Sticks and Stones
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4.0 • 58 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
'Lisa Gardner meets Harlan Coben in this impressive debut that's as disturbing as it is twisty. Firkin takes readers into the mind of a killer like no one else!' Charlie Donlea
It’s winter in Melbourne and Detective Emmett Corban is starting to regret his promotion to head of the Missing Persons Unit, as the routine reports pile up on his desk.
So when Natale Gibson goes missing, he’s convinced this is the big case he’s been waiting for – the woman’s husband and parents insist the devoted mother would never abandon her children, and her personal accounts remain untouched.
But things aren’t all they seem. The close-knit Italian family is keeping secrets - none bigger than the one Natale has been hiding.
Just as the net seems to be tightening, the investigation is turned on its head. The body of a woman is found . . . then another.
What had seemed like a standard missing person's case has turned into a frightening hunt for a serial killer, and time is running out.
But to really understand these shocking crimes, Emmett and his team will need to delve back through decades of neglect – back to a squalid inner-city flat, where a young boy is left huddling over his mother’s body . . .
'A crisp police procedural that shows its characters in both darkness and light . . . A suspenseful, assured debut for fans of Sarah Bailey and Chris Hammer.' Books + Publishing
Customer Reviews
Missing something
3.5 stars
Author
Australian journalist in her early 30s. Has worked in print media, television, radio, and online, starting with sport before expanding her horizons. This, her first novel, is drawn from crime stories she has covered. Ms Firkin was in NYC working for CBS when the pandemic hit the Big Apple, but made it home for her book launch, and lockdown in Melbourne.
In brief
Winter in Melbourne. Newly promoted head of the police Missing Persons Unit is wondering whether the pressure (professional, political, personal) is worth it. His boss and professional rival, the Homicide chief, is threatening closure of the unit because of funding cuts. Wifey is unhappy because he's never home and she's over looking after their kid all by herself. After retraining as photographer, she finally gets a job, thanks to a helpful mentor who wants more from her than she's prepared to give. A devastated dude who reports his sister missing feels unsupported by the plod. A nice Italian gal from a loving, read overbearing, family with a non-Italian, read dodgy, husband goes missing. The chicks turn up dead, then more go missing, including wifey at one stage, although that's a false alarm. Red herrings are cast about willy nilly, the requisite amount of plot twists and turns are supplied, and everything works out in the end, except for the chicks who got dead, of course, and the dude who...No more spoilers.
Writing
Crisp, competent prose. Somewhat clumsy characterisation but good enough for a first effort. Ditto for plot, which tried a little too hard to include all the popular tropes, but has enough going for it to maintain interest to the end.
Bottom line
Solid first effort by a local. Oi Oi Oi.
Compelling fiction that needs a series.
Great crime novel that keeps you guessing until the end. Would love a few more in this series.