Thanks to Quercus and NetGalley for ARC.

This intriguing outback noir sees young idigineous West Australian cop Sparrow persuaded to accompany elderly nursing home resident Bob on a road trip to uncover secrets and allow Bob to clear his conscience. They both have reasons to be economical with the truth and to think this trip will be life changing. Accompanying them is fellow nursing home resident Luke, an angry young man whose life hasn't played out as they expected.

The unlikely trio encounter the rough characters you would expect on the long journey and to outline some of the experiences they share would be against the spirit of the thing.

Papathanasiou is excellent at conjuring menace and violence and showing the ugly desperation of some of the lives recounted. I grew up in Australia during some of the period recollected by Bob, and worked in places like some of the ones he worked in, and it all rang horribly true.

The denouement, when it finally comes, is heartbreaking in its own way. A complex novel I admired rather than enjoyed.

I was not alone in being mightily impressed by Canberra author Peter Papathanasiou’s hard-hitting 2021 debut The Stoning, where the brutal death of a rural schoolteacher incited a terrific Outback Noir that delivered a fascinating storyline while exploring Australia’s treatment of refugees alongside a clear-eyed look at hypocrisies old and new and the uglier side of modern life in ‘the Lucky Country’.

That book also introduced Detective Sergeant Georgias ‘George’ Manolis, a big city cop sent to his childhood hometown to help the locals investigate the death and douse escalating reprisals, and local Aboriginal constable ‘Sparrow’. In Papathanasiou’s third and latest novel, The Pit, Manolis is on leave in Greece, so it is Sparrow that receives a call from a killer that wants to turn himself in.

Bob wants to make a deal. In his mid-sixties, he’s relatively young compared to some of his fellow residents in a Perth nursing home. Though he’s not the youngest there. Maybe Bob’s paying for past sins. Decades ago he killed someone in the remote mining region of north Kimberley. He offers to show Sparrow where the body is, saying he’s unable to find it without going there himself.

Sparrow isn’t sure, while thinking the juice may be worth the squeeze. But there are a couple of hitches: Sparrow must pretend to be Bob’s carer as they travel north, and they’re joined on the road trip by another nursing home resident: Luke, a 30-year-old who was paralysed in a motorbike crash. What is Bob’s real motivation to take Sparrow deep into the dusty backblocks of Western Australia, and why is the surly Luke along for the ride? What secrets may come to light, if they ever reach their destination and somehow manage to survive a series of misadventures and dangerous encounters?

Papathanasiou delivers a kinetic, fascinating tale that may divide readers when it comes to whether it surpasses or falls short of his excellent debut. Australian social history and harsh landscapes provide a stark backdrop to the mystery of Bob’s quest, his past, and his intentions. As well as the action sparked by clashes the trio face, and sometimes instigate, with an array of humanity that roams the lonely roadways of Western Australia, eking out a living in various ways.

A very good read that centres an indigenous character while exploring varying prejudices and their real-world impact in times present and past. I’m curious to see what Papathanasiou delivers next.

An engaging, atmospheric mystery set in the Australian out back over two timelines. The characters were well written and I enjoyed the gritty descriptions of the landscape. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Peter Papathanasiou's previous novel The Invisible was a terrific read but I struggled to warm to this one. I didn’t find most of the characters particularly believable and several were thoroughly unlikable. What began as an intriguing plot drifted into a sprawling tale with too much going on.
Bob was an interesting character and perhaps this could have been a better novel by just focusing on Bob's experiences in the mines and as a gay man living through intolerant times without the need for the secondary characters and the crime theme.
On saying this I'd be happy to read another by Papathanasiou especially if it's set in Greece.
Thanks to Quercus and NetGalley for an advance copy to review

This is the second book I read in this series and I find it entertaining and well written.
This instalment requires a bit of suspension of belief but I found it well plotted and entertaining.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I was initially drawn to this book as I thought the sound of an 'Outback thriller' was really intriguing and the setting really was one of my favourite things about it. I enjoyed the alternating timelines throughout the story and the character of Bob I felt was really well developed. As a whole the story felt quite unrealistic and far fetched but was an enjoyable read nonetheless. Not sure how I feel about the ending though!

Detective Sparrow is still recovering from a fatal shooting when he receives a phone call confessing to murder. Following this lead he ends up on a road trip to the mining heartland of Australia accompanied by dying man and a young man confined to a wheelchair. Bob has his own motivations for confessing to the crime but Luke is merely along for the ride.
I hadn't read the previous books in this series but I fell into the tale quickly and really enjoyed it. Told in the present (2017) and the past, it shows the crude underbelly of Australian life. the topics explored are unpleasant - sexism, racism and anti-Gay prejudice - and the author doesn't shy away from this. The story is essentially redemptive but is quite hard-hitting on the way.

