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The Tower
It's going to be the biggest skyscraper in the world. One rainy night a young woman falls from an unfinished upper storey, landing on a police car. Detectives Jon McIver and Nicholas Troy think it will be a pretty simple investigation, but all is not what it seems. A gripping, fast-paced debut crime novel. Young detective Nicholas Troy is basically a good man, for whom working in homicide is the highest form of police work. But when a woman falls from the construction site for the world's tallest skyscraper, the tortured course of the murder investigation that follows threatens his vocation. Hampered by politicised managers and incompetent colleagues, Troy fights his way through worlds of wealth and poverty, people-smuggling and prostitution. He has always seen Sydney as a city of sharks, a place where predators lurk beneath the glittering surface. Now he uncovers networks of crime and corruption that pollute the city, reaching into the police force itself. Finally, the shadowy predator Troy has been chasing turns and comes for him, putting his family at risk. Forced to defend himself with actions he would never have considered before, Troy confronts a moral abyss. He realises it's a long way down.
466 pages, ebook
First published August 1, 2009
6 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Michael Duffy
13 books8 followersMichael is a court and crime reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald and the Sun Herald.
Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 25, 2009
In an interesting twist THE TOWER is the first crime novel from journalist turned author, former publisher Michael Duffy. Set in Sydney, the book will introduce readers to two Sydney police characters, the young Detective Senior Constable Nicholas Troy and the older Detective Sergeant Jon McIver.
Falling from high up on the construction site for the world's tallest skyscraper in Sydney isn't going to end well, landing on the roof of a police car just makes it seem all that more cruel. It takes quite a while for the police to identify the woman who died on that dark Sydney night, although thinking it is unlikely to be a suicide is made easier by events high up in the tower as the investigation commences.
Young Nicholas Troy is one of the earliest detectives on the scene, and it's very easy to imagine that without him this tale of greed, money, power, corruption and influence would never be fully uncovered. Life for Nicholas isn't particularly straight-forward though. At home, he and his wife Anna have a young son, but the pleasure in becoming parents has been shattered by Anna's ongoing battle with debilitating post-natal depression. At work he's closely connected with Jon McIver who has a bit of a reputation. As the investigation into who this woman is and why she fell from this particular building rolls on, the truth of this massive building project is slowly revealed, despite the best efforts of some really incompetent policemen and some blatant police politics.
THE TOWER is an interesting book for a number of reasons. Firstly there is this spectre of this massive Tower Building being constructed in the city of Sydney, imposing itself in such a grand manner over the city and its inhabitants. As the story unfolds the tower is hiding secrets within the construction, in its background and how it came to be, and in the history of its builders and their own motivations. The tower and it's original builder and their connection with the victim are revealed in the midst of a mix of corruption, money and screwed up family relationships. Along the way there are a range of characters deeply involved in the mystery - the engineer come security chief for the tower, his Chinese master, the victim's own family and, of course, Troy's family and friends.
The book does have a few minor problems - there's a little too much repetition, particularly of some of the circumstances surrounding Troy's personal life which tends to drag out the length of the book without necessarily adding much new to the overall story. The tensions between the upper-echelons of the police force and McIver and Troy are a little predictable and Troy commits one of the basic no-nos in a police investigation by getting too close to a possible suspect. But there are some very interesting characters here. Everybody is human - not perfect - not completely bad. As the story of Troy, McIver and the death of this woman begins to unfold, there's something refreshing about the matter of fact way in which the characters are presented. The supposed good guys - the upholders of the law, skate across a minefield of temptation, expediency and convenience. They are capable of losing control and objectivity, of making bad decisions. The bad aren't all bad, but certainly aren't particularly good either and their decisions are as compromised by the circumstances of their own lives. There's no glossing over the victim herself, she's a spoilt little rich girl with very limited street-smarts. Yet in a strange way there's a glimmer of possible sympathy sometimes just as there is a desire to line them all up for a serious dressing down.
Supporting those characters is a very complicated plot that doesn't suffer from being overly busy. There are elements that really ring true, there are others that take their lead more from the traditional thriller than perhaps a police procedural, but they work together very well. There's also an interesting interweaving of the very domestic and the very international.
It looks like THE TOWER is the start of a new series - police procedural, character based, set in Sydney. Where Duffy takes Troy and Anna, McIver and the rest of the investigation team is something to look forward to.
Don't forget to check out the song that goes with the book at: http://www.cityofsharks.com/
You can also read Michael's responses to some questions from AustCrime at: http://www.austcrimefiction.org/node/...
Falling from high up on the construction site for the world's tallest skyscraper in Sydney isn't going to end well, landing on the roof of a police car just makes it seem all that more cruel. It takes quite a while for the police to identify the woman who died on that dark Sydney night, although thinking it is unlikely to be a suicide is made easier by events high up in the tower as the investigation commences.
Young Nicholas Troy is one of the earliest detectives on the scene, and it's very easy to imagine that without him this tale of greed, money, power, corruption and influence would never be fully uncovered. Life for Nicholas isn't particularly straight-forward though. At home, he and his wife Anna have a young son, but the pleasure in becoming parents has been shattered by Anna's ongoing battle with debilitating post-natal depression. At work he's closely connected with Jon McIver who has a bit of a reputation. As the investigation into who this woman is and why she fell from this particular building rolls on, the truth of this massive building project is slowly revealed, despite the best efforts of some really incompetent policemen and some blatant police politics.
