Canticle Creek

This was my first novel by this author and I will definitely be looking out for more.

The novel is set in Australia and the author does a fantastic job of transporting you there through vivid descriptions of what is a beautiful country.

The story focuses on the death of Daisy Baker. Adam, a relative newcomer in town, is also found dead next to her body with Daisy's blood on his hands, and it doesn't take long for the local police to jump to conclusions.

However, local cop Jesse isn't convinced. She knew Adam, and whilst he was always getting involved in minor scrapes, she doesn't believe he would ever be involved in murder.

A really well written novel which you will devour in a couple of sittings.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ultimo Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Wow! A truly great thriller, atmospheric with a gripping storyline and characters you won't forget. Jesse Redpath is the officer in charge at Kulara in the Australian outback. When Daisy Baker is found dead, she visits the scene. The prime suspect is Danny, a local lad who was found dead beside her. Daisy was an artist who loved to sketch the local flora and fauna. When Jesse examines Daisy's studio, she is particularly struck by one of her final sketches of an unusual orchid. Could this be a clue? Once you start reading, you won't want to stop!

I love this one. A delightful book about atmospheric mystery that unfolds in a most deliberate and consuming way.

Set in Australia, this book is a murder mystery - several, in fact. It's a beautiful book in many ways, but also brutal - the brutality of man and of the land. There's the beauty of art, there's the harsh countryside, ready to blaze it's so dry, and there's lots of suspicion. I found it brilliant and look forward to more from this author.

This is a dramatic novel. The backdrop of the outback in the state of Victoria not far (although everywhere in Australia is far) from Melbourne is used to advantage. Jesse Redpath is fond of a young man called Adam who leaves the area where she is a police woman and ends up dead having apparently murdered a woman called Daisy. Jesse doesn’t believe he is capable of this so travels with her father to interfere in this other police business. They give her latitude to review their case and, of course, she is proved to be right. The story keeps looking as if it is a dead end then opens up again. The ending is very satisfying. The author portrays rough rural Australia very well and uses it to advantage. I loved reading this and recommend it without reservation.

Set in the small town of Kularu in Northern territories, Australia, this is an excellent read. I loved Jesse, Senior Constable, and the beautiful descriptive passages which transported me right to the burning outback. The pace is fast, there is plenty suspense and I loved the ending. A highly recommended read for lovers of Aussie crime fiction. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

Really well written and a great story

*What’s it about?*

When Jess keeps Adam out of juvenile prison, she hopes it will give him a second chance and give him the opportunity to fulfill his artistic challenge.

A year later she hears he’s killed a woman and then died while escaping.

This doesn’t sound like the Adam she knows but the evidence is compelling. She goes to the city to find out what really happened

*What did I think?*

This was excellent. The plot was well worked and you are gradually exposed to everything going on. This was one of the best books I’ve read for a while

After I settled in to the very Australian text which contains slang words that I had to look up - I really enjoyed this book. It evoked the heat and the dust of the outback and made it clear that it was a completely different environment. I found that as I worked through the story I was able to identify with the main characters and was hoping for their success.
The detective story works to solve the murders but eventually I felt that the outback won!
I enjoyed the changes through the action and the reflection as the story developed.

To label this wonderful book (the first I have read by Adrian Hyland) as a murder mystery goes nowhere near to doing it justice as it is so much more than that. Yes, it has the vivid depictions of the main characters, the tight and complex plotting and the narrative twists and turns that all good murder mysteries demand; but there is also a lyrical beauty about the author’s descriptions of the topography, the flora and fauna, the light and the very atmosphere of the Australian outback town and its surroundings in which the book is set. I loved the use of the outback argot (is there any word that can’t be abbreviated?) as it added to what appeared to this non-Australian to be an authentic evocation of small town, rural Australia. I strongly recommend this book and this author.

