In James Keegan’s debut novel teenage girls, mostly indigenous, have gone missing from the streets of Sydney, with police finding no clues as to who is taking them. Senior Constable Dan Porter works with troubled indigenous kids at a Redfern boxing gym and knows the local Aboriginal community is very worried. After an unfortunate work incident resulting in the death of two young men, Dan is offered the chance to get out of Sydney for a while by joining an inquiry team headed by Aboriginal Human Rights Advocate Lionel Roberts. Along with two federal police, the inquiry will look into the abuse and disappearance of girls during the 1960s. Lionel has been tipped off that he should base his inquiry in Crooked River, an outback town in north western New South Wales, and that what happened to girls in the past might help identify what is happening in the present.

Up to this point, I thought the plot was interesting with a political agenda in the background as well as a shadowy military style organization. However, once the novel moved onto Crooked River, the action really started to ramp up to a point that became less believable. There are so many deaths, particularly of people who have something to tell Lionel or Dan. None of them get autopsies, but surely the high number of sudden and violent deaths in the region would be setting off alarm bells at some level of the State police force. Dan also goes charging into dangerous situations without calling for back up or letting anyone know where’s he’s going, sometimes taking a civilian with him (Lionel in one situation, an aboriginal woman in another) and is beaten up and nearly killed several times. While Dan is clearly being depicted as an action type hero, I find this type of recklessness not very credible for a police officer.

Most Australian rural crime novels usually give the reader a good description of the setting to give them a sense of where the action is happening and it would also add depth to this novel to know a bit more about the fictional town and the inhabitants of Crooked River. Apart from being told it's in the far north west of New South Wales, it's difficult to know whether it is a large thriving community like Broken Hill built around mining or a tiny outback town where people are struggling to make a living.

Overall the novel is well written and very readable with a good plot, and may appeal to those who enjoy plenty of action in their thrillers . 2.5★

Cumal files by James Keegan is an investigative story about girls who are kidnapped off the streets in Sydney, Australia. Our hero is a police investigator Dan Porter who tries to find clues and join the dots to find the reason behind these kidnappings. The story starts off slow, but after a few chapters, the suspense prevails and the author manages to keep the suspense till the end. Its a sad story of what people with power and authority can do. This book made me angry and sad at many times! The language is understandable and the story line is not confusing, but dragged in some parts. Overall a good novel. Cumal files is the first novel in the series, am definitely gonna read the second instalment of the book.
Thank you NetGalley, the author and Sleuth Hound Books for sending a reader’s copy of this book. The review is purely based on my opinion and is not influenced.