Each book that Peter has written is different. While I still prefer his first book as it was more of the type of crime book I personally like, this is still an interesting look at people and their story of why that crime was committed.

Knowing 'who dunnit' at the beginning of the book, Peter explores the characters of the policeman and the two men who accompany him on a road trip through conversation and looking back in the past.

It isn't going to keep you riveted to the pages to find out the murderer, but I enjoyed the research Peter has put into it and the story of these men and the time they lived through.

Different than what I was expecting after reading and enjoying the Stoning. More a road trip coupled with Western Australian history and gay rights.
Written with the author's usual page turning style and vivid descriptions, it is another winner.

I enjoyed the first two novels on the series, but The Pit is even better! I was expecting a good mystery and great descriptions of the Australian landscape,but what I got in addition was a wonderful character in Bob, whose intriguing backstory and original voice had me gobbling the pages down.

I appreciated the ways Bob's story opened up the brutality of the mining industry, the tension for a gay man working in an industry that prizes a violent physical masculinity, his love for Stretch, his struggles when the AIDS epidemic hit.

Brutality and tenderness, guilt and setting things right. Really great👍

Having read the author’s previous book, The Stoning, I was really looking forward to another slice of outback noir crime fiction. However, that wasn’t really what I got as the blurb is misleading.

The book is well written. It starts off promisingly, with a care home resident, Bob, calling the police and wishing to turn himself in for a murder. Sparrow takes the call and he agrees to accompany Bob on a road trip back to the scene of the murder. The concept is flimsy, not least why Sparrow would go on the trip, notably when a 3rd traveller is added to the mix; Luke who is disabled following a motorbike accident.

Thereafter I found it a little odd. Flipping between Bob’s time 30 years previously and the ongoing road trip, it is more of a social commentary than a crime fiction. Added to that I didn’t find the characters particularly plausible or likeable and the plot felt disjointed.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

If you're expecting a hard-hitting murder investigation, this isn't it. Sure, there's a body in a pit somewhere in the middle of nowhere. But 'The Pit' is much more of a character-driven road trip. After all, the whodunnit is revealed from the beginning, as Bob confesses to this thirty year old murder right off the bat. But why is it so important for him to go back to the mining region where it all happened? And why does he insist on taking Luke and Sparrow with him?

'The Pit' is the third instalment in the DS George Manolis series but fear not. It reads perfectly well as a stand-alone and I was delighted to see Sparrow get a turn to shine while Manolis is still on an extended break in Greece. Although, to be fair, this is mostly Bob's story. Anyway! Sparrow's first introduction to the big crime league didn't go so well and he is determined to restore his reputation and make a name for himself. Being handed a murder on a platter like this will surely make him rise up the ranks?

Luke has no clue what's going on or where this road trip is supposed to lead them. Just like him, I couldn't at all figure out why he was invited on the trip. He's not a very likeable person. He's racist, misogynistic, homophobic, and downright massively unpleasant company, in my opinion. Bob must have a reason to want him there, though. As the journey continues, you start to wonder if Luke is being held against his will, and will he actually live to see their destination. What is set to happen when they arrive there anyway?

I always come away from Peter Papathanasiou's books feeling like I've learnt something and things are no different this time around. Bob's background story plays out in the Australian mining industry, the pits. The men working there are mostly desperate, but the people they're working for are rolling in money. Bob had no intention of ending up there, but he found himself cast out by his family and vowed to run as far away from them as he could. The circumstances in which these miners live are brutal, and the harsh conditions aren't for anyone.

So many themes run through 'The Pit', and as always there is an incredible depth to the characters Papathanasiou creates. This is a story about finding yourself, about acceptance, about love and grief, and about survival. A slow-burning, atmospheric tale filled with fantastic characters from an author who seems to enjoy writing crime fiction with a difference.

A standalone novel, The Pit by Peter Papathanasiou (2023) features the Indigenous Police Senior Constable Sparrow. It begins with him receiving a telephone call from an elderly aged care resident confessing to a murder. Keen to solve the historic murder, Sparrow agrees to take personal leave and accompany Bob on the journey to find the body. Undertaking the journey from Perth to the Pilbara, they are accompanied by Luke, a young paraplegic. The tale unfolds in two timelines: the road trip adventure and Bob’s life working in the far north of Western Australia. A slightly different Aussie noir, as it’s a character-driven road trip, full of adventures and insights into the personality characters of the traveling companion trio. Nonetheless, it’s another classic outback crime tale that is centered on the various characters and social insights with a four and a half stars read rating. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without inducement.

