Disher’s story of a burnt-out cop investigating his mother’s disappearance asks complex questions of its male characters
In his latest novel, award-winning crime writer Garry Disher interrogates the cultural landscapes of power and misogyny within the coastal town of Swanage, a fictional locale nestled among the back beaches of Dromana in Victoria. Contemporary attitudes towards male violence are pitted against the stereotypes of a small-town old boys’ club in this complex and thought-provoking story.
World-weary Charlie Deravin has grown up around cops – he was practically raised by local sergeant Mark Valente and the other alphas of the “Menlo Beach mafia”. As an adult (and now a cop himself), Charlie returns to Swanage with his brother Liam to help their mother evict a troublesome lodger and prepare her house for sale. When, eight days later, Charlie’s mum goes missing on the same day as schoolboy Billy Saul, people assume their disappearances are unrelated – Billy’s a tragic accident, their mother a victim of domestic violence. Charlie’s father, Rhys Deravin, is accused of murdering his ex-wife, and although there’s no proof to convict him, the accusation is enough for Liam to turn his back on his dad and for the local cops to stop investigating other leads. But Charlie fixates on tracking down the lodger – the man he’s convinced is responsible for his mother’s death.
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