Wimmera

Two boys yabbying find a screwed-down wheelie bin in a river. We don’t know what’s in it, but as this is a crime thriller we might guess.
 
Flashback to 1989 and two other boys, Ben and Fab, are best mates. They have the usual interests of boys hovering on puberty - TV, music, sports, girls and sex. They’re curious as to why 14 year old Daisy hung herself off the Hills hoist in a neighbour’s yard. When her parents move out, a single man, Ronnie, moves in. Ben starts doing a few chores for him for pocket money. Fab has a rough path having to deal with violence at the hands of his father at home and from other boys at school.
 
The creepy Ronnie has paedophile written all over him, with Ben looking like his preferred victim. Fab has an inner pressure-cooker steaming away because of the way he is being treated by others. One can see where this is going but it takes a long time to get there without any surprises or unexpected twists, except perhaps in the final court scene. In the beginning the dialogue is typical kids’ talk with relevant c. 1980s references, but the time-frame gets less clear as the novel progresses and jumps around. Although there are some descriptions of pornography, we are spared most of the graphic detail in the pivotal scenes and towards the end too much is left unsaid or just doesn’t quite gel somehow.
 
For me this would have worked much better if there was greater exploration of the psychological trauma suffered by the two boys with perhaps the introduction of a character who was prepared to help them at some point or who was brought in to support the legal case.
 
I have to admit I only decided to read this because I’d just been on a road trip through the same landscape of the Wimmera passing through towns like Stawell where the characters in this book live. One of the blurbs says this "perfectly captures life in small-town Australia" which is unlikely to please the residents of Stawell who probably much prefer their association with healthier pursuits like running [see Stawell Gift]. On the other hand, if the novel gains any notoriety it may be the town will become part of the macabre tourist route based on the growing “Aussie-noir” crime genre. 
 
Three stars.
 
 
Booktopia

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk [not yet available]

---