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Darian Richards #2
Dead Girl Sing
World-class crime writing from a brilliant Australian author.
Darian Richards knew he should have let the phone keep ringing. But more than two decades as a cop leaves you with a certain outlook on life. No matter how much he tried to walk away, something, or someone, kept bringing him back to his gun.
One phone call. Two dead girls in a shallow water grave. And a missing cop to deal with.
Something bad is happening on the Gold Coast glitter strip. Amongst the thousands of schoolies and the usual suspects, someone is preying on beautiful young women. No one has noticed. No one knows why.
Darian looked into the eyes of those two dead girls. The last person to do that was their killer. He can t walk away. He will find out why.
Darian Richards knew he should have let the phone keep ringing. But more than two decades as a cop leaves you with a certain outlook on life. No matter how much he tried to walk away, something, or someone, kept bringing him back to his gun.
One phone call. Two dead girls in a shallow water grave. And a missing cop to deal with.
Something bad is happening on the Gold Coast glitter strip. Amongst the thousands of schoolies and the usual suspects, someone is preying on beautiful young women. No one has noticed. No one knows why.
Darian looked into the eyes of those two dead girls. The last person to do that was their killer. He can t walk away. He will find out why.
323 pages, Paperback
First published February 26, 2013
5 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
About the author
Tony Cavanaugh
7 books39 followersTony Cavanaugh is an Australian crime novelist, screenwriter and film and television producer. He has over thirty years' experience in the film industry, has lectured at several prestigious universities and has been a regular guest on radio commenting on the film and television industry. His Darian Richards novels which include PROMISE, DEAD GIRL SING and THE TRAIN RIDER, have been highly praised.
For more information about Tony Cavanaugh visit his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/tonycavanaug...) or follow him on Twitter (@TonyCavanaugh1)
For more information about Tony Cavanaugh visit his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/tonycavanaug...) or follow him on Twitter (@TonyCavanaugh1)
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
May 19, 2013
Maybe it’s a hero complex. Or that you never really take the uniform off for good. Hell, maybe it’s because Darian’s saved this girl once already, so what’s one more? Either way, the phone rang and Darian answered: ‘Darian, you must come. Only you can help. There are so many bodies– ’
That one phone call from Ida, the girl Darian saved from the Sunshine Coast killer a few months ago, has now dragged him into a new murder investigation . . . it involves a trip to the “hellfire inferno” Gold Coast, during schoolies week. When Darian starts looking for Ida, he finds two dead girls instead, and then a cop goes missing.
Darian Richards retired from the police force, but when this new case drags him back into the fold he finds more to worry about than just the missing Ida . . . whatever this girl has gotten herself into, it involves disappearing University students, sex slavery and international kidnapping.
With the (reluctant) help of Noosa cop, Maria, computer genius Isosceles and a notorious con called Blonde Richard; Darian is going to get himself mired in yet another grisly case, once again proving that while he may be done with the police force, the force ain’t done with him.
‘Dead Girl Sing’ is the second book in Australian author, Tony Cavanaugh’s crime-thriller series, ‘Darian Richards.’
I loved Cavanaugh’s debut, ‘Promise’, and I’m thrilled that he has bought Darian Richards out for a second dance (with a third definitely on the horizon). I don’t get invested in many crime series; Karin Slaughter being my only other devout read. I tend to lose interest in crime series very quickly (which is why I don’t watch many crime series TV shows either). What I found though, that keeps me coming back, is terribly damaged characters. I don’t know what it is, but if there’s an underdog, grey-scale dubious anti-hero who I constantly flip between loving and loathing; then I’m there. I’m invested. I care. And there’s nobody more grey-scale than Darian Richards – an ex Melbourne detective who was rumoured to have a bad-guy kill-rate, but was also known to put crooked cops in their place (and in the ground).
This is a guy who admits to never having had a successful relationship; he pays by the hour for his companionship and that’s all he needs. He moved to Noosa to be closer to his one and only ‘friend’, an ex-brothel owner called Casey. And Darian seems to have an unlimited number of favours owed to him by any number of criminals from all over Australia. But, for all his murky ethics and questionable past, Darian is smart. He first put on the uniform at age nineteen, and even in retirement it looks as though his blood will never run anything but blue. This is especially obvious when a single phone-call from a girl he saved in ‘Promise’ has him driving, helter-skelter, down to Brisbane and the Gold Coast . . . where he reluctantly uncovers dead bodies, a missing cop, disappearing co-eds and a sex slavery ring masterminded by one of the most chilling femme fatales I've ever read.
First: the Gold Coast setting is genius. Even more so for being set during the dreaded ‘schoolies’ week: when the recent high school graduates descend on this beachside city (sometimes called ‘Bris-Vegas’, for being Australia’s own big kids playground version of Las Vegas). Schoolies is full of drugs, alcohol, parties and hormonal teenagers doing anything and everything regrettable. Every year, without fail, schoolies week news-coverage involves stories of roofie rapes and teenagers falling to their death from hotel balconies. So this is the town and time of year that Darian is working in to uncover the murder mystery. And he’s trying to work alongside (or at least, not get in the crosshairs) of Q1, the #1 Queensland police station.
Something I love about Cavanaugh’s writing is that he has the intricacies of the Australian police scene well and truly sussed out. He writes about the force/service name change, the old grizzly detectives who’ve been in the game too long and in the case of the Queensland cops; he’s nailed their RayBan-wearing, muscle-bearing, nose-flaring inflated egos;
I knew they’d be a different breed, different from the boys on the Noosa hill, back up on the Sunshine Coast. Up there it’s Japanese tourists and stoned rich kids. Little guys growing dope and drink-driving. It’s tourism crime. Down here, on the Gold Coast, it’s hardcore. It was sleepy and laid-back in 1954. Now it’s a hellfire inferno. The waves kept crashing against the beach and the corks keep popping; it is a tourist playground, after all, but there’s a rumble-fuck not far below the surface. Step back from the beach and you can feel it, hear it, see it. The cops more than meet the need. They’re known to show off their guns to teenage girls. They don’t mind a bit of jackboot.
Something I said about ‘Promise’ reveals itself in this follow-up, to be Cavanaugh’s particular crime-writing style; gore and violence. Maybe it’s obvious to point out that there’s violence in a crime novel – but having dabbled in a few now, I can safely say that some writers pull back and, compared to Cavanaugh, are downright conservative. But the ‘Darian Richards’ series goes to dark places that are sometimes very uncomfortable. And Cavanaugh only seems to write violence against women – so you can imagine the dark and vicious stories involved. And in ‘Dead Girl Sing’ we’re dealing with sex slavery; so it is harrowing. And as a woman reading this, there are times when I swallowed bile. But what makes ‘Dead Girl Sing’ even more uncomfortable is the fact that the ‘bad guy’ is actually a young woman . . . ‘Starlight’ is the name she gave herself, and she’s disgustingly ruthless. She came from the slums of Rio, slept her way to London and then fought her way to Australia. She’s young and stunning – drop dead gorgeous, in fact – but she’s taken the hard lessons she learned in the slums and has decided to never have to claw her way out of that life again. She intends to stay on top, and anyone she has to dispose and sell to stay there is just collateral damage.
