Dead Set

Brad Chen #1

by Kel Robertson

Australian Federal Police officer Brad Chen is having a bad time. Recently injured in a hit and run attack, he's having to lean on crutches and painkillers. The Federal Immigration Minister, Tracey Dale, is having an even worse time. She's been found brutally murdered in her Canberra flat.

Together with his chauffeur, Kate Malone, Chen travels from Canberra to Sydney and Melbourne investigating the murder and interrogating a series of ex-lovers, estranged friends, collegues and neo-nazis, having the crap beaten out of him by skinheads and mysterious assassins along the way.

Genres: Crime, Mystery

368 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2006

About the author

Kel Robertson was born on the south coast of New South Wales in the mid-1950s. He lived in Sydney, Wagga Wagga and Cobar before attending high school in Bathurst in the early 1970s. He is a graduate of four Australian universities and has been a bored non-completer at a number of other tertiary institutions. He lives and works in Canberra, where his grandfather was a minister of religion in the 1930s.

Reviews

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this page turner of a crime/thriller/mystery. Set in Canberra we follow Inspector Chen of the Australian Federal Police who has been recalled urgently from sick leave (broken leg, but there is more to it...) when the Minister of Immigration turns up murdered.

Tracy Dale was a charismatic minister, very much a career politician who was pushing for unpopular legislation that would help refugees in coming to Australia. This is a minor subplot throughout the novel and it is given depth and poignancy by the real life ambivalence Australian politics does exhibit toward immigrants and refugees, but also by the fact that our leading man, Inspector Chen is Chinese Australian.

Hobbling his way through the investigation, a cast on one leg, Chen is given a brand new police graduate as a driver. Malone is an excellent foil for Chen, she is smart, savvy and has a strong personality but she lacks the self destruction of Chen and they make the perfect in-print duo to follow the investigation.

The writing is pretty gritty though never in a gratuitous way and I found it very believable... if not always in terms of the action but really, what thriller does not require a little suspension of disbelief? I loved the different settings, with all the different flavours of Australia it uses as background.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was completely spoiled for me through a highly inappropriate and unlikely romance, and the unnecessary death of one of the main characters right in the closing pages. This really irritated me as I don't believe either the romance or the death were necessary to the plot at all, and without them I probably would have rated this as 5 stars, since I live in Canberra and the dialogue's good.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this crime novel set in Canberra against a political background. Robertson writes well with an engaging style, a solid plot and interesting characters. I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series as it is already on my bookshelf.

[Mick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Australian Federal Police officer Brad Chen is having a bad time. Recently injured in a hit and run attack, he's having to lean on crutches and painkillers. The Federal Immigration Minister, Tracey Dale, is having an even worse time. She's been found brutally murdered in her Canberra flat.

Together with his chauffeur, Kate Malone, Chen travels from Canberra to Sydney and Melbourne investigating the murder and interrogating a series of ex-lovers, estranged friends, collegues and neo-nazis, having the crap beaten out of him by skinheads and mysterious assassins along the way.

The mystery at the heart of Dead Set is servicable, though I wasn't especially satisfied by the action-packed climax. What makes the novel shine is the point of view character, Bradman Chen, and his interactions with his rookie partner and chauffeur, Malone. They're brilliantly realised characters, funny and cynical, and I enoyed every page I spent with them.

[Rob Kitchin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the first half of Dead Set was a terrific read. The characters are well introduced, the police procedural elements are well handled, and the story just flies along. Robertson’s writing has a nice balance between dialogue and description, and whilst quite functional in style, it’s engaging to read. Chen is intriguing character with his sardonic wit, selective approach to procedure and various vulnerabilities. The second half of the book tails away a little and I increasingly found myself asking why questions as holes in the plot started to appear. And the end was a bit of a letdown, despite the blockbuster climax. Overall, Dead Set is a good, solid, entertaining read

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Canberra, I enjoyed the flawed protagonist Inspector Brad Chen and the fast-paced plot, and I look forward to the reading the next books in the series. A very solid debut novel.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good Aussie author. I really enjoyed it.

[Rochelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable- enough to read the next in the series which I prefered!

[Alley Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well researched, interesting crime novel. The romance was somewhat unconvincing and unnecessary, but the plot was sufficiently engaging to overcome this shortfall.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy fun read, love that it's set in Australia