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The Drowning
'A work of rattling and serpentine suspense ... gripping and sinuous and so, so good.' Trent Dalton
The body of a local teenage boy is found on the beach of a sleepy northern New South Wales town. David went for an evening swim and got into trouble . . . at least, that's what it looks like.
Three weeks before, Leila, a young backpacker, didn't turn up for her shift at the local cafe. Benny, the owner, isn't worried. It happens - backpackers are always on the move. There'll be another one.
One of the locals, Adrian, has been a help to Benny. He's found him a nice little sideline. Not exactly legal. Is that all Adrian is arranging on the coast? He once was a cop but has he gone bad?
And in the back-blocks outside town, a bikie gang is gearing up for a large consignment from South America.
Murder, drugs, liaisons and lies are stirring up this small coastal town.
With Bryan Brown's characteristic laconic storytelling - humorous, tough and suspenseful - the secrets of this seemingly idyllic town slowly come to the surface.
Praise for Sweet Jimmy
'Uniquely Australian and uncommonly good, I could hear the author's voice in every spare, haunting line. More please.' - Michael Robotham
'My friend Bryan Brown, quite apart from his other manifold talents, turns out to be an excellent writer. An authentic voice; highly imaginative yet completely believable, with a flair for fully realised characters and a gripping narrative ... a great storyteller. This is utterly baffling. I'm furious.' - Sam Neill
The body of a local teenage boy is found on the beach of a sleepy northern New South Wales town. David went for an evening swim and got into trouble . . . at least, that's what it looks like.
Three weeks before, Leila, a young backpacker, didn't turn up for her shift at the local cafe. Benny, the owner, isn't worried. It happens - backpackers are always on the move. There'll be another one.
One of the locals, Adrian, has been a help to Benny. He's found him a nice little sideline. Not exactly legal. Is that all Adrian is arranging on the coast? He once was a cop but has he gone bad?
And in the back-blocks outside town, a bikie gang is gearing up for a large consignment from South America.
Murder, drugs, liaisons and lies are stirring up this small coastal town.
With Bryan Brown's characteristic laconic storytelling - humorous, tough and suspenseful - the secrets of this seemingly idyllic town slowly come to the surface.
Praise for Sweet Jimmy
'Uniquely Australian and uncommonly good, I could hear the author's voice in every spare, haunting line. More please.' - Michael Robotham
'My friend Bryan Brown, quite apart from his other manifold talents, turns out to be an excellent writer. An authentic voice; highly imaginative yet completely believable, with a flair for fully realised characters and a gripping narrative ... a great storyteller. This is utterly baffling. I'm furious.' - Sam Neill
288 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 31, 2023
88 people are currently reading
620 people want to read
About the author
Bryan Brown
4 books64 followersBryan Brown is an actor, having appeared in over a hundred film and television productions. He has worked in some twenty countries, including his home country of Australia and the United States. Sweet Jimmy, seven short stories on crime, was released in 2021. The Drowning was his first novel, released in 2023. The Hidden is his latest thriller.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 201 reviews
December 23, 2023
My first Bryan Brown read, after previously enjoying his films. Bryan is a true-blue Aussie and his writing is the same. From the outset, The Drowning is raw, blunt, and uniquely Australian.
David, an Indigenous boy, finds a padlocked gate out in the bush. Curiosity gets the better of him and he enters, sees something he shouldn’t. I was intrigued from the start.
“Too often the death or disappearance of an Indigenous kid is hardly investigated.”
I really felt for David and had sympathy for his brother, Wayne, and grandmother, Moira. I hoped they would get justice. Missing backpacker, Leila, was another character I connected with, and often found myself in awe of her strength and resilience.
“You read about this sort of horror in books or films or the television. This sort of stuff didn’t happen in real life.”
Initially, I enjoyed Bryan’s unique writing style, and the first chapters reeled me in. But it grew somewhat tiresome as things progressed. It turned into a bit of a roller coaster – more the jarring kind, than fun kind. Short, clipped sentences. Eventually got to me. Not in a good way. Felt like my brain was stuttering.
