Twisted plots with a cracking pace: Breathing new life into Rural Noir
July 5 @ 8:00 pm
Rural Noir — crime fiction set everywhere from dry and dusty farming communities to sleepy seaside towns — has become a global publishing sensation. Breathing new life into this established, sometimes tired, genre are three Australian authors – Vikki Wakefield (To the River), Fiona Lowe (The Accident), and Christine Gregory (The Community). They’ll be thrashing through the issues with award-winning author, Margaret Hickey.
To the River (Text Publishing), the latest thriller by Adelaide author, Vikki Wakefield, focuses on the apparent murder of nine people in a remote caravan community by 17-year-old Sabine Kelly. Sabine escapes custody and disappears. Twelve years after the ‘Caravan Murders’, journalist Rachel Weidermann is determined to track down Sabine whom she suspects made her way back to the river. In her spotlight are class, corruption, love, loyalty, and the vindication of truth and justice . . . and a brave dog called Blue.
Vikki writes fiction for adults and young adults. Her novels have been shortlisted for numerous awards. After You Were Gone, a psychological thriller, was her first novel for adults and was published in 2022 to much acclaim.
A terrible crash opens Fiona Lowe’s novel, The Accident (HQ Fiction) . . . but the facts don’t add up. Two women’s lives are torn apart when the devastating accident uncovers a shocking web of lies that leaves the small wheatbelt town of Garringarup reeling. Mystery, lies, and scandal – it’s soon obvious nothing is as it seems in this small town…
A career as a midwife, sexual health counsellor, and family-support worker has provided storylines for this best-selling Geelong author, Fiona Lowe. A recipient of the prestigious USA RITA® award and the Australian RuBY award, Fiona’s books are set in small country towns and feature real people facing tough choices and exploring how family ties impact their decisions.
Christine Gregory’s debut novel, The Community (Ultimo Press) is set in Steels Creek, an intentional community in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. When a woman’s body is found floating in a nearby waterhole and hours later a local teenager is reported missing, local investigative journalist, Lars Nilsson is compelled to investigate. What he finds may not only destroy his tightknit community but also the life he has worked so hard to rebuild.
Christine writes crime and general fiction. An earlier version of The Community, was runner-up for the 2022 Banjo Prize. Christine has previously been shortlisted in the Sisters in Crime Scarlet Stiletto Awards. She is a former international aid worker and now works as a director in a national-not-for-profit, working on the prevention of violence against women and children.
Host Margaret Hickey is a playwright and award-winning, best-selling author from rural Victoria. Margaret holds a PhD in Creative Writing and works as a senior English teacher. She is a regular guest on ABC regional radio. Her collection of award-winning short stories, Rural Dreams (2020) is taught in many secondary schools across the country, and her crime novels, Cutters End (2021) and Stone Town (2022) were published by Penguin Random House. Cutters End was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Debut Crime Award and won the DANGER award, for best Australian crime novel using Australia as a setting. Stone Town was shortlisted for the Davitt Award and Broken Bay (2023) was released in June 2023. Margaret’s new novel, The Creeper, is out in July.
Men or ‘brothers-in-law’ welcome.
Sun Bookshop stall: members receive a 10% discount
More info: Carmel Shute 0412 569 356 admin@sistersincrime.org.au