In reading ‘Promise’ I wasn’t sure (but hoped) that it wouldn’t be a one-off book, but part of a series. In ‘Dead Girl Sing’, Cavanaugh leaves no doubt in the readers’ mind that Darian is a hero who could be here to stay for a good long while. We learn tiny morsels of his past, and the secondary characters who intrigued us in ‘Promise’ are back for round-two. Isosceles, the computer genius with a penchant for obscure historical factoids and no social skills, whatsoever, is again helping steer Darian’s investigation. And Maria is also returned; still harbouring resentment and guilt over what happened with the Sunshine Killer.
Maria is, really, a stand-out for me. Admittedly, her and Darian’s dubious ‘partnership’ is a bit of a cliché; he, the handsome and wiser sceptical old pro; she the model-like rookie who’s eager but green. But she has potential that Cavanaugh constantly hints at. She’s dealing with sexism and the fact that her ideals of the police service are constantly butting heads with the reality. And in ‘Dead Girl Sing’ we actually get into Maria’s head and learn that she’s not as confident as she appears;
Sometimes her lover, who she adored, spoke in the most obscure ways. This was one of those times. But she got the drift, nonetheless.
‘You don’t understand,’ she said.
‘What? Because you’re a cop and the bloke you talked to is also a cop? That clan thing? Yeah, babe, I understand that. You and this Dane Harper dude, all puttin’ on the uniform, all standin’ under the same flag, all workin’ to the same code . . . but you know it and I know it. Darian ain’t a cop, don’t wear no uniform, but baby, he is the man for good. And you know it.’
There’s a moment in ‘Dead Girl Sing’, when Darian muses on an old psychological test that the police forced used to insist on as part of application. It was the Milgram experiment – and it was designed to study the willingness of participants to obey an authority figure (even when obeying meant conflicting with their conscience). Darian actually refers to it more as a psychopath test – since the experiment involves inflicting pain on another human being, upon instruction of a ‘teacher.’ Some people find themselves incapable of hurting (and potentially killing) another human being – and would refuse to do the experiment, or at least show extreme remorse when they eventually caved and obeyed. For some, the experiment was simple. I think Cavanaugh has actually written his own version of a ‘psychopath test’ in the ending of ‘Dead Girl Sing’ . . . for some, the conclusion will be a fitting end; comeuppances served, a form of justice upheld (however twisted). For others (and I’m one of them) the end will be a perversion in itself. I think it will be a test of each reader’s personal moral compass how they react to the ending and Darian’s bitter form of justice. I’ll admit that for some, the ending will skew the rest of the book (and possibly series?) they’ll second-guess if they ever want to read Darian Richards ever again. I think that’s okay – it lends itself to why I’m conflicted in my liking of the character, and enjoyment of the series – that beautiful grey area.
For what it’s worth; I’m hooked.
That one phone call from Ida, the girl Darian saved from the Sunshine Coast killer a few months ago, has now dragged him into a new murder investigation . . . it involves a trip to the “hellfire inferno” Gold Coast, during schoolies week. When Darian starts looking for Ida, he finds two dead girls instead, and then a cop goes missing.
Darian Richards retired from the police force, but when this new case drags him back into the fold he finds more to worry about than just the missing Ida . . . whatever this girl has gotten herself into, it involves disappearing University students, sex slavery and international kidnapping.
With the (reluctant) help of Noosa cop, Maria, computer genius Isosceles and a notorious con called Blonde Richard; Darian is going to get himself mired in yet another grisly case, once again proving that while he may be done with the police force, the force ain’t done with him.
‘Dead Girl Sing’ is the second book in Australian author, Tony Cavanaugh’s crime-thriller series, ‘Darian Richards.’
I loved Cavanaugh’s debut, ‘Promise’, and I’m thrilled that he has bought Darian Richards out for a second dance (with a third definitely on the horizon). I don’t get invested in many crime series; Karin Slaughter being my only other devout read. I tend to lose interest in crime series very quickly (which is why I don’t watch many crime series TV shows either). What I found though, that keeps me coming back, is terribly damaged characters. I don’t know what it is, but if there’s an underdog, grey-scale dubious anti-hero who I constantly flip between loving and loathing; then I’m there. I’m invested. I care. And there’s nobody more grey-scale than Darian Richards – an ex Melbourne detective who was rumoured to have a bad-guy kill-rate, but was also known to put crooked cops in their place (and in the ground).
This is a guy who admits to never having had a successful relationship; he pays by the hour for his companionship and that’s all he needs. He moved to Noosa to be closer to his one and only ‘friend’, an ex-brothel owner called Casey. And Darian seems to have an unlimited number of favours owed to him by any number of criminals from all over Australia. But, for all his murky ethics and questionable past, Darian is smart. He first put on the uniform at age nineteen, and even in retirement it looks as though his blood will never run anything but blue. This is especially obvious when a single phone-call from a girl he saved in ‘Promise’ has him driving, helter-skelter, down to Brisbane and the Gold Coast . . . where he reluctantly uncovers dead bodies, a missing cop, disappearing co-eds and a sex slavery ring masterminded by one of the most chilling femme fatales I've ever read.
First: the Gold Coast setting is genius. Even more so for being set during the dreaded ‘schoolies’ week: when the recent high school graduates descend on this beachside city (sometimes called ‘Bris-Vegas’, for being Australia’s own big kids playground version of Las Vegas). Schoolies is full of drugs, alcohol, parties and hormonal teenagers doing anything and everything regrettable. Every year, without fail, schoolies week news-coverage involves stories of roofie rapes and teenagers falling to their death from hotel balconies. So this is the town and time of year that Darian is working in to uncover the murder mystery. And he’s trying to work alongside (or at least, not get in the crosshairs) of Q1, the #1 Queensland police station.
Something I love about Cavanaugh’s writing is that he has the intricacies of the Australian police scene well and truly sussed out. He writes about the force/service name change, the old grizzly detectives who’ve been in the game too long and in the case of the Queensland cops; he’s nailed their RayBan-wearing, muscle-bearing, nose-flaring inflated egos;
I knew they’d be a different breed, different from the boys on the Noosa hill, back up on the Sunshine Coast. Up there it’s Japanese tourists and stoned rich kids. Little guys growing dope and drink-driving. It’s tourism crime. Down here, on the Gold Coast, it’s hardcore. It was sleepy and laid-back in 1954. Now it’s a hellfire inferno. The waves kept crashing against the beach and the corks keep popping; it is a tourist playground, after all, but there’s a rumble-fuck not far below the surface. Step back from the beach and you can feel it, hear it, see it. The cops more than meet the need. They’re known to show off their guns to teenage girls. They don’t mind a bit of jackboot.
