Cutters End by Margaret Hickey

Publisher's Synopsis

A desert highway. A remote town. A murder that won’t stay hidden.

New Year’s Eve, 1989. Eighteen-year-old Ingrid Mathers is hitchhiking her way to Alice Springs. Bored, hungover and separated from her friend Joanne, she accepts a lift to the remote town of Cutters End.

July 2021. Detective Sergeant Mark Ariti is seconded to a recently reopened case, one in which he has a personal connection. Three decades ago, a burnt and broken body was discovered in scrub off the Stuart Highway, 300km south of Cutters End. Though ultimately ruled an accidental death, many people - including a high-profile celebrity - are convinced it was murder.

When Mark’s interviews with the witnesses in the old case files go nowhere, he has no choice but to make the long journey up the highway to Cutters End.

And with the help of local Senior Constable Jagdeep Kaur, he soon learns that this death isn’t the only unsolved case that hangs over the town...

Review of Cutters End by Margaret Hickey

The debut crime novel by Margaret Hickey, Cutters End has used a remote setting and deft plotting that has taken me on a winding trail that continued to surprise me. I felt this was a very strong first outing. 

The 30 year old death of Michael Denby was originally ruled death by car accident but there were doubts over a few of the details. Was it a terrible fiery accident or was Denby murdered and then set up to look like an accident?

TV kids presenter Suzanne Miller is the force behind the push to have the case reopened and reinvestigated. She was just a child when she and her mother were rescued by Michael Denby after the car they were driving was swept away in flood waters.

Cold case investigations are, almost by definition, a hard slog and this is no exception. For the longest time it appears there is little to no progress being made as Acting Inspector Mark Ariti conducts fruitless interview after interview.

New Year’s Eve 1989, a couple of school friends, Ingrid Mathers and Joanne Morley were supposed to meet up in the small town of Port York where they were going to celebrate the new year together at an “awesome party”. They become separated and, the next day, instead of travelling together to Cutters End as planned, Ingrid is left to catch a lift with a man she meets at a roadhouse.

In 2021, Acting Inspector Mark Ariti is investigating Michael Denby’s death. He died on the same stretch of road that Ingrid had travelled around the Christmas / New Year period. During the course of his investigation it becomes clear that several young women have also gone missing along that same stretch of road.

It seems very much that there is more than one cold case to be investigated here.

Cutters End is a quality crime novel, an outstanding debut that skips the reader from the past to the present in an effortless process that gradually uncovers the events, slowly lifting the veil to reveal one tantalising clue after another.

There are plenty of twists to keep you unbalanced. Certainly, quite a few assumptions I had made along the way were blown out of the water by a clever deviation confirming some expert plotting.

As with many police procedural crime novels, a somewhat slow build up provides a pay-off that’s worth the wait. A seemingly straightforward death has somehow developed into a much more intricate web of smalltown intrigue, dark secrets and tragic consequences.

Equally pleasing was the introduction of the capable Mark Ariti who, it appears, will be making another appearance in the sequel, Stone Town. His more than capable off-sider, Senior Constable Jagdeep Kaur provided valuable assistance and the pair worked very nicely together, adding to the enjoyment of the book.

Set in rural South Australia, Cutters End is another strong example of the blossoming rural crime fiction sub-genre that is currently gaining traction. The remote locations provide plenty of atmosphere and tension, playing on all of the inconveniences that long distances and lack of reliable telecommunications can cause.

I found this to be a solid crime novel that built nicely to a barnstorming climax with enough unexpected twists along the way to keep me unbalanced and suitably impressed.

The book was short-listed for the 2022 Ned Kelly Award for Best First Crime Novel and I wouldn’t be surprised if it took the gong.