This is Australian crime at it's best. Hirsch is a take no prisoners sort of character that I have come to admire. The feel of the dusty Australian outback combined with murder mystery. A real show stopper!

This is such a great series, and the fourth instalment - Day's End - is no exception.

Police Constable Paul Hirschhausen is solely responsible for the extensive rural area surrounding the small fictional town of Tiverton in eastern South Australia. In Day's End, he must manage a range of emerging issues in and around the town, including the disappearance of two international backpackers from their farm jobs, the discovery of human remains in a suitcase, a series of online scams, the horrific death of a young child, and a crash involving an ultra-light aircraft.

As readers have come to expect, Garry Disher's characters, sense of setting and the pacing of the plot are superlative. Regional Australia's experience of the Covid-19 pandemic provides an interesting backdrop for the police procedural plot, as Hirsch must maintain the peace between reinforcing government policy and keeping the peace amongst the many locals who remain suspicious of the mandates. Some of the themes will be confronting for readers, especially the storyline involving a domestic dog attack. A dramatic confrontation at the conclusion of the story draws together many of the sub-plots and cements Hirsch's standing as an unassuming community hero.

I'd enthusiastically recommend Day's End and the whole Hirschhausen series to any reader who loves well-written Aussie Noir fiction.

My thanks to the author, Garry Disher, publisher Text Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this excellent title.

I love Garrys writing style and it does help that his books are Australian. He does small towns perfectly. This is the 4th book in the series and I have loved each and every book.

I picked this up without investigating that it was actually novel 4 featuring South Australian police officer, Paul Hirschhausen. This didn’t prove problematic as it functions well as a stand-alone novel. Day’s End opens strongly with a body in a suitcase on the side of a rural highway, it seemed to me to take a very long time to come back around to that unknown body. There is a significantly high crime rate in the fictional town of Tiverton and there is an extensive cast of secondary characters and numerous sub plots, which for me was a bit much and lost some of the focus as the story meanders through these before getting to the violent and abrupt conclusion. Set firmly in current times dealing with issues of the pandemic, anti-vaxxers, rental crisis, racism, cyber bullying, and the rise of the far right, this could be a bit grating for those readers who are still reeling from these issues.

Another compelling and captivating mystery from Garry Disher, the king of Aussie crime. My mum is gonna love it.

If you are looking for reliably good crime writing, then look no further than Garry Disher.

Like Chris Hammer, he is a master at depicting a scene, an atmosphere, a mood, but the effect (for me, anyway) is distinctly different. Disher’s stories more award-winning TV series rather than big screen blockbuster; more ‘feels-like-you-are-there’ riding every bump in the washed-out dirt country road with his leading man Hirsch rather than watching on enthralled. Every facial expression, every word, or for that matter every silence, means something.

I have been in two minds about the different ways authors have tackled the pandemic in fictional series. With Day’s End I think Disher has done a great job of acknowledging its societal impacts, the way it has amplified certain behaviour and stressors, without letting it take centre stage. Paul Hirschhausen’s broader story arc beats strong within this novel.

In this book, he introduces us to an eclectic bunch of new characters (not all law-abiding) and explores with great authenticity some highly topical and important issues. Hirsch’s banter with sharp-tongued elder Auntie Steph is fabulous.

As in its predecessor Consolation (Book 3), Hirsch attends to various disparate matters that at first appear routine in his endearing world-weary straight-shooting style. But as he follows his instincts, a tangled web of criminal activity presents itself. The compelling question in Day’s End is, to what extent can he unravel that web before he finds himself and those he loves and respects harmed by it?

Some of the scenes and character actions so vividly depicted by Garry Disher are not for the faint of heart. But, Day’s End (Hirsch #4) is a read not to be missed by those who love their rural crime gritty and their conclusions gripping.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

I love Garry Disher books, the Hirsch books in particular. This one is another fine addition to the collection. Disher is a very descriptive writer, which I appreciate, but there is one section of this book that made my stomach churn (no spoilers; you'll know it when you read it). Highly recommend anything written by this legendary Australian author!

Another enjoyable read in the Paul Hirschhausen series. Set in the rural mid north of South Australia this police procedural is well written and really evokes the outback setting of this area of South Australia. The actual story is a bit convoluted, with many different parts, but comes together nicely in the end.

