Cirrus@Austlit

'The Whitworth Mysteries: a collection of short crime fiction stories set in and around a rural city located in outback New South Wales.

'“So, Superintendent you’re the man who watched my daughter die?”

'Beneath the sunshine of Whitworth, lurk dark secrets, deceit and betrayal.

'“Never point a loaded gun at anyone, unless you mean to kill them.”

'Inspector Mark Findlay has returned to the town of his birth to build a new life after his partner is shot, and he’s wounded. He seeks stability and peace amidst the river red gums. Despite his move, the personal and professional demons have followed.

'“I don’t want what you told the inquiry. Tell me the rest.”

'Beyond the murky waters of the river, and a bank lined with ancient river red gums, is a land of red dust, blue saltbush and vast empty spaces.

'The squeak of hemp rope…as the suspended weight moved, caught by the breeze.

'In a small country town, police officers are reliant on each other, a band of blue. A rural posting is punishment for some, an escape for others, while some are forced to confront decisions of the past, and pay the price.

'He was typical of his profession, a nosey copper… now he was meddling in her affairs.

'The harsh nature of the climate, floods, violent storms, and the almost limitless open spaces are as much a character as the humans themselves.

'“Let me kill him. Finish the story.”'

Source: Publisher's blurb.