THE TOWER is an interesting book for a number of reasons. Firstly there is this spectre of this massive Tower Building being constructed in the city of Sydney, imposing itself in such a grand manner over the city and its inhabitants. As the story unfolds the tower is hiding secrets within the construction, in its background and how it came to be, and in the history of its builders and their own motivations. The tower and it's original builder and their connection with the victim are revealed in the midst of a mix of corruption, money and screwed up family relationships. Along the way there are a range of characters deeply involved in the mystery - the engineer come security chief for the tower, his Chinese master, the victim's own family and, of course, Troy's family and friends.
The book does have a few minor problems - there's a little too much repetition, particularly of some of the circumstances surrounding Troy's personal life which tends to drag out the length of the book without necessarily adding much new to the overall story. The tensions between the upper-echelons of the police force and McIver and Troy are a little predictable and Troy commits one of the basic no-nos in a police investigation by getting too close to a possible suspect. But there are some very interesting characters here. Everybody is human - not perfect - not completely bad. As the story of Troy, McIver and the death of this woman begins to unfold, there's something refreshing about the matter of fact way in which the characters are presented. The supposed good guys - the upholders of the law, skate across a minefield of temptation, expediency and convenience. They are capable of losing control and objectivity, of making bad decisions. The bad aren't all bad, but certainly aren't particularly good either and their decisions are as compromised by the circumstances of their own lives. There's no glossing over the victim herself, she's a spoilt little rich girl with very limited street-smarts. Yet in a strange way there's a glimmer of possible sympathy sometimes just as there is a desire to line them all up for a serious dressing down.
Supporting those characters is a very complicated plot that doesn't suffer from being overly busy. There are elements that really ring true, there are others that take their lead more from the traditional thriller than perhaps a police procedural, but they work together very well. There's also an interesting interweaving of the very domestic and the very international.
It looks like THE TOWER is the start of a new series - police procedural, character based, set in Sydney. Where Duffy takes Troy and Anna, McIver and the rest of the investigation team is something to look forward to.
Don't forget to check out the song that goes with the book at: http://www.cityofsharks.com/
You can also read Michael's responses to some questions from AustCrime at: http://www.austcrimefiction.org/node/...
June 29, 2025
This was a good police procedural, but I came away feeling underwhelmed. The book ticks the genre boxes, but it lacks the depth and cohesion that makes a procedural really stand out.
The protagonist didn’t engage me, which is a major issue in this kind of story. In a police procedural, let’s call it a PP for shorthand, the central character needs to carry the emotional weight of the investigation. In this book, it just wasn’t convincing. The book makes attempts to show strain and moral tension, but never dives deep enough.
The ending took a hard turn into rough-guy action mode, which didn’t match the tone of the rest of the book at all. It felt like a jarring shift from realism to movie script. I get the desire for authors to have a big bang moment somewhere in the book. But should it be included if it feels alien to every other moment?
There are moments where character interactions feel real and well written, but those are surrounded by plot elements that felt underdeveloped. Several side crimes and subplots are introduced and then dropped, and the internal police politics are hinted at without much explanation or motive. An odd omission in the story, as if the author didn't want to go those places in depth.
Some twists were predictable. Overall, I just didn’t feel like the story delivered on its setup. It had potential, but needed a more compelling lead, stronger emotional grounding, and better follow-through on its plot threads.
The protagonist didn’t engage me, which is a major issue in this kind of story. In a police procedural, let’s call it a PP for shorthand, the central character needs to carry the emotional weight of the investigation. In this book, it just wasn’t convincing. The book makes attempts to show strain and moral tension, but never dives deep enough.
The ending took a hard turn into rough-guy action mode, which didn’t match the tone of the rest of the book at all. It felt like a jarring shift from realism to movie script. I get the desire for authors to have a big bang moment somewhere in the book. But should it be included if it feels alien to every other moment?
There are moments where character interactions feel real and well written, but those are surrounded by plot elements that felt underdeveloped. Several side crimes and subplots are introduced and then dropped, and the internal police politics are hinted at without much explanation or motive. An odd omission in the story, as if the author didn't want to go those places in depth.
Some twists were predictable. Overall, I just didn’t feel like the story delivered on its setup. It had potential, but needed a more compelling lead, stronger emotional grounding, and better follow-through on its plot threads.
September 10, 2013
I liked the way the young detective Nicholas Troy is melancholy because of what happened to his parents. This makes him seem out of place in Australia - and he even lives in a beachside suburb! So when he's forced to choose between good and evil in the book when the stakes get raised, it came as a complete surprise to me and was really gripping. Plus a greta picture of the city of Sydney and how the different parts work together.
November 28, 2017
Couldn't finish.
July 19, 2024
Not great. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and didn’t find the story particularly engaging either.
July 20, 2013
Not an easy read. Difficult to keep up with who was who. Storyline felt quite disjointed.
September 7, 2013
I have read better versions of this form of fiction. It was readable, but not something I would recommend to others to read
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews