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):