Too many characters were introduced. A never-ending conveyor belt of characters. And then random jumps in time, without warning, and forward again, depending on which character was focused on. Things got confusing; people blurred together. We had one character David, another one Dave.
I would’ve preferred more focus on David’s family and the Indigenous population of this town, or even Leila. Anyone more sympathetic than “the Fella.” I didn’t care about him or his DIY projects. The Drowning spends too much time focusing on unlikable characters, especially providing backstory to justify certain behaviours. It was hard to remain invested.
A certain plot development made me roll my eyes. The way a crucial piece of evidence was found. Ah. And how a certain connection is later made. I doubt this book gets published if not written by a celebrity, though I admire Bryan’s passion for storytelling.
The ending was satisfying, but didn’t hit as hard as I hoped. It almost felt too neat, and its arrival felt like Bryan suddenly thought: “Better quickly wrap up the ol’ girl, have a cold one. Deserve it, I reckon.”
I really wanted to enjoy this more (and thought that I would). Unfortunately, it didn’t reach expectations, and too often felt like a series of character profiles loosely linked together in something resembling a plot.
“You could get well and truly lost out there, or shot if you happened upon the wrong place.”
David, an Indigenous boy, finds a padlocked gate out in the bush. Curiosity gets the better of him and he enters, sees something he shouldn’t. I was intrigued from the start.
“Too often the death or disappearance of an Indigenous kid is hardly investigated.”
I really felt for David and had sympathy for his brother, Wayne, and grandmother, Moira. I hoped they would get justice. Missing backpacker, Leila, was another character I connected with, and often found myself in awe of her strength and resilience.
“You read about this sort of horror in books or films or the television. This sort of stuff didn’t happen in real life.”
Initially, I enjoyed Bryan’s unique writing style, and the first chapters reeled me in. But it grew somewhat tiresome as things progressed. It turned into a bit of a roller coaster – more the jarring kind, than fun kind. Short, clipped sentences. Eventually got to me. Not in a good way. Felt like my brain was stuttering.
Too many characters were introduced. A never-ending conveyor belt of characters. And then random jumps in time, without warning, and forward again, depending on which character was focused on. Things got confusing; people blurred together. We had one character David, another one Dave.
I would’ve preferred more focus on David’s family and the Indigenous population of this town, or even Leila. Anyone more sympathetic than “the Fella.” I didn’t care about him or his DIY projects. The Drowning spends too much time focusing on unlikable characters, especially providing backstory to justify certain behaviours. It was hard to remain invested.
A certain plot development made me roll my eyes. The way a crucial piece of evidence was found. Ah. And how a certain connection is later made. I doubt this book gets published if not written by a celebrity, though I admire Bryan’s passion for storytelling.
The ending was satisfying, but didn’t hit as hard as I hoped. It almost felt too neat, and its arrival felt like Bryan suddenly thought: “Better quickly wrap up the ol’ girl, have a cold one. Deserve it, I reckon.”
I really wanted to enjoy this more (and thought that I would). Unfortunately, it didn’t reach expectations, and too often felt like a series of character profiles loosely linked together in something resembling a plot.
“You could get well and truly lost out there, or shot if you happened upon the wrong place.”
January 5, 2024
2.5★
I was looking forward to reading this book because I quite like Bryan Brown as an actor, but as for being an author I’m afraid I’m not a fan.
This book started off well and I had high hopes for it, but unfortunately, it didn’t last and I became very uninterested. At one point I felt nearly every page we were being introduced to a new character and I couldn’t keep up with who was who. For a book just under three hundred pages, I feel we didn’t need that many characters. It simply wasn’t for me and I’ll leave it at that, but don’t let my opinion stop you from reading this book because you might love it as many other readers have.
I was looking forward to reading this book because I quite like Bryan Brown as an actor, but as for being an author I’m afraid I’m not a fan.
This book started off well and I had high hopes for it, but unfortunately, it didn’t last and I became very uninterested. At one point I felt nearly every page we were being introduced to a new character and I couldn’t keep up with who was who. For a book just under three hundred pages, I feel we didn’t need that many characters. It simply wasn’t for me and I’ll leave it at that, but don’t let my opinion stop you from reading this book because you might love it as many other readers have.
