What an incredible novel ... just loved it and impossible to put down. Political corruption taken to the extreme and a gifted protagonist who stops at nothing to overturn the evils that he encounters. A highly recommended read to all readers and a well-deserved five stars. Kevin Price at his best ... superb writing and a brilliant storyline.

Thoroughly enjoyed this thanks to NetGalley.
The author in not backward in showing his anger, that many people also felt, during the Australian 2013 election where the Liberal Party's xenophobia was rampant and truth was something for others to worry about.
His story of a dead refugee, a closet spy in a university, a journalist hiding as a homeless person, a very smart detective surrounded by yes-men and a Machiavellian Liberal Party puppet master is a real page turner. The journalist was like Jason Bourne in his abilities to thwart his foes, the closet spy had friends in high places and the detective is constantly thwarted by the male dominated world she worked in. But no one did understand the big picture except for the puppet master and that is what made this book special.
The only thing that didn't work for me was the constant references to songs and lyrics. You would need to be a lover of Rock Quiz to enjoy the author's knowledge here.

Freedom: 'a bit of a bloody worry'. Kevin Price's upcoming novel, Poetic Licence, is a brilliantly haunting page-turner that may well be the defining political thriller of the Gillard/Abbott election fiasco of 2013. The novel follows writer and academic, Art Lazaar, as he is tasked with protecting a young asylum seeker from the very people who murdered her brother. In this gripping and unputdownable narrative, 'truth' is unravelled through the switching perspectives of various characters, slamming readers into the middle of the action and the mystery surrounding one of Australia's defining contemporary political moments. The strength of this novel lies in its multiple narratorial perspectives and the bending of its poetic licence (aptly made the title of the book). For that, this is definitely a 2022 must read for lovers of Australian political thrillers!

Many thanks goes to Crotchet Quaver for providing this ARC via NetGalley.