Peter Temple

ABC TV announces Valentine's Day

Karen — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:45:55 +1100

Amongst a fabulous other line-up for 2008 on ABC TV, this little gem:

Valentine's Day
90-minute telemovie
A charming comedy of redemption, Valentine’s Day is the story of Ben Valentine (Rhys Muldoon), who’s totally lost his way in the world. He finds himself in a strange country town where suddenly and unexpectedly he’s forced to engage with its inhabitants, having been sentenced to 200 hours of community service coaching the town’s 'no-hoper' football team. Embraced heart and soul by the townsfolk, this one-time drifter learns how to live and love again. An ABC TV / December Films co-production, starring Rhys Muldoon, Freya Stafford, Anita Hegh and Michael Tuahine. Directed by Peter Duncan and written by acclaimed novelist Peter Temple. Producer Tony Wright, Executive Producer ABC TV Head of Drama, Miranda Dear.

An Iron Rose

Karen — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:20:53 +1000

ISBN 1920885501

Blurb from the book

MacFaraday is a man with a past living a quiet life in the country - until his beloved friend New Lowey is found hanged. Is it suicide?

Faraday won't accept that and starts to ask questions. As Faraday's search begins to uncover chilling secrets, he finds himself thrown back into the past, forced to confront the dangers of his old life.

How Did you Feel About An Iron Rose?

Submitted by Karen on Sun, 09/09/2007 - 3:52pm.

Technorati Tags:

Australian Crime Fiction Snapshot - Peter Temple

CrimeDownUnder — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 08:06:00 +1100

1. Congratulations on the success of The Broken Shore - the Dagger must come in very handy. After 8 novels and 5 Ned Kelly Awards, it must be a somewhat bemusing experience to be "discovered" by the rest of the world. I couldn't imagine it's a bad thing but has the demand on your time increased greatly this past year or so?

Strange to say, the major consequence of winning the Dagger has been being discovered in Australia. Over the years, I have always enjoyed better reviews than sales in my own country. Then came the Gold Dagger and, thanks to the media blitz organised by Text Publishing's high-revving publicity manager, Kirsty Wilson, THE BROKEN SHORE began to sell from Port Douglas to Port Hedland. Outside Australia, the award triggered rights sales to countries where very few Australians have been published, and that is gratifying. I'm happy to report that demands on my time have increased.

Read the Rest of the Article

Bad Debts

Karen — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:20:53 +1000

ISBN 1877008729

Blurb from the book

There wasn't anything the cops could do for you if people wanted to kill you. Not unless there was something you could do for the cops, and then you ended up living in a caravan park in Deniliquin on the witness protection program.

Meet Jack Irish, criminal lawyer, debt collector, football lover, turf watcher, trainee cabinetmaker, and the best Australian crime character we've seen in years.

When Jack receives a puzzling message from a jailed ex-client, he's too deep in misery over Fitzroy's latest loss to take much notice. Next thing Jack knows, the ex-client's dead and he's been drawn into a life-threatening investigation involving high-level corruption, dark sexual secrets, shonky property deals, and murder. With hitmen after him, shady ex-policemen at every turn, and the body count rising, Jack needs to find out what's going on - and fast.

An utterly compelling and topical crime novel, Bad Debts has everything - humour, action, suspense, and an unforgettable cast of characters.

How Did you Feel About Bad Debts?

Submitted by Karen on Sun, 09/09/2007 - 3:55pm.

Technorati Tags:

Black Tide

Karen — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:20:54 +1000

ISBN 1920885137

Blurb from the book

Jack Irish - gambler, lawyer, finder of missing people - is recovering from a foray into the criminal underworld when he agrees to look for the missing son of Des Connors, the last living link to Jack's father. It's an offer he soon regrets.

As Jack begins his search, he discovers that prodigal sons sometimes go missing for a reason. Gary Connors was a man with something to hide, and his trail leads Jack to millionaire and political kingmaker Steven Levesque, a man harboring a deep and deadly secret.

Black Tide, the second book in Peter Temple's celebrated Jack Irish series, takes us back into a brilliantly evoked world of pubs, racetracks, and sports - not to mention intrigue, corruption, and violence.