November 7, 2023
Well, not only can Bryan Brown act, he can also write a damn good crime book! His book of short stories last year, Sweet Jimmy l was a great read and I was interested to see him back it up.
I do love a good Aussie crime story and this one ticked all the boxes.. there is murder, drugs, bikies, secret liaisons and so much more. We have a cast of characters from all over the world, making this small country town on the north NSW coast very multicultural.
It starts with the body of a young, Aboriginal boy washing up on the beach. His family are distraught but know that he would never go swimming at night. The local police officer feels something isn’t right. There is also a missing backpacker, Leila, just didn’t turn up for her shift one day.
In amongst all that, we have plenty of other storylines happening. Drugs, backpackers, surfers, for a small town it is pretty lively.
Really enjoyed this one, a very Australian book, the language is just as we speak. Plenty of lingo, swearing and abbreviations 😆
Thanks to Allen and Unwin for sending me an advanced copy. Publishes on October 31st.
I do love a good Aussie crime story and this one ticked all the boxes.. there is murder, drugs, bikies, secret liaisons and so much more. We have a cast of characters from all over the world, making this small country town on the north NSW coast very multicultural.
It starts with the body of a young, Aboriginal boy washing up on the beach. His family are distraught but know that he would never go swimming at night. The local police officer feels something isn’t right. There is also a missing backpacker, Leila, just didn’t turn up for her shift one day.
In amongst all that, we have plenty of other storylines happening. Drugs, backpackers, surfers, for a small town it is pretty lively.
Really enjoyed this one, a very Australian book, the language is just as we speak. Plenty of lingo, swearing and abbreviations 😆
Thanks to Allen and Unwin for sending me an advanced copy. Publishes on October 31st.
October 17, 2023
David snuck into a place that he shouldn’t have gone. He slipped under a barbed-wire fence to get there and was able to peep through a crack in the wall to see what he really shouldn’t have seen. He tried to be careful, he thought he’d hidden in the long grass so he couldn’t be seen by the big man who was leading the girl by the rope tied around her neck. He thought he’d gotten away with it right up until the bag was placed over his head and he was pushed into the dam and drowned.
“Moira looked out at the crowd. About two hundred people. Surprised her. Didn’t realise her little David had touched so many lives. Lot of whiteys too.”
The tragedy of the drowned aboriginal boy is merely the kicking off point to this small town mystery and intrigue that covers a wide range of criminal activities. From low-level drug dealing to the more serious human slavery, the coastal town to the north of Newcastle in New South Wales is a hotbed of secret illegal activities.
To fill in the various backstories of some of the characters we’re taken on a roving adventure to a variety of cities and towns within Australia and overseas. Benny has a Lebanese background and is keeping his homosexuality a closely guarded secret. Leila is a Danish backpacker living out her Australian dream holiday. Brian and Wanda are engaging in a secret affair, just trying to get on. Adrian picks up odd jobs around town and helps with Benny’s occasional shipments of illegal substances. Sheila cleans Adrian’s house once a week, but is keen to offer more. It’s just a normal small town of minor intrigues, some of which hide a more substantive secret.
One of the notable features of Brown’s book of short stories was the tight, clipped delivery which seems to capture the Australian speech patterns perfectly and this is evident once again in the narration of The Drowning. One of the benefits of the cut-off sentences is a crispness to the sense of urgency that’s created and this translates into a fast paced story.
The opening milieu neatly sets the sentiment that we, the readers, have stumbled into something halfway through and we now need to catch up. The woman with the rope around her neck, the man who feels he has to commit murder to protect his secret. Both backstories are laid out for us in and, in so doing, the town and the inhabitants’ lives (and secrets) are relentlessly unearthed.
An interesting aspect about The Drowning is that, although crimes take place and investigations are held, there is no real single hero to the story. This is very much an ensemble effort and, in this case, the group consists of members of the town. None are more prominent than the rest and we are provided with a limited backstory for each. The result is that we get just enough to give each character substance without getting overly bogged down.
