I came across this on the Audible account and decided to give it a go. I have already read Scrublands, which I enjoyed (and I liked the adaptation), and I am a bit of a fan of Australian noir.
Here’s the blurb …
In the desolate outback town of Finnigans Gap, police struggle to maintain law and order. Thieves pillage opal mines, religious fanatics recruit vulnerable young people and billionaires do as they please.
Then an opal miner is found crucified and left to rot down his mine. Nothing about the miner’s death is straightforward, not even who found the body. Sydney homicide detective Ivan Lucic is sent to investigate, assisted by inexperienced young investigator Nell Buchanan.
But Finnigans Gap has already ended one police career and damaged others, and soon both officers face damning allegations and internal investigations. Have Ivan and Nell been set up and, if so, by whom?
As time runs out, their only chance at redemption is to find the killer. But the more secrets they uncover, the more harrowing the mystery becomes, as events from years ago take on a startling new significance.
For in Finnigans Gap, opals, bodies and secrets don’t stay buried for ever.
The descriptions of the heat, dust and flies were visceral. The two main characters (Ivan and Nell) are flawed, but good people, and we meet a cast of quirky out-back characters. For example, ‘the mayor’ with his tutu and armoured people carrier, ‘bullshit’ Bob, the Seer, and Trevor Topsoil (the names are very Dickensian). There’s twists and turns, conspiracies, and murder. A very satisfying read.