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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
original, simple, and an enjoyable read. a classic, agatha christie-inspired whodunnit that was paired perfectly with the arid, deserted australian outback. the twists and turns just kept coming, keeping me enthralled and itching to find out who had committed the murder. the ending was satisfying too! i really loved ana and could honestly see myself in her. lil book nerd. tackled big issues as well like the rampant racism against aborigines which is really cool to see as someone who lives close enough to where it's still an issue. the characters were explored well enough and all had discernible personalities. quite a few funny moments between the mystery that made it more entertaining too. a nice cozy mystery that kept me thoroughly engaged the entire time!
As often happens with first books, tries to be too clever and eloquent when the good story and characters are actually enough and should be focused on.
Death Leaves the Station, by Alexander Thorpe, is billed as “cozy crime”. It’s the type of old-fashioned mystery more commonly associated with the likes of Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh (more on her later in the month) and the Crime Classics recently reissued by the British Library.
Thorpe has taken that very British construct, with all its well-trodden rules and conventions, and plonked it slap bang in the middle of the Western Australian wheat belt circa 1927 and then let things play out under a hot Australian sky. It makes for an entertaining read with a distinctively Southern Cross twist — and I loved it.
Thorpe has taken that very British construct, with all its well-trodden rules and conventions, and plonked it slap bang in the middle of the Western Australian wheat belt circa 1927 and then let things play out under a hot Australian sky. It makes for an entertaining read with a distinctively Southern Cross twist — and I loved it.
There's a really nice interpretation of classic golden age mystery styling at the heart of this lovely little novel set in the early white settlement period of rural, remote Western Australia.
Cleverly balanced between the personal story of Ana, the adopted daughter of the owners of Halfwell Station, and the search for a murder victim whose body she came across in the bush, late at night when reportedly star gazing, there's a lot of intrigue going on here. It's not just the nameless friar who appears at the Station at the time that Ana reports (to the friar initially and not her parents) discovering a man's body very near the homestead. Nor is it the obvious story behind a victim who was there (and left blood and some signs of a struggle at the location), but whose body has now disappeared. Nor is it just about the people charging around the bush on the same night, or the odd disappearance of Ana's birth parents, the strange circumstances of Ana's own life and her relationship with her adopted parents. You need to add to all of that a very unusual investigating detective, a most unexpected police artist, and Cooper, the taciturn, and very able, Aboriginal tracker.
Of course, astute readers may be forgiven for wondering why a policeman investigating this odd occurrence would so willingly drag a young girl and a friar (identikit sketch of the man not withstanding) here and there on the investigative trail, but you'd be forgiven for really not caring about the little details that much, it just kind of works.
Mostly because the character development that occurs in such a short novel is strong, presenting the reader almost instantaneously with a great little band of intrepid investigators, travelling great distances by horse, foot, and train to try to identify the alleged victim, and then establish if he was a victim after all.
There's also plenty of opportunity, following the classic "golden age" type mystery tradition, for the reader to get on board with the mystery solving team, with lots of clues, some expected and not so predictable red herrings, and twists and turns, and a rollicking bit of storytelling along the way.
The historical setting for this novel feels just right, there's really strong character development and an excellent amount of intrigue and action, fitted nicely into a novel that's less than 200 pages in length. All of which was quite astounding given that this is also novelist Alexander Thorpe's debut novel. Here's hoping it's the start of many more.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/death-leaves-station-alexander-thorpe
Cleverly balanced between the personal story of Ana, the adopted daughter of the owners of Halfwell Station, and the search for a murder victim whose body she came across in the bush, late at night when reportedly star gazing, there's a lot of intrigue going on here. It's not just the nameless friar who appears at the Station at the time that Ana reports (to the friar initially and not her parents) discovering a man's body very near the homestead. Nor is it the obvious story behind a victim who was there (and left blood and some signs of a struggle at the location), but whose body has now disappeared. Nor is it just about the people charging around the bush on the same night, or the odd disappearance of Ana's birth parents, the strange circumstances of Ana's own life and her relationship with her adopted parents. You need to add to all of that a very unusual investigating detective, a most unexpected police artist, and Cooper, the taciturn, and very able, Aboriginal tracker.
Of course, astute readers may be forgiven for wondering why a policeman investigating this odd occurrence would so willingly drag a young girl and a friar (identikit sketch of the man not withstanding) here and there on the investigative trail, but you'd be forgiven for really not caring about the little details that much, it just kind of works.
Mostly because the character development that occurs in such a short novel is strong, presenting the reader almost instantaneously with a great little band of intrepid investigators, travelling great distances by horse, foot, and train to try to identify the alleged victim, and then establish if he was a victim after all.
There's also plenty of opportunity, following the classic "golden age" type mystery tradition, for the reader to get on board with the mystery solving team, with lots of clues, some expected and not so predictable red herrings, and twists and turns, and a rollicking bit of storytelling along the way.