The Drowning turns out to be a tense and, at times, dark and gritty crime story with serious crimes committed in and around a small community. The tight-knit community, however unremarkable in appearance, displays the type of resilience you’d expect from your typical Australian small town.
My thanks to publishers Allen and Unwin via NetGalley for sending me a digital ARC to read and enjoy.
“Moira looked out at the crowd. About two hundred people. Surprised her. Didn’t realise her little David had touched so many lives. Lot of whiteys too.”
The tragedy of the drowned aboriginal boy is merely the kicking off point to this small town mystery and intrigue that covers a wide range of criminal activities. From low-level drug dealing to the more serious human slavery, the coastal town to the north of Newcastle in New South Wales is a hotbed of secret illegal activities.
To fill in the various backstories of some of the characters we’re taken on a roving adventure to a variety of cities and towns within Australia and overseas. Benny has a Lebanese background and is keeping his homosexuality a closely guarded secret. Leila is a Danish backpacker living out her Australian dream holiday. Brian and Wanda are engaging in a secret affair, just trying to get on. Adrian picks up odd jobs around town and helps with Benny’s occasional shipments of illegal substances. Sheila cleans Adrian’s house once a week, but is keen to offer more. It’s just a normal small town of minor intrigues, some of which hide a more substantive secret.
One of the notable features of Brown’s book of short stories was the tight, clipped delivery which seems to capture the Australian speech patterns perfectly and this is evident once again in the narration of The Drowning. One of the benefits of the cut-off sentences is a crispness to the sense of urgency that’s created and this translates into a fast paced story.
The opening milieu neatly sets the sentiment that we, the readers, have stumbled into something halfway through and we now need to catch up. The woman with the rope around her neck, the man who feels he has to commit murder to protect his secret. Both backstories are laid out for us in and, in so doing, the town and the inhabitants’ lives (and secrets) are relentlessly unearthed.
An interesting aspect about The Drowning is that, although crimes take place and investigations are held, there is no real single hero to the story. This is very much an ensemble effort and, in this case, the group consists of members of the town. None are more prominent than the rest and we are provided with a limited backstory for each. The result is that we get just enough to give each character substance without getting overly bogged down.
The Drowning turns out to be a tense and, at times, dark and gritty crime story with serious crimes committed in and around a small community. The tight-knit community, however unremarkable in appearance, displays the type of resilience you’d expect from your typical Australian small town.
My thanks to publishers Allen and Unwin via NetGalley for sending me a digital ARC to read and enjoy.
April 2, 2024
Set in a small coastal town in northern NSW that's absolute paradise. Beautiful surf, a laidback lifestyle, and a great coffee shop right by the beach, where you can grab a cuppa either before or after your surf. But even paradise has its dark side.
David is a young bloke who like most his age has an adventurous side. Taking off down beaten tracks on his new mountain bike, checking out what’s going on in properties with signs marked “Private” out front. Sadly he’s found in the surf several days later, an assumed drowning, or is it?
Adrian is a bent cop. Selling weed on the side to Benny of the aforementioned coffee shop, life is ticking along nicely. Until Adrian gets roped in by a mate he’s made in passing to build a shed for some bikies that have come to town. It’s one of those jobs that you can’t say no to.
Leila is a backpacker from Denmark who is recovering from a severe injury and failed relationship. All the never ending sky and sunlight is just the tonic. She’s happily waitressing at Benny’s coffee shop, and all is sweet until one day she goes missing. No word, no forwarding address, just gone.
Bryan Brown has created another absolute Aussie classic. It sings Aussie, with the small coastal town lifestyle and the various peccadilloes and relationships crisscrossing with each other.
”Fuck. Life. It is random as.”
