by Candice Fox
Publisher: Penguin Books Australia
Review by Ashleigh Meikle
Like many of Candice Fox’s books, her latest one starts with a bang. Welcome to Redbelly Crossing, population 205. Things are quiet until journalist Chloe Lutz is found dead in the local pub. And when cop brothers, Russell and Evan Powder are pulled into the case, things are going to heat up in more ways than one. Both brothers are facing personal and professional issues throughout the book that have forced them into working together at Redbelly Crossing. But underneath the bravado, there are darker secrets buried deep within. Things about their past and their identities that they have been keeping secret.
These fears and secrets drive how Russell and Evan deal with the case, and work out what is going on. It’s not that straightforward, which is on brand for a Candice Fox book. The case is not as cut-and-dry as Evan and Russell are hoping. It means they can’t get it done and get out of there as soon as possible. Staying there means running into each other, working together, and running into their father. Russell is still coping with his marriage breaking down, and he is trying to reconnect with his daughter Bridie, who is a volunteer wildlife rescuer. Evan’s marriage is on the rocks, and it seems like the dark secrets from the past are going to impact his son in a devastating way.
This is a powerful novel, a complex novel and one that looks at the issues around justice and reality. How does someone get away with murder for decades, get away with abuse, and alter the lives of everyone around them in irreparable ways? Russell is trying very hard, and focused on justice for Chloe. But someone is trying to hide things. As the novel moves between Evan and Russell’s perspectives, the reader learns about what they have been through, what has shaped them, and who they really want to be. It’s layered and considered, even in the darkness of the theme of the novel. Because crime is never simple. It’s never straightforward. There are layers and threads, people trying to cover things up, and people trying to get justice.
And sometimes, the people you expect to fulfil this role are not who they are. This is what makes it interesting, because the reader never really knows who they can trust, who has ulterior motives and who is going to turn on everyone in the book. The curveballs built the tension, delving into the issues of family loyalty and trust as the novel interrogated what someone might do when faced with knowledge that can alter a case. It asks the reader what would you do if you knew the truth behind a crime. Would you report it, or deal with it yourself
Most of Candice’s books are purely fictional, an idea she’s tinkered with and one that she has extensively researched for. This one, whilst fictional and deeply researched began with a spark of truth. It was something her mother said that sparked an interest, and led her down a rabbit hole of research about unsolved murders, and a case that has never been solved. She explains this in her author’s note at the back, and it gives the story an eerie feeling. But a powerful one. Because this is a powerful, authentic and deeply realistic story that embarks on interrogating human emotion and morality.
For me, in some ways it felt heavier than her other books. Yet I think it needed to be. As readers, we needed to be reminded that crime is not always tied up in a bow like we read about in crime fiction, or see in our favourite crime shows. Not every case is solved easily, or sometimes, at all. Sometimes, questions go unanswered. There is no justice. And that is what stood out to me about this book. It’s ability to delve into the complexities of the crime and people involved or linked to it, and why things never seem to connect until it is too late in some cases. I think this is one of Candice’s best books, and it was one that I couldn’t put down, and left me with complex emotions when I turned the final page.
Like many of Candice Fox’s books, her latest one starts with a bang. Welcome to Redbelly Crossing, population 205. Things are quiet until journalist Chloe Lutz is found dead in the local pub. And when cop brothers, Russell and Evan Powder are pulled into the case, things are going to heat up in more ways than one. Both brothers are facing personal and professional issues throughout the book that have forced them into working together at Redbelly Crossing. But underneath the bravado, there are darker secrets buried deep within. Things about their past and their identities that they have been keeping secret.
These fears and secrets drive how Russell and Evan deal with the case, and work out what is going on. It’s not that straightforward, which is on brand for a Candice Fox book. The case is not as cut-and-dry as Evan and Russell are hoping. It means they can’t get it done and get out of there as soon as possible. Staying there means running into each other, working together, and running into their father. Russell is still coping with his marriage breaking down, and he is trying to reconnect with his daughter Bridie, who is a volunteer wildlife rescuer. Evan’s marriage is on the rocks, and it seems like the dark secrets from the past are going to impact his son in a devastating way.
This is a powerful novel, a complex novel and one that looks at the issues around justice and reality. How does someone get away with murder for decades, get away with abuse, and alter the lives of everyone around them in irreparable ways? Russell is trying very hard, and focused on justice for Chloe. But someone is trying to hide things. As the novel moves between Evan and Russell’s perspectives, the reader learns about what they have been through, what has shaped them, and who they really want to be. It’s layered and considered, even in the darkness of the theme of the novel. Because crime is never simple. It’s never straightforward. There are layers and threads, people trying to cover things up, and people trying to get justice.
And sometimes, the people you expect to fulfill this role are not who they are. This is what makes it interesting, because the reader never really knows who they can trust, who has ulterior motives and who is going to turn on everyone in the book. The curveballs built the tension, delving into the issues of family loyalty and trust as the novel interrogated what someone might do when faced with knowledge that can alter a case. It asks the reader what would you do if you knew the truth behind a crime. Would you report it, or deal with it yourself
Most of Candice’s books are purely fictional, an idea she’s tinkered with and one that she has extensively researched for. This one, whilst fictional and deeply researched began with a spark of truth. It was something her mother said that sparked an interest, and led her down a rabbit hole of research about unsolved murders, and a case that has never been solved. She explains this in her author’s note at the back, and it gives the story an eerie feeling. But a powerful one. Because this is a powerful, authentic and deeply realistic story that embarks on interrogating human emotion and morality.
For me, in some ways it felt heavier than her other books. Yet I think it needed to be. As readers, we needed to be reminded that crime is not always tied up in a bow like we read about in crime fiction, or see in our favourite crime shows. Not every case is solved easily, or sometimes, at all. Sometimes, questions go unanswered. There is no justice. And that is what stood out to me about this book. It’s ability to delve into the complexities of the crime and people involved or linked to it, and why things never seem to connect until it is too late in some cases. I think this is one of Candice’s best books, and it was one that I couldn’t put down, and left me with complex emotions when I turned the final page.
Publisher’s Blurb
Blood is thicker than water. But too much leaves a trail . . .
Russell and Evan Powder are cops.
The brothers haven’t spoken for five years, since a violent confrontation tore their family apart.
Now they are both assigned to the murder of a young journalist, Chloe Lutz, in the small town of Redbelly Crossing (population 205).
It’s the last thing Russell wants. This is supposed to be the week he repairs things with his teenage daughter Bridie. Now he’s had to drag her on a murderous ride-along to the middle of snake-infested nowhere.
But a big case like this is just what Evan needs after a terrible mistake nearly tanked his career.
Then a dark discovery leaves Evan with only one way out; to bury the truth Russell is so determined to uncover …