Headland (John Byrnes, A&U)

It’s a well-worn storyline for Australian crime fiction: a detective arrives in a small town only to discover that danger lurks beneath quaint country manners; the detective is usually running from their own demons or they have unfinished business to muddle through. Well-worn, but for a reason—it never fails to captivate readers. Headland by John Byrnes is the latest offering in the genre, following in the footsteps of Jane Harper and Chris Hammer. Detective Constable Craig Watson has been stationed in the small town of Gloster and is doing his best to hide his drug addiction from his new colleagues, constables Ellie Cameron and Larissa Brookes and the portly Sergeant Thomas Philby. At first Watson’s tasks as a detective seem mundane: track down a missing girl, probably a runaway, and monitor the river gauge so that the town knows when to evacuate in the event of a flood. But when the flood does come, Watson, Cameron and Brookes find themselves stranded. With no power, no reception and no way out, they have to piece together the town’s mysteries and track down a killer. In The Dry Jane Harper evoked the terror and misery of a drought, and in Headland Byrnes does a fantastic job of turning the relentless downpour into a constant threat. This thriller is a pacy and compelling debut.

Cosima McGrath is a freelance editor and former bookseller.

Category: Reviews