Length 298 pages
Format softcover
Published 2018
Series Darren Glass #2
My Copy provided by the publisher
In the second installment in the Darren Glass crime series, the Federal Police Detective is teamed up with a high ranking Naval intelligence officer to investigate the murder of a young Aboriginal woman found on a beach at Jervis Bay and the disappearance of a sailor from a nearby Navy outpost.
From the outset, the murder is suspicious, not only because of the heinous nature of the crime but due to the mystery surrounding the Navy's interest in the case and how the two interlink.
Author Peter Cotton goes to great lengths to establish an interesting character dynamic between Glass and his 'Navy minder', even more so when the action heats up and the two become involved in a high octane fight for survival with outlaw bikers, radicals, and terrorists.
Speaking of action, there are passages in Dead Heat which would rival the best thrillers; engrossing, additive and completely absorbing. There's a couple in particular which stand out involving some night time high-speed madness on the dusty outback roads and another involving a terrifying shark encounter - great stuff.
My rating: 3.5/5 stars. I love Australian crime fiction and Dead Heat fits the bill nicely. I did find the plot meandering at times and some of the drawn-out suspense a tad irksome but overall I enjoyed reading the long awaited follow-up to Dead Cat Bounce.
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