Garry Disher may be the quiet achiever of the Australian rural crime noir scene. His name perhaps not quite as well known as some. But his ‘Hirsch’ series has brought him the long overdue popularity that sits comfortably beside his award winning accolades.
He has published more than 50 titles including the before-its-time ‘Challis and Destry’ series, set on the Mornington Peninsula. As well as the fabulous ‘Wyatt’ books with their old school master criminal protagonist. He has honed his craft to achieve the well deserved international recognition and sales and a new ‘Hirsch’ book is a reason to celebrate.
We met Constable Paul Hirschhausen in the game changing Bitter Wash Road. He is a former metropolitan cop turned whistleblower who was banished to the tiny town of Tiverton. Hirsch has settled into his life as a country copper and has started to put down some tentative roots. He has a relationship with a local teacher and earning grudging respect from his superiors and the locals alike.
Now a Senior Constable, Hirsch’s rural beat covers hundreds of kilometres of dust and dirt. Although the landscape may have a certain sameness, that can’t be said for his daily patrols.
On this particular patrol, Hirsch has a passenger. Janne Van Sant’s son has been backpacking around Australia and is missing. Not that the authorities seem too perturbed. His mother has arrived from overseas and wants answers and Hirsch is here to help.
A call comes in with an alert for a small brush fire that kids have spotted with their drone. When Hirsch and his guest check it out, they find a body in a suitcase. It’s not their missing person, but a mystery all the same. Lo and behold, we find ourselves in the thick of the action. Hirsch pulls at the thread that unravels a topical tale of anti-vaxxers, murder and far right conspiracies.
This is a cracking good read with a clever plot and a relatable hero. Day’s End is another winner for Garry Disher and for Australian rural noir.
Review by Maryanne Vagg
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Garry Disher has published over 50 highly praised, prize-winning and widely translated books in a range of genres: crime thrillers, literary/general novels, short-story collections, YA/children’s fiction, and writers’ handbooks. His growing international reputation has seen him tour Germany and the United States, where his crime and YA novels have appeared on best-books-of-the-year lists and won various awards. His latest titles include a literary novel, Her, the ninth Wyatt thriller, Kill Shot, the stand-alone crime novel, The Way it is Now, and Day’s End, the fourth in his best-selling and prize-winning Hirsch series.
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