Crucifixion Creek
The Belltree Trilogy, Book One
-
-
5.0 • 2 Ratings
-
-
- $17.99
-
- $17.99
Publisher Description
Homicide detective Harry Belltree wouldn't usually be looking too hard at an elderly couple's suicide pact. Especially now, when his brother-in-law Greg has just been stabbed to death. But it seems Greg and the old couple had ties to the same man, a bent moneylender with friends in high places - and low.
Harry can't get officially involved in Greg's murder, but he suspects a link with two other mysterious deaths: his parents'. And when he goes off-grid to investigate, that's when things start to get dangerous
Set in Sydney, this dark, morally ambiguous and adrenaline-charged new series is a triumphant change of direction for Barry Maitland.
Barry Maitland was born in Scotland, studied architecture at Cambridge University and went on to work as an architect and urban design expert. In 1984 he moved to Australia to head the architecture school at the University of Newcastle in New South Wales. In 1994 The Marx Sisters, the first in his Brock and Kolla crime series, was published. Barry now writes fiction full time. He is published throughout the English-speaking world and in translation in a number of other countries, including Germany, Italy, France and Japan. He lives in the Hunter Valley.
'One of the top five crime writers in the world.' Australian
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The author of the excellent Brock and Kolla crime novels introduces his first series set in Australia. Aboriginal police detective (and Afghanistan veteran) Harry Belltree and his new partner—straight-shooting chain smoker Deb Velasco—are called in to investigate back-to-back homicides in Crucifixion Creek. The southwest Sydney neighbourhood is the former site of a colonial massacre; it’s fallen on hard times and is now home to a menacing bikie fortress. The opening book of the Belltree Trilogy lays bare Harry’s grief-fueled obsession with finding the villains who’ve decimated his family. Maitland’s crisp and effortless style lets him shift nimbly between different perspectives, making his characters believable and alluring. With suspenseful twists and a cliffhanger ending, Crucifixion Creek leaves you wanting more.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This nail-biting first in a trilogy from Ned Kelley Award finalist Maitland (Raven's Eye and 11 other Brock and Kolla mysteries) introduces Harry Belltree, a Sydney, Australia, homicide detective, who's obsessed with the accident that killed his parents and left his wife, Jenny, blind from traumatic brain injury. When Greg March, Harry's brother-in-law, is murdered, he helps with the case, until his superior takes him off it. Harry begins his own investigation, which quickly becomes entangled in a villainous conspiracy involving illegal land deals, dangerous bikers, and corrupt politicians. He's helped by Jenny, who has expert computer skills, and by Kelly Pool, a pushy journalist to whom he feeds information to draw out those involved. In the pursuit of justice, Harry commits some shady acts that not only put him and everyone around him in serious danger but also jeopardize his law-enforcement career. Complex, interesting characters will keep readers engaged until the improbable and unsatisfying ending.