A well written and enjoyable story.

‘One hopes,’ Dr Van Sant said, ‘but suffers misfortune—and so is desolate.’

Day’s End is the fourth book in Garry Disher’s stellar crime fiction series featuring South Australian police officer Paul Hirschhausen.

Driving back from a large station on the edge of his rural beat with the mother of a missing Austrian backpacker, Hirsch is diverted to a fire in a culvert where he discovers a body in a smouldering suitcase. He doesn’t recognise the man, but is relieved at least he bears no resemblance to the son of his passenger. Though Hirsch is curious about both cases, neither are his direct responsibility, and there’s plenty else to keep him busy. A new family in town is causing a few headaches; Kate is being cyber-bullied, though she’s refusing Hirsch’s help; a white supremacist group is recruiting local teens; and Hirsch is in trouble after losing his temper with an abusive anti-vaxxer.

Disher’s plotting is masterful as always, and in Day’s End, the crimes Hirsch investigates often overlap and connect in unexpected ways. Disher manages the multiple threads skilfully, connecting seemingly disparate people and events in a manner that feels credible. There’s plenty of well timed action that drives the story at a good pace but without sacrificing suspense, or emotion. The book’s final scenes in particular are very tense and exciting.

Set roughly in the present day, Disher incorporates current social issues into the story including the rent crisis, increased economic pressures, and the rise in hateful rhetoric and actions stimulated by the Covid pandemic. This helps to ground the story in time and place, and enhances its sense of authenticity.

After three years in Tiverton Hirsch is feeling more comfortable and confident, both professionally and personally. He is a methodical investigator who believes in the law but also understands the importance of community policing, and adapts easily to the differing demands of the job. Usually easygoing and even tempered, there are events in Day’s End that shake him (TW: infant death), and it will be interesting to see how that might play out in future instalments.

Like it’s predecessors, Bitter Wash Road, Peace and Consolation, Day’s End is a gripping read, and this brilliant series remains as one of my favourites.

I have to admit, this is probably a biased review as I just love this particular series! I also think this author is brilliant.
This is the fourth book in the 'Hirsch' series, and once again in this rural policeman finds trouble on his patch. There is a missing international backpacker, a social media hate campaign and a body found in a suitcase. Are these related or a series of unfortunate events?
The book covers many contemporary issues including anit-vax sentiments, sovereign rights, racism, drug taking as well as cyberbullying. For some the book may be triggering, there is one distressing scene involving a quite graphic description of a dog attack on a child.
For me 4.5 stars rounded up to 5, highly recommended. Thank you Text Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this digital ARC.

EXCERPT: Out in that country, if you owned a sheep station the size of a European principality you stood tall. If you were a rent paying public servant, like Hirsch, you stood on the summit of Desolation Hill.

Not much of a hill - but it was desolate. It overlooked patches of saltbush and mallee scrub and a broad, red-ochre gibber plain that stretched to the horizon; wilted wild-flowers here and there, deceived by a rare spring shower.

It also overlooked an image of Wildu, the spirit eagle, carved into the plain: spanning three kilometres from wingtip to wingtip and poised to strike. And Desolation Hill was one of the last places Willi Van Sant had visited before he disappeared.

ABOUT 'DAY'S END': Hirsch’s rural beat is wide. Daybreak to day’s end, dirt roads and dust. Every problem that besets small towns and isolated properties, from unlicensed driving to arson. In the time of the virus, Hirsch is seeing stresses heightened and social divisions cracking wide open. His own tolerance under strain; people getting close to the edge.

Today he’s driving an international visitor around: Janne Van Sant, whose backpacker son went missing while the borders were closed. They’re checking out his last photo site, his last employer. A feeling that the stories don’t quite add up.

Then a call comes in: a roadside fire. Nothing much—a suitcase soaked in diesel and set alight. But two noteworthy facts emerge. Janne knows more than Hirsch about forensic evidence. And the body in the suitcase is not her son’s.

MY THOUGHTS: Day's End is the fourth book in Garry Disher's Paul Hirschhausen series, and may very well be the best so far - although having said that, two others have also been five star reads. Although Day's End is part of a series it works well as a stand alone. The author provides enough background information without overwhelming the storyline to enable this.

