by Fleur McDonald
Publisher: Allen & Unwin, 2024
Publisher’s blurb
Detective Dave Burrows returns in a page-turning new novel of rural suspense from Voice of the Outback, Fleur McDonald.
Detective Dave Burrows has longed for the top job in the Stock Squad but never thought he’d be acting in that role while his partner and best mate, Detective Bob Holden, is treated for melanoma.
Bob is keen to get back on the road and Dave can’t wait to go bush either, expecting the trip will be much the same as usual.
But the trip doesn’t play out that way.
Multiple bomb blasts in the small country town of Kallygarn send shock waves through the state of Western Australia, and Dave and Bob are once again drawn into the criminal underworld.
Review
by Margaret Walsh
Shock Waves is the seventh book in the Detective Dave Burrows series.
This book is not your average police procedural. Yes, there is a crime, but at base the book is one about friendship, hardship, and the ever-changing process of life.
Detective Dave Burrows of the Western Australia Police Force’s Stock Squad is the main character. The book’s primary focus is Dave and his partner Bob Holden as they undertake a road trip and face death and disaster head on.
I found the story engaging and quite often became lost in the story. To me, this is the mark of a great book, that you can lose track of time whilst reading it.
Part of the book’s focus is on Bob Holden’s battle with cancer. Having lost several relatives to the disease, Bob’s fight had a great deal of resonance with me. This was a powerful thread that wove in and out of the story. Even at the high points of the narrative, you never really lost the sense that Bob was fighting a very personal battle, that no-one else could help with.
Dave Burrow’s handling of his friend’s illness was also incredibly well done. Anyone who has ever watched a loved one battle cancer will understand Dave’s turmoil.
That said, the balance between personal issues and the central crime were well balanced. Neither detracted from the other, resulting in a powerful book that can be read on many levels. If you want a gripping crime thriller, this is it. If you want a road journey with a couple of mates, this is it. If you want a deeply moving novel on the theme of the acceptance of death, this is it.
I look forward to reading many more Dave Burrows novels.