Something I said about ‘Promise’ reveals itself in this follow-up, to be Cavanaugh’s particular crime-writing style; gore and violence. Maybe it’s obvious to point out that there’s violence in a crime novel – but having dabbled in a few now, I can safely say that some writers pull back and, compared to Cavanaugh, are downright conservative. But the ‘Darian Richards’ series goes to dark places that are sometimes very uncomfortable. And Cavanaugh only seems to write violence against women – so you can imagine the dark and vicious stories involved. And in ‘Dead Girl Sing’ we’re dealing with sex slavery; so it is harrowing. And as a woman reading this, there are times when I swallowed bile. But what makes ‘Dead Girl Sing’ even more uncomfortable is the fact that the ‘bad guy’ is actually a young woman . . . ‘Starlight’ is the name she gave herself, and she’s disgustingly ruthless. She came from the slums of Rio, slept her way to London and then fought her way to Australia. She’s young and stunning – drop dead gorgeous, in fact – but she’s taken the hard lessons she learned in the slums and has decided to never have to claw her way out of that life again. She intends to stay on top, and anyone she has to dispose and sell to stay there is just collateral damage.
In reading ‘Promise’ I wasn’t sure (but hoped) that it wouldn’t be a one-off book, but part of a series. In ‘Dead Girl Sing’, Cavanaugh leaves no doubt in the readers’ mind that Darian is a hero who could be here to stay for a good long while. We learn tiny morsels of his past, and the secondary characters who intrigued us in ‘Promise’ are back for round-two. Isosceles, the computer genius with a penchant for obscure historical factoids and no social skills, whatsoever, is again helping steer Darian’s investigation. And Maria is also returned; still harbouring resentment and guilt over what happened with the Sunshine Killer.
Maria is, really, a stand-out for me. Admittedly, her and Darian’s dubious ‘partnership’ is a bit of a cliché; he, the handsome and wiser sceptical old pro; she the model-like rookie who’s eager but green. But she has potential that Cavanaugh constantly hints at. She’s dealing with sexism and the fact that her ideals of the police service are constantly butting heads with the reality. And in ‘Dead Girl Sing’ we actually get into Maria’s head and learn that she’s not as confident as she appears;
Sometimes her lover, who she adored, spoke in the most obscure ways. This was one of those times. But she got the drift, nonetheless.
‘You don’t understand,’ she said.
‘What? Because you’re a cop and the bloke you talked to is also a cop? That clan thing? Yeah, babe, I understand that. You and this Dane Harper dude, all puttin’ on the uniform, all standin’ under the same flag, all workin’ to the same code . . . but you know it and I know it. Darian ain’t a cop, don’t wear no uniform, but baby, he is the man for good. And you know it.’
There’s a moment in ‘Dead Girl Sing’, when Darian muses on an old psychological test that the police forced used to insist on as part of application. It was the Milgram experiment – and it was designed to study the willingness of participants to obey an authority figure (even when obeying meant conflicting with their conscience). Darian actually refers to it more as a psychopath test – since the experiment involves inflicting pain on another human being, upon instruction of a ‘teacher.’ Some people find themselves incapable of hurting (and potentially killing) another human being – and would refuse to do the experiment, or at least show extreme remorse when they eventually caved and obeyed. For some, the experiment was simple. I think Cavanaugh has actually written his own version of a ‘psychopath test’ in the ending of ‘Dead Girl Sing’ . . . for some, the conclusion will be a fitting end; comeuppances served, a form of justice upheld (however twisted). For others (and I’m one of them) the end will be a perversion in itself. I think it will be a test of each reader’s personal moral compass how they react to the ending and Darian’s bitter form of justice. I’ll admit that for some, the ending will skew the rest of the book (and possibly series?) they’ll second-guess if they ever want to read Darian Richards ever again. I think that’s okay – it lends itself to why I’m conflicted in my liking of the character, and enjoyment of the series – that beautiful grey area.
For what it’s worth; I’m hooked.
April 28, 2016
3.5★ Not as gritty as the first in the series - or perhaps I’ve just gotten accustomed to the level at which ex-cop Darian Richards works. There’s still quite a significant amount of sex, sometimes violent sex, but less than the first. I don’t think there was as much swearing, either.
I loved (yet again) the descriptions of local places - this time mainly on the Gold Coast, where I lived and went to uni several years ago - and in fact set, in part, at my university! Tony Cavanaugh may have even been there, researching his novel, while I was going back and forth to various classes… One of the characters went to see someone in Arundel, the next suburb over from where I lived, and another character lived in the Q1 building, which I’ve been to (not the apartments, just the viewing level).
I was a bit hesitant after finishing the first one about whether I would read this one, but I’m quite interested to read the next, The Train Rider.
I loved (yet again) the descriptions of local places - this time mainly on the Gold Coast, where I lived and went to uni several years ago - and in fact set, in part, at my university! Tony Cavanaugh may have even been there, researching his novel, while I was going back and forth to various classes… One of the characters went to see someone in Arundel, the next suburb over from where I lived, and another character lived in the Q1 building, which I’ve been to (not the apartments, just the viewing level).
I was a bit hesitant after finishing the first one about whether I would read this one, but I’m quite interested to read the next, The Train Rider.
January 7, 2022
Dead Girl Sing is book two in the Darian Richards series by Tony Cavanaugh. Darian Richards wanted peace away from crime and his gun. However, he answered his phone, and they needed his help to solve the murder of two young girls and a missing law enforcement officer. Darian Richards was hooked on the case when he saw the girl's eyes and promised he would find the killer. The readers of Dead Girl Sing will continue to follow Darian Richards investigation to find out what happens.
Dead Girl Sing is a fantastic book to read. I engaged with the plot of this book from the first because it was different from my usual crime books. I love Tony Cavanaugh portrayal of his characters and the way they intertwine with each other throughout this book. Dead Girl Sing is well written and researched by Tony Cavanaugh. I like Tony Cavanaugh description of the settings of Dead Girl Sing that complimented the book's plot.
The readers of Dead Girl Sing will learn about the musical band Buckwheat Zydeco. Also, the readers of Dead Girl Sing will understand the problems that the deep dark web causes the law enforcement community.
I recommend this book.
Dead Girl Sing is a fantastic book to read. I engaged with the plot of this book from the first because it was different from my usual crime books. I love Tony Cavanaugh portrayal of his characters and the way they intertwine with each other throughout this book. Dead Girl Sing is well written and researched by Tony Cavanaugh. I like Tony Cavanaugh description of the settings of Dead Girl Sing that complimented the book's plot.