Day's End is set during Covid, but again Disher doesn't let it overwhelm the storyline either, just works it in matter of factly, making good used of the differences in people's beliefs and the tensions that prevailed.

I love Hirsch's caring nature. He makes monthly sweeps of the outlying areas, calling in to remote dwellings to check on the occupants, alleviate their loneliness, and to observe. Most places he is welcome, some he isn't.

Tiverton, like most small remote towns, has fallen victim to the scourge of drugs. Unemployment is high, there's nothing for the youth to do other than to amuse themselves with petty, and not so petty, crime and get off their faces on whatever is to hand. In direct contrast to this is the lives lead by the privileged and wealthy in the area - new SUVs, a helicopter or two, boarding schools, and horses.

As is normal, there are several threads to this story: A missing man and his girlfriend; Hirsch's ongoing relationship with high school math teacher Wendy; bullying; racial tensions - I love the character of Aunty Steph! - including white supremacy; drugs; thefts; graffiti; and assaults. But there's also something big going down - Hirsch is ordered to pull his head in by the Federal Police who have suddenly appeared in his little corner of the world. Yet not one thread overwhelms another - they all meld seamlessly to create a masterful portrait of Hirsh's life.

I was immediately immersed in Hirsch's world from the first paragraph and was delighted to remain there until closing the cover on that final, and dramatic, ending.

Disher is an author who paints pictures with his words and brings his characters to life.

Favorite Line: 'Their high achiever was Jacob. Arrested for stealing a car, he'd arrived at his magistrate's hearing in a car he'd stolen to get himself there.'

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#DaysEnd #NetGalley

I: @text_publishing

T: @GarryDisher @text_publishing

THE AUTHOR: Garry Disher was born in 1949 and grew up on his parents' farm in South Australia.

He gained post graduate degrees from Adelaide and Melbourne Universities. In 1978 he was awarded a creative writing fellowship to Stanford University, where he wrote his first short story collection. He travelled widely overseas, before returning to Australia, where he taught creative writing, finally becoming a full time writer in 1988.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Text Publishing via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Day's End by Garry Disher for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

What I love about the Senior Constable Paul Hirschhausen series by Garry Disher is that the books are so quintessentially Australian. They depict small town life brilliantly. I have lived in 3 small towns myself (still do). Hirsch, as he is known, has a multi-faceted job that entails policing and seeing to the welfare of the townspeople. He is the lone police officer in Tiverton and has a huge area to police. His nominal boss is Sergeant Brandl from Redruth, a larger town about half an hour’s drive away.

This story is set firmly in the days of COVID with divisions between those who are vaccinated and the anti vax movement. The influence of far right hate groups is gaining a foothold in the town and there are also tensions as many people are being priced out of the Adelaide (state capital) housing market and look to rural towns for affordable accommodation.

Hirsch is also investigating the disappearance of a Belgian backpacker and his girlfriend. The boy’s mother, who happens to be a forensic specialist, has come to Tiverton to see for herself what’s going on. She turns out to be a very smart cookie and has an important role later in the story.

Things are never quiet though, there’s a lot going on in this book ranging from the tragic accident variety to the nefarious plot and the bumbling scammer variety. So while Tiverton may be a small town, life there is certainly never boring as Hirsch attempts to keep the peace without being too heavy handed. He nearly comes to grief this time though!

I’ve read three of the books in this series and I hope there will be more to come. Many thanks to Netgalley and Text Publishing for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

This is my second Garry Disher novel, from the same series of books about a rural cop called Paul Hirschhausen. The books do reference each other, but there is sufficient character development in each novel that they work alone fine. I liked Day’s End (book 4) more than Peace (book 2) in the series.

It outlines the “twin roles, law upholder and welfare worker” of police, something that seems better defined in rural beats over urban ones. It also integrates COVID-19 and the far right paranoia the global pandemic fuelled. This contemporary phenomenon is woven through the Aussie noir novel in a variety of ways from mask resistance, to suspicion about vaccines, to people being “priced out of the Adelaide housing market by COVID” and moving further out.