EXCERPT: Sparrow considered his suspect and the situation. It felt surreal to be on the road under such circumstances. False confessions were common in criminal investigations. Some people made them to protect others, some to bolster their own reputations and earn notoriety. What did this old man stand to gain other than a clear conscience . . . ? A confession on its own was insufficient for a conviction, particularly when it came to murder; proof was needed. And if Sparrow chose to arrest Bob on suspicion of murder, the old man had made it clear he'd immediately stop cooperating. What danger was Sparrow truly in . . . ? He was armed and travelling with two relatively harmless individuals, a pensioner and a paraplegic. And so far, the trip had felt more like a fully paid summer holiday than a criminal investigation.

ABOUT 'THE PIT': With DS Manolis on leave in Greece, Senior Constable Sparrow receives a phone call from a man who wants to turn himself in.

Bob is sixty-five years old, confined to a Perth nursing home. But thirty years ago, he killed a man in the remote northern Kimberley mining region. He offers to show Sparrow where the body is, but there's a condition; Sparrow must travel north with him under the guise of being his carer.

They are accompanied on the drive by another nursing home patient, Luke, thirty years old, paralysed in a motorbike accident. As they embark on their road trip through the guts of Western Australia, pursued by outback police and adrenaline-soaked miners, Sparrow beings to suspect that Bob's desire to head north may have sinister motivations. Is Luke being held against his will? And what lies in store for them when they reach their goal?

MY THOUGHTS: A couple of pages in, I got that prickly feeling on the back of my neck, that one that says, 'this is good, better than good.' And I read more than half the book in one sitting, unable to put it down until my eyes closed and I fell asleep with it in my hand.

This is very much a character driven novel, and the outback is a dynamic character all of its own, far more dangerous than even the rage and alcohol fueled miners in search of revenge. That's not to say this is not an action-packed book, because it is, but the characters are the prime-movers.

Papathanasiou has written a fast-paced Australian crime thriller absolutely bristling with urgency. It is taut, tense and entertaining. Sparrow, although young, is enough of a policeman to know when to abandon police procedure and just go with the flow. He is also not above playing the 'Aboriginal' card when he needs to. Bob was once one of these alcohol and rage fueled miners himself; now he is an elderly man on death's door with a crime he wants to get off his conscience. But there may also be an ulterior motive spurring him on. Luke? Well Luke is a (relatively) young paraplegic banished to live out the remainder of his life in an old people's home after the deaths of both parents. This trip is an escape for him; a bit of a lark, a chance to be a larrikin again. He is totally unaware of the true reason behind the trip.

Two tales on different timelines run parallel to each other; the current timeline (2017) narrated by Sparrow, and the past, beginning in the 1960s, narrated by Bob. There's a lot of true, but not very pretty stuff goes on here in both timelines. But there's also a lot of humour - mostly black.

Port Hedland does not fare well in this telling. I have a son who lives there and rang him and read some of the passages to him. His take was, "Yep, they're still all pretty much true, but all the tents and shacks that had sprung up around the hospital were moved out to the edges of South Hedland a few years ago; it wasn't a good look. And there's a lot more drugs around these days, ice and meth, that makes things worse." Like many, he's biding his time, just waiting to get out.

Like I said earlier, this thriller is fast-paced, but it does lose some impetus when Bob is relating his life with his partner Jose. Personally, I would have left this out, because beyond showing the prejudices against homosexuals in this era, and the effect the AIDs epidemic had on fueling this, it contributes little to the story and does throw the pacing off.

So not only is this an outback mystery-thriller, it is a social commentary spanning decades.

Although The Pit is #3 in a series, it is easily read as a stand-alone.

A riveting read.

My favorite lines: "Welcome to the bloody Pilbara," grumbled one of the grounded men as he chucked his bag down. "And good bloody luck tryin' to get out."

It was just another day among Australia's drinking towns that had a mining problem.

