Title: Gunshot Road
Author: Adrian Hyland
Pages: 369
Published Date: 2010
Publisher: Text Publishing
Series Details: 2nd book in the Emily Tempest series
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Publisher's Synopsis
Emily Tempest. Small, black, snaky as a taipan's tooth: the woman least likely to pursue a career in policing.
Now, somehow, Emily's become the aboriginal Community Police Officer for the outback (not to mention throwback) town of Bluebush. Being allergic both to authority and to keeping her big mouth shut, she's immediately at odds with her new boss. And a death at the Green Swamp Well Roadhouse just makes things worse. Officially it's a simple case of two old drunks and a hammer.
Emily's not convinced.
Fast, funny and action-packed - Gunshot Road is Australia's literary thriller of the year.
Other Reviews
The Book Show, ABC
In Gunshot Road Emily has been convinced to join the police as an Aboriginal Community Police Officer; a move which surprises many.
When she attends to the murder of Doc, a mad geologist, she thinks that the initial explanation of his murder is too neat. His death is pinned on one of his intellectual sparring buddies - Wireless. She doesn't know why but she just knows something is amiss. She does some of her own investigation which lands her in lots of trouble with the law and also with the rough townsfolk. Adrian Hyland himself worked for many years in the Northern Territory and lived in Aboriginal communities.
This is simply a marvellous book. It is a crime story, and an exciting one, but more importantly the book is a poem, full of emotion and insight. Every sentence is beautiful, as the author depicts a harsh yet rich landscape that is also a character in the story, seen through the unique perspective of the most unusual and attractive detective I have come across in a long while, Emily Tempest. And as icing on the cake, there are science jokes - technology and science figure heavily in the plot, but more interestingly, are as much part of the words on the page as any other subject addressed by this talented writer.
The mystery in Gunshot Road almost seems secondary to the sweeping and atmospheric descriptions of the Australian outback and its indigenous people. The unique characters, and most especially Emily Tempest, are sharply defined, colorfully drawn and readily appealing. It's easy to be drawn into the exotic world that defines Emily's very being and forget, at least temporarily, that there's a murder investigation going on and a killer to be identified.
Crisp, colorful prose distinguishes the outstanding second Emily Tempest investigation set in the Australian Outback from Ned Kelly Award–winner Hyland (after 2008's Moonlight Downs ). Tempest, a half-Aboriginal, half-white police officer, clashes with her superior in the official inquiry into the murder of prospector Albert Ozolins.
It is worth noting several aspects of this book. Among the most notable ones the fascinating characters that the reader will encounter, most notably Emily Tempest. Besides the story is beautifully told, it flows naturally and it has a great sense of place. Gunshot Road is one of these books that hook you from the very beginning.