Outback by Patricia WolfSynopsis: “TWO MISSING BACKPACKERS. ONE VAST OUTBACK.

DS Lucas Walker is on leave in his hometown, Caloodie, taking care of his dying grandmother. When two young German backpackers, Berndt and Rita, vanish from the area, he finds himself unofficially on the case. But why all the interest from the Federal Police when they have probably just ditched the heat and dust of the outback for the coast? Working in the organised crime unit has opened Walker’s eyes to the growing drug trade in Australia’s remote interior – and he becomes convinced there is more at play. As the number of days since the couple’s disappearance climbs, Walker is joined by Rita’s older sister. A detective herself with Berlin CID, she has flown to Australia – desperate to find her sister. Their search becomes ever more urgent as temperatures soar. Even if Walker does find the young couple, will it be too late?This deeply atmospheric thriller is the gripping opening of a new crime series for fans of Cara Hunter and Chris Whitaker.”

My Review

This was a really good, Australian crime novel, by a new-to-me author. It’s book one in a new series featuring DS Lucas Walker. I did a read/listen via the BookBeat app.

It’s set in the Australian outback, centring around two missing German backpackers. DS Walker, a detective on leave visiting family, gets involved in the case convinced it’s related to drug dealers. Then the sister of one of the backpackers, who also happens to be a Berlin detective, travels all the way from Germany, and at her insistence he starts to looks at the case in more depth.

I liked both DS Walker and Barbara, and really felt for her when everything is too slow and far too hot in the outback town. The descriptions of the dust and the heat and shabbiness of the area, were like characters in the story, reminiscent of Jane Harper’s books. It was quite dark in places and made me feel like I really didn’t want to would visit the outback!

This was a bit of slow burn until much later in the book when the tension really ramped up, so that at times I thought it couldn’t get any tenser! I fell for all the red herrings the author used to distract me, so was pleasantly surprised by the twist of the big reveal.

Adam Fitzgerald a new-to-me narrator was superb! His voice talents were excellent, I’d definitely listen to more books with him narrating.

Highly recommended on audio especially if you enjoy crime novels set in Australia. I  enjoyed it so much I’ve already started listening to book two!