The readers of Dead Girl Sing will learn about the musical band Buckwheat Zydeco. Also, the readers of Dead Girl Sing will understand the problems that the deep dark web causes the law enforcement community.
I recommend this book.
March 16, 2013
Darian Richards is no hero. He's not even a cop any more - he retired a couple of years ago, left the nightmares behind for the serenity of a far North Queensland river view. Well. He's mostly retired. Last year he caught a killer who needed to be stopped, because no one else could. When one of the girls who got away calls Darian, months later, in tears, saying "Only you can help," he means to ignore it. He really does. But old habits apparently die hard. If Ida's in trouble and he can fix it, he's got to try.
Taut, atmospheric and with exactly the right kind of darkness, Dead Girl Sing was an impressive follow up novel for Cavanaugh. There'll Be No Rest For These Tired Eyes:
Darian, our protagonist, is a true crime anti-hero: his driving force is justice, not necessarily law. He's been around long enough to know that the two concepts aren't synonymous. He's got no love for the superfluous Police procedures that he's technically not beholden to any more (because, technically, he should be at home, siting on his jetty, watching the river). But he consistently tries to deal with whoever he's hunting down in the most effective way to ensure they are stopped for good. And he tries to do this in as moral a way as possible.
I enjoyed Darian's "got no time for your cr%#" attitude, because it makes sense to me. If a young girl calls you for help, you help. Dealing with police and their constraints will not only mean it takes longer for Darian to find Ida, but that there's less chance of her being okay when he does.
The scope of the action is huge, especially given that the timeframe is a handful of days. It's set on the Gold Coast, which made for familiar locations, and I loved that.
(Mild spoilers here, you can skip the paragraph if you're concerned.) The best part of Cavanaugh's plots, in my opinion, is how directly his combatants face off. In a lot of crime, the gritty hero spends 4/5 of the time chasing after the bad guy, only catching up to them right at the end when, after an explanation for all the evil is delivered, devolves into a standoff/infiltrate and rescue or similar. Not so in Promise, or now in Dead Girl Sing. Darian and his opponent come face to face much earlier than that. Both know who the other is, and both have complete certainty that they will come out on top. This means that the focus of Dead Girl Sing is on the battle of wits and wills between the two opposing forces. It's very cool, and fascinating reading.
As my boss said: this book was too short. Cavanaugh doesn't waste words, giving only as much character, setting and plot information as you need and not an iota more. If you're hoping for a detailed psychological examination of the main characters: don't. If you're looking for a treatise on the philosophical and moral implications of the subject matter, you'll be disappointed. Cavanaugh leaves a lot of this to you to decide. I loved that he wants you to think the consequences through, and decide for yourself the rightness, or wrongness, of how it all goes down.
I raced through this book faster than Cavanaugh's first - and again found myself 20 pages from the end when I had to go back to work. Those three hours before I could go and finish it were tough!
Taut, atmospheric and with exactly the right kind of darkness, Dead Girl Sing was an impressive follow up novel for Cavanaugh. There'll Be No Rest For These Tired Eyes:
Darian, our protagonist, is a true crime anti-hero: his driving force is justice, not necessarily law. He's been around long enough to know that the two concepts aren't synonymous. He's got no love for the superfluous Police procedures that he's technically not beholden to any more (because, technically, he should be at home, siting on his jetty, watching the river). But he consistently tries to deal with whoever he's hunting down in the most effective way to ensure they are stopped for good. And he tries to do this in as moral a way as possible.
I enjoyed Darian's "got no time for your cr%#" attitude, because it makes sense to me. If a young girl calls you for help, you help. Dealing with police and their constraints will not only mean it takes longer for Darian to find Ida, but that there's less chance of her being okay when he does.
The scope of the action is huge, especially given that the timeframe is a handful of days. It's set on the Gold Coast, which made for familiar locations, and I loved that.
(Mild spoilers here, you can skip the paragraph if you're concerned.) The best part of Cavanaugh's plots, in my opinion, is how directly his combatants face off. In a lot of crime, the gritty hero spends 4/5 of the time chasing after the bad guy, only catching up to them right at the end when, after an explanation for all the evil is delivered, devolves into a standoff/infiltrate and rescue or similar. Not so in Promise, or now in Dead Girl Sing. Darian and his opponent come face to face much earlier than that. Both know who the other is, and both have complete certainty that they will come out on top. This means that the focus of Dead Girl Sing is on the battle of wits and wills between the two opposing forces. It's very cool, and fascinating reading.
As my boss said: this book was too short. Cavanaugh doesn't waste words, giving only as much character, setting and plot information as you need and not an iota more. If you're hoping for a detailed psychological examination of the main characters: don't. If you're looking for a treatise on the philosophical and moral implications of the subject matter, you'll be disappointed. Cavanaugh leaves a lot of this to you to decide. I loved that he wants you to think the consequences through, and decide for yourself the rightness, or wrongness, of how it all goes down.
I raced through this book faster than Cavanaugh's first - and again found myself 20 pages from the end when I had to go back to work. Those three hours before I could go and finish it were tough!
March 3, 2013
My feelings towards this novel are torn. Darian Richards is a great character who does not adhere to the generic stereotypes of heroes in the thriller genre and for this reason he's fascinating to read about. Also, the Gold Coast setting is local to me so that also held my appeal. However, when it comes to things narrative, it's all a little too simplistic. While not as bleak and horrifyingly graphic as "Promise", I hated the criminal's perspective just as much. Who really wants to be inside the head of someone like that? It is also irritating that much of Darian's success hinges on the tech-savvy Isosceles, much like magic solving all problems in a fantasy book. Finally, there was so much potential for the setting but it was used in a far too formulaic way. Overall the novel was entertaining but also horribly underwhelming.
February 15, 2019
Prêts à repartir pour une aventure avec Darian Richards ?
Et, croyez-moi, pour une aventure, c’en est une sacrée !
Quand il reçoit un message d’Ida l’appelant à l’aide, Darian ne peut pas ne pas y répondre.
Après tout, il lui a déjà sauvé la vie, et de toute façon cet ancien flic n’est pas du genre à abandonner une jeune femme en détresse.
Sauf qu’à son arrivée Ida a disparu, et il retrouve le corps de deux jeune femmes. Assassinées.
Autant dire qu’il n’est pas question de perdre une seule minute
.
Si Requiem fait bel et bien partie d’une série, ne pas avoir lu les enquêtes précédentes n’est absolument pas un obstacle pour bien comprendre celle-ci.
L’histoire est clairement racontée, et nous ne sommes donc absolument pas perdus au milieu des personnages qui ont déjà eu à se rencontrer.