The historical setting for this novel feels just right, there's really strong character development and an excellent amount of intrigue and action, fitted nicely into a novel that's less than 200 pages in length. All of which was quite astounding given that this is also novelist Alexander Thorpe's debut novel. Here's hoping it's the start of many more.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/death-leaves-station-alexander-thorpe
Powered through this book, great story-telling, contemporary writing about a crime in rural Australia in the 1920's - the set up weaves in multiple insights into the history and culture of the times, not heavy handed but poignant and while it could quite rightly be the beginning of a new detective series; I would love a book 2 to hear what happens next in a number of the characters lives.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
As a debut novel this book shows promise, and individual scenes are great, but they didn't add up to a cohesive whole. Similarly for the plot - there are some great plot threads, but they weren't woven together in a way that worked for me. It didn't help that there were some (potentially) anachronistic details that threw me out of the story, and made me wonder if they were deliberate choices on the part of the author, or just ignorance. Despite that there are some really good subtle historical details woven through though. The Catholic vs Protestant nastiness in particular (there is a lovely plot detail that hinges on this difference, although I don't think it is clearly articulated that that is part of it).
In terms of characterisation, there was a range from somewhat wooden stereotype through to quite believable. Where some of the dialogue had the potential to get bogged down the author has opted for a meta-textual 'well, this bit was long and drawn out, I shall summarise'. Which I kind of appreciate, but also, I'm willing to suspend disbelief for a more condensed bit of dialogue in this kind of story.
Descriptively, it goes hard on visual details that might help some to visualise, but did rather baffle me. And then the writer has the gall to talk about driving distances in the bush with 'nothing to see'. Reads like a city person, made me decidedly grumpy. People I know who live in that type of country don't talk about it that way (even if it would have taken longer to travel through). Having said that, some of the details for one of the towns is meticulous, so it may well be someone writing about their home town, and I'm over-interpreting.
And yet, the thing that probably annoyed me the most was the ending. It is obviously being set up as the first of a series, with the unnamed friar solving things in ways that are obviously modelled on Agatha Christie's Poirot. Unlike Poirot, it didn't feel clever, it felt clunky. The fact that two of the people were even in that room (including the friar) makes no sense. And it was here in particular that the plot threads didn't come together coherently. It was both too farfetched and too pat.
Overall, I think this book could have done with at least one more draft, with balancing out some of the plot elements so that they aren't all dropped on the reader in a lump, and possibly some fact checking (or an afterword that says 'these are the details that sound implausible, but this is where I got them from').
In terms of characterisation, there was a range from somewhat wooden stereotype through to quite believable. Where some of the dialogue had the potential to get bogged down the author has opted for a meta-textual 'well, this bit was long and drawn out, I shall summarise'. Which I kind of appreciate, but also, I'm willing to suspend disbelief for a more condensed bit of dialogue in this kind of story.
Descriptively, it goes hard on visual details that might help some to visualise, but did rather baffle me. And then the writer has the gall to talk about driving distances in the bush with 'nothing to see'. Reads like a city person, made me decidedly grumpy. People I know who live in that type of country don't talk about it that way (even if it would have taken longer to travel through). Having said that, some of the details for one of the towns is meticulous, so it may well be someone writing about their home town, and I'm over-interpreting.
And yet, the thing that probably annoyed me the most was the ending. It is obviously being set up as the first of a series, with the unnamed friar solving things in ways that are obviously modelled on Agatha Christie's Poirot. Unlike Poirot, it didn't feel clever, it felt clunky. The fact that two of the people were even in that room (including the friar) makes no sense. And it was here in particular that the plot threads didn't come together coherently. It was both too farfetched and too pat.
Overall, I think this book could have done with at least one more draft, with balancing out some of the plot elements so that they aren't all dropped on the reader in a lump, and possibly some fact checking (or an afterword that says 'these are the details that sound implausible, but this is where I got them from').
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Death
Minor: Homophobia, War
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I heard the author talk at the Perth Literary Festival in Fremantle 2021 and had to get a copy of his book. It is set in various country towns of Western Australia with a "clergyman" as the main protagonist. We lived in Geraldton in the 80's and I am familiar with many of the places mentioned, so I was curious and it did not disappoint. I loved the setting, the language and the writing style too. The book is well researched and there were many laugh out loud moments for me. The book kept me in suspense right up till the end. I hope his next book is published soon!
Some links
Alexander Thorpe interview on Fremantle Press website
Review by Karen Chisholm on austcrimefiction website
Monsignor John Hawes Heritage trail and website
Some links
Alexander Thorpe interview on Fremantle Press website
Review by Karen Chisholm on austcrimefiction website
Monsignor John Hawes Heritage trail and website
I really didn’t like this book very much. The plot was slow and plodding. The characters uninteresting. And it was predictable