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A review by fasmina
Canticle Creek by Adrian Hyland
5.0
Adam has been at the wrong end of law several times but is he capable of murder?
Jesse Redpath is a cop from the Territory. She helps a young Adam when he does something illegal by offering him a second chance; helping her dad and working in the local roadhouse. A week later, Adam runs away and Jesse doesn’t think about him again except to send a warrant.
Three months later, Jesse hears about Adam’s death, from a car wreck after killing his own girlfriend Daisy in Canticle Creek, a small town near Melbourne. To the Victorian cops it is a clean case but to Jesse, who knew Adam well, it wasn’t as closed as it sounded and she had many questions, including whether Adam can become a killer.
With her father, Jesse visits Canticle Creek to understand, and unravels many other mysteries and knots of a typical small community. Whether Jesse survives the hardships she faced and solves the mystery makes the plot of the book.
I loved the writing style. Having a lone female protagonist, strong and good-hearted with no romantic subplot made this a marvellous read. There were so many social messages and I loved how the author focused the whole point on a single factor (which I can’t give out because of spoilers but you’ll know when you know!). Art, nature, bushfires and mountains made a beautiful package of entertainment.
The witty, funny and descriptive nature of the storyline was interesting and gave way to a good imagination. I loved the characters and how the author focused more on female protagonists. Although Daisy was already dead, author makes us fall in love with a character who doesn’t even make an appearance except in prologue and in memories.
The only reason why it couldn’t get a 5 star is the presence of too many characters. It was a bit hard to remember the names and their backgrounds. It is possible that the author wanted use the opportunity to bring some social messages and to indicate that the community is small and close-knitted. But to me, it was a bit hard to keep up. It might have been just me who was a bit distracted when I read the book too.
But this one is a definite must-read.
Jesse Redpath is a cop from the Territory. She helps a young Adam when he does something illegal by offering him a second chance; helping her dad and working in the local roadhouse. A week later, Adam runs away and Jesse doesn’t think about him again except to send a warrant.
Three months later, Jesse hears about Adam’s death, from a car wreck after killing his own girlfriend Daisy in Canticle Creek, a small town near Melbourne. To the Victorian cops it is a clean case but to Jesse, who knew Adam well, it wasn’t as closed as it sounded and she had many questions, including whether Adam can become a killer.
With her father, Jesse visits Canticle Creek to understand, and unravels many other mysteries and knots of a typical small community. Whether Jesse survives the hardships she faced and solves the mystery makes the plot of the book.
I loved the writing style. Having a lone female protagonist, strong and good-hearted with no romantic subplot made this a marvellous read. There were so many social messages and I loved how the author focused the whole point on a single factor (which I can’t give out because of spoilers but you’ll know when you know!). Art, nature, bushfires and mountains made a beautiful package of entertainment.
The witty, funny and descriptive nature of the storyline was interesting and gave way to a good imagination. I loved the characters and how the author focused more on female protagonists. Although Daisy was already dead, author makes us fall in love with a character who doesn’t even make an appearance except in prologue and in memories.
The only reason why it couldn’t get a 5 star is the presence of too many characters. It was a bit hard to remember the names and their backgrounds. It is possible that the author wanted use the opportunity to bring some social messages and to indicate that the community is small and close-knitted. But to me, it was a bit hard to keep up. It might have been just me who was a bit distracted when I read the book too.
But this one is a definite must-read.