L’écriture de Tony Cavanaugh n’est plus à présenter : vive, addictive, incisive.
À l’image de son personnage principal.
D’où sûrement le fait qu’on le compare régulièrement à Michael Connelly.
Darian Richards est fonceur, charmeur, rentre-dedans, agaçant, irrespectueux, percutant, têtu, généreux, hargneux, loyal et vindicatif.
Tout sauf lisse.
Et le plus important pour lui, c’est de rendre justice.
Pas de suivre la justice, non, rendre justice.
Vous l’aurez compris, ce qui compte c’est le résultat, pas la manière.
C’est un des très gros points forts de ce roman : la personnalité complexe de Richards. Ni un héros, ni un anti-héros. Juste un homme, avec ses qualités, ses défauts.
Humain donc.
Un autre des points forts ici, c’est que ce n’est pas tant « qui » est le méchant, mais plutôt « comment » on arrivera à le stopper.
L’alternance des chapitres entre Dorian et « l’autre personne » permet une double perspective assez agréable car encore plus immersive.
Imaginez deux camions se foncer dessus à toute vitesse, et vous aurez une idée de l’adrénaline ressentie pendant cette lecture.
L’ambiance est sombre, pesante, humide, presque glauque. Et bon sang ce qu’on aime ça !
Un ex-flic au fort tempérament et qui n’en fait qu’à sa tête.
Une enquête prenante.
Un décor de mille couleurs.
Des dialogues qui cognent.
Bref tout ce qui fait d’un polar un très bon polar.
À lire, évidemment !
Et, croyez-moi, pour une aventure, c’en est une sacrée !
Quand il reçoit un message d’Ida l’appelant à l’aide, Darian ne peut pas ne pas y répondre.
Après tout, il lui a déjà sauvé la vie, et de toute façon cet ancien flic n’est pas du genre à abandonner une jeune femme en détresse.
Sauf qu’à son arrivée Ida a disparu, et il retrouve le corps de deux jeune femmes. Assassinées.
Autant dire qu’il n’est pas question de perdre une seule minute
.
Si Requiem fait bel et bien partie d’une série, ne pas avoir lu les enquêtes précédentes n’est absolument pas un obstacle pour bien comprendre celle-ci.
L’histoire est clairement racontée, et nous ne sommes donc absolument pas perdus au milieu des personnages qui ont déjà eu à se rencontrer.
L’écriture de Tony Cavanaugh n’est plus à présenter : vive, addictive, incisive.
À l’image de son personnage principal.
D’où sûrement le fait qu’on le compare régulièrement à Michael Connelly.
Darian Richards est fonceur, charmeur, rentre-dedans, agaçant, irrespectueux, percutant, têtu, généreux, hargneux, loyal et vindicatif.
Tout sauf lisse.
Et le plus important pour lui, c’est de rendre justice.
Pas de suivre la justice, non, rendre justice.
Vous l’aurez compris, ce qui compte c’est le résultat, pas la manière.
C’est un des très gros points forts de ce roman : la personnalité complexe de Richards. Ni un héros, ni un anti-héros. Juste un homme, avec ses qualités, ses défauts.
Humain donc.
Un autre des points forts ici, c’est que ce n’est pas tant « qui » est le méchant, mais plutôt « comment » on arrivera à le stopper.
L’alternance des chapitres entre Dorian et « l’autre personne » permet une double perspective assez agréable car encore plus immersive.
Imaginez deux camions se foncer dessus à toute vitesse, et vous aurez une idée de l’adrénaline ressentie pendant cette lecture.
L’ambiance est sombre, pesante, humide, presque glauque. Et bon sang ce qu’on aime ça !
Un ex-flic au fort tempérament et qui n’en fait qu’à sa tête.
Une enquête prenante.
Un décor de mille couleurs.
Des dialogues qui cognent.
Bref tout ce qui fait d’un polar un très bon polar.
À lire, évidemment !
February 26, 2014
Darian Richards resigned from his job as head of homicide in Melbourne despite the fact that he was one of the best homicide cops and that he was still young enough to keep going for years. Burned out, disillusioned by corruption and the one killer he couldn’t catch, he went to live a peaceful life up near Noosa on the Sunshine Coast in QLD. That didn’t quite go to plan – actually it’s still not going to plan.
Darian knows he should’ve ignored the phone. He gave girls in peril cheap phones with assigned ring tones and when one starts to ring, he finally answers even though he knows he shouldn’t. Ida from Vienna tells him that there are bodies before the connection is abruptly severed. With the help of his “eye in the sky” in Melbourne, Darian gets a location for Ida’s phone and drives straight there, finding two bodies in a shallow water grave. None of them are Ida and she is no where to be found.
Even though he knows he shouldn’t, he officially calls his discovery in. This will make him a suspect – what is he doing there? Is he connected to the girls? He is treated with contempt and suspicion until the homicide detective in charge realises who he is and then there’s smiles and friendship and asking for help. But Darian is done with that and he walks out, once again making himself a suspect. He is conducting his own investigation and it’s far more efficient to do so without the help of most of the Gold Coast police force tailing him around.
Something sinister is happening here and it’s the height of schoolies time where thousands of young school graduates descend upon the area for a week of drinking, partying and sex. However someone is preying on young, pretty, drunk easily persuaded women although this has largely gone unnoticed. Darian needs to find the connection, find the killer and stop it before there are more victims who never get to return home to their families.
Early last year I read the first Darian Richards novel Promise but somehow I never quite got around to reading this one when it was first released. The third novel The Train Rider is set to be released next week and I’m so keen to read that one because the train rider is the serial killer that has haunted Darian, the one that he could not catch. I’m anxious to see how that goes and what happens and to get more information so in order to read that this week, I thought I’d better read this one and fill in any gaps.
I love the Gold Coast. I holidayed there a lot as a child and went there for the first time in years for my honeymoon in 2011 and we had the most fabulous time. We went in a quieter period (May) where for a Victorian, the weather is still incredible but it’s much less crowded. So I loved revisiting a lot of the Gold Coast in this book – Darian drives there from the Sunshine Coast and then spends a lot of time driving around it. Some of his observations are cynical and hilarious and the glitzy showiness of the area, especially at this time of year is wonderfully showcased and provides a perfect opposite to the sinister underbelly and what is happening to these young and often foreign girls.
Darian has the most interesting way of working a crime and his thought processes are always fascinating. In this book he meets someone whom he knows is involved (and they are pretty sure he knows they’re involved) but it’s like a battle of wills. The culprit seeks to bullshit him but is probably aware that it isn’t really working and so they turn to another method instead. They battle it out and at one stage Darian comes off much the worse and is probably lucky to be left alive. However he manages to piece everything together and avoid the Gold Coast cops that want to bring him in as a ‘person of interest’ long enough to figure out what is happening, who is doing it and how they’re doing it, with quite a bit of technological help from Isosceles, the IT geek who does most of Darian’s investigative research grunt work. I love Isosceles and the role he plays in these stories. I’d like to have him appear as more than just the voice on the other end of the phone one day.
