Small town, a seemingly open and shut crime has occurred. A police officer with something to prove, alongside her eccentric father travel to the small town and is determined to get to the bottom of whatever is going on. Canticle Creek was a hot bed of secrets amid the soaring heat of the summer sun. As Jesse made herself known to the local cops, she made some friends – and enemies - while investigating. Possum, a sixteen-year-old young woman who had more smarts than some adults Jesse had met, was intelligent and helpful. But what would they find in the small town of Canticle Creek? I thought the mystery was quite original, and I loved most of the characters, especially Jesse and Possum. The only thing that was hard to swallow was that a police officer from another jurisdiction would be so well tolerated in the middle of a murder investigation. But as long as you can accept that, it's a fast-paced, satisfying ride. Another thing I really enjoyed was the incorporation of visual art and conservation in the storyline, giving Hyland's writing the opportunity to shine as he describes the paintings and the environment. As the temperature soars, and the ground bakes, the wilderness surrounding Canticle Creek becomes a powderkeg waiting to explode. All it needs is one spark. So she leaves the Territories for Melbourne on a period of leave to investigate. Trying to find out why Daisy was killed, and by whom, brings danger to Jesse and all who are trying to help her. The final scenes where the rogue fires are threatening to engulf both evidence and investigators was just amazing.

Canticle Creek by Adrian Hyland | Waterstones

Jesse a Police officer in a small Australian town tries to help a young man to keep out of trouble. When Jesse starts to ask awkward questions, she uncovers a town full of contradictions and a cast of characters with dark pasts, secrets to hide and even more to lose. Adam Lawson was a loveable rogue, he left his graffiti everywhere but Jesse could see potential in his graffiti, when he came up before the magistrate, Jesse persuaded the magistrate to allow Adam to live with her father and work at a local bar, this worked well, her artist father could see Adam's talent and nurtured it.Jesse Redpath is a cop from the Territory. She helps a young Adam when he does something illegal by offering him a second chance; helping her dad and working in the local roadhouse. A week later, Adam runs away and Jesse doesn’t think about him again except to send a warrant. More direct than Disher, but really well written and plotted, with more twists and turns than many a country road! Jesse Redpath is a police officer in Northern Territory. When a likeable petty criminal, whom Jesse previously vouched for, is implicated in a murder in Victoria, Jesse goes there to carry out her own unofficial investigation. She’s not the only one with doubts about the boy’s guilt. Local horse-mad teenager, Possum, is keen to help Jesse with her enquiries, while former drug-addict, Nadia, doesn’t want to help at all.

Canticle Creek by Adrian Hyland | Goodreads

When Kulara police officer Jesse Redpath learns about the death of Adam Lawson, a young man from her Northern Territory community, the circumstances don’t make sense to her. Serendipitously, an invitation for her artist father to an exhibition in Melbourne, gives Jesse the opportunity to visit Canticle Creek and do a little investigating of her own. So much for the city folk. But while admiring Takada’s painting, they meet his daughter, Lucy, with her husband Sam and teen-aged daughter Possum. They invite Ben and Jesse to visit the Bluehouse, their home, if they’re ever in the Canticle Creek area.The novel is set in Australia and the author does a fantastic job of transporting you there through vivid descriptions of what is a beautiful country.

Canticle Creek | Adrian Hyland | 9781761151163 | NetGalley Canticle Creek | Adrian Hyland | 9781761151163 | NetGalley

The story focuses on the death of Daisy Baker. Adam, a relative newcomer in town, is also found dead next to her body with Daisy's blood on his hands, and it doesn't take long for the local police to jump to conclusions.When young repeat offender Adam Lawson is brought before the magistrate yet again, Jesse steps up to convince the judge to release him into the care of her father, whose influence Jesse hopes can guide the lad. Though the case was pretty much closed, Jesse started doing some digging of her own and soon started to ruffle a few feathers with her snooping. I’ve read all of Adrian’s books, several of which are set in NT. He experienced the Kinglake area Victorian bushfires and has written a book about this (from the perspective of a local policeman I think) so I wasn’t surprised to see the bushfire theme in his latest book. Robert Kenny’s memoir of the same fires still haunts me, for example his boots melting. For mine, the other outstanding crime novel by an Australian in 2021 was Unforgiven by Sarah Barrie whose books are gripping.

Canticle Creek by Adrian Hyland — Readings Books Review: Canticle Creek by Adrian Hyland — Readings Books

All of these elements, together with a few well-placed twists, combine to make Canticle Creek another enjoyable Australian rural noir procedural. Robert Goodman It’s been a decade since I have read Adrian Hyland’s Gunshot Road and Diamond Dove yet both Australian crime novels remain favourites, so I jumped at the opportunity to read Canticle Creek. The common narrative that pits humanity against nature assumes that our “innate greed” implicates us all in climate change. The environmental movement, too, buys into this myth with its longing for pristine wilderness unspoiled by humankind, argues Jeff Sparrow. This urgent, incisive work resoundingly refutes this arbitrary divide by showing how industrialisation, in the hands of the wealthy and powerful, drove a wedge between ordinary people and the natural world. Hence, the simplistic “jobs versus environment” binary that stymies our current climate-change debate. The alternative, however, is right under our noses. “In pre-capitalist Australia, humans did not despoil the land.” They worked in harmony with it, enhancing nature rather than plundering it. And it was a collective endeavour. It is in this understanding of human nature that Sparrow finds hope. Jesse Redpath is an interesting detective to spend time with, facing up to sexism and the walls put in front of a woman detective, especially one investigating a case outside her jurisdiction. A second outing would be welcome if Hyland has a mind for it. She has great intuition, a strong sense of what’s right and is a savvy detective. She’s also very down to earth and easy to like. The time she spends with her father is a treat – a grumpy old curmudgeon with softer edges than he’d care to admit, very proud of his daughter but not keen to let on. Their relationship plays into the story nicely.

When Jess keeps Adam out of juvenile prison, she hopes it will give him a second chance and give him the opportunity to fulfill his artistic challenge. The readers of Canticle Creek will learn about how small communities can interact with each other. Also, the readers will understand that they can not save everyone if they do not want to help themselves.