While there is a lot of descriptive scene-setting language, Day’s End is kind of crass in places: “there was the car, along with a battered old caravan and a kind of whitetrash-mountain-people-zombie-apocalypse-tableau.” It’s very Australian, from landscape and climate to references to “Snowtown, the bodies in the barrels” that would likely only make sense to a local audience.

Disher throws everything at this novel, from meth cooking to dog attacks to far right extremism to online bullying and missing foreign workers. I mean it’s kind of hard to imagine in a town small enough to have one policeman that all these issues would occur simultaneously… but it is what it is. I did like seeing a bit of cultural knowledge woven in, from cultural appropriation and community consultation, to a policeman showing awareness of why Indigenous Australians distrust police: “It was in the air, in the water, in stories told at the knee and passed down in kitchens and school playgrounds: the cops hassled you.” So there’s nuance and complexity, and a wild tale of disparate crimes tied up in a neat bow by a likeable if flawed cop.

Consolation by Garry Disher was the first book I'd read by the respected and renowned Australian author. It was the third book in his Constable Paul Hirschhausen (Hirsch) series and had won the 2021 Ned Kelly award for Best Crime Fiction in 2021. Disher came highly recommended, as did Consolation. And though I enjoyed it, I didn't love it. I suspect my expectations were a tad high and though really liked Hirsch, it featured one of my pet hates - having multiple plots that don't mesh or otherwise merge conveniently (though not logically) at the end.

Nevertheless, I very happily dug into Day's End, the fourth in the series and enjoyed it more than its predecessor.

Interestingly, though the disappearance of backpacker Willi Van Sant and his girlfriend opens this book, it's not revisited again for some time. Even the dead body in the suitcase that briefly distracts Hirsch and his colleagues is handed off to someone else. Instead Hirsch gets bogged down in local politics and the ugly world of extremism. Here in the form of racism and conspiracy theorists. It's interesting (though makes sense) that COVID deniers and QAnon type players are starting to appear in novels as they reflect what's happening out there in the real world. Even here in Australia. Chris Hammer's recent The Tilt also included those who were sure vaccinations were in fact some sort of government surveillance mechanism. I can't help but wonder how these topics will age - if in decades to come readers have to google "QAnon" and the like (because they've been long-forgotten *crosses fingers*), or if they're perhaps more prominent and insidious.

Though several cases merge into one here, it's more seamlessly done and makes sense. I was also more conscious Disher's writing here. Short chapters in conversational style prose that are easy to read and beg you to keep going. And though written in third person from Hirsch's point of view there's a real narratorial presence that I often associate with Adrian McKinty's Sean Duffy crime fiction series. I should also mention that Disher does an excellent job at sharing the vast but beautiful emptiness of Australia's outback.

In Consolation I felt as if Hirsch was constantly being put in his place and reminded of the internal affairs-related demotion that landed him in remote Tiverton. Here it's reflected but he seemed to garner more respect from colleagues. I'm also still enjoying his very pragmatic relationship with girlfriend Wendy and her daughter Kate, so look forward to our next meeting.

The fourth book in this great series. Paul Hirschhausen is back policing the small country town of Tiverton in South Australia. The town is small but the farming area around it is huge, and Hirsch is kept busy driving huge distances as part of his welfare duties.

In fact he is always busy. His home and office are in the same building and it seems he is always on call although he does have backup from the team in nearby Redruth. And his job does not stop at policing smaller crimes. In Day's End he assists in searching for missing backpackers and is first responder to several serious events including a body in a suitcase, a plane crash, racist vandalism and a very nasty dog attack.

The book takes place in Covid times and Disher deals with this very well, especially the way he demonstrates how peoples' beliefs differed regarding vaccinations and the disease itself, and how this affected a very small community.

The author writes well and his descriptions of the scenery and events are vivid. I also very much enjoy the character of Paul Hirschhausen. He is smart, thoughtful and caring - just the person you would want to have around in an emergency. Altogether his was a great book and I hope there will be many more of them!

