Under the Cold Bright Lights

May 6, 2019
In this beautifully written if flawed thriller from Ned Kelly Award–winner Disher (Signal Loss), former homicide detective Alan Auhl, who has come out of retirement to handle cold cases, and his team look into the discovery of a body found under an old concrete slab in a rural area near Melbourne, Australia. Their first task is to identify the Slab Man, a shooting victim, then to figure out who killed him and why. Another case for Auhl centers on a self-important doctor whose first and second wives died mysteriously, and who now believes his third wife wants him dead. Meanwhile, Auhl is managing a strange household of lodgers, including a fearful young mother involved in a bitter custody dispute over her 10-year-old daughter. Auhl crosses all kinds of lines to help people. The focus on such crimes as child abuse and religious scamming serves to show how justice is rarely gotten through institutional means. Unfortunately, readers will struggle to keep track of the multiple story lines. This is a rare misstep for Disher.

June 1, 2019
Disher, the prolific Australian great, best known for the Inspector Challis series (Signal Loss, 2017), offers a stand-alone about a veteran detective faced with thorny moral choices. Alan Auhl has been coaxed out of retirement to work cold cases in Melbourne. As the sad old bastard on a much younger team, he revisits an unsolved rural murder he's worked before, investigates a skeleton discovered under a concrete slab, and confronts a doctor he suspects of killing two wives, and who may have killed again?and appears to be getting away with it. The cases are interesting enough, but what lends above-average texture and interest is Auhl himself, who shares his sprawling house with an eclectic assortment of boarders, strays (including an abused mother and child facing a custody battle), and, occasionally, his daughter and ex-wife. A bighearted brooder who's been part of the justice system long enough to see many instances of justice unserved, Auhl may just be primed to tackle things on his own. As always, Disher writes with clear eyes and a sure hand. Strongly recommended.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

Starred review from June 1, 2019

In his latest title, Australian crime writer Disher introduces retired detective Alan Auhl, called back to service to check out cold cases in which his experience is an asset. One of Disher's strengths has always been an eye for detail and detail is what cold case investigation is all about. Auhl's juggling three cases. A skeleton is found under a concrete slab, long dead. John Elphick's daughters insist their father was murdered and call Auhl every year to ask him to look into the case again. Then there's the doctor whose first two wives conveniently died just when he got tired of them. Auhl knows he killed them, but he's lawyered up so what can he do? The doctor's tiring of his third wife now. What happens next? There's a side drama involving a lodger where Auhl lives: her abusive husband is trying to take her daughter away. Auhl has to step outside the law to resolve this one. VERDICT In any novel by old pro Disher (Port Vila Blues), the characters have substance, the plots are strong, the action is credible and swift. This outstanding work will appeal to all detective-o-philes.--David Keymer, Cleveland

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2019

Author of the "Wyatt" and "Challis and Destry" series, Disher has won multiple Ned Kelly awards from the Australian Crime Writers Association, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. So check out this stand-alone, featuring an offbeat retired homicide cop determined to solve several cold cases.

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.