I can’t really say the same thing about Maria, the Sunshine Coast cop who has become Darian’s reluctant partner several times now. She bothers me, more so in this book than the last. I couldn’t help thinking at one stage that I probably wouldn’t mind if she were to become the next pretty victim even though she was probably much older than the targeted demographic. However Darian soon cut her out and that made the investigation much more enjoyable to read, especially the resolution. The final showdown of wits between Darian and the culprit was so enjoyable – I love that because he’s not a cop, he’s not constrained in the way he deals with things, although I have to say, he didn’t really seem to follow those rules when he was a cop anyway. But he has such a unique way of despatching people that are criminals, things that you don’t really expect and aren’t really proper but you can’t help but feel a little bit of sadistic glee in the outcomes.
Dead Girl Sing just made me even more keen to read The Train Rider as I can’t wait for Darian to go up against someone who has bested him before, someone who will really have to make him work for it. Hopefully it reveals a little more about him and gives the reader more of a handle on who is a pretty slippery character. I’m really enjoying this series and the fact that it doesn’t always go where I expect it to. Even more than that, I’m enjoying the fact that I don’t care that Darian’s methods are unorthodox!
Darian knows he should’ve ignored the phone. He gave girls in peril cheap phones with assigned ring tones and when one starts to ring, he finally answers even though he knows he shouldn’t. Ida from Vienna tells him that there are bodies before the connection is abruptly severed. With the help of his “eye in the sky” in Melbourne, Darian gets a location for Ida’s phone and drives straight there, finding two bodies in a shallow water grave. None of them are Ida and she is no where to be found.
Even though he knows he shouldn’t, he officially calls his discovery in. This will make him a suspect – what is he doing there? Is he connected to the girls? He is treated with contempt and suspicion until the homicide detective in charge realises who he is and then there’s smiles and friendship and asking for help. But Darian is done with that and he walks out, once again making himself a suspect. He is conducting his own investigation and it’s far more efficient to do so without the help of most of the Gold Coast police force tailing him around.
Something sinister is happening here and it’s the height of schoolies time where thousands of young school graduates descend upon the area for a week of drinking, partying and sex. However someone is preying on young, pretty, drunk easily persuaded women although this has largely gone unnoticed. Darian needs to find the connection, find the killer and stop it before there are more victims who never get to return home to their families.
Early last year I read the first Darian Richards novel Promise but somehow I never quite got around to reading this one when it was first released. The third novel The Train Rider is set to be released next week and I’m so keen to read that one because the train rider is the serial killer that has haunted Darian, the one that he could not catch. I’m anxious to see how that goes and what happens and to get more information so in order to read that this week, I thought I’d better read this one and fill in any gaps.
I love the Gold Coast. I holidayed there a lot as a child and went there for the first time in years for my honeymoon in 2011 and we had the most fabulous time. We went in a quieter period (May) where for a Victorian, the weather is still incredible but it’s much less crowded. So I loved revisiting a lot of the Gold Coast in this book – Darian drives there from the Sunshine Coast and then spends a lot of time driving around it. Some of his observations are cynical and hilarious and the glitzy showiness of the area, especially at this time of year is wonderfully showcased and provides a perfect opposite to the sinister underbelly and what is happening to these young and often foreign girls.
Darian has the most interesting way of working a crime and his thought processes are always fascinating. In this book he meets someone whom he knows is involved (and they are pretty sure he knows they’re involved) but it’s like a battle of wills. The culprit seeks to bullshit him but is probably aware that it isn’t really working and so they turn to another method instead. They battle it out and at one stage Darian comes off much the worse and is probably lucky to be left alive. However he manages to piece everything together and avoid the Gold Coast cops that want to bring him in as a ‘person of interest’ long enough to figure out what is happening, who is doing it and how they’re doing it, with quite a bit of technological help from Isosceles, the IT geek who does most of Darian’s investigative research grunt work. I love Isosceles and the role he plays in these stories. I’d like to have him appear as more than just the voice on the other end of the phone one day.
I can’t really say the same thing about Maria, the Sunshine Coast cop who has become Darian’s reluctant partner several times now. She bothers me, more so in this book than the last. I couldn’t help thinking at one stage that I probably wouldn’t mind if she were to become the next pretty victim even though she was probably much older than the targeted demographic. However Darian soon cut her out and that made the investigation much more enjoyable to read, especially the resolution. The final showdown of wits between Darian and the culprit was so enjoyable – I love that because he’s not a cop, he’s not constrained in the way he deals with things, although I have to say, he didn’t really seem to follow those rules when he was a cop anyway. But he has such a unique way of despatching people that are criminals, things that you don’t really expect and aren’t really proper but you can’t help but feel a little bit of sadistic glee in the outcomes.
Dead Girl Sing just made me even more keen to read The Train Rider as I can’t wait for Darian to go up against someone who has bested him before, someone who will really have to make him work for it. Hopefully it reveals a little more about him and gives the reader more of a handle on who is a pretty slippery character. I’m really enjoying this series and the fact that it doesn’t always go where I expect it to. Even more than that, I’m enjoying the fact that I don’t care that Darian’s methods are unorthodox!
June 1, 2017
I love this character and the theme carries on a little following a young woman he rescued down to The Gold Coast.
Glitz,glamour and schoolies week The Gold coast is awash with innocent and beautiful kids off their faces on booze,drugs and life.A time for predators. Darian Richards ends up in the middle of it.
Not as dark as the first but a hideous cautionary tale for parents sending their kids on end of school and the right of passage Cavanaugh captures,the sights,smells,and menace in the the heat.I love his writing.
Glitz,glamour and schoolies week The Gold coast is awash with innocent and beautiful kids off their faces on booze,drugs and life.A time for predators. Darian Richards ends up in the middle of it.
Not as dark as the first but a hideous cautionary tale for parents sending their kids on end of school and the right of passage Cavanaugh captures,the sights,smells,and menace in the the heat.I love his writing.
December 28, 2020
The worst book I've read this year.
Every female character is constantly objectified in a very annoying way, the main character is boring and so is the plot. The pace is terribly slow and the ending does not compensate for the hours of reading at all. I shouldn't have bothered finishing it.
I get that the story is told through the gaze of this rowdy old dude but can we chill with the sexism??
Every female character is constantly objectified in a very annoying way, the main character is boring and so is the plot. The pace is terribly slow and the ending does not compensate for the hours of reading at all. I shouldn't have bothered finishing it.
