how stuck she felt, a 23-year-old housewife, married to a cowboy who wasn’t who she thought he was. The days ahead felt suffocating, living in a town where she was supposed to keep herself nice and wait for her husband to get home from the pub. Charlotte stopped the car, stepped out to breathe in the night air and looked out over the water to the tangled mangroves. She never heard a sound before the hand was around her mouth. Both Charlotte and Ned are about to learn that the world they live in is full of secrets and that it takes courage to fight for what is right. But there are people who will do anything to protect themselves and sometimes courage is not enough to keep you safe.
What did we think?: 4 Stars!
Set in rural Australia in the 1960s, the language around racism and alcoholism can be confronting, and content warning for institutional child abuse. Nable does a great job of introducing us to a varied cast of characters though, while painting a remote and suffocating setting fuelled by crushed dreams and a steady stream of booze. The threads all come together nicely and – while it felt more like a character study/drama than crime/thriller at times – I’d definitely read more from Matt Nable. The writing is definitely atmospheric and I still got a sense of strength and possibility amidst the dark subject matter.
‘The pub attracted a diverse bunch. The crocodile shooters and buffalo hunters arrived in the afternoons, the ochre dust of the Territory mixed with their sweat and settled over their bare arms and faces in a viscous grease. The mining prospectors drank in packs and spoke quietly, and the office workers and bankers crammed in every day at 5 pm.’ (p28)
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