January Reads Recommendation: Australian Crime

My newest obsession (well, one of my new obsessions, I'll talk about the other in a later blog post) is returning to reading Australian crime fiction and non-fiction. There is something that pulls me towards that harsh and desolate outback landscape where the land is as much a serial killer as those antagonists in the pages of crime fiction. The serenity and seclusion is a perfect backdrop for crime. 

Australians will be well familiar with the backpacker murders of the 90's and the convicted killer Ivan Milat responsible for so many unfortunate deaths which makes reading any outback crime fiction all the more grisly by virtue of the true life counterpart. I recently listed to the audible audio version of this book and enjoyed it for the most part, however the clinical nature of the book could lead readers to distraction, that said, I do recommend it if you've not checked it out. 

Aussie crime accounted for over 50% (8 books in total) of my January reading, this is above and beyond the highest ratio of Aussie-centric crime reads I can recall and I loved (for the most part) every aspect of it.  

Below are the picks of the bunch, including my current #1 read of 2017, Bitter Wash Road by Garry Disher (published 2013):

   

Review: THE UNFORTUNATE VICTIM by Greg Pyers

Publisher Scribe
Length 394 pages
Format softcover
Published 2017
Series Otto Berliner #1
My Copy Review copy provided by publisher

My Review 
The Unfortunate Victim is a historical crime fiction novel set in Daylesford, outside of Melbourne in 1864. With the gold mining town akin to Deadwood, this outlaw-like frontier on the surface seems lawless, or at least law-ignorant such is the ineptitude of the police force, a unit that had failed to land a conviction for the previous 5 murders prior to the killing of 17yr old Maggie Stuart in a manner reminiscent of Jack the Ripper.

The opening stanza brings the reader up to speed with Maggie; providing a glimpse at marital life during the 1860’s, the simple things that kept her days full and the sheer newness of life in Victoria; nothing short of atmospheric, the town, people, their predicaments and place of residents be it tent or more structurally sound dwelling were clearly articulated, the mud paved streets and tobacco-infused air instantly transporting the reader to a simpler and dangerous time in Australia. The characters introduced at a steady stream at once coming under suspicion for the crime to come; David Rose – a drifter with an imposing and off-putting demeanor, Joe Latham – Maggie’s step father and violent drunkard, George Stuart – Maggie’s much older husband, and John Pitman – co owner of the local brothel with a keen eye on Daylesford’s more attractive members of the finer sex.

Interestingly, Otto Berliner, the protagonist and expert private investigator appears well after the crime had been committed with a suspect in custody; the author having chosen a different take on the structure and flow of the crime novel – providing something different to great advantage. Berliner’s impact is sudden and sharp as a knife, cutting through the inadequacies of the investigation and reading as a likable intellectual bound for series stardom. Along with a dutiful assistant, the future of his Private Inquiry Office surely has more entertaining stories to come.

Readers will note The Unfortunate Victim is a play on words with the meaning fully realized as the novel progresses and draws to a close – I thought this was a clever touch concluding a very good story – one based on a true crime.

4/5 stars – would have been 5 had the court room proceedings not taken up so much space in the middle portion of the story - whilst important, I felt they could have been condensed a little, that said I really enjoyed The Unfortunate Victim and highly recommend it.