I get that the story is told through the gaze of this rowdy old dude but can we chill with the sexism??
September 7, 2018
Not as brutal as the first book ‘Promise’ but still confronting. Another well written book by Tony Cavanaugh that keeps you turning every page in anticipation. Interesting to see his the third book plays out.
June 27, 2020
Unmemorable
April 26, 2013
Follow up to PROMISE, DEAD GIRL SING again takes Richards out into the field, away from his retirement, all in the defence of somebody he feels he owes.
Triggered by a phone call from Ida, a girl he never expected to hear from again (even though he left that phone on / charged / ready), Richards is suddenly not just responsible for the life of a missing girl, but also a dead cop and two dead girls. Somehow in the middle of the notorious schoolies week on the Gold Coast, in the middle of that seething mass of hormones, alcohol and crazy that descends every year, Richards alone gets a bit of a sniff of something twisted and very determined. Somehow young women are quietly disappearing and nobody else seems to be connecting the neon-lit dots quite like Richards does.
As in PROMISE, DEAD GIRL SING has, at its core, a descent into the creepy, crazy, lunatic side of mayhem. In this case, whilst somebody is quietly disappearing young women up and down the Gold Coast, there's also that dawning idea that perhaps murder may not be the absolute worst fate that can befall. Without giving away anything of the plot, there's a slow reveal of the perpetrator here that's probably not going to come as a huge surprise (there's a bit of build up that kind of hints where we are going), there's a series of disappearances, and one young woman in particular that Richards is tracking with help from his mysterious high-tech Melbourne hacker mate.
There is so very very much in this series that you'd think I'd hate. More mad, bad protagonists, although in DEAD GIRL SING we at least have some reasons and explanation. There's all the high-tech wizardry which normally has me grinding my teeth in exasperation, and yet, in this case, the idea of Isosceles, sitting in his high-rise Melbourne tower, tracking, watching, following actually isn't that hard to believe, and is rather endearing and familiar.
But this is not a series I hate. Quite the opposite as it turns out. Despite all the things that grate just a little, I really like the Darian Richards books. Maybe it's the no-nonsense, matter-of-fact, pragmatic Richards - a lone wolf with a skewed moral compass and a form of ethics that he sticks with. Come hell or high water. Isosceles with his encyclopaedic knowledge of minutia (or a fast track on Wikipedia searches). Maria, the cop sidekick who doesn't want to be. Constantly drawn into Richard's orbit she's drawn between being a good cop and the fact that Richards get's his killers. One way or another.
Neither of these books is without flaws, but then this isn't a super-hero good guy without flaws either. Neither of these books are straightforward or comfortable reading. But they are strong, have a great sense of personality and a quintessential "Australian-ness" about the observations, dialogue and behaviour. DEAD GIRL SING is a strong second book with improvements over and above the first one. It's a series that I'd be really happy to see continue.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
Triggered by a phone call from Ida, a girl he never expected to hear from again (even though he left that phone on / charged / ready), Richards is suddenly not just responsible for the life of a missing girl, but also a dead cop and two dead girls. Somehow in the middle of the notorious schoolies week on the Gold Coast, in the middle of that seething mass of hormones, alcohol and crazy that descends every year, Richards alone gets a bit of a sniff of something twisted and very determined. Somehow young women are quietly disappearing and nobody else seems to be connecting the neon-lit dots quite like Richards does.
As in PROMISE, DEAD GIRL SING has, at its core, a descent into the creepy, crazy, lunatic side of mayhem. In this case, whilst somebody is quietly disappearing young women up and down the Gold Coast, there's also that dawning idea that perhaps murder may not be the absolute worst fate that can befall. Without giving away anything of the plot, there's a slow reveal of the perpetrator here that's probably not going to come as a huge surprise (there's a bit of build up that kind of hints where we are going), there's a series of disappearances, and one young woman in particular that Richards is tracking with help from his mysterious high-tech Melbourne hacker mate.
There is so very very much in this series that you'd think I'd hate. More mad, bad protagonists, although in DEAD GIRL SING we at least have some reasons and explanation. There's all the high-tech wizardry which normally has me grinding my teeth in exasperation, and yet, in this case, the idea of Isosceles, sitting in his high-rise Melbourne tower, tracking, watching, following actually isn't that hard to believe, and is rather endearing and familiar.
But this is not a series I hate. Quite the opposite as it turns out. Despite all the things that grate just a little, I really like the Darian Richards books. Maybe it's the no-nonsense, matter-of-fact, pragmatic Richards - a lone wolf with a skewed moral compass and a form of ethics that he sticks with. Come hell or high water. Isosceles with his encyclopaedic knowledge of minutia (or a fast track on Wikipedia searches). Maria, the cop sidekick who doesn't want to be. Constantly drawn into Richard's orbit she's drawn between being a good cop and the fact that Richards get's his killers. One way or another.
Neither of these books is without flaws, but then this isn't a super-hero good guy without flaws either. Neither of these books are straightforward or comfortable reading. But they are strong, have a great sense of personality and a quintessential "Australian-ness" about the observations, dialogue and behaviour. DEAD GIRL SING is a strong second book with improvements over and above the first one. It's a series that I'd be really happy to see continue.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
January 6, 2014
Promise was the first time we saw ex homicide detective Darian Richards. In Dead Girl Sing, he comes out of retirement for yet another rollercoaster ride of an adventure.
Not hesitating to make his novels fit into the 21st century, he features a character called Isoceles, who uses his advanced technological abilities to hack into systems and provide Darian with the information required to solve a case. In Dead Girl Sing, we get thrown into the dark depths of human trafficking and are introduced to the most beautiful woman on the face of the earth. Starlight. She became one of the highlights of the story and gave it that sexy, smart, unpredictable aspect that kept you guessing. Without wanting to ruin too much of the story, I hope that she will reappear in a future novel. Darian continues to fight the taunting inner demons of his past and the gruesome things that he’s had to do, in order to sleep at night. There’s so much future potential for a character with the charm, wit, and knowledge of Darian that I can’t wait to see what Tony will give us in the future.
I have to admit I’m highly disappointed Tony has only just started writing novels. In my opinion, he’s at the forefront of crime and thriller writing at the moment. Tony has a very bright future ahead of him in the industry and has made it into my elite group of favourite authors. He is very witty and not scared to make his point, which is refreshing. Once you start one of his books, be prepared to ignore everything else in your life until you have finished it. It wasn’t my intention to stay up after midnight on a Sunday, when I had an early start the next morning. The story was just so damn addictive that I just didn’t have a choice.
I’m pleased that his next novel, Train Rider, is due out in a little over a month and I will be clearing my schedule on the day that it’s due to be released.
