Cirrus@Austlit

'Nearly two years after a serial killer let loose with havoc in Brumby Flat, intrigue, unexpressed desires and murder ride back into town.

'A long-awaited wedding celebration turns sinister when a bridesmaid nearly drowns in the local dam. Once again, Senior Detective Phillip Duncan is drawn into the initial investigations, but quickly becomes the prime suspect. Gradually the small South Australian town starts to believe he fits the profile of their new deadly threat.

'Some familiar characters return from The Big Dead Dry. Raquel Willaston is still living with the charismatic silo painter Phil Proctor and Anabella Williams has returned after serving time in a correctional centre for the accidental death of the local Mayor. Raquel's son Steve is now the local rookie cop, quickly learning how to cope with the evil circumstances unfolding around him. Then there are the new folks in town, the crafty Tanaka family with their rebellious beautiful daughter 'Yankee' who Steve becomes obsessed with.

'Pretty Dead Ordinary sums up the order of things to come. Detective Duncan is forced to work harder than ever to prove his own innocence and hopefully bring the real killer to justice.' (Publication summary)

'Would you drive into a small Australian town in drought, packed with intrigue, lust and murder?

'Brumby Flat, a small country town in South Australia, suddenly rises to notoriety and becomes the centre of the world through a baffling series of murders and accidental deaths.

'Raquel Willaston and her son, Steve, have just moved into town, and Raquel soon gets caught up in the local goings on, whether she wants to or not, and a love entanglement she’d rather not deal with.

'The quiet arrival of a mysterious homeless man and his subsequent brutal murder at the base of the town silos is the catalyst for the chaos which erupts.

'City-based Senior Detective Phillip Duncan is in charge of the ensuing investigations and has to cope with some colourful and quirky characters to find out who the killer is. There’s Anabella Williams who wears vintage clothes and still lives in the 1950s and is renowned for her ‘killer cakes’. Famous silo mural painter Phil Proctor, newly arrived from New York, seems to know more than he lets on. There’s Chris Jones, an ex-military officer, who lives his life with military-like precision. Bridie Browne, who runs the local post office, seems more preoccupied with the male of the species rather than actually sorting mail.

'And then there’s ‘The Raindrops Shop’ run by Bette Mitchell which offers a range of merchandise completely at odds with a town in the middle of a two-year drought.

'Nothing is as it seems in Brumby Flat. It’s going to be a tough ask to identify the serial killer hiding amongst them.' (Publication summary)