If you’re an overseas reader interested in Australian crime in a uniquely Australian setting, this one is for you. The Bluffs centres around a school group hiking in the Great Western Tiers, a range of mountain bluffs in central Tasmania. The place is rich in aboriginal history and has another sinister history, that of five girls who disappeared in 1985 and were never found. Shades of Picnic At Hanging Rock, or is it simply a case of a killer who was never caught? The local kids chant a rhyme of the Hungry Man:
Up in the hills, he hides and kills,
Down in the caves, he hides and waits…
There’s a group of five girls here, too – the Fab Four led by Madison, an “influencer” who has her own YouTube channel, filming her entire life for her 700,000 followers, and the outsider Bree, best friend of a girl who hanged herself in the forest a year ago. On the second day of the trip the group gets separated, a teacher is struck down by a blow from a log, and four girls are missing. As the search goes on, one is found dead. Accusations fly around the little country town, vigilantes seize on a victim, and Madison’s YouTube channel is right there at the centre of it all. She appoints herself advocate for her missing friends – but what does Madison know that she isn’t telling?
The young teacher Eliza Ellis has her secrets too, as do the two male teachers who were on the trip. Trying to sort out truth from lie, supernatural forces from human ones, is Con Badenhorst, the detective assigned to the case. Con is fighting the demons of a serial-killer case that also involved young girls, and still blames himself for missing vital clues. And he’s under constant pressure from the press coverage of this high-interest story.
Kyle Perry has an extensive background as a youth worker, in schools, youth shelters and drug rehab, and has experienced the dangers and secrets of Tasmanian mountains. He’s done a great job of tying his personal experience to the play of his imagination. Highly recommended.
Dear friends,
Your comments always hit the nail on the head. If you say that it is a good suspense book, then I have no doubt. Moreover, a crime story where the detective is called Con seems to offer more than we can expect from ‘The Bluffs’. Price of the book in the U.S. is high (paperback at Amazon is $35.13). Probably it is shipped from Australia.
Thanks so much for your great reviews! All the best and please stay safe!
Kindle version is cheaper. We are out of our 5 day lockdown with no new cases today and only 25 in the whole state, so things are looking good.
You guys know how to control the spread in AU! Great job! Thanks so much!
Will see if I can my grubby hands on this
It’s on Audible if you’re into that. I think it would appeal to you.
Nothing quite like a good “who done it”.
Leslie
Oh, I love Picnic At Hanging Rock! I rewatched the film adaptation last year, one of many tactics during lockdown to pass away the time. The Bluffs sounds excellent – I’ve already made a note in the hope that it comes out here….
Hanging Rock with difference – The social media aspect surrounding Madison is interesting and very well done.
Don’t see it on Audible in America yet but only audio CD. Anyway I have a few 1000 books here to read if I can’t get it
An influencer? Called Madison?! I suspect her already! And Tasmania, already somewhere with a tragic history—everything screams Don’t go, don’t go…
And you haven’t even mentioned the Tasmanian devil.