About the Book:
A murder made to look like an accident. A disgraced cop trying to forget his past.
Nash Rankin is a disgraced cop trying to escape his past – his career was destroyed when he chose to take justice into his own hands. Now he's living a quiet life in a small town, caring for the local wildlife and trying to stay away from trouble.
Jesse Redpath has a new job in a new town: Satellite. The stormy weather that greets her first few days on the beat seems like a sign of what's to come. A local has died in what looks like an accident, but Jessie isn't so sure that the 'accident' wasn't planned. All the evidence points to Nash, but Jesse's not sure about that either.
Seems like Nash has enemies. And what looks like a close-knit community might just be a cover for dark secrets.
No amount of rain will wash this town clean.
The new Jesse Redpath crime thriller from the bestselling author of Canticle Creek.
Published by Ultimo Press
Released December 2023
My Thoughts:
The Wiregrass is the follow up to Canticle Creek, continuing on with the story of police officer, Jesse Redpath. I enjoyed Canticle Creek, a lot, it was a standout read for me, so when this one arrived, courtesy of the publisher - thank you - I was keen to dive in as soon as possible.
Hyland writes with such atmosphere when it comes to setting the scene. I grew up in rural Victoria, so the area and its climate and terrain are familiar to me and he pretty much nails it. When he writes of the dark and freezing cold, the penetrating icy wetness from bone chilling rain and howling wind, I know exactly what he's conjuring. I can feel it; I'm taken straight back to all the Victorian winters I've ever experienced.
Jesse Redpath is a little bit on the rogue side in this novel. We don't get to experience her doing much police work because she gets suspended almost immediately and from then on is operating solo on a combination of hunches and favours. The novel moves along at a rather slow pace for the first two thirds and then picks up with a racing pace for the remainder with a whole lot happening non-stop. Jesse is under attack multiple times, so many times, that it seems somewhat remarkable that she's still able to get around and continue to pursue the bad guys with so much zeal and gunslinging. At times, I struggled with Jesse and felt she had been written too masculine. Even her thoughts at times didn't always resonate with those of a woman.
I recently watched the TV series The Clearing, based on the true story of the Family, a cult who operated in regional Victoria from the 1960s to the 1980s, successfully flying under the radar for so long because of the extensive network of professionals it had under its influence, including police. The TV series was adapted from JP Pomare's novel, In the Clearing. The reason I'm bringing this up is because the plot within The Wiregrass bore striking similarities to the TV series, The Clearing, in terms of the cult and its operations, location, extensive network, and its matriarch. I found it difficult to not draw comparisons. A case of bad timing, perhaps, but it clouded my overall opinion of The Wiregrass.
A solid follow up to Canticle Creek. Recommended if you've read and enjoyed the first.
Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.
No comments:
Post a Comment