They were on the outskirts of Port Hedland, a town where the only green was the glint of an empty Victoria Bitter can by the roadside.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#ThePit #NetGalley

I: @petepapathanasiou @quercusbooks

T: @peteplastic @QuercusBooks

#australianfiction #contemporaryfiction #crime #freindship #historicalfiction #mystery #thriller

THE AUTHOR: I was born in Florina, which is a small mountain town in northern Greece, in 1974. As a baby, I was adopted to a family living in Australia, where I was raised as an only child. I went to public schools in Canberra and enjoyed a loving, ordinary suburban life as a bookish but active kid. It wasn’t until 1999, at the start of my PhD in biomedical sciences at ANU, that I discovered the truth behind my adoption, which seemed to tear my life in two. I later journeyed to Greece to meet my biological family, which included two older brothers.
I like the storytelling aspect of a novel. Storytelling is an innate human activity, and something we nurture from a young age as children. It connects us, this desire to weave a narrative. We feel less alone in the world with stories, they speak to our hearts, to our desire to be taken on a journey. I think films do that too, visually, while music is something that comes with a harmony and can even transcend language. But for me, I’ve always enjoyed playing with the basic building block that is a word: writing it on a page, then writing another, and moving them around into the best position.
While my intention, first and foremost, is to write a compelling crime novel inspired by the vast Australian outback, I also want to write something that is more than a whodunit. A whodunit thread can help propel a plot, but mine is designed as a springboard to launch into an exploration of characters and their worlds. Through the prism of an atrocious crime, my aim is to present readers – nationally and internationally – with some important issues, which I hope they take away with them after reading my books. I write to speak to the world from the island continent down under, and the depths of its vast and ruthless outback. This is not a story of which Australia will be proud, but which I feel must be told. (Booktopia)

DISCLOSURE: Thanks to Quercus Books via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Pit for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of The Pit but that has in no way influenced my review.

With his senior officer, DS George Manolis, away overseas and left under the somewhat questionable supervision of Detective Inspector Paul Bloody Porter (that's how Manolis always refers to Porter - I'm three books into this series now and I can't type his name without the 'bloody'! ) Senior Constable Andrew 'Sparrow' Smith is at a bit of a loss. That is until he answers the phone. On the other end a man confesses to a murder. But this isn't a killer with blood drying on his hands confessing to a recent act of violence. The murder happened thirty years ago and the confessor, Bob, feels it's time to turn himself in. He remembers roughly where the incident took place, it was in The Kimberley, but that's about as far as his memory serves. So Bob asks Sparrow to accompany him to the sparsely settled Australian region in the hope of finding the deceased and handing himself over. Joining Sparrow and Bob on the trip is Luke, a man paralysed in a motorcycle accident who also lives in the same nursing home as 65-year-old Bob. But it's not an easy trip and the further they trek into the Australian Outback, the more concerned Sparrow becomes. Motives become blurred, Sparrow begins to question everything Bob has told him. Why is Luke with them? Are Bob's motives more sinister than Sparrow initially thought. And what danger waits for the trio out on the open road...

The Pit is a very compelling addition to an intriguing crime series from a writer I can't help but feel wants to do things a bit differently. The Pit is the third book in the DS George Manolis series but Manolis is nowhere in sight. He is but a mere mention here and there. Sparrow takes the lead in book three and it was a joy to be reacquainted with a character I warmed to in The Stoning, the first book in this series. Bear with me and I'll explain (if I can!) how the three books in this series fit together. As mentioned, the first book is The Stoning where city cop Manolis is sent to an Outback town to investigate a brutal murder. There Manolis meets and works with Constable Sparrow Smith, an Indigenous Australian. In the second book, The Invisible, Manolis takes a much needed break and heads to Greece, his parent's homeland. Sparrow is mentioned but does not really feature (I did however miss him). The third book, The Pit, takes place at the same time as Manolis is in Greece. Hence his absence from proceedings. It's an interesting and brave direction to take a crime fiction series, where readers are used to the same character appearing in different situations time and time again. It's just something us crime readers come to expect for some reason! Truth be told, I didn't really feel this was Sparrow's story either, despite him being the main character in the book. For me, The Pit was all about Bob and as a fan of character driven tales, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey I took with Mr Robert Cooper (and entourage!). It's also worth mentioning that this is a crime fiction novel and there is a mystery element present but the mystery does tend to take a back seat. I was intrigued as to why Luke was being taken along for the ride. I was keen to find out what motivated Bob, why he had suddenly, thirty years later, decided to confess to a murder. And I wanted to know how Sparrow was going to fit into the end game? Was Bob's request for a police officer to be present as innocent as it seemed?

