Outback by Patricia Wolf

Publisher's Synopsis

DS Lucas Walker is on leave in his hometown, Caloodie, taking care of his dying grandmother. When two young German backpackers, Berndt and Rita, vanish from the area, he finds himself unofficially on the case.

But why all the interest from the Federal Police when they have probably just ditched the heat and dust of the outback for the coast? Working in the organised crime unit has opened Walker's eyes to the growing drug trade in Australia's remote interior - and he becomes convinced there is more at play.

As the number of days since the couple's disappearance climbs, Walker is joined by Rita's older sister. A detective herself with Berlin CID, she has flown to Australia - desperate to find her sister.

Their search becomes ever more urgent as temperatures soar. Even if Walker does find the young couple, will it be too late?

My Review of Outback by Patricia Wolf

The debut thriller from Patricia Wolf, Outback paints western Queensland with the shimmering heat haze and endless red dirt that marks that part of the world as a brutal place to visit. But it’s not only the natural features that make it a dangerous place to live and its vastness means that going missing means a difficult search will follow. 

The location is hostile, it’s not a place for the uninitiated who are unused to the heat and the dust and the absolute dryness of the air. But that’s where Rita and Berndt, a German backpacking couple, are driving to their job on an Outback station. Fifty k’s past the last small town for ages, their car engine packs it in. 

Lucas Walker is back home in the small town of Caloodie because his grandmother is dying, having suffered from cancer. He’s a detective sergeant with the Federal Police Force and currently on leave for compassionate reasons. But when word comes in that the backpackers have gone missing in the area, he’s asked to take a look and help out the local police, acting in a family liaison capacity.

In contacting Rita’s family back in Germany, he speaks to her sister, Barabara who is a CID police sergeant in Berlin. In short order, she has winged her way over to Australia and out into the furnace of the Queensland summer. She’s there to lend her support in the search for her sister and Berndt.

It’s upon the arrival of Barbara that the pace of the story actually picks up a little. Perhaps Lucas and the other local police were affected by the heat and had been meandering along with their search, but she galvanises things and puts the investigation into some form of motion, regardless of the fact that she has absolutely no authority at all.

Together, Lucas and Barbara manage to put together a reasonable investigation while also forging a friendship upon which each could trust and depend upon the other. And it’s just as well for what is to come in a location in which backup is a long way away. It’s this comradeship around which the story is built and is stronger for and I enjoyed the way their friendship developed and grew.

My main problem with the story was the slow pace throughout the middle where there was very little happening. The investigation appeared to stall and the updates on the fate of the missing pair also petered out. It left me with a sense that we were in a limbo waiting for something, anything to happen. And when you’re stuck out in deep country Queensland, there’s not a big chance that anything significant is going to chance by. I had to fight to maintain my attention.

As with many seemingly straightforward missing persons cases, there’s a subversive subplot that makes itself known as Lucas begins digging deeper with his investigation. Drugs are involved (of course) as well as higher powers in the police force (inevitably) and the combination serves to create obstacles and greater danger to our protagonists.

Outback is a well-constructed outback thriller. I hesitate to label it “outback noir” because of the lack of noirish overtones, themes or ending. But it’s certainly a thriller with a slow burn culminating in an exciting conclusion that almost wraps things up nicely, while leaving just enough to look forward to the sequel.