Outback: A stunning new crime thriller

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Lucas is also unaware that his presence in Surfers Paradise has been noted, and a bounty exists for his elimination, something that leads to a poor judgement call and quite a lot of pain later on. The start of this one is a little slow, I found, but mostly in a setting the scene kind of way. Obviously too, we as readers know more than Lucas does (on account of the number of POVs this book gets), so I was sat waiting for Lucas to get with it, while having more knowledge than he did. Not necessarily a good thing for a detective novel, although it did work in raising tension towards the end.

Wolf gives the reader another fast-paced Aussie crime thriller: a wholly credible tale with that requires virtually no suspension of disbelief, and builds up to a nail-biting climax. The dialogue is convincing, with a generous helping of the Australian vernacular, and her depiction of coastal Queensland feels truly authentic. As the novel progresses, the more information Walker discovers, the more suspicions he has that the two cases may be related, while others remain highly skeptical of such a link. But once Walker looks into the investigation, he wonders what is really going on and what he’s got himself into. He finds the local police officer in charge, Chief Constable Grogan, strangely suspicious and less than fully cooperative. Walker concludes there is much more to the story than Rutherford led him to believe. As with many seemingly straightforward missing persons cases, there’s a subversive subplot that makes itself known as Lucas begins digging deeper with his investigation. Drugs are involved (of course) as well as higher powers in the police force (inevitably) and the combination serves to create obstacles and greater danger to our protagonists. At some point, she worked for “Monocle” magazine as a correspondent from Lisbon and for the Independent as a design columnist,In a beach paradise, an unspeakable crime is committed. The only witness lies in a coma, fighting for her life... This deeply atmospheric thriller is the gripping opening of a new crime series for fans of Cara Hunter and Chris Whitaker. Several characters who appeared in the first book appear in the second, including members of the motorcycle gang that was producing drugs, but that story still remains unfinished. Most of the villains from the first instalment played minor roles in this book, and we received no further insight into the leak at the top—the person who is manipulating both the police and the drug dealers. Patricia Wolf is a mystery and thriller novelist that is best known for the “DS Walker Thriller” series of novels. Before she published her debut novel she worked as a journalist for more than fifteen years. Rita’s sister Barbara works for the Berlin CID and is desperate to find her missing sister. Barbara arrives in Australia and takes an unofficial active role in investigating her sisters disappearance.

The narrative unfolds as Walker awaits news on the review of his actions in the previous book, setting the stage for a new set of challenges. Assigned to train local narcotics officers, Walker becomes embroiled in the investigation of the execution of Matt Munro, a character familiar to those who followed the previous installment. Simultaneously, he is drawn into the heartbreaking case of a brutal home invasion that claims the life of Siobhan Owen and leaves her young daughter Gabby in a coma. Finished this book within a day ... I honestly loved it, really had you guessing who the murderer was 'til the last minute' Reader review, 5 stars His spare time is spent swimming, working on his rehab and also, somewhat reluctantly, entertaining a friend of his sister’s, a very attractive champion kite-surfer. Lucas also volunteers himself on the roster of police keeping guard on eight-year-old Gabby Owen in the ICU. He makes occasional calls to German police detective Barbara Guerra, with whom he sought a kidnapper/murderer some months earlier. All while he awaits the results of the board reviewing his actions in Caloodie some months earlier, deciding if he still has a job. Patricia Wolf’s novel “Paradise” continues to follow the life and times of DS Sergeant Lucas Walker who is recovering from injuries he got while dealing with a killer about three months earlier.

Patricia Wolf does a good job here of building tension & the chapters written form the villains perspective are particularly strong & have a rather punchy tone to them. Let down only by perhaps some poorly written parts, where the prose & language becomes a little too rushed and familiar, losing the tonality set by the rest of the novel. It transpires that Stefan Markovich the organized crime kingpin and the detective sergeant’s sworn nemesis has now set up shop on the Gold Coast. At the opening of the novel. Detective Sergeant Lucas Walker is in northwest Queensland at the home of his grandmother. The plot is intense in Paradise and revolves around bikkie gangs, drugs and greed! Another gripping read and I also rated Paradise as a 5-star read. Lucas works in the organized crime unit in Sydney, and as he starts helping Barbara, he recognizes what appears to be a major drug setup in Caloodie, associated with a motorcycle gang. So this becomes the focus of his investigation even though he is told by his superior not to investigate because there is a major undercover operation underway with regards to this gang.

