A river flows gently past—murder sites!

Black River (Rose Riley #1) by Matthew Spencer          

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Set on the Parramatta River north of Sydney near Gladesville. A series of particularly viscous sexual murders have spooked the community. The deaths began maybe a couple of years ago.

A huge investigative police strike force has been put together led by Detective Chief Inspector Steve O’Neil and Detective Sergeant Rose Riley. Its code name is Satyr.

Adam Bowman is a newspaper journalist who lives out that way, near the elite boarding school, Prince Albert, he’d attended. His father had been the school chaplain.

An attack has happened at the school. The current chaplain’s eighteen year old daughter Marguerite Dunlop, is found murdered.

Is it the work of Gladesville, the killer the police are combing through a zillion places for? Gladesville is dubbed the Blue Moon Killer by the press.

Bowman knows the place like the back of his hand and walks through tracks unknown to the police to take a look. He’s eventually spotted by O’Neil who decide to use him as a media conduit.

Bowman is convinced the river is the key. Riley saw that “the river was [the killer’s] highway, and Gladesville was a truck stop. By comparison O’Neil tends to chase several different leads before focusing on the one.

The river and its tributaries has a history, brooding and dark, from white invasion times.

The plot mixes Bowman’s story, the killing of Marguerite, and the other Gladesville deaths into a cauldron of intrigue and expectation, flavouring it with a rather narcissistic head master, the Griffith mafia and a high rolling politician. The search for the murderer is part diligence and intuition, solid investigative procedures and sometimes a stroke of luck.

A super atmospheric plot that draws you in. 

A Thomas & Mercer ARC via NetGalley.                                              

Many thanks to the author and publisher.

Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change