Blake Saunders is an interesting character living in a distant place. The novel opens with Blake working as a hit man for the Philly mob. It is cold, winter, and his older brother Jimmy got him into this life. Blake is good at the guitar and they see a way out. But there is only room for one sadly. Life fast forwards and Blake is making a new life in Australia in early 1960’s. I loved the image of small coastal town Australia in another time. Blake has opened a successful bar. The book has lots of interesting characters I enjoyed getting to know. I really liked the development of Blake working to solve the murder of a working girl, Val Stokes. The one story line I was never really sure about was the friendship between Doreen and Kitty. It led to a key plot point, but it may have been given more time than needed in the story. Either way, not a big deal to me. I enjoyed the story very much. Would recommend to others who enjoy crime thrillers with a bit of melancholy to them.

This was a good murder mystery of who done it and kept me guessing until the end. But all in all this book was a boring read for me that I almost gave up multiple times and couldn’t wait till I was done. It wasn’t a horrible book but just wasn’t for me.. Thank you netgalley for letting me give an honest reivew of this book.