From the winner of the Ned Kelly Award for Best Fiction
For Broome detective Dan Clement, crime is as plentiful as wet season rain. When his sergeant is beaten up, and a woman is brutally assaulted, it seems as if the same two suspects are behind both incidents. But when a woman’s hand is discovered in crocodile-infested waters, things take a macabre turn.
The stakes rise sky-high as Dan races against time to solve this complex and puzzling case.
(4/5)
I really enjoyed this book. It is my favourite of the author’s books that I have read.
Dan Clement is one of my favourite police detectives. He is relatable, he is fallible, and he is dedicated to his job wholeheartedly. He loves being a detective, loves being on the ground and solving crimes. He has a great team around him that he can rely on to help him get the job done.
In When it Rains Dan is up against it in one of the most inhospitable environments there is. With unending kilometres of road, croc infested rivers and life sapping heat, there is a murderer on the loose and they may have more victims in their sights. Dan and his team are up against it as it seems that just as they think they know who the killer is, they end up dead.
I was as stumped as the police reading this one, thinking I knew who was voicing their thoughts, and then realising I was wrong, again. There was a sense of foreboding and unease as the case continued and the police were not sure who they were dealing with.
I loved the build up to the resolution of this crime, it is something this author does well. The blending of Dan’s personal life with his policing life lends him a genuineness that is endearing.
If you love Aussie noir and great storytelling and likeable characters Dave Warner’s books will fit the bill.
(4/5)
Detective Dan Clement of Broome is dealing with several serious crimes that may be linked. A young cop is bashed senseless in a carpark outside a pub; a woman is beaten in a seedy motel and the body parts of another found in crocodile-infested waters. After an intense hunt for two men possibly linked to the crimes, Clement reaches a stalemate after the death of one seems to close the case. In fact, it is only just beginning, with links to another past grisly croc death and twists and turns aplenty. As the Wet threatens, Clement has a race against time to rescue more potential victims.
The taut, sparse narrative suits the intensity of this story set in a landscape full of menace and with a range of characters hiding the truth or battling their own demons. It’s a thrilling and macabre page-turner that will appeal to fans of ‘outback noir’ and others who are captivated by Australia’s deadly remote regions. Readers unfamiliar with the earlier books in this series may have difficulty untangling aspects of Clement’s life, his work and personal relationships that are alluded to but not always clearly delineated.
(4/5)
The book starts with a cracker of an opening chapter and only gets better. Detective Dan Clement longs for a slower life with Lena, his new love interest. But the Broome heat and rain bring with them a terrifying assault on a policeman, an unconscious naked woman found outside a motel and the grim discovery of a severed hand found near the water’s edge. All the crimes seem to be linked initially, but are they? Is there a serial killer on the loose? Will Dan ever get a chance to spend some time with Lena?
The magnificent scenery of the vast and unrelenting Kimberly provides a stunning backdrop to the twists and turns that keep coming. The tension gradually builds along with the heat, culminating in a finale that is as unexpected as it is satisfying. Much like the crocodiles that lurk beneath the water, the book has an ominous undertone that ratchets up the tension. A well written and atmospheric tale of Aussie noir, When it Rains is a welcome addition to the genre.
(4/5)
I am a first time reader of Dave Warner, where has he been all my life? When it Rains was a terrific read. It was cleverly written and had me gripped from a few pages in.
There were many twists and turns which kept me guessing right till the end.
I enjoyed the realistic characters and could feel the vastness and heat of the Kimberley, not to mention my terror of the crocodiles – scary.
My husband wants to read it now while I search out other books written by this great author.
(4/5)
This is Dave Warner’s 4th police procedural featuring Broome detective Dan Clement, but I found it relatively easy to pick up the threads. I always think that’s the mark of a good author, to be able to surround the reader with characters from previous novels without doing an info dump or creating utter confusion about who’s who. Hats off, Dave Warner.