Day’s End by Garry Disher is the fourth in the Paul Hirshhausen series. What can I say? Well, what an excellent read - well constructed plot and a wonderful array of diverse characters that held this reader in awe and suspense,

Garry Disher is a masterful writer and has once again created a story in rural setting with so much atmosphere. Senior Constable Paul Hirshhausen (Hirsh) is on again undertaking his duties of covering an enormous rural area and capturing the essence of a small Australian town north of Adelaide in South Australia. Hirsh is a wonderful character, understanding yet firm when required. His girlfriend Wendy and her daughter Kate also add depth to Hirsh’s character and the story. The story has a realistic mixture of characters and personalities combined with lots of twists and turns with an abundance of current issues including anti-vaxxers (“Covid morons” being Hirsh’s description ) in the Covid environment we find ourselves as well as bullying, harassment, racism, drugs and scamming. Of course there is also murder - starting with the finding of a body in a suitcase……

Highly recommended read.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from Text Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is an exceptionally good Aussie noir series about a disgraced cop who is sent to a tiny rural South Australian town. The last book in the series won the 2021 Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction and this one is every bit as good. The sense of place is incredibly strong and all the characters are rounded and authentic.

Constable Paul Hirschausen (Hirsch) is the only police officer covering a vast rural area the size of Belgium. When he radios for back up, he knows that he’s in for a wait of several hours. He’s a wonderful character: very human, caring and wryly observant. He’s become so real to me that I’m convinced I could drive to South Australia and find him living there.

The book opens with Hirsch looking into a missing Dutch backpacker who was working in the area. Meanwhile there is the everyday business to deal with: petty theft, vicious dogs, drugs, tensions between neighbours. And a dead body that turns up in a suitcase. There are multiple plot strands but Disher juggles them expertly and they are all woven into place by the end of the book.

Day’s End is set during the Covid epidemic, which touches on but never dominates the plot

This is a fantastic series and I strongly recommend it. If you like Jane Harper or Chris Hammer, this is right up your alley. You don’t have to have read the others but they’re all terrific.

Thank you to Text Publishing via NetGalley for an ARC.

4.5 ~5★
“Hirsch halted, his heart racing. Mapped out his next few seconds: three or four running steps to the closest fence post, right hand on top of it for leverage, a clean vault over into the paddock and then a racing zigzag across it… “

Day’s end, indeed. Hirsch’s days don’t end – he just forces himself to switch off until the phone rings in the middle of what passes for dinner or what passes for a good night’s sleep, demanding he come immediately.

As a country cop, demoted under a cloud (not his fault) some years earlier, Paul Hirschhausen is the only police officer in an area “the size of Belgium” north of Adelaide, South Australia. It’s a wonder his day ever ends.

“Out in that country, if you owned a sheep station the size of a European principality you stood tall. If you were a rent-paying public servant, like Hirsch, you stood on the summit of Desolation Hill.”

Investigating the disappearance of a 21-year-old European backpacker, Hirsch goes with the man’s mother to one such station, Dryden Downs, where Willi had last worked. There is a new sign on the gate.

“Unvaccinated visitors welcome here, and, in smaller type, We refuse to enforce unlawful directions from a government that would microchip its people.”

Another challenge for Hirsch. Disher doesn’t dwell on Covid, but he occasionally refers to someone smiling over their mask. It’s just another source of pressure on the subterranean unrest that is beginning to burble out from dangerous revolutionary chat rooms and into real life in small country towns, not just in big cities.

Sam Dryden greets Hirsch and Willi’s mother cordially, but it’s obvious that wife Mia is less restrained.

“Where her husband’s energy lay coiled, hers vibrated. Her eyes were bright; her teeth flashed; she was a ripple of movement; her words poured out as she skipped up the steps in an eddy of hot-day and horse-riding odours.

No, they have had no word since Willi left – with a new girlfriend – a few months ago, except for a postcard from Noosa, Qld (beach resort area, for non-Aussie readers). Kids? What are you going to do, eh? Probably just want to see the world.

Kids indeed. Hirsch’s partner Wendy teaches at the local high school and lives with her daughter, Kate, who is changing from the clever, affectionate kid who likes to tease Hirsch to a sometimes glum, troubled teen. She’s getting abusive texts, some of which seem to be connected to other delinquent activities in Tiverton.

Racist vandalism, Covid, drugs, online scams, and the usual drunks. What next? Next, who should arrive but some federal heavies who seem to be leaving Hirsch out of what looks like being a very Big Picture indeed.

