Dragon Man

June 28, 2004
Australian author Disher delivers an intelligent, atmospheric police procedural, the first of a new series. A serial killer targeting young women along the isolated Old Peninsula Highway has baffled Detective Inspector Hal Challis and his staff. Himself a resident of the Peninsula, as the locals call the sleepy "comma of land hooking into the sea south-east of Melbourne," Challis leads a solitary life. We soon learn that his wife Angela has spent the last seven years in prison for conspiring with her lover to murder him. Nicknamed "the dragon man," Challis in his spare time obsessively restores a vintage airplane, a Dragon Rapide. Indeed, as we meet the other police officers, it becomes clear that they're as interesting, not to mention as complex and morally ambiguous, as any of the criminals they seek. Pam Murphy, for instance, is an idealistic young constable recovering from a car crash and a nervous breakdown, and Sergeant Kees van Alphen raids the evidence locker for cocaine, which he trades for sex. Fans of such gritty yet cerebral crime novelists as Ian Rankin and Jack Harvey should be well pleased. (Aug. 15)

Forecast:
Disher's literary standing (his novel
The Sunken Road was nominated for the Booker Prize), Soho's reputation for quality (a Soho title won the Edgar for Best First Novel this year) and increasing U.S. interest in foreign crime writers all bode well for sales.

May 1, 2004
In small-town, southeastern Australia, Detective Inspector Challis and cohorts investigate a serial murderer preying on single women. Before the most recent victim is found, a local reporter receives a letter alluding to her death and to an expected next killing. The usual departmental complications ensue: public resentment of a hard-nosed constable, a problematic investigator who steals drugs for a new-found lover, a resident sex offender, and youngish vandals/burglars. Disher's solid prose connects the fascinating subplots, all centered on the fair-minded, airplane-restoring protagonist. A new award-winning Australian series for all collections. [Previewed in Mystery Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/04.]

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2004
A serial killer targeting young women is on the loose on the Old Peninsula Highway, located on a comma-shaped peninsula jutting into the sea, southeast of Melbourne. Detective Inspector Hal Challis is in charge of the investigation, along with a rash of burglaries and arson cases. Two women have been murdered, and a third has disappeared, leading the locals to worry that negative publicity will keep tourists from enjoying the peninsula as their holiday spot. Although the plot centers on the serial killer, other officers work other crimes, including the case of a mysterious woman, part of a witness-protection program, who is terrified when her mailbox is set alight. The beautifully described setting lets the reader feel the oppressive heat of a December summer in Australia, and the characters are well drawn and distinct. Challis himself is a likable, honorable police officer fighting his own demons along with corrupt colleagues and inept superiors. A solid new series from genre vet Disher.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)