It’s hard for Dan Clement to leave his newish girlfriend Lena in Derby when he gets a call saying one of his police sergeants, Shepherd, has been badly beaten up outside a Broome pub. Clement and his sidekick Graeme Earle and the station immediately pursue two men alleged to have committed the crime. Then another call comes in – a girl’s been bashed, possibly raped, at a motel less than ten minutes from where they are. Are the perpetrators the same guys?
All of a sudden it becomes a race against time to stop the suspects before they can strike again.
I was impressed by the way the Broome office, plus those nearby in the Northern Territory and also Perth, pulled together for a fantastically relentless chase – watching them work was fascinating. The tension is super high as assaults and gruesomely murdered bodies pile up, and the perpetrators are slippery.
But why is this happening? What’s the motive? Are the deaths linked in any way? Has Clement missed something?
I found it a compelling story, a heart-stopper, with some very unexpected twists and turns. Violently savage, but grounded by the dogged determination of Clement and his team to apprehend the criminals. There are good guys in the world after all.
Many thanks to Fremantle Press and Good Reading Magazine for the review copy.
(5/5)
Is this the first police detective novel where three victims are deliberately fed to a salt water crocodile, leaving scant remains for the forensic team? The police beat in WA’s Kimberley region is larger than a European country and in the author’s words is ‘100 km of nothing.’ Warner wonders how a detective in London or Manhattan would cope.Inspector Dan Clement whom we’ve met in Warner’s earlier books is nudging 50, divorced, lonely, keen to form a lasting relationship but unsure of his capacity. His work consumes him. This is a familiar recipe for fictional cops: think Harry Bosch or Rebus.The author acknowledges that he has relied for knowledge of police investigation on a retired detective familiar with the area. Clement and his team are on the trail of what appears to be two murderers who may be either psychotic or ‘meth-heads’. Police procedures are set out in meticulous detail that at times slows the plot. Warner’s prose is crisp and direct and he has an excellent grasp of Aussie idiom and speech patterns. But he indulges in the occasional awkward figure of speech.Chapters are interspersed with brief episodes where an unnamed victim-to-be or unidentified attacker speaks in the third person. I commend the author for keeping his narrative to under 250 pages. He wraps up the chase for the criminal neatly. I was in the grip of the story to the last page and will look forward to the next Dan Clement novel set in an unforgiving landscape of vast distances, sudden floods, snakes and salt-water crocodiles.
(4/5)
When It Rains is a most apt title for Dave Warner’s new Dan Clement novel. Especially if you add in the unspoken, it pours. Broome is in the middle of a crime spree. A cop is beaten up. A woman raped and left for dead. Then another woman’s partially eaten body is found tied up in a local river. Who left her there for the crocodiles and is it connected with the other events? The answer to these will take Clement further north, to Kununurra, and into the past. Where another crocodile tragedy awaits.
I enjoyed the story and the way the weather was used to almost mirror the story. The eventual revealing of the murderer occurring with the downpour and release from heat. Though even here heat and rain make steam but that could be Clement’s new relationship with the amazing Lena.
One problem I had was keeping track of who was who, a few too many characters for my brain so I decided just to enjoy the story without worrying about it. And it worked. I loved the story and the setting. And can’t wait for the next instalment to see if Lena sticks around.
(5/5)
Dan Clements is back in another page turner crime book set in the northern part of Western Australia. Book 4 of this brilliant series and this may be my favourite yet. These books have such great characters and the setting is amazing. If you haven’t read them yet you are missing out.
When it Rains opens with a bang… or should I say a snap! 😅 that first chapter was intense and gruesome and I loved it. Dan is kept on his toes not only with his new, younger girlfriend, but a crime spree unheard of in the region. It begins with one of his officers being beaten up outside the local pub, then a woman is raped and left for dead in a nearby hotel. To top it all off, a woman’s hand is found in a river smack bang in the middle of croc country.