Bikies, drugs, people trafficking, kidnapping, murder. There’s a lot going on in this book. But the chapters move along nicely, and just like his collection of short stories Sweet Jimmy the characters and lingo scream Aussie.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And you’ve got to be pretty happy when you get a recommendation from this guy: 'A work of rattling and serpentine suspense ... gripping and sinuous and so, so good.' Trent Dalton
I really enjoyed this. The plot is pretty involved with lots going on amongst the various characters, but it’s easy to follow. I could see this being made into a mini-series, as it’s the kind of writing that could easily be converted to the small screen, just like I could imagine Sweet Jimmy could. Perhaps it's Bryan Brown's eye as an actor that describes things "just so".
What’s next Bryan? I’m looking forward to it.
David is a young bloke who like most his age has an adventurous side. Taking off down beaten tracks on his new mountain bike, checking out what’s going on in properties with signs marked “Private” out front. Sadly he’s found in the surf several days later, an assumed drowning, or is it?
Adrian is a bent cop. Selling weed on the side to Benny of the aforementioned coffee shop, life is ticking along nicely. Until Adrian gets roped in by a mate he’s made in passing to build a shed for some bikies that have come to town. It’s one of those jobs that you can’t say no to.
Leila is a backpacker from Denmark who is recovering from a severe injury and failed relationship. All the never ending sky and sunlight is just the tonic. She’s happily waitressing at Benny’s coffee shop, and all is sweet until one day she goes missing. No word, no forwarding address, just gone.
Bryan Brown has created another absolute Aussie classic. It sings Aussie, with the small coastal town lifestyle and the various peccadilloes and relationships crisscrossing with each other.
”Fuck. Life. It is random as.”
Bikies, drugs, people trafficking, kidnapping, murder. There’s a lot going on in this book. But the chapters move along nicely, and just like his collection of short stories Sweet Jimmy the characters and lingo scream Aussie.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And you’ve got to be pretty happy when you get a recommendation from this guy: 'A work of rattling and serpentine suspense ... gripping and sinuous and so, so good.' Trent Dalton
I really enjoyed this. The plot is pretty involved with lots going on amongst the various characters, but it’s easy to follow. I could see this being made into a mini-series, as it’s the kind of writing that could easily be converted to the small screen, just like I could imagine Sweet Jimmy could. Perhaps it's Bryan Brown's eye as an actor that describes things "just so".
What’s next Bryan? I’m looking forward to it.
November 10, 2023
This is utter rubbish. I mean, I love Bryan Brown as an actor. He is iconic. That’s not to say he is a good actor just an iconic actor who knows how to be an Aussie bloke for the flicks, knows all the lingo, can bung it on in a blue singlet, stubby shorts and grubby thongs. I grew up with men who spoke in that lingo and Bryan Brown lays it on thick as treacle in this book. Fair dinkum fair go, mate, cobber, you, beaut, beudy bottler, fair suck of a sav. It’s amusing enough, I suppose, but it ain’t literature. I suppose he’s not pretending for it to be.
What I really hated about this book is the unapologetically toxic blokeness of it, - men love their surf and weed and Monaros. Women are horny sluts just drooling for a root, and fair game for kidnapping and raping. It’s all just plot points. There is no attempt whatsoever to understand or unpick that kind of behaviour it just is, it’s iconic right? Like Bryan Brown iconic. You don’t have to think about it. It just is.
What it is, is lazy and incompetent.
And can we just talk about the Indigenous character? I know there’s a lot of people who would say “whatever just a character who happens to be Indigenous”. A cursory note at the end of the novel claims that Bryan was assisted by Aboriginal Australians in the making of the character. Sorry I’m not buying it. For Gods sake, just leave indigenous characters and their stories and histories alone -it is not your story or history to be telling. There was no reason in the world why the character David needed to be Indigenous - just like everything else was a convenient plot point that took Mr Brown’s fancy.
What I really hated about this book is the unapologetically toxic blokeness of it, - men love their surf and weed and Monaros. Women are horny sluts just drooling for a root, and fair game for kidnapping and raping. It’s all just plot points. There is no attempt whatsoever to understand or unpick that kind of behaviour it just is, it’s iconic right? Like Bryan Brown iconic. You don’t have to think about it. It just is.
What it is, is lazy and incompetent.
