The Night Whistler

Although this book is categorised as crime fiction, it also qualifies as historical fiction, being set in Northern New South Wales in the mid-1960s.

Hal is twelve years old and, while wandering around the bush outside the town of Moorabool with his younger brother Evan, comes across a German Shepherd that has been brutally killed and dumped in a drum. The boys remove the animal and try to give it a decent burial. Although disturbed by the discovery, being a fan of Sherlock Holmes, Hal decides to investigate. Could it be connected to the nearby sinister “Highway Palace”, an abandoned caravan with a dark history?

The owner of the dog is Mick Goodenough (pronounced Good-No), a detective recently exiled from Sydney and demoted to probationary constable in the rural town. When he discovers the burial, he recognises the warning signs of a potentially dangerous psychopath on the loose. But he is up against the convoluted undercurrents of life in a small town including adultery, corruption, racism and even apathy.

Apart from Hal and Mick, these are an interesting range of characters. There’s the local power couple, the Curios, who have ambitious and ruthless plans for land development. The police sergeant Bradley may be in their pocket and Hal’s parents’ marriage is under stress. While her husband is away, Hal's mother starts receiving menacing phone calls from someone who whistles the Elvis tune, "Are you Lonesome Tonight?" Could he also be the perpetrator of the killings?

As things escalate at a terrifying rate, narrow-mindedness and prejudice sees the finger immediately pointed at the Aboriginal community without due diligence of the facts. Mick has his work cut out for him proving the truth, while Hal’s youthful enterprise and intelligence is a refreshing twist on the usual stock investigative characters.

This book must come with a warning as there is graphic violence with both animal and human torture that some readers may find hard to take, but its plotting, authentic dialogue and Australian country atmosphere can’t be faulted.

Four stars.

With thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC.

(Not on sale in the USA until 2021.)


 
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