However, he decides he will take the job just so that he can get something to do even though he does not expect so much from it. But once he starts the investigation, he suddenly starts thinking that there is much more to the story than his boss had let on. The missing Rita has a sister who is a detective in Germany. She comes to Australia determined to find out what happened to Rita and eventually works with Walker. The majority of the community knows nothing or are not forthcoming. Possible witnesses are often interviewed while drinking in the local tavern. The searing heat, the vast distances, and the unhelpful district policeman hinder their investigations, and leads are scarce. To me, the most appealing aspect of these books is Walker himself. He’s someone who is strong enough to carry off the role he’s assigned but with enough frailties and worries to hold a reader’s interest. Aside from my regard for the lead man, the tale itself bumps along at a decent pace but without ever really introducing anyone or anything that piqued my interest to the same degree. It's all fairly routine and really offers up few surprises, as Walker helps the local cops investigate a brutal home invasion murder. He still has a lot of resentment against Walker who destroyed one of his most profitable criminal enterprises. In the meantime, Walker finds himself working on a major investigation into a home invasion on Macintosh Island that turned out fatal.We don’t have it in Australia, although I remember people taking it in America and it’s available in the UK, where the author lived for years. I sympathise, because I've lived in more than one country and don't always remember where I used what. It’s a petty complaint, certainly, and I mention it only because I’m surprised an Aussie editor didn’t notice it. I read a library copy, not a preview. I hope they fix it in the digital editions. This isn't a 'whodunit' as the story unfolds from multiple viewpoints: Walker's, Barbara's, Rita's and the abductor's being the main ones. She misses Sydney already. In their six months living at the hostel they'd made a good group of friends, all young and free and up for a good time. No boring discussions about the future, no stress about careers or life plans. That could all come later - for now, this was her dream life. She'd had a decent job at the Sportsgirl fashion chain, and got great discounts on the clothes. They'd partied hard, lots of late nights in the bars and nightclubs in the city, and hanging out in the hostel, drinking, talking and laughing. Even in winter, Sydney was balmy compared with Berlin and she'd spent long sunny days by the beach, weekends in the Blue Mountains, even a couple of trips to New Zealand and Fiji. After first working side by side with Grogan on the case, Walker becomes as suspicious of the man as Grogan seems of him. To Walker, Grogan’s unfriendly behavior seems like more than only resentment over an unwelcome outsider intruding on his home turf. But at first, Walker doesn’t work out just how sinister the circumstances motivating Grogan’s behavior truly are.

In fact, anyone with knowledge or eagle eyes may have noticed that she makes a few references to her hometown in the debut work of fiction. When those investigating the home invasion learn of Walker’s premiere investigative skills, he is asked to review their case files, which leads to him slowly being pulled into that investigation as well.As the number of days since the couple’s disappearance climbs, DS Walker is joined by Rita’s older sister. A detective herself with Berlin CID, she has flown to Australia – desperate to find her sister before it’s too late. As the number of days since the couple's disappearance climbs, Walker is joined by Rita's older sister. A detective herself with Berlin CID, she has flown to Australia - desperate to find her sister. However, Chief Inspector Rutherford who heads the Federal Police of Australia’s organized crime unit calls with an assignment for him. P.S. If you're curious about the author (I always am), she is journalist Trish Lorenz who has lived and worked in many countries. Here's a funny Guardian article about dating to which she contributed her experiences in Berlin, where she lives now. Walker remains convinced there is more at play. Working in the organised crime unit has opened his eyes to the growing drug trade in Australia's remote interior. Could this be connected to that dark and violent world?