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. When Jesse starts to ask awkward questions, she uncovers a town full of contradictions and a cast of characters with dark pasts, secrets to hide and even more to lose. Things were going well it seemed, with Adam and Jesse’s father, they shared a common interest in art. Its a fantastic read, bringing to life modern Australia in vivid colours. I thoroughly enjoyed it and really hope the author has more in store for Jesse!

On the Radar: Follow the desert star | Crime Fiction Lover

The common narrative that pits humanity against nature assumes that our “innate greed” implicates us all in climate change. The environmental movement, too, buys into this myth with its longing for pristine wilderness unspoiled by humankind, argues Jeff Sparrow. This urgent, incisive work resoundingly refutes this arbitrary divide by showing how industrialisation, in the hands of the wealthy and powerful, drove a wedge between ordinary people and the natural world. Hence, the simplistic “jobs versus environment” binary that stymies our current climate-change debate. The alternative, however, is right under our noses. “In pre-capitalist Australia, humans did not despoil the land.” They worked in harmony with it, enhancing nature rather than plundering it. And it was a collective endeavour. It is in this understanding of human nature that Sparrow finds hope. Jesse Redpath is a good cop working in the remote Northern Territory town of Kulara, at the top of Australia. I enjoy Hyland’s writing and his people. It’s interesting that his main characters are tough youngish women. They still fancy a good bloke, but he leaves the bedroom scenes to our imagination. This isn’t what I call a “straw hat rural romance (the books with the girl in a straw hat on the cover). It’s a proper mystery, with action and some violence. Adam Lawson was a loveable rogue, he left his graffiti everywhere but Jesse could see potential in his graffiti, when he came up before the magistrate, Jesse persuaded the magistrate to allow Adam to live with her father and work at a local bar, this worked well, her artist father could see Adam's talent and nurtured it.

She had earned herself a law degree, didn’t like that side of the law, so surprised everyone by training with the Territory police. She knows her people and she knew Adam. No way he did that.

Australian book releases: Man Booker winner’s latest

The plot is Jesse investigating the murder of Daisy and the resistance she comes up against. Criticism is difficult to take, doubly so when it comes from an outsider, but this outsider brings an objectiveness to play. Along with a stubborn persistence and a casual approach to danger this makes Jesse a loose canon to some, but eventually a grudging acceptance from others as they realise what a great cop she is. They decide to go, in spite of the fact both are uncomfortable in big crowds. No wonder. (I love all these hyphenated descriptions.) Adam had hitched a ride to Victoria with a girl he’d recently met and was now being accused of her murder, then after stealing her car, he lost control of it on a nearby country road and crashed killing himself outright.

To some Australia retains the image of harsh man’s world, but here it is strong, determined women who make the difference. Jesse, Nadia, and Possum follow Daisy’s lead and are more perceptive to what is going on and when it really matters possess the necessary courage. Brute strength is not always the answer, sometimes you need to listen to the message and act upon it before time ultimately runs out. The story focuses on the death of Daisy Baker. Adam, a relative newcomer in town, is also found dead next to her body with Daisy's blood on his hands, and it doesn't take long for the local police to jump to conclusions. There is a lot to like about this novel. The cover (such a stunning cover, I’d have it as a print on my wall), the storyline, the characters – particularly Jesse and Possum, the art, the nature, the respect it shows to the First Nations people of Central Australia; this really is a terrific novel, one that I can highly recommend. I thought the mystery was quite original, and I loved most of the characters, especially Jesse and Possum. The only thing that was hard to swallow was that a police officer from another jurisdiction would be so well tolerated in the middle of a murder investigation. But as long as you can accept that, it's a fast-paced, satisfying ride. Another thing I really enjoyed was the incorporation of visual art and conservation in the storyline, giving Hyland's writing the opportunity to shine as he describes the paintings and the environment. Jesse Redpath is a police officer in Northern Territory. When a likeable petty criminal, whom Jesse previously vouched for, is implicated in a murder in Victoria, Jesse goes there to carry out her own unofficial investigation. She’s not the only one with doubts about the boy’s guilt. Local horse-mad teenager, Possum, is keen to help Jesse with her enquiries, while former drug-addict, Nadia, doesn’t want to help at all.

The Wiregrass | Adrian Hyland | 9781761152818 | NetGalley

Canticle Creek is headed by bush cop Jesse Redpath, who is compelled to delve into a case involving a murder in her community base. With questions surrounding truth, lies and blame, this is a conflicting case. With tensions reaching an all time high in this tiny rural Victorian community, Jesse is determined to expose the truth. But Jesse meets plenty of contention from the local community and it becomes clear that there are secrets that some people of this town want to stay buried in the past. When mother nature unleashes itself on the local community, there is further stress placed on this strained township. Can Jesse help prevent Canticle Creek from total eruption? I caught a glint of reflected light. Reflected on what? Metal? Glass? I sensed its length, aim, intent. Its threat. Like Christie Looms' cat, I could feel somebody watching me. Worse — they were lining us up. Though the case was pretty much closed, Jesse started doing some digging of her own and soon started to ruffle a few feathers with her snooping.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.

Canticle Creek by Adrian Hyland | 9781761151163 | Booktopia Canticle Creek by Adrian Hyland | 9781761151163 | Booktopia

But Jesse Redpath isn’t from Canticle Creek. Where she comes from, the truth often hides in plain sight, but only if you know where to look. When Jesse starts to ask awkward questions, she uncovers a town full of contradictions and a cast of characters with dark pasts, secrets to hide and even more to lose. 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. Jesse's a fabulous, strong, believable character who arrives in Victoria determined to find the truth no matter what. Supported in her determination by her father, they end up staying in the small artistic community that Daisy and Adam had lived in, digging into some dodgy logging practices, unearthing some suspect connections to Melbourne mobsters along the way. There's plenty of threat, personal and community based, and there's a good supporting cast, as well as fabulous sense of a place. Not specifically named, I'd be prepared to take a relatively informed guess is influenced by the area around the Kinglake Ranges. However, local cop Jesse isn't convinced. She knew Adam, and whilst he was always getting involved in minor scrapes, she doesn't believe he would ever be involved in murder. All of these elements, together with a few well-placed twists, combine to make Canticle Creek another enjoyable Australian rural noir procedural. Robert Goodman

The action steps up, and at one point, just when I thought everything was wrapping up on a pretty good yarn, it heats up again and gets even better. Published by Ultimo Press https://ultimopress.com.au/ @ultimopress (an imprint of Hardie Grant Publishing) https://www.hardiegrant.com/au/books @HardieGrant Canticle Creek is a brilliantly written police thriller that delivers a real sense of danger but also a powerful polemic on what man is doing to the environment. A novel deserving of a wide audience and certainly one of my favourite reads of the year. Nash Baker was once a celebrated cop, but his career was ended when he chose to take justice into his own hands. Now he’s living a quiet life in a small town caring for the local wildlife and trying to stay away from trouble.