DARK COUNTRY - Brownyn Parry
Sergeant Kris Matthews has a challenging job to perform in a very tough
environment. Dungirri is a small community and offers all that Australian
bush towns do such as peace, beauty and extreme isolation. Its people
must rely heavily on each other and to lose the trust of a neighbour means to
lose your sense of belonging in your own town.
The remoteness of the location can either help or hinder a murder
investigation. The distances to cover by a small police force are large
and the number of people necessary to interview are few. Most are already
known to police as fellow residents they might encounter in the every
day. Living in Dungirri for most is not a lifestyle choice but a proud
heritage to continue, with little changing from generation to generation.
For eighteen years Morgan 'Gil' Gillespie has been making his fortune away in
the bright lights of Sydney. In running far away to avoid problems back
in Dungirri, he has managed to find some more to call his own. Success
elsewhere means nothing to the town who remembers him with almost the same level
of loathing in which they recall his stern father. When a body is found
in the boot of Gil's car in the main street of the town, Dungirri is quick to
judge. Kris Matthews perhaps would have not been a lot different, had she
not been Gil's alibi. Battling to prove herself to Dungirri also, she
finds herself at Gil's side as he battles prejudice and the long memories of
some very bitter people. Again, enemies from Gil's past seek him out, and
put those he once loved and left behind in great danger.
Book Review:
You'd be hard put to think of another mystery series, with a female protagonist
that is set in the Australian outback so on this alone, perhaps author Brownyn
Parry has chosen her setting and thus her market very well. We have
somewhat of an old fashioned girl leading the action in this novel, and it
serves the character well to have that pioneering spirit in a single woman
keeping law and order in the back of beyond.
A huge and not to be undersold appeal of Parry's novels is the picture they
paint of small town Australia. Dungirri could be any one of hundreds of
towns in any of the mainland States and it pays gentle respect to the tenacity
of their inhabitants that live in such inhospitable surrounds. DARK
COUNTRY is a more sophisticated novel than its predecessor, AS DARKNESS FALLS,
though the two are very similar in construction and plot. The army of
romantic suspense readers that have embraced a new talent will no doubt carry
that interest onto the third book currently in the works. Parry's novels
have that aura of yesteryear about them, which can be a nice change to reading
of an investigation made more clinical by the opinion of instantly available
experts and the swift results of forensic testing.
Romantic suspense is a combination of two genres that are the two best sellers
in this country, romance and crime/mystery. The writers who choose to
tackle this market can often alienate the readers of either camp who stray in
by not including enough of the unspoken formula to each. DARK COUNTRY is
not about the mystery, rather the mystery or crime element is a tool in which
to bring the two lovers together. The suspense relates to whether Gil and
Kris can overcome obstacles to be together, not as to whether a killer is
brought to justice, or not.
Australian author Brownyn Parry lives in country New South
Wales with her husband and two dogs.
Other Entries About this Book:
Books
Book Review
Blog entry
Other Entries About this Author:
Author
Bronwyn Parry :
21 Jul 2011 - 6:01pm
Books
As Darkness Falls :
21 Jul 2011 - 10:13pm
Dark Country :
21 Jul 2011 - 10:18pm
Book Review
AS DARKNESS FALLS - Bronwyn Parry :
9 Sep 2008 - 11:36pm
DARK COUNTRY - Brownyn Parry :
2 Jan 2010 - 3:21pm
Blog entry
2010 Davitt Award Nominees :
1 Jul 2010 - 9:03pm
