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Fritz Agency
Christian Dittus
Original language
English

CANTICLE CREEK

Adrian Hyland

Two bodies. One long hot summer. A town that will never be the same.

When Adam Lawson's wrecked car is found a kilometer from Daisy Baker's body, the whole town assumes it's an open and shut case. But Jesse Redpath isn't from Canticle Creek. Where she comes from, the truth often hides in plain sight, but only if you know where to look.

When Jesse starts to ask awkward questions, she uncovers a town full of contradictions and a cast of characters with dark pasts, secrets to hide and even more to lose. As the temperature soars, and the ground bakes, the wilderness surrounding Canticle Creek becomes a powder keg waiting to explode. All it needs is one spark.

From the author: "For many years I've been passionate about the Australian wilderness – I've lived in its deserts and forests, I was born and raised on its hardscrabble plains. The land matters, and it's in peril. Climate change is real and seemingly unstoppable but still I hope; I write because words are my only defense against this implacable enemy. Jesse Redpath is a Territorian cop who's been taught to care for country, and in Canticle Creek, while investigating a suspicious death, she deals with loggers, underworld crims, artists, greenies, property developers and other police, and learns that sometimes it's hard to be sure just who the good guys are."

Adrian Hyland is the award-winning author of Diamond Dove, Gunshot Road and Kinglake-350, which was shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Award for non-fiction in 2012.
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Published 2021-12-01 by Ultimo Press (Hardie Grant)

Comments

"Canticle Creek has the feel of the Outback, of small town claustrophobia, but also the encroaching perils that the city and the wider world bring. The theme of climate change underpins the novel. The tension between money and human activity and the changing environment feels urgent and real. This universal theme woven into a gritty rural drama is a key component of the best Outback fiction. From The Stoning by Peter Papathanasiou to novels by Garry Disher and Chris Hammer – there's a lot of Australian crime fiction to choose from. But Hyland makes the grade and well worth seeking out." Read more...

"The writing is generous and whip-smart, with sentences that will stop readers in their tracks to savour them ... Heart-racing twists propel the novel to its denouement, while the oppressive heat and arid landscape add an extra layer of threat to the unfolding drama." —Books+Publishing "The rural crime fiction wave continues with this brilliant new arid drama." —Australian Women's Weekly "Hyland has mastered the architecture of noir – his sinister tale seethes with small-town atmosphere and satisfying twists, set against the dangers and harsh beauty of the Australian landscape." —Sydney Morning Herald "an entertaining and engrossing novel. Hyland has written the ideal story for a long, hot summer, where fire always seems a possibility." —The Canberra Times "You can almost feel the blanketing heat and crunch of dry foliage underfoot while reading Canticle Creek ... a well-paced, atmospheric thriller with unexpected twists." —The West Australian

"Adrian Hyland, whose first novel, Diamond Dove, won a Ned Kelly award, sure has a way with words: 'A flock of rainbow lorikeets burst out of a scribbly gum and whirled overhead.' Man's quasi-mystical connection with the earth brings out the best in him: 'Mulga and feather-topped spinifex gave way to nuggety ghost gums and dolomite fuchsia.' Needless to say, Redpath's instincts prove correct and trigger further deadly twists. And Hyland, a seasoned firefighter, ensures the climactic inferno takes your breath away. More please."