The Wrong Man by Tim Ayliffe

Publisher's Synopsis

Detective Holly Sutton has been seconded to work with the New South Wales Homicide Squad to investigate the murder of Sydney socialite, Tottie Evans, who was found dead at the Palm Beach home of a millionaire property developer.

Alec Blacksmith isn’t like other real estate guys. He’s a former mercenary soldier who shot to fame after appearing on a reality TV show. Blacksmith is refusing to cooperate with police because he has his own secrets.

John Bailey is an old school reporter with a nose for a story.

He gets a call from the police about a break-in at the house he inherited from his former girlfriend, Sharon Dexter – a cop murdered in the line of duty.

Whoever crowbarred the lock was looking for Dexter’s case file about the murder of a waitress named Sally King at an exclusive Sydney gentlemen’s club a decade earlier. After examining the file, Bailey discovers something that will blow up the Homicide Squad’s investigation into Tottie Evans’s death – a link to the murder of King.

The only problem is that a serial killer is already serving a life sentence for the crime.

Catching killers is Holly Sutton’s job. But for John Bailey, solving the case offers him a chance to finish a job for the woman who saved his life.

My Review of The Wrong Man by Tim Ayliffe

Sydney based investigative journalist John Bailey returns for a 5th outing in The Wrong Man as Tim Ayliffe ramps up the international intrigue and domestic tension once again. The troubled former war correspondent with an ongoing battle with the bottle plus intermittent PTSD lapses is still prepared to put his body on the line in order to write a killer news story.

The story opens with a confronting murder scene as Detective Constable Holly Sutton is on the scene to investigate the death of Tottie Evans. Tottie is the girlfriend of billionaire developer Alec Blacksmith and the provocative staging of her body has been clearly done to send a message. It’s a question of who the message is for and what is it trying to say? 

John Bailey’s girlfriend, Sharon Dexter was murdered ten years earlier in London. Today, her home, now belonging to Bailey, was broken into. While trying to determine if anything was taken, Bailey finds the murder file of a case that she was working on when she died. A little bit of digging reveals a connection between Sally King, the murdered woman, and Alec Blacksmith on the night of her death. Definitely a story worth chasing up.

Eventually, Sutton and Bailey’s worlds are brought together as both of their investigations merge. Similarly, the bad guys appear to be cleaning house and the upshot is danger, danger, danger for the cop and the journo.

“Bailey barely knew Sutton, but she reminded him of Dexter. The way she moved. The way she spoke. The depth in her eyes that told Bailey there was a complicated story somewhere in her past. And, of course, the hard-edged toughness…”

Plenty of anger-fuelled confrontations ensure solid action sequences, fast-paced chases and a sustained feeling of impending danger throughout the story. Two murders more than ten years apart herald a complicated case that takes some deep thinking to unravel. Making things even more complicated is the return of the larger than life and twice as mysterious Ronnie Johnson of the American CIA. The cigar chomping big man continues to provide his enigmatic input charging the case with a heightened level of mystery.

The introduction of Holly Sutton into the series has been a good one. The young cop has her personal problems, a gambling habit that threatens to spiral out of control, but she’s clearly a thinker and highly capable. Finding herself under the wing of Detective Superintendent Greg Palmer, her role is crucial to the outcome of both the fresh murder case and the old one. Not only that, she’s an intriguing character who adds further depth to the story’s plot.

Another nice touch for me, as a Sydney-based reader, is the descriptions of the various parts of the city in which it’s set. Many of the suburbs where the action takes place are very familiar to me and Ayliffe brings them all to life with great clarity helping to make Sydney an important part of the story.

The John Bailey series has been notable for the strength of the characters and the thoughtful, complex plotting that ensures you’re always kept guessing right up to the final chapter. The Wrong Man continues this trend and is yet another rewarding and enjoyable reading experience.