The Night Whistler by Greg Woodland

Publisher's Synopsis

The summer of 1966–7. Hal and his little brother have just come to live in Moorabool. They’re exploring the creek near their new home when they find the body of a dog.

Not just dead, but killed.

Not just killed, but horribly maimed.

Constable Mick Goodenough, recently demoted from his big-city job as a detective, is also new in town—and one of his dogs has gone missing. Like other pets around the town.

He knows what it means when someone tortures animals to death. They’re practising. So when Hal’s mother starts getting late-night phone calls—a man whistling, then hanging up—Goodenough, alone among the Moorabool cops, takes her seriously. But will that be enough to keep her and her young sons safe?

Nostalgic yet clear-eyed, simmering with small-town menace, Greg Woodland’s wildly impressive debut populates the rural Australia of the 1960s with memorable characters and almost unbearable tension.

My Review 

The year is 1966 and 12 year old Hal Humphries has recently moved to the small town of Moorabool along with his family. The town is a sudden change of pace for the family after the hustle and bustle of Sydney but Hal, along with his younger brother Evan are eager to get to know the place better.

What they don’t expect to find on the land over the back of their property is the body of a dog that has been brutally killed. And recently, too. Although distressed by the sight, the brothers decide to try to give it a decent burial along with a short prayer.

Meanwhile, we are also introduced to Probationary Constable Mick Goodenough (that’s pronounced Good-no, as in no good backwards!). He is also new to the town of Moorabool after being busted down from his position in Sydney as a homicide detective – a penalty for punching a fellow officer in the mouth.

Goodenough is the only decent cop in town and has to put up with the out and out incompetence of his superior officer and his fellow men in blue.

The Humphries family begin receiving mysterious phone calls at night. Whistling to the tune of “Are You Lonesome Tonight” followed by vague threats. It starts off being creepy but, after Hal’s father leaves town for work, becomes downright threatening.

Hal is determined to work out who the Whistler is and finds an ally in his quest in the form of Allie. He also finds that Mick is prepared to take the calls seriously even though his Sergeant insists that there is nothing to it. In the back of Mick’s mind is the existence of someone in town who brutally kills animals and he knows that the usual progression is to move on to people.

Inevitably the violence does begin to escalate and things begin to rocket out of control. It comes down to the investigative skills of Goodenough combined with the bravery and tenacity of Hal to bring things to a dramatic conclusion.

The Night Whistler is a far more complex story than first might meet the eye. Social issues are front and centre, particularly the ever-present racism that was common in rural Australia. There is a poignant juxtaposition between the way other townsfolk treat the aborigines and the strengthening friendship between Hal and Allie. 

Woodland does a superb job of capturing the time period in which it was set. Racism against the aborigines, kids allowed to roam free from dawn to dusk, drink driving is the norm and pretty much everyone smoked. It all sounded very similar to the country town I grew up in.

This is a debut novel that is richly woven and wonderfully put together. There is a lurking menace that keeps you on edge from virtually the first page and manages to ensure the reader is deeply engaged right to the very end.

It felt to me as though things are just starting to get interesting in the little country town of Moorabool.