I love how we get a real sense of the area and the vast distance between towns in Broome and surrounding areas. The climate is unbearable, it is hot and dry which doesn’t make it easy to be running around trying to stop a killer. It was nice to see Dan with a lady who made him happy this time too, about time he caught a break.
Thanks so much to Freemantle Press and Good Reading Magazine for my early copy of this book to read. Out on October 1st.
(5/5)
This book is the fourth in the series of Detective Dan Clement novels, though it isn’t necessary to have read the others to enjoy this one. I’ve read and enjoyed two of the others, though not in order.
This is an Australian outback crime novel set in the Kimberley region of WA, about a series of crimes.
I found it difficult to put this book down and read it in just two sittings late into the night! There are many “red herrings” that add to the enjoyment of the story, and each time I thought I’d worked out who the antagonist was, I was wrong, until right at the end. Through it all Dan is in the midst of a new romance as well, adding another layer to the story.
I highly recommend this book, especially to those who enjoy this genre.
(5/5)
This was my second book of this series by this author that I have read and even though it is fifth in the series it can very much be read as a standalone book.
Dan Clement is a detective in outback Broome. Just as Dan starts to enjoy his middle age with a new love he is interrupted by his first love; his job. A fellow officer has been found beaten in the carpark of a pub so Dan investigates not knowing that one investigation will lead him to an even bigger one, the arm of a woman tied to a jetty attacked by crocodiles.
This book is a full throttle page turner from the start to the finish, it has all the great qualities of a Jane Harper book but faster paced. This author reminds me of a new Peter Corris with succinct language that propels the story forward at a cracking pace. This is very Australian crime with plenty of twists and turns.
(4/5)
I love murder mysteries. My favourite authors tend to be from the UK, and my protagonists tend to be brooding loners who don’t give a damn what others think. With Dave Warner’s “When it Rains” I went into unfamiliar territory.
This story is set in Australia’s far north and the climate drips from the pages – heat, rain, humidity. The protagonist, Dan Clement, is an interestingly vulnerable and earthy detective in this context, reflective and realistic rather than detached from his world.
The first half of the story feels methodical but you can’t help but be drawn into the world of professional tenacity that police apply to the process of solving crimes. The second half flips you into their world when the process doesn’t lead to results. I thought I had it wrapped up in the first half of the book, while feeling a niggle of unease from the current of small disconnects that weren’t so easily threaded in. The disconnects became the twists in the tale and it just got even better from there.
I enjoyed the book, it really got me in, and I’ll be looking to read another Dave Warner as soon as I can get my hands on one.
(3/5)
Love a good crime novel, especially when based in Australia.
Taken to the outback, readers are taken on a continuous murder spree. I found it a little hard to keep track of the many characters in this book.
A whodunnit which will leave you guessing till the end.
(4/5)
What a gripping read! The discovery of the first body sent shivers down my spine, instantly pulling me into the story. The plot was full of unexpected twists, leading me down multiple avenues and keeping me constantly guessing who was behind all the chaos. I had my suspicions about one particular character being the killer, but I wasn’t entirely convinced—there were subtle hints, but nothing that screamed “killer instinct.” The suspense was woven throughout, and I loved how the clues were gradually revealed. This story would make a fantastic TV series.
The dialogue was natural and believable, and the point of view shifted seamlessly between characters, adding layers to the narrative. The pacing was spot-on, and the characters fleshed out. Now I can’t wait to dive into this author’s previous work.
(3/5)
A fast-paced crime novel set in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, which launches straight into a grizzly start with the first victim being tied to a post and taken by a crocodile. Next a police officer is badly beaten up before we are then introduced to Clement, the main detective in this 4th Dan Clement Novel.