And can we just talk about the Indigenous character? I know there’s a lot of people who would say “whatever just a character who happens to be Indigenous”. A cursory note at the end of the novel claims that Bryan was assisted by Aboriginal Australians in the making of the character. Sorry I’m not buying it. For Gods sake, just leave indigenous characters and their stories and histories alone -it is not your story or history to be telling. There was no reason in the world why the character David needed to be Indigenous - just like everything else was a convenient plot point that took Mr Brown’s fancy.
January 7, 2024
I think the first film I saw Bryan Brown act in was “Love Letters from Teralba Road." Brown played Len, a guy who had flogged his wife and wrote letters asking for forgiveness. Brown has been playing versions of Len ever since and Len would fit easily into The Drowning.
Being a working-class kid from western Sydney I have a particular love of the vernacular that he uses in this story. I can hear my mates sitting around a fire-filled drum with cans of Toohey’s Draught and a durrie of Drum tobacco late on a sataday night talking shit. In the book the language hits you soundly in the ear drums. It does tail off somewhat as the story progresses but, like Brown himself, it never disappears.
I remember PM Kevin slipping into this vernacular and it sounded false, it never sounds that way with Bryan Brown.
One of the Australian men's icons of the 1970s was the Holden Monaro. I was there when the Monaro reigned supreme, yet I was more a Ford GTHO devotee. This icon plays a role in one of the crime's solution.
The story is set on the north coast of New South Wales, my home for many years. Brown never identifies the location but his wife has a cattle farm near Nambucca Heads. I taught at FPVCPS in Nambucca and the descriptions of the places and the people fit that area perfectly. Valla Beach and Scotts Head are populated with greying surfers who still enjoy the occasional puff and there is a sizeable Aboriginal population in the area. Brown does mention the Macleay Vocational College, which is Kempsey based. The Gumbaynggirr people come from Nambucca.
I clearly remember a cop from that area telling me of the damage that drugs and their supply does to the community and the trust that had existed between people before the arrival of the demon weed.
There is a myriad of believable characters. Sometimes the arrangements of these characters is complex. Sometimes it is a matter of who is fucking who?
The crimes in this crime novel are:
1. The murder of a young Aboriginal boy.
2. The hostage taking of a young attractive Danish backpacker by an oedipus deranged builder.
3. Cannabis supply and distribution.
4. The trafficking of attractive South American ladies for criminal prurient pursuits.
Brown wraps up all these issues in the last few pages and everyone lives happily ever after, well, actually, there are a few damaged people. The family of the dead boy, the girls who had been trafficked, Leila the kidnapped Danish backpacker, a dead bikie, a severely damaged bikie with a strong aversion to the gentler sex, a deviant, with a oedipus complex facing an extended stay at his majesty's pleasure and a wayward spouse now deserted by his own wayward spouse. Nevertheless, one can still get a good coffee from one of the local cafes.
Brown has been successful in writing a fast moving, character driven story with a satisfying Australian (some may say ocker) flavour. I could never imagine Brown in a Shakespearean production and his writing style is not literary high brow, but it aptly suits this story.
I thought Brown involved the Aboriginal characters in a real, and sensitive manner. In my role as a school executive I had much contact with Aboriginal families and yes, the role of grandmothers is crucial.
It is a rewarding easy read. I hope he writes another, and I will seek out his collection of short stories, “Sweet Jimmy.”
Being a working-class kid from western Sydney I have a particular love of the vernacular that he uses in this story. I can hear my mates sitting around a fire-filled drum with cans of Toohey’s Draught and a durrie of Drum tobacco late on a sataday night talking shit. In the book the language hits you soundly in the ear drums. It does tail off somewhat as the story progresses but, like Brown himself, it never disappears.
I remember PM Kevin slipping into this vernacular and it sounded false, it never sounds that way with Bryan Brown.
One of the Australian men's icons of the 1970s was the Holden Monaro. I was there when the Monaro reigned supreme, yet I was more a Ford GTHO devotee. This icon plays a role in one of the crime's solution.