Hirsch carries on, pinning a note on the police station door and packing his lunch as he makes his very long rounds, checking in on all of the outlying people he feels responsible for. There’s nothing quite like a corrugated rural road.

“Drive too slowly on these roads and your teeth shook out; too quickly and you might lose traction on a curve, roll your vehicle, lie pinned in the wreckage for hours, even days, before another vehicle happened along. You needed skill with a dash of nonchalance. Hirsch had been making these back-country ventures for three years now and was getting better at it.”

Not all properties are big stations like Dryden Downs of course.

“Weeds thrived in the drooping veranda gutter and choked the surviving shrubs and rosebushes. Lichen bloomed on the rust-fringed corrugated iron of the roof. Cobwebs hung from the eaves. A listing grey VW diesel van was parked in the driveway and a car rested on blocks on the front lawn.
. . .
Hirsch parked beside a defeated-looking wrought-iron gate in a low, collapsing wall…”

There is one absolutely horrific incident at this place, which leaves Hirsch (and readers) badly shaken. We expect far too much from our police. It is way too hard. His sergeant, who wasn’t there at the time, is also disturbed.

“Looking careworn again, Brandl said, ‘All right—but what a mess on top of everything else.’ She shook herself back into the shape of an officer in charge.”

I don’t even know how you’d do that. I’d be bent completely out of shape.

I always love Disher’s writing style, and I admire how he manages to incorporate current controversial issues (Covid, racism, politics) into a story with a light enough touch that we never forget the people and where they are – rural South Australia.

I have read the previous three books in this series, but I think I would have enjoyed this one even on its own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Text Publishing for the review copy from which I’ve quoted.

Senior Constable Paul Hirschhausen (Hirsch) lived in the small outback town of Tiverton, where he looked after the locals, ran his small police station, and did weekly patrols out through the vast area to the properties and beyond; that was his beat. The day he was driving an international visitor, Janne Van Sant, who was searching for her backpacking son, Willi, they headed to the station where he last worked. Finding that he and his girlfriend had headed for the Gold Coast, Hirsch and Janne headed back to Tiverton where they discovered a suitcase on fire in a culvert. Dousing the flames, neither of them recognised the body in the suitcase...

With some of the locals into criminal activity, and the house where the main culprits lived always under Hirsch's watchful eye, it wasn't long before the Adelaide detectives were involved. Covid had been making a lot of people stir-crazy, with the long lockdowns, so Hirsch was concerned that was causing more problems. Would Hirsch sort all the issues that were occurring across his patch?

Day's End is the 4th in the Paul Hirschhausen series by Aussie author Garry Disher and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Hirsch is a great character, down to earth, a kind-hearted friend to the people, firm with those who needed it and not afraid to do what was necessary. Wendy and her daughter Kate featured well in this episode, and I'm looking forward to #5 already. Highly recommended.

With thanks to Text Publishing via NetGalley for my ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

In this fourth book in Garry Disher’s Paul Hirschhausen series, Hirsh is now very much at home in the small rural town of Tiverton north of Adelaide. He‘s still the sole police officer at his station, policing a huge rural area, but has good support from the regional station at nearby Redruth.

There’s a lot happening in this small town and it’s sparsely inhabited rural area. Going to the scene of a fire, Hirsch finds a heavily tattooed body in a suitcase. No one he recognises so not someone local and not the missing overseas backpacker Hirsch has been helping to look for. There is also a wave of anti-government and anti-racial sentiment flourishing amongst some of the younger members of town and hints of a far-right group being involved. On top of that there are scams involving house rentals and old furniture donated for charity. On a more personal level, Hirsch’s girlfriend Wendy’s normally sunny daughter Kate is unhappy due to being being bullied at high school and online and it seems Wendy, the high school Maths teacher is as much as a target of the online vitriol being sent Kate’s way.

Hirsch is rapidly becoming one of my favourite characters. A fair-minded man with patience and principles, willing to find the best in people. Disher has woven the covid pandemic into his tale, with the unbelievers, anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists really testing Hirsch’s patience. Superbly written with warmth and humour, Disher catches the atmosphere and issues facing small country towns superbly. The pacing is fast with each of the many layers perfectly played out and the underlying tension resolving in an explosive ending.