Catching the Bad Guys

This is Jane Harper’s debut novel and is set in the small town of Kiewarra, Australia. The country is experiencing it’s worst drought in a century and Kiewarra hasn’t had rain in 2 years. In and amongst all this tension 3 members of the same family are brutally murdered and the finger of suspicion is pointed at husband Luke in a typically murder/suicide scenario.

The detective called in to solve the crime is a past resident of Kiewarra who hasn’t visited his home town in over 20 years due to secrets from his own past which inevitably bubble to the surface.

Jane’s description of the drought is so vivid you can feel the blistering heat, the story is told in a series of flashbacks which eventually reveal what happened both then and now. Old sins cast long shadows.