The story is set on the north coast of New South Wales, my home for many years. Brown never identifies the location but his wife has a cattle farm near Nambucca Heads. I taught at FPVCPS in Nambucca and the descriptions of the places and the people fit that area perfectly. Valla Beach and Scotts Head are populated with greying surfers who still enjoy the occasional puff and there is a sizeable Aboriginal population in the area. Brown does mention the Macleay Vocational College, which is Kempsey based. The Gumbaynggirr people come from Nambucca.
I clearly remember a cop from that area telling me of the damage that drugs and their supply does to the community and the trust that had existed between people before the arrival of the demon weed.
There is a myriad of believable characters. Sometimes the arrangements of these characters is complex. Sometimes it is a matter of who is fucking who?
The crimes in this crime novel are:
1. The murder of a young Aboriginal boy.
2. The hostage taking of a young attractive Danish backpacker by an oedipus deranged builder.
3. Cannabis supply and distribution.
4. The trafficking of attractive South American ladies for criminal prurient pursuits.
Brown wraps up all these issues in the last few pages and everyone lives happily ever after, well, actually, there are a few damaged people. The family of the dead boy, the girls who had been trafficked, Leila the kidnapped Danish backpacker, a dead bikie, a severely damaged bikie with a strong aversion to the gentler sex, a deviant, with a oedipus complex facing an extended stay at his majesty's pleasure and a wayward spouse now deserted by his own wayward spouse. Nevertheless, one can still get a good coffee from one of the local cafes.
Brown has been successful in writing a fast moving, character driven story with a satisfying Australian (some may say ocker) flavour. I could never imagine Brown in a Shakespearean production and his writing style is not literary high brow, but it aptly suits this story.
I thought Brown involved the Aboriginal characters in a real, and sensitive manner. In my role as a school executive I had much contact with Aboriginal families and yes, the role of grandmothers is crucial.
It is a rewarding easy read. I hope he writes another, and I will seek out his collection of short stories, “Sweet Jimmy.”
November 1, 2023
⭐️4 Stars⭐️
Iconic Australian Actor Bryan Brown writes a fast paced and relatable Aussie crime story in The Drowning where David a young local Aboriginal boy is found drowned on the beach and Leila a young Danish backpacker working at the local cafe goes missing.
There’s murder, bikies, drugs, surfing and secret affairs in the tight knit community of this small NSW coastal town.
I loved the way the author delivers the Aussie lingo and humour perfectly in his writing, an enjoyable and fast paced crime read.
Publication Date 31 October 2023
Publisher Allen & Unwin Australia
Thank you so much Allen & Unwin for sending me an advanced copy of the book.
Iconic Australian Actor Bryan Brown writes a fast paced and relatable Aussie crime story in The Drowning where David a young local Aboriginal boy is found drowned on the beach and Leila a young Danish backpacker working at the local cafe goes missing.
There’s murder, bikies, drugs, surfing and secret affairs in the tight knit community of this small NSW coastal town.
I loved the way the author delivers the Aussie lingo and humour perfectly in his writing, an enjoyable and fast paced crime read.
Publication Date 31 October 2023
Publisher Allen & Unwin Australia
Thank you so much Allen & Unwin for sending me an advanced copy of the book.
November 16, 2023
Quintessentially Australian and a great little crime story. The author handled the indigenous plot sensitively, and there are quite a few sub plots and side stories that were lightly told, yet resonated. There was a lot of head-jumping, which was distracting in the first few chapters, but I got into the swing of it as I read on. Oh, and short chapters. Love short chapters. At times I imagined I heard Bryan Brown's voice in my head, narrating the story, acting a couple of the characters. Quirky. Aussie. Four and half stars.
March 16, 2024
Sorry Bryan I did not enjoy this as much as your last book and found it a bit weird with the kidnapping and what he did.
February 21, 2025
Great listen
July 11, 2025
The Drowning was such an enjoyable crime novel. Bryan Brown, the actor, has such a distinct and unique Australian way of writing. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on his collection of short stories now.
December 12, 2023
Bryan Brown, 'The Drowning' review
Set on the New South Wales North Coast near Coffs Harbour. The story is well researched.
