The Beacon by P.A. Thomas

Publisher's Synopsis

Jack Harris, the disgraced son of Australia's most powerful business tycoon, has just been exiled to Byron Bay as a junior journalist at his father's smallest regional newspaper, The Beacon. His arrival coincides with the disappearance of the newspaper's editor, Patrick O'Shaughnessy, while out on his morning surf. When Patrick's body is discovered in the ocean, with a severed leg, it appears certain that he's fallen victim to a shark attack.

But when rumours emerge that Patrick was about to publish an explosive article – its subject unknown – Jack begins to suspect his death is not what it seems.

Although police aren't buying his murder theory, Jack joins forces with Patrick's daughter and investigates anyway, taking a sometimes less than lawful dive into the newspaperman's past. Together they discover plenty of Byron locals with a motive to kill, including a bioholistic dentist with a secret, a naturist with an undisguised grudge, and even the mayor of Northern Rivers Shire. But has Jack bitten off more than he can chew?

My Review of The Beacon by P.A. Thomas

For most, Byron Bay is the place to go to relax, take it easy and unhitch from the hustle and bustle of the real world. It’s the holiday destination of just about the rest of the world, so when Mark Harris finds himself demoted from his executive job in Melbourne by his father and sent to the town, he could hardly predict the mystery he was walking into. But that’s where he finds himself in The Beacon, the debut thriller by Byron local P.A. Thomas. This mystery captures the essence of Byron and its surrounds while also delivering an intriguing investigation featuring some very interesting characters.

Mark has been demoted to work at The Beacon, the local newspaper in Byron Bay and he’s supposed to report to Patrick O’Shaughnessy. But when he arrives at the office, there’s no Patrick to be found and his daughter, Caitlin, is holding down the fort but is mighty pissed about her derelict dad.

But there’s a good reason for Patrick’s no-show at the office. First, his surfboard is found floating in the ocean and later, his body makes an appearance, also floating in the ocean. Both board and body appeared to have been savaged by a shark.

It’s the worst possible news, but when Caitlin confides to Mark that her father had been acting jumpy lately, working on a story he was certain would land him a Walkley award and that he’d recently taken out life insurance he becomes a little alarmed. Then, upon seeing the surfboard and O’Shaughnessy’s body, there are aspects that don’t add up to a shark attack.

From a few small glimmers of misgivings on the part of Caitlin and Mark grows quite the convoluted web of deceit, misappropriated money and misuse of power. But, of course, it’s also mostly about the money and when a great deal of money’s involved thrown around by people with a helluva lot of power, the result is the people doing the uncovering are suddenly at risk.

Mark takes up his role as investigative reporter with aplomb and chooses to poke a few people to see if he can ruffle some feathers. He’s hardly prepared for the scale of the reaction he gets, or the direction from which it comes. The problem is, of course, if Patrick was murdered there’s no telling the lengths people will go to protect their secret. HOwever, we soon get a pretty clear idea.

The Beacon is a solid thriller that unfolds in a neat, linear fashion. The focus remains primarily on Jack as he follows a logical path with his investigation. Consequently, we know as much as he does when it comes to who the bad guys are and who he feels he can trust. This double-edged sword means that we’re kept in the dark for a large proportion of the operation but it definitely helps to build the intrigue and sharpens up the tension levels.

I was consistently entertained throughout the story and enjoyed the developing relationship between Mark and Caitlin, as awkward as it was at times. The infrequent appearances of Ricky, Mark’s former school friend with gangland connections, are a highlight and manages to inject a spark into every scene he inhabits. There’s a lot of truth to the exhortation that ‘everyone needs a Ricky’.

The inspirational setting of Byron Bay, the fear-inducing possible shark attack and the looming shapeless menace of shapeless figures combine to make this a tightly plotted, multi-dimensioned thriller.