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. I thoroughly enjoyed The Pit although it did take me a little while to warm to the story. As soon as I realised that this was a character-driven tale about a road trip more than a murder mystery novel, everything fell into place for me and I was drawn into the lives of these three men. The story is told from the past and the present. Year by year we get to watch Bob grow from a young man thrown out of home, to his life driving dumper trucks for the mines, and then to the present day where he's living in a nursing home, watching other more elderly residents dribble soup down their chins. Despite being a self-proclaimed killer, I loved him. The more I discovered, the more I loved him. The characters in this novel are everything and they're all so beautifully drawn by the author. All three made for an engrossing reading experience. I really should mention Luke before I sign off. Luke is quite vile. He's crass and bigoted, angry and unapologetic. He brings a darkness to proceedings and I loved that balance. Throughout the entire novel I questioned why he had been taken on the trip. Of course, it all becomes clear to the reader as you approach the end. With the final twist leaving me with a bit of a smug half smile on my face. Brilliantly done. I thoroughly enjoyed The Pit and look forward to seeing what comes next for Manolis and Sparrow. Fantastic characters, a vivid, atmospheric setting and a perfectly penned slow burn plot to draw the reader in and not let go. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of The Pit. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

Review will go live on damppebbles.com on 14th September 2023

rating - 3 stars
I thank the publisher and Net Galley for proving a copy of this book in return for a fair and unbiased review.
"Outback" thrillers have become definite sub-genre and I have enjoyed most of those I have read to date. I had noted the author but not yet picked up his earlier books. In one sense, not having read the earlier book about the lead policeman made little difference yo following this one, although it possibly would have set a context for his decision to become involved in this adventure, which I struggled to understand. But I felt no empathy for him or his fellow travellers. The writing was good and it was a page turner but ultimately disappointing.

I enjoyed reading this book.it was quite different from other road trip books I have read, it had a lot more depth and the characters were very diverse, this was far more than just a road trip book. I liked the main character, felt indifferent to the policeman, and really disliked the guy in a wheelchair, although I understood where his anger was coming from, and thought his character was realistic. There were so many layers to this book, and it kept me interested until the last page. I am slightly conflicted about how many stars to give it I am giving it 5 because I think it is too good not to, but I don't think it will be to everyone's taste, but it was to mine.

2.5 stars

The blurb for this book sells it as a murder mystery type book. It is most definitely not that as far as I could see.

We start with DC Sparrow being contacted by Bob, an ex-Kalgoorlie miner, who wants him to take a trip across country to dig up the bones of a murder victim. What's to lose? Sparrow gets the glory, Bob gets peace of mind; job done.

However when Sparrow meets up with Bob he finds a third member of the party in Luke, a thirty something paraplegic confined to a wheelchair since a bike accident. There follows a very strange road trip and its this that the book centres around.

I dislike blurbs that lead you up the garden path. If this book had described itself as a road trip with three very disparate characters I'd probably still have requested it since I know next to nothing about the Australian outback or the mining "towns".

However the storyline is all over the place. Luke is permanently angry, characters that appear to have very little to do with the plot come and go as the three drive across Australia and Bob tells us his history.

I got very bored with this book about a third of the way through. It told me a lot about gay sex in the outback and how to fleece people in the outback and how prejudiced Australuans appear to be about anyone who isnt a red-blooded male.

This book simply wasn't for me. I've read better books about struggling with sexuality/AIDS. Luke's character was simply obnoxious and Sparrow seems to spend half his time doing nothing rather than pulling up at the nearest cafe and getting his police buddies to sort out the mess.

I gave it 2.5 stars - 1 because I managed to finish it and the other because it didn't give me a headache. The half is for the final paragraphs which were funny at least.

Thanks anyway to Netgalley for the advance review copy.

Wow, simply wow. The Pit is one of the best books that I’ve read this year. It’s the story of three very different men on a road trip through remote Western Australia. Sparrow, Bob and Luke all have stories to tell and lessons to learn. Bob’s story is beautifully written. His journey as a young man discovering himself and new relationships is extremely moving. It is honest and hard hitting, with descriptions of AZT and what it actually did to those young man. A wonderful heartfelt book which reads like a history lesson and serves as a reminder of the real fight that those before us had to face.

This is an excellent novel set in Australia and very well written. It's more of a social commentary of Australia's past in that it depicts the mining industry, the gay community, the treatment of Aborigines and AIDS. Set between two timescales, I felt quite emotionally involved with the three main characters whilst they embarked on a road trip from Perth to the Kimberley region. The vivid descriptions of the desert landscape were beautifully written and I loved the characterisation, especially Bob. This is a strong, well researched novel which I highly recommend. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.