How Did you Feel About Black Tide?

Submitted by Karen on Sun, 09/09/2007 - 3:58pm.

Technorati Tags:

Broken Shore, The

Karen — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:21:13 +1000

ISBN 1920885773

Blurb from the book

Joe Cashin was different once. He moved easily then; was surer and less thoughtful. But there are consequences when you've come so close to dying. For Cashin, they included a posting away from the world of Homicide to the quiet place on the coast where he grew up. Now all he has to do is play the country cop and walk the dogs. And sometimes think about how he was before.

Then prominent local Charles Bourgoyne is bashed and left for dead. Everything seems to point to three boys from the nearby Aboriginal community; everyone seems to want it to. But Cashin is unconvinced.

And as tragedy unfolds relentlessly into tragedy, he finds himself holding onto something that might be better let go. Peter Temple's gift for compelling plots and evocative, compassionately drawn characters has earnt him a reputation as the grand master of Australian crime writing.

The Broken Shore is Temple's finest book yet; a novel about a place, about family, about politics and power, and the need to live decently in a world where so much is rotten. It is a work as moving as it is gripping, and one that defies the boundaries of genre.

How Did you Feel About The Broken Shore?

Submitted by Karen on Sun, 09/09/2007 - 4:09pm.

Technorati Tags:

BROKEN SHORE, THE - Peter Temple

Karen — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 15:46:54 +1000

Crime & Justice Festival - The Sessions - A Conversation with Peter Temple

Karen — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:05:31 +1000

The best thing about getting up at a ridiculously early hour to get into the city is that at the end of it you get to spend some time in charming company. The session with Peter Temple was very much a conversation with he and Clare Forster talking about a range of things including the vagaries of plotting on whiteboards, the difficulties in trying not to repeat yourself, and the difference in writing a novel like Shooting Star and In The Evil Day. Peter Temple has a background as a journalist (which he calls an antidote to writing (I think he's partly joking / maybe totally joking - it's hard to tell :) ), and he has a particular fondness for writing dialogue. He did go through the problems in writing realistic "reading" dialogue as opposed to realistic "said" dialogue which was interesting. He also answered a number of questions from the audience and talked about the vagaries of working with film / tv adaptations of the writers work. It sounds like he's had some very nice lunches and some very sobering experiences.

Luckily I'd taken my second copy of Shooting Star to be signed as this was one of the books that he spoke about - written very quickly to get the feeling of rush and panic inherent in the subject matter, the book is one that he mentioned he thinks fondly on. I'd read it originally many years ago so was pleased to revisit it on it's re-release. It does give the reader a feeling of the intense pressure of the circumstance, and it is different from his other books - in particular The Broken Shore. If you haven't read it - give it a go.

Currently Reading - Shooting Star, Peter Temple

Karen — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:10:27 +1100

Text have recently released SHOOTING STAR - originally published in 1999 and re-reading it is absolutely no chore whatsoever.

"The house was in a street running off Ballarat Road. Doomed weatherboard dwellings with rusting roofs and mangy little patches of lawn faced each other across a pocked tarmac strip. At the end of the street, by the feeble light of a streetlamp, two boys were kicking a football to each other, uttering feral cries as they lost sight of it against the almost-dark sky."

Dead Point

Karen — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:20:58 +1000

ISBN 1863252223

Blurb from the book

Jack Irish - lawyer, gambler and people-finder - is hunting down the villains who hijacked the winnings from his latest betting coup when he is hired by a mystery client to find missing barman Robbie Colburne. But Robbie turns up dead of a drug overdose. The case should be closed, but the dashing young barman was far from what he seemed, and the client wants to know more.

As Jack explores the young man's past, he finds himself drawn int oa deadly network of power, politics and money. In this world, nothing can be taken at face value and everyone is expendable - including Jack.

A taut and gripping thriller set in a sharply-drawn world of pubs, racetracks and dangerous people, Dead Point is Peter Temple at his finest.

How Did you Feel About Dead Point?

Submitted by Karen on Sun, 09/09/2007 - 4:01pm.

Technorati Tags: