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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
This was a really well-written police procedural/mystery novel. It has won the CWA Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award. The novel is set in Western Australia (Port Munro, Cromarty, etc.). A local philanthropist with a dark past has been murdered and the investigation reveals racism, connections with other murders, sexual abuse, and other dark things. There were plenty of twists and turns to make it very interesting. I would have given it 5 stars, but the excessive use of profanity kind of put me off. I did enjoy learning some of the Aussie slang. I am glad the book was recommended to me through an Australian literature course I am taking through Coursera. I will be looking into more of the suggested readings.
I needed a break with a different kind of reading - crime novels is not my usual beat - and I was hoping this would be engaging and well-written. Yes on both counts. What made it even better was the glossary of Australian words and phrases at the end to help navigate some of the unfamiliar lingo. The characters were well articulated and it didn't hurt that the author must be a keen observer of dogs, because the two dogs owned by the main character do just what dogs do, and I could picture them perfectly. Plot and pacing were great - I wanted a page turner and I got it.