Not hesitating to make his novels fit into the 21st century, he features a character called Isoceles, who uses his advanced technological abilities to hack into systems and provide Darian with the information required to solve a case. In Dead Girl Sing, we get thrown into the dark depths of human trafficking and are introduced to the most beautiful woman on the face of the earth. Starlight. She became one of the highlights of the story and gave it that sexy, smart, unpredictable aspect that kept you guessing. Without wanting to ruin too much of the story, I hope that she will reappear in a future novel. Darian continues to fight the taunting inner demons of his past and the gruesome things that he’s had to do, in order to sleep at night. There’s so much future potential for a character with the charm, wit, and knowledge of Darian that I can’t wait to see what Tony will give us in the future.
I have to admit I’m highly disappointed Tony has only just started writing novels. In my opinion, he’s at the forefront of crime and thriller writing at the moment. Tony has a very bright future ahead of him in the industry and has made it into my elite group of favourite authors. He is very witty and not scared to make his point, which is refreshing. Once you start one of his books, be prepared to ignore everything else in your life until you have finished it. It wasn’t my intention to stay up after midnight on a Sunday, when I had an early start the next morning. The story was just so damn addictive that I just didn’t have a choice.
I’m pleased that his next novel, Train Rider, is due out in a little over a month and I will be clearing my schedule on the day that it’s due to be released.
August 29, 2015
The first in the Darian Richards detective series (Promise) drew me into the dark world of Cavanaugh's fiction. This second novel didn't disappoint.
Richards is a homicide detective who has taken early retirement. All he want to do is sit on his jetty and fish the Noosa river but victims of crime still haunt his dreams and when he gets a call from Ida, a girl he has helped in the past, he can't resist. While Richards insists all he wants to do is to find Ida, the murder of two foreign students draws him into a chase for the killer.
As he did in his first novel, Cavanaugh moves between Richards' point of view and that of the criminal and this works well. He develops unusual and complex characters and keeps the plot moving, with some unexpected twists and turns. The setting - this time the Gold Coast - is realistic. My only reservation is that at times the violence seems gratuitous. Cavanaugh has a bleak view of human nature but the strength of his writing keeps me interested and finally satisfied.
Richards is a homicide detective who has taken early retirement. All he want to do is sit on his jetty and fish the Noosa river but victims of crime still haunt his dreams and when he gets a call from Ida, a girl he has helped in the past, he can't resist. While Richards insists all he wants to do is to find Ida, the murder of two foreign students draws him into a chase for the killer.
As he did in his first novel, Cavanaugh moves between Richards' point of view and that of the criminal and this works well. He develops unusual and complex characters and keeps the plot moving, with some unexpected twists and turns. The setting - this time the Gold Coast - is realistic. My only reservation is that at times the violence seems gratuitous. Cavanaugh has a bleak view of human nature but the strength of his writing keeps me interested and finally satisfied.
August 10, 2016
'Dead Girl Sing', the second novel by Tony Cavanaugh, was a suspenseful thriller. However, as with his first novel Cavannaugh seems to have a predilection for young girls: 'Promise' featured girls 12-16 and in this novel they are 18-22. To me it is starting to look as if Cavannaugh is writing to titillate male readers with the endless descriptions of these girls' gorgeous hair, long legs, great body, stunning beauty and using the world-weary, charismatic ex-cop Darian Richards to appeal to female readers - or am I being cynical? Once again, Richards uses his computer geek friend to provide him with all the answers: 'Trace this person and let me know what you find.' 'Find out what you can about this person and let me know.' How easy is that? But I couldn't put the book down and that must surely be one of the best things you can say about an author.
September 8, 2015
I would actually give this book 3.5 stars not just 3 but I couldn't work it out.
Like his first book The Promise I also found this book a bit disturbing, not as horrifyingly gruesome as the first but still some of the details had me a bit spine tingling.
Dead Girl Sing had me needing to read on to see how the plot unraveled, however knowing there are 2 more books in this series made me under less suspense knowing the main character Darian would survive the villains.
I enjoy seeing how ex detective Darian Richard 'deals' with the bad guys to wins the story up & I'm about to start book 3.
I'm hoping the author expands away from young girls always being the victims but I see that isn't the case in the next book.
April 28, 2014
Dead Girl Sing is a perfect thriller to read while on holiday as its fast paced and doesn't require too much thinking. For those of you who were squeamish after reading about the depraved antics of Winston in Cavanaugh's first book Promise, Dead Girl Sing is about the sex trade industry where girls on the Gold Coast during schoolies go missing and isn't graphically gruesome like Promise was. I like Cavanaugh's writing style and his books are unique as they are set in familiar Australian surroundings. I thought the plot was a bit lacking and there was a fair bit of reminiscing which was ok but as said previously, it was a great holiday read and I will read more books by this author.
August 2, 2014
Having first met Darian Richards in The Promise, it was good to encounter him again in this horrendous tale of exploitation with the background of Schoolies on the Gold Coast. Cavanaugh managed to horrify me and maintain my attention to such an extent that I couldn't put this book down.
December 19, 2014
Tony is a great writer but this book didn't live up to his excellent and terrifying first novel Promise. In comparison Dead Girl Sing felt pedestrian and safe. Still a good read though - I read it in two days straight.
August 23, 2015
Last novel of his that I will read.
The gratuitous violence against women is a cover for poor plot development (in my opinion)
We know he can write great engaging stories so I find it disappointing he doesn't develop his stories deeper.
The gratuitous violence against women is a cover for poor plot development (in my opinion)
We know he can write great engaging stories so I find it disappointing he doesn't develop his stories deeper.
December 29, 2015
Great character in retired detective Darian and great locations in Queensland, but the violence against women is just too much. Yes, I know the abuse of young women for men's sexual pleasure is a staple of the genre, but try something new. Too much detail.
December 3, 2016
Very very disappointing, not a patch on the first book. Did not like the way starlight was writing and very unrealistic plot. Felt at times that the book was a travel blog for the Gold Coast, still undecided if I will purchase book 3
March 31, 2013
I wanted to like it as much as Promise, but I just couldn't…. Nor could I reconcile myself to the fact that three adults would actually order Hawaiian, or that Queenslanders would drink VB…
April 17, 2013
I liked reading a thriller set in Australia.
Was a bit iffy about the arch villain and the comeuppance they received
Was a bit iffy about the arch villain and the comeuppance they received
April 20, 2013
Keep the books coming Tony... loved it.
June 16, 2013
The attraction was the local setting, the plot was at least innovative if not quite believable, perhaps it is hard to believe this happened so close to home.
December 9, 2013
This is Australian 'Spenser' type novel. Tight writing, twisty plot but again just too grim and gritty and plain nasty for me recovering from 'flu.
May 3, 2016
Well written but in the end unsatisfying for me. The ending just didn't sit right.
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