What's New in Aussie Noir

Jane Harper is credited with putting the genre Aussie Noir on the world-wide stage – particularly with the release of the Aaron Falk movies (The Dry and Force of Nature). These aren’t just crime novels set in Australia, they also evoke the striking landscapes and inhabitants of small towns and rural backwaters - you might also hear it referred to as Outback Noir.

Whatever you like to call it, there have been some wonderful storytellers working the genre. Here’s a few you might like to check out:

One of the old guard, known for consistently good crime stories, is Garry Disher. His latest series features police whistle-blower, Paul Hirshhausen, a cop busted down to rural constable in the struggling country town of Tiverton. His work should mostly be keeping the peace, but you can’t keep a good detective down and soon his caseload takes him to the darker underbelly of rural community life. The first book is Bitter Wash Road, kicking off a series that you can rely on for a good mystery, interesting characters, authentic police procedure and a thread of dry humour.

Another cop who has been sent to work in the boondocks is Sergeant Mark Ariti in the books by Margaret Hickey. Ariti is in the town of Cutters End to investigate a recently reopened case with which he has a personal connection. Cutters End is classic rural noir, where the past catches up with the present and the locals don’t particularly trust the police so encouraging them to share information is an uphill battle. Ariti is an engaging main character, struggling with all kinds of history and a rickety personal life which makes him interesting.

Sarah Bailey has created a determined, energetic police officer in Gemma Woodstock, another cop whose personal life is often a train wreck. The first book in this series, The Dark Lake, is set in Gemma’s hometown of Smithson, where a former classmate of Gemma’s is found strangled, her body floating in the lake. The case is full of puzzling inconsistencies and takes Gemma back to disturbing events from her past. The following books develop Gemma’s character, and take her to varied new settings, before a return to Smithson in the fourth and final book. The Dark Lake won a Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Novel.

Dry, dusty landscapes abound in Chris Hammer’s debut novel, Scrublands – the first book of three following journalist Martin Scarsden. Here he’s in Riversend, reporting on the anniversary of a mass shooting involving an enigmatic young priest. There’s more crime and a bigger mystery at the heart of this gritty, well plotted story. Scrublands won the Jon Creasey (New Blood) Dagger award. Since the Martin Scarsden novels, Hammer has written four books in the Detective Nell Buchanan series, all making the most of atmospheric outback settings and the shadier side of human nature that haunts them.

Greg Woodland has won a Ned Kelly Award for each of his books featuring Constable Mick Goodenough, another recently demoted detective. A former city detective who has fallen out with his team over a particularly difficult case, he’s now in the small town of Moorabool until he can rebuild his career. In the first book, The Night Whistler, a perpetrator of violence against pets is written off as of little consequence by Mick’s boss, but Mick is convinced he’s just practicing and that homicide is on the cards. This mystery is set in the 1960s, capturing both period and place in a way that really takes you there.

10 October 2024

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