Although it was a quick and easy read, I found I was reading it just to get to the end. I usually really enjoy the Australian Noir genre and devour books by Jane Harper and Chris Hammer, so I was rather disappointed with this book. I found the writing didn’t flow as there were too many strange metaphors, ‘It was like walking through a wall of soggy cardboard.’ I also didn’t enjoy the misogynistic tone of the book. Most women were either portrayed as loose women, or were patronisingly blessed for doing their job, ‘Keeble, bless her, had set the fingerprints running in the system before she’d finally gone home…’
The suspense aspect was also missing, as each suspect was presented as the killer, until they were found dead or a case of mistaken identity, and then evidence found as to why they couldn’t have been responsible for the deaths.
In summary, the story and setting were good, but the style of writing was not for me, and I probably won’t read another Dave Warner Novel.
(3/5)
This was the first book I have read by this author and I was excited to see the setting in the Kimberley region. Unfortunately the setting was used in a way that made me feel like the author had visited the area and had some maps, rather than been absorbed into the region and the beautiful and challenging country. The setting could have been used more subtly to support the storyline, it almost felt like any nuance had been edited out. Character development of the main character was good but I felt I may have benefited from reading the past novels.
The book did not seem too formulaic, as some from this genre do, but at times it did feel procedural, like it had been well planned then filled in. This did fit with the police drama aspect in one way and the lead older male character, however I’d have enjoyed some more depth of feeling than brief self analysis of the characters. A good amount of twists and turns kept the interest going. I’ll try another from the author as past works have received good praise.
(5/5)
I liked the characters. The locations were well detailed and referred to both the outback beauty and dangers. It centred around a Broome Detective and the investigations he was involved in, he was well assisted with others throughout the territory as well as overseas.
The book was easy to read, with high intrigue, he did it, she did, no they did, someone did it. As I progressed through the book, I believed I had the answers, but like a good book the answer is never clear until nearing the end.
Although this is the first book I have read from this author, I am keen to read more of his works.
(4/5)
I really enjoyed this book. At first there were lots of characters to keep up with, as I have not read the other books in the series, but I got the hang of it. A character list may have helped me as well as the map.
I have not been to the Kimberley Region for a long time and I won’t be sitting too close to any waterholes after reading this but the locals and blow ins at the pubs can be just as treacherous as any creature and this was shown well in the book. Being in the country and people helping each other out and knowing when to call was really shown well too. As many suspects as blow flies at dinner time as the story went on but it kept me turning the pages to see if I suspected the correct villan. I did not!
I liked that the weather broke as the crime did but there were a few liberties taken with the hospital and health information. Even in Broome I don’t think too many dogs make it onto the ward of the hospital quite so readily.
Overall I liked it and I’m not sure if I can wait to read the next instalment or start from the beginning.
(3/5)
During the first half of this novel, I found the pacing a problem. Warner’s narration skipped through brief descriptions of the country, the mystery, and of the protagonist’s motives and emotions. I felt like Warner wanted to invest in all of these things but wasn’t quite able to stitch it all together in an authentic way.
The writing initially lacked any subtlety which I felt it needed to build my curiosity and empathy for the victim. Warner is working too hard to evoke the horror of the situation but has left nothing to my imagination. The balance of good crime writing comes down to giving enough information to stir the horror and leaving just enough unsaid to scare readers.
Not having read the first novels in this series Dan Clement was new to me. I found it hard to sympathise with him and at times he was almost unlikeable. His thoughts and actions didn’t really seem to suit with the descriptions of his life as a police officer. I couldn’t relate to his complaints when he had a new girlfriend, a holiday home and the ability to take a day off in the middle of major investigations.
It was in the second half of the novel, that Warner began to find his rhythm, fleshing out the characters and concentrating on the main story. He started to use the unique nature of the Northern Territory, the remoteness and dangers like crocodiles and storms to create tension.
Some other story threads had very repetitive police procedural descriptions and could have been in any generic city/place in Australia. Overall though it was a solid read and it has me interested in checking out other Dave Warner books. It is good to read books set in Australia and particularly the unique Northern half.
My final critique is of the cover design, which I love and initially drew my interest. However, I feel like it really should have a saltwater crocodile rather than a freshwater crocodile.
