by Rachel Amphlett
Publisher: Saxon Publishing, 2024
Publisher’s blurb
Could one man’s obsession with the truth be a fatal mistake?
When Detective Sergeant Blake Harknell is seconded to an active investigation in the hinterland of south east Queensland, he discovers the police station understaffed and the local population wary of his presence in Hangman’s Gap.
After a body is found in suspicious circumstances following a bush fire, the victim of a three-month old fatal car accident may be the only clue to recent events in the small rural town.
But when a third man is bludgeoned to death in his own home, the local police officers close ranks and Blake is left alone to discover what connects the three deaths.
There are too many secrets in Hangman’s Gap, and the more Blake attempts to uncover the truth, the more he risks exposing his past.
Review
by Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Detective Sergeant (DS) Blake Harknell has driven 1,800 kilometres in two days from Melbourne, Victoria to Hangman’s Gap, a small town three hours north of Brisbane, Queensland to meet with a local senior sergeant. Instead, after he arrives, he is told to report to Detective Inspector Bragg at the site of a controlled burn undertaken by the local Rural Fire Brigade. The body of Senior Sergeant Ivan Mortlock has been found.
DS Harknell, on a brief secondment to Hangman’s Gap, is paired with Senior Constable (SC) Angela Forbes to investigate. What he finds is a small town, an understaffed police station, mistrust, and several superficially helpful locals. In small towns where everyone knows everyone else, everyone has an opinion.
Three months earlier, an unidentified man died in a single vehicle accident. His identity remains a mystery and his case is still open. Senior Sergeant Mortlock’s death is suspicious, and then another man is murdered in his own home. Can these deaths be coincidental, or are they related?
Hangman’s Gap is full of tightly held secrets. Not everyone welcomes DS Harknell’s involvement: exactly who is he, and what is he doing in Hangman’s Gap? Suspicion makes some reluctant to share what they know (and keen to learn more).
My curiosity about why DS Harknell travelled to Hangman’s Gap stayed with me for most of the story. And my suspicion (no spoilers here) was largely correct and explained why he was both cautious and thorough in his investigation. I liked the way Ms Amphlett peopled the police station in Hangman’s Gap: the hard-drinking policeman nearing retirement, the inexperienced young policeman, and the efficient SC Forbes with her own history. And what about Senior Sergeant Mortlock? Was there something in his history that explained his death? A few twists kept me turning the pages and guessing about guilt and motivation until very close to the end.
Ms Amphlett brings rural Queensland to life: her descriptions of heat and dust, the impact of fire, the challenges faced by communities in recession all added realism to the story. The main characters are well realised, the secondary characters had me smiling wryly: the busybodies and gossips are universal, and their speculation can often cover (or uncover) motivation.
I finished the novel hoping to meet both DS Harknell and DC Forbes again in the future. This is the first of Ms Amphlett’s novels I have read, and I’ll be looking to read others.