A young woman's body is found, and on the same day the burnt out car containing the body of her boyfriend, Adam, a troubled lad known to experiment with drugs is found after he drove off the road. Everyone assumes, and the evidence points, to Adam killing Daisy then panicking to make his escape. But Jesse Redpath, a police officer, isn't so sure - she supported Adam, kept him out of prison and can't believe he would do this crime.

So she leaves the Territories for Melbourne on a period of leave to investigate. Trying to find out why Daisy was killed, and by whom, brings danger to Jesse and all who are trying to help her. The final scenes where the rogue fires are threatening to engulf both evidence and investigators was just amazing.

Its a fantastic read, bringing to life modern Australia in vivid colours. I thoroughly enjoyed it and really hope the author has more in store for Jesse!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ultimo Press for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Canticle Creek" is a really enjoyable crime thriller set in Australia during a prolonged drought. It starts in the red centre but then moves to Victoria, about an hour out of Melbourne. Jesse Redpath is a wonderful heroine who is strong and resourceful. She makes use of every skill she has, including the Thai kick-boxing she uses to keep fit and let off steam, and the tracking skills learnt from an Aboriginal colleague, to solve her cases. In fact, the strongest characters in this novel are all women.

The descriptions of the people and the countryside are so vivid that you can see them, and the heat sizzles off the pages. Will there be more adventures for Jesse Redpath? Let's hope so.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

This is the first story that I have read by Adrian Hyland but I hope that it won't be the last.
Jesse Redpath had earned a law degree but decided to join the police force in the small town of Kerula in the North Territory, it was here where she kept up her fitness levels and honed her skills, she learned to track and read the earth and her surroundings, her success rate was excellent.
Adam Lawson was a loveable rogue, he left his graffiti everywhere but Jesse could see potential in his graffiti, when he came up before the magistrate, Jesse persuaded the magistrate to allow Adam to live with her father and work at a local bar, this worked well, her artist father could see Adam's talent and nurtured it.
It was a bit of a shock to Jesse and Ben when Adam up and left, probably to follow a girl but they had always known that he was a free spirit.
Jesse and Ben were devastated when they heard that Adam was dead, he had murdered a young girl and smashed a stollen car killing himself in the process..............this wasn't the Adam that they knew so they set off for the small town of Canticle Creek a short distance from Melbourne to investigate.
Ben was a much sought after artist and as such they were welcomed into the home of Lucy, daughter of distinguished Japanese artist Kenji Takada, her husband Sam, and their sixteen year old, wise beyond her years daughter, Possum.
This story follows Jessie questioning the local police's conclusion and persuading them, with her assistance , to investigate further. Things got very fraught, the heat was getting to everyone, fire a constant danger, the fear was almost palpable. As more and more suspects were uncovered and more and more reasons for the murders, things became dangerous, Jesse was to need all her skills.
I really like this author's descriptive powers, I could almost feel the heat and smell the fire, I loved the main characters, I loved the friendship between Jessie and feisty Possum and I loved learning more about the indigenous people of Australia.

I have just finished reading this book,it was a little different from the fiction I usually read but thoroughly enjoyed it.
The depth of description about both the deserts and the farmlands of Australia, the flora, fauna and wildlife is well worth reading. Plus those regarding the Native Australian people are written in a truly warm way.
Yes it's a great crime thriller that twists and turns throughout but it's also a book about art. You will certainly appreciate the amount of time that has been spent by the author researching this book.

Canticle Creek was a wonderful read. I felt like I was lost in the story and the settings. I loved the eclectic mix of characters and the humour in their banter. The last few pages really gave me goosebumps. A beautifully written book and my favourite so far this year.

Two bodies. One long hot summer. A town that will never be the same.
When Adam Lawson’s wrecked car is found a kilometre 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 powderkeg waiting to explode.
All it needs is one spark.

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I shall defiantly be looking out for more. The story set in the Australian outback, Daisy Baker is found dead and her murderer is killed in a car crash open and shut case?? Jesse Redpath a police woman from a different area doesn’t think all is as it seems so decides to investigate on her own time. This is a wonderfully written very atmospheric crime thriller.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Canticle Creek in return for my honest review.