The Fallback is the second crime novel from Australian police officer and author, DL Hicks, and while there are loose links with his debut, The Devil Inside, it reads well as a stand alone.

When Detective Senior Constable John Darken learns that the body of Eric Johnstone, a former CI placed in the witness protection program, has been found tied to the oyster beds in the small town community of Point Imlay, he volunteers to help the locals investigate. Teamed with city homicide detective Emma Capsteen, early evidence suggests that Eric (aka Rufus O’Keefe) may have blown his second chance and gotten on the wrong side of a local bikie gang, but then a second body is discovered with similar injuries and the police struggle to see a connection.

This is a well paced police procedural, as Darken, Capsteen and their local colleagues try to discover why Eric was killed and who is responsible. The drug dealing members of the Sixers and Niners are an obvious suspect, given Eric is a junkie, but Hicks presents several plausible red herrings that muddy the officers investigation. There are some tense moments for the main characters and some interesting surprises as the story unfolds, but it’s just as it all seems resolved, that Hicks makes a stunning reveal I didn’t see coming.

Darken is a likeable lead character. He is a little fragile, dealing with the recent death of his partner in the line of duty and in the midst of a divorce, but a good investigator, and a good man. I liked Emma too, she’s smart and no nonsense, and I enjoyed the hint of romance that developed between them.
I thought Eric’s perspective was an interesting facet of the novel that provided insights the police investigation couldn’t. He is a surprisingly sympathetic character, more self destructive, than villainous.

Well crafted with a gripping mystery and interesting characters, The Fallback is a great read, and I hope to read more from Hicks.

Fresh from the loss of his partner and his divorce, Detective John "JD" Darken is sent to Imlay Point (a fictional Merimbula) as his first job back on the force.

A dead junkie is found in the water, and he has a past relationship with JD. Which aspect of his life is relevant is up for JD to determine - his past identity or his current one? His job at the nursing home as a bus driver? His relationship with a local girl? The bikies that deal drugs in the local township? Are all these things somehow interconnected?

The Fallback by D. L. Hicks is a police detective story set in a small, fictional, coastal town Point Imlay in Australia. The body of Eric Johnstone turns up in the oyster beds of the the local waters and in his pocket is the business card of Senior Detective John Darken. Consequently J.D is brought in to help with the investigation along with another homicide detective Emma Capsteen and the two outside detectives lead the local police force to solve the murder. The quiet town is disrupted and further trouble develops with the local bikie gang.
An intriguing plot with interesting characters which flows very quickly with tension as well as significant twists and turns. Totally unexpected ending!
Looking forward to reading more from this author and will go back and read his first novel, The Devil Inside, asI really enjoyed this the character J.D with all his flaws and foibles. Easy to read and one that was hard not to keep on reading.

An enjoyable read which I would highly recommend.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher Pantera Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Fallback is the second novel by Australian police officer and author, DL Hicks. When the mutilated body of retirement home bus driver, Eric Johnstone is found tied to the oyster beds in the lake at Point Imlay, two detectives from out of town are called in.

Detective Senior Constable John Darken (JD) offers to help the local police for two reasons: he has known Eric for many years, and travelling away from Gull Bay may help to distract him from the trauma that required him to take mental health leave. Detective Senior Constable Emma Capsteen is sent from the city because she is the one available on the Homicide team. Her attitude does rub many of the locals up the wrong way.

The cause of death isn’t clear: drowning or drugs or that blow to his skull? And while the local chapter of the Sixers and Niners, bikers involved in drug dealing and gun-running, seem the most likely suspects, they are not the only ones with motives. Some of Eric’s activities, both outside work and at Seascape Gardens, are quite shocking and put this supposedly-reformed petty criminal at odds with several others.

JD reveals to the Senior Sergeant at Pint Imlay, Eric’s true identity and the reason for his departure from Gull Bay, which constitutes yet another potential motive for his killing. The mutilations also strike a chord with JD: he’s certain he has seen this before.

But despite witness interviews, CCTV, research and legwork, the team makes little headway and the case stalls. Then another body is found with the same mutilations: do they have a serial killer on their hands? A telephone threat against yet another local seems to support this.

When they finally have a breakthrough, survive a dramatic showdown without too much bloodshed, and make some very satisfactory arrests, it all feels a little too easy to JD, but he’s pleased to be heading back to Gull Bay and his loyal St Bernard.

Readers familiar with Hicks’s earlier novel, The Devil Inside, will recognise some characters, but this one easily stands alone and there are no real spoilers for the debut novel, so first-timers can delve into that one confident of another excellent murder mystery.

Even the most astute reader is unlikely to guess the true killer and motive before the jaw-dropping reveal and, with a certain issue from JD’s past still unresolved, Hicks has plenty of scope for continuing with this interesting and well-drawn protagonist. Excellent Aussie crime drama.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Pantera Press.