Peace

I was introduced to Garry Disher when reading “Bitter Wash Road” and absolutely agree that he deserves his reputation as one of the great masters of Australian literary crime fiction having just finished his latest book “Peace”, I absolutely loved it. Disher has been awarded the “Deutsche Krimipreis” several times and is also the recipient of the Ned Kelly Lifetime Achievement award.
Hirsch, as Paul Hirschhausen is called, was already the protagonist in “Bitter Wash Road”, a former metropolitan detective and whistle-blower who reported corruption and cover ups amongst his fellow police officers only to find himself degraded to constable and transferred to a posting in the South Australian outback town of Tiverton. The local police station also serves as his living quarters but most hours his four wheel drive is home when patrolling the vast rural countryside. In “Peace” Hirsch is struggling to resolve several apparently unconnected small town events and crimes in his district during the scorching Australian Christmas season. But then his is called to a murder scene of a woman and her son to whom he had issued a warning days before and officials from Sydney show up taking over. In his own stubborn way Hirsch continues to investigate following his hunch that the murder victim might have been in a witness protection program. Dishers writing style has been called “rural noir”, a perfect description. Only fellow crime writer Jane Harper, whom I also hold in very high regard, narrates the evil undercurrents of seemingly everyday life in the bush and the darker side of human nature hidden behind a benign appearance so exquisitely. I will not go into detail about the plot of the novel as it would totally spoil the coming together of the various events in the end but let me assure you, if you are in search of an extraordinary setting, an intriging plot, a brilliant description of the characters and country life in the Australian bush, this novel is a perfect choice for you. Disher has written a number of other crime fiction which I will definitely check into now, he definitely has a fan in me.
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“Everyone lied, every day – especially to the police. A one-off, outright lie, from someone unused to lying, could often be identified and disproved. Constant and habitual lying was harder to recognise, let alone challenge, because the liar no longer saw a distinction between a lie and the truth. They were all just words deployed in the interests of survival. In any case, most people lied some of the time, generally layering it with the truth to deflect blame, to sugar-coat their cowardice or stupidity.”

Peace is the second book in the Paul Hirschhausen series by popular Australian author, Garry Disher. Hirsch has been in Tiverton, in the South Australian mallee, a bit over a year now, and he’s doing his best to establish a working relationship with the locals, even to the extent of (not-quite-willingly) putting on a Santa suit. He enjoys his extended patrols of the area and connecting with the people who need him. In the week before Christmas, no excitement would be welcome, but is apparently too much to wish for.

The drunk driving into the pub veranda and the toddler in the hot car are handled as professionally as possible; a skip of stolen copper is a puzzle, as is a beaten pet dog, but a few days on brings a much more shocking case of animal cruelty. And then, on Christmas Day, a request from Sydney Police to do a welfare check on an isolated family results in a grisly discovery.

As the brass descend on Hirsch’s little patch, it’s apparent that some have not forgotten the reason he was relegated to Tiverton, but others seem to have an unknown agenda, and Hirsch wonders just why this little family had fled to his corner of the state.


Disher is a master of descriptive prose and expertly conveys the atmosphere and attitude of the rural town: his cast of townspeople will likely be familiar to anyone who has visited such a place. Snippets from Mrs Keir’s 19th Century journal about the local area enhance the text.

While Hirsch is mostly a by-the-book cop, he knows nothing is black and white, especially in rural policing, and is wiling to make a judgement call, to adjust his policing to suit the situation, even if it sometimes comes back to bite him. He is certainly a likeable character, deserving of a little romantic joy with Wendy, and his dry inner monologue is often a delight.

The reader should not allow the fairly benign start, filled with quite a few darkly funny moments, to lull them into complacency, because soon the action becomes edge-of-the-seat stuff, building to a nail-biting climax, and the reader will be kept enthralled right up to the very satisfying final page. Brilliant Aussie rural noir that will have fans saying: more Hirsch please, Mr Disher!
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Viper

Bitter Wash Road, the first in this series,was one of my favourite reads of last year and here is book two which I also adored. Garry Disher writes beautifully with a quietly addictive style that pulls you into the story and you simply dont want to stop reading it until you are done.

The setting is so wonderful I kind of want to live there..although maybe minus the death and blood that occasionally happens - I'm such a huge fan of small town drama and aussie fiction currently that this was a pure joy to read first page to last.

The mix of the mundane and the more horrendous is cleverly achieved, all the characters pop from the page, especially our man Hirsch, local and often only copper, who seems to travel a lifetime every day, never knowing quite what will happen. He takes the reader on all those journeys with him, as he tries to leave the past behind him.

I won't give any plot away but the mystery element is pitch perfectly done and they have a differing sort of twist on your crime fiction tropes as Hirsch might be trying to find a killer but could just as easily be trying to track down a missing dog. Either way it is compelling and you'll be glued to the page.

Highly recommended.

Having adored Garry Disher's first in his brilliant Aussie crime series featuring the demoted Constable Paul 'Hirsch' Hirschhausen, I was avidly looking forward to this, the next in the series. It's the Christmas period, and after a year, Hirsch has settled down to what is mostly a community policing role, his one-cop shop in small town Tiverton, covering a vast area. However, there is little in the way of peace as Hirsch is hit by one thing after another, including the obstreperous drunk, Brenda Flann driving into the pub, a stolen ute, fires, burglaries, a child left locked in a car in the sweltering heat, and a missing dog. It often involves Hirsch exercising his judgement, rather than instigating criminal proceedings, in the hope of good community-police relations and his sincere desire to not ruin lives.

However, matters escalate with the posting of a video of an incident, the harrowing killing of miniature ponies, and the grim circumstances that Hirsch comes across in the process of carrying out a welfare check request from Sydney police on a family living in a isolated area. This brings an increasing media focus to Tiverton and Redruth, the arrival of outside police teams as a search for two missing sisters is triggered, their mother and brother brutally murdered. After previous events, Hirsch has a new Redruth boss in Sergeant Brandl, a marked improvement from before. Hirsch is still viewed with disdain and suspicion by many other police officers, and once again is hauled to Sydney for another Internal Affairs interrogation interview over his actions in what are deemed to be minor infractions and is duly warned. Then, there is the overly keen civic minded Martin Gwynne constantly pushing Hirsch to come for dinner.

Disher writes quality Aussie crime, with his sparse prose, a winning blend of ordinary policing with the more extraordinary and harrowing, providing a wonderful insight into and sense of small town Aussie communities. Where he really hits pay dirt is in his depiction of everyday bushwhackery, and in his diverse range of offbeat characters, many with mental health issues, some neglected, others with alcohol issues and more. Then there is Hirsch, working all the hours, facing pressures from all sides, professional and personal, with his relationship with teacher Wendy Street coming under strain. This is a wonderful addition to what is shaping up to be a stellar crime series, and I cannot wait to read the next in the series. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Serpent's Tail/Profile Books for an ARC.