(4/5)
The unknown strikes and slowly all the pieces of the jigsaw fit together.
Multiple crimes all playing out at once with police services stretched across various places but all with one goal. Find the perpetators and bring justice to those involved. At first it seems they are linked, however evidence slowly unravels the truth.
The cover is a great depiction of what lies within the pages and gets you guessing. Who, what, where and how? Inspector Clement will get the answers even if it leaves him wanting more.
The use of similies is slightly exaggerated but gets the message across and the author, Dave Warner, is quite descriptive in his storytelling. Short chapters keep the story moving and the reader engaged.
(5/5)
A suspenseful thriller set in the Australian northern outback of the Kimberly coastal and inlands region.
I found the entire story was very well-written, engrossing and hard to put down, especially more as the story progressed.
I really loved the descriptions of the locations, the surroundings, and atmosphere of places, as it totally made me visualise all the locations and the goings on.
And despite being a thrilling story, it was also very emotional. There were plenty of light moments, plus scenes where you could imagine or relate to certain memories or situations the characters were either experiencing or remembering themselves.
Without wanting to give the story away, it has plenty of twists, which I really enjoyed, keeping me reading well past my time for sleep!
I thoroughly recommend this book to readers who love a good story of twists, thrills and suspense, but with tender moments and light situations too. Plus being set in the beautiful stunning landscape of Australia’s far north-western region of the Kimberley, enriches the story so much more, just brilliant!
I’m now dead keen to read more novels by Dave Warner!
(4/5)
In this the fourth book in the series, Detective Inspector Dan Clements is forced to question his investigative skills, his relationship with his team and the issue of his future within the force. When he has to deal with a savage bucks night attack, on a close member of his team, and the report of a woman who has been assaulted and raped; these are just two of a number of shocking events with far flung consequences and a surprising connection to the past.
Dan at fifty is facing a crisis in his own life. A break up of his marriage has seen him in an internal battle with himself and his personal insecurities. He is unprepared when he meets a younger, sexy, smoky eyed and leather clad Lena. Looking back he regrets time wasted and questions the wisdom of starting a relationship with a transient younger woman, and the difference in their life experiences.
The story is fast moving and sometimes confronting, as Dan and his team contend with the difficulties of policing in the remote Kimberley area of Western Australia. Local knowledge and modern policing methods prove vital, when dealing with the problems of distance and pressure of time, and the need to protect his community. The intriguing plot sweeps you along and keeps you guessing to the very last page.
I was personally sorry the author did not pursue the relationship with Lena more fully. It would have given more depth to the character of Dan and added to the story line, which I felt was a little thin.
(5/5)
The fourth in Dave Warner’s Dan Clement series was the first read for me, however I am keen to get hold of the earlier ones now, as I loved this one.
When It Rains is excellent Aussie outback noir. Tightly detailed police procedure, evocative prose, good texture of pace and some well-written, down-to-earth characters, make for a very enjoyable read.
Dan Clement, in particular, is genuinely likeable, especially when we get to glimpse his vulnerability. There are quite a few mid characters, given the various stations involved in the story, however, they are kept in constant play, which allows the reader to keep track.
The plot moves quickly, and I couldn’t put it down by the second half. The false turns were unpredictable but not unbelievable, and I was left feeling satisfied by the ending.
(4/5)
This is the first Dan Clement novel I have read. From the moment I picked up ‘When it Rains’ I did not want to put it down. Dave Warner’s characters were interesting and well-written and the story was thrilling and well-paced. There were twists and turns that continued to surprise me throughout the novel – right up to the very end. What a thoroughly enjoyable read!
(4/5)
Dave Warner’s newest crime fiction will appeal to lovers of fast paced, edge of your seat storytelling. The macabre setting of crocodile-infested waters, provides an excellent backdrop for Broome detective Dan Clement, racing against the clock to solve a bizarre crime. Amazing landscape depictions transport you. When It Rains is the thrilling new novel in the award-winning Dan Clement series.