by Natalie Conyer
Publisher: Echo Publishing, 2024
Publisher’s blurb
Every city casts a shadow, where evil flourishes.
Sydney, Australia: The body of a young woman is found in Chinatown. She’s been beaten, tortured – and tattooed with the image of a sun. Called to the scene, Sergeant Jackie Rose asks herself whether this was a drug murder, or something else. But before her investigation can get under way, she is ordered to hand the case over to the Australian Federal Police.
Cape Town, South Africa: A local girl recruited to study in Australia has fallen off the radar. Veteran detective Schalk Lourens – recently suspended from duty – has already made plans to visit his daughter in Sydney, with emigration in mind. He decides to search for the missing girl while he is there.
Jackie and Schalk join forces, exposing a trail of corruption and crime stretching from the foreshore of the city’s iconic harbour, back to South Africa and across the world.
Together the pair must navigate a minefield of deceit and manipulation set by an enemy more powerful and depraved than they can imagine. And failure isn’t an option, because not only their own futures, but those of hundreds of vulnerable young people, hang in the balance.
Review
by Louise Cipta
A good old detective story in which two investigations collide.
In Sydney a young woman is found dead in Chinatown. Detective Jackie Rose takes the lead in this investigation until it is handed over to Federal Authorities.
In South Africa another young woman is reported missing after moving to Australia after being offered a scholarship to study there. Suspended police officer Schalk Lourens, who just happened to be going to Australia to visit his daughter, is asked to investigate the missing girl whilst he is there.
These two seemingly unrelated crimes bring together law enforcement from both countries when they discover links that lead them to a worldwide people smuggling syndicate. The modern-day slave trade is more profitable than ever and Conyer casts an astute eye over the social and political environment as she teases the story to unfolds.
I found the characters engaging and enjoyed getting to know them. The underlying revelations of the politics and corruption in both countries was very insightful and gave me food for thought. On that note, it was interesting to see how seamlessly Conyer wove the dual locations into the story. I felt it gave the reader a real sense of place with both Sydney and Cape Town. Those settings are a real strength in this story.
The plot moves quickly, at times it felt almost breathless. The pacing and tension in Shadow City is, for the most part, terrific. The romantic subplots felt a bit unrealistic to me, but they lead to a surprising twist in the story.
Shadow City is the sequel to Natalie Conyer’s Ned Kelly award-winning book, Present Tense. Don’t panic if you haven’t read the first one yet, this works well as a standalone story.