Opal by Patricia WolfSynopsis: “A small mining town. A brutal double murder. A killer among them. DS Lucas Walker is off duty. He’s supposed to be showing his little sister Grace the Australian outback, on her visit from Boston, but instead they’re headed out bush- where Walker’s cousin has been mining for boulder opal. Something seemed off when Walker heard that Blair wanted to get out of Kanpara, so he and Grace are en route to bring him home to Caloodie. But Kanpara is in Channel Country, and a major flood is on the way. The atmosphere in the isolated mining town is already tense with rumours of a big opal find, and when Walker, Grace and Blair wake up the next day they find themselves completely cut off. A deluge far north has run off into the rivers that make up this unique ecosystem, and the roads will be impassable for days. As they take in their predicament, Blair receives a shocking phone call. Two bodies have been found, brutally murdered. The husband is an immediate suspect, but Walker is not convinced. And when Blair is taken in for questioning, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Before the water recedes, he must work with local police to uncover the killer in their midst. Can Walker act fast enough to save his cousin, and keep Grace safe?“

My Review

Having loved Outback, and then Paradise, the first two books in this new-to-me Australian crime series, I had to keep listening and went straight onto book 3.

This book is set in the bush this time, specifically a small opal mining town in Channel Country.

Lucas is on leave with his half sister Grace, who’s on holiday from Boston. They drive up to the town of Kanpara to collect Lucas’ cousin Blair, who’s had enough of mining and wants go back home to his family in Caloodie.

Unfortunately they’re cut off by a flood and can’t leave, and then they hear about the murders. Lucas, being a cop who never seems to be off duty, gets involved especially when Blair is taken in for questioning. And so begins a very tense situation for Lucas, Blair and Grace.

Once again the descriptions of the area were like another character. I felt like I was there in the small town full of suspicious narrow minded characters who all had a motive for the murders. As they waited for the flood waters to recede and continued with the investigation the tension increased. The red herrings were really good, but I’d worked who was guilty before the big reveal came, which was very satisfying!

Adam Fitzgerald’s narration was superb again, bringing all the different characters to life!

Highly recommended on audio especially if you enjoy crime novels set in Australia. I love this series and hope they’ll be another book next year!