Gemtown

GREAT AUSSIE BUSH NOIR CRIME - IF YOU LIKE CHRIS HAMMER, JANE HARPER AND GARRY DISHER, YOU'LL PROBABLY LOVE THIS LACONIC QUEENSLANDER. Private Investigator Jack Paige's return to Gemtown was supposed to be routine. Yet what he finds shocks even this unflappable ex-Special Forces Prosecutor: murder, corruption and entrenched interests trying to shaft him. Yet again !!! Deep in the Australian outback, Elisabeth Lambert, an acclaimed Hollywood actress, returns unannounced to Gemtown but is brutally murdered in the Sapphire Artesian Resort soon afterwards. Jack Paige has returned to settle his parents estate and exonerate his brother for a murder committed many years before. Shocked by the death of his childhood sweetheart, he vows to find her killer. Yet every move the laconic Queenslander makes is thwarted by the entrenched interests of the O’Donohue’s, ruthless rulers of this town for over a century. Feeling the direct might of the establishment, Jack is arrested for the murder. When a young man confesses to the crime, Jack is exonerated but he questions the confession, believing it to be part of a wider conspiracy. Teaming with Detective Jessica Small, they embark on a mission to find those responsible, knowing it will lay bare the dark underbelly of this town. Including two previous cold murder cases. Pursuing their targets, Jack and Jess discover that a missing computer hard drive may hold vital clues in solving the crime. Relentlessly pursuing this crucial evidence, Jack and Jess are frustrated by political, mining and commercial interests at every turn. It is unclear how far these dark forces will go to keep their secrets safe, but one thing is clear. They intend to do so. At any cost. Can Jack and Jess find the justice they demand?