The writing style reads like a screenplay draft, no-frills, economic, blunt as an instructional manual. Classic crime-fiction, told in the third person in the vernacular of one of the characters. Vernacular Aussie blokey narrator. The writing is as if one of the characters is telling you the story instead of reading it oneself. Close to texting style. Would be easy to storyboard. That could be the intention. I can see the author playing the role of Sergeant Tommy Gallagher.
The international popularity of crime fiction seems insatiable, not that it appeals to me. I wouldn't have read the novel but for the author being Bryan Brown. I nearly bailed on it at half-way through, gets tiring by chapter 22, at 115 pages in. "What are they telling us? Not a lot, Leila reckoned. Just a jumble of knowings crashing together looking to make sense." Pretty much like this novel at half way point. The second half tightens up and comes together nicely.
This is crime fiction as showcase Australian tourism, layed on with a trowel. Realistic, naturalist, almost French Nouveau Roman 'New Novel' style.
The French New Wave style in Literature and film was influenced by American crime-noir fiction and film, that sparse style influence trying to write like Hemingway.
This should be a natural fit for Australian simplicity, particularly with the narrow constraints of the genre of crime fiction.
Set on the New South Wales North Coast near Coffs Harbour. The story is well researched.
The writing style reads like a screenplay draft, no-frills, economic, blunt as an instructional manual. Classic crime-fiction, told in the third person in the vernacular of one of the characters. Vernacular Aussie blokey narrator. The writing is as if one of the characters is telling you the story instead of reading it oneself. Close to texting style. Would be easy to storyboard. That could be the intention. I can see the author playing the role of Sergeant Tommy Gallagher.
The international popularity of crime fiction seems insatiable, not that it appeals to me. I wouldn't have read the novel but for the author being Bryan Brown. I nearly bailed on it at half-way through, gets tiring by chapter 22, at 115 pages in. "What are they telling us? Not a lot, Leila reckoned. Just a jumble of knowings crashing together looking to make sense." Pretty much like this novel at half way point. The second half tightens up and comes together nicely.
This is crime fiction as showcase Australian tourism, layed on with a trowel. Realistic, naturalist, almost French Nouveau Roman 'New Novel' style.
The French New Wave style in Literature and film was influenced by American crime-noir fiction and film, that sparse style influence trying to write like Hemingway.
This should be a natural fit for Australian simplicity, particularly with the narrow constraints of the genre of crime fiction.
December 25, 2023
The typical Bryan Brown movie character was overdone in this novel. I was a bit taken aback at the style of the language but got used to it. Far too blokey for me - and I'm a bloke! I thought the story was interesting enough, but it seemed to me it built OK to about 85% through the book then it was like the author decided they wanted out and all the loose ends were tied up in a few rushed pages.
December 19, 2023
DNF. After only a few pages I found the writing choppy and the crime too gruesome.
March 5, 2024
I have to admit that I bought this book out of sheer nostalgia. I mean, this IS Bryan Brown. THE Bryan Brown.
I blithely ignored the lower GR ratings, and with nostalgia driving the credit card bus, I looked forward to receiving the book in the post.
Well, you lives and you learns.
After the first few pages, I had to grab my trusty Australian flag towel to soak up the strine that was dripping from every single paragraph.
I won't say it was overdone, but it was laid on as thickly as many non-Australians lay on the Vegemite, with the same results.
The staccato sentences, unconvincing cardboard characters, the worst of the worst Aussie stereotyping, and the jumping around of the storyline made it difficult to become engaged in the story or invested in the outcome.
By halfway in, I was really just flicking through the book, and I really did not care how the killer was caught or by whom.
Sorry Bryan, but I don't think this was your finest work, and nostalgia can only go so far.
I blithely ignored the lower GR ratings, and with nostalgia driving the credit card bus, I looked forward to receiving the book in the post.
Well, you lives and you learns.
After the first few pages, I had to grab my trusty Australian flag towel to soak up the strine that was dripping from every single paragraph.
I won't say it was overdone, but it was laid on as thickly as many non-Australians lay on the Vegemite, with the same results.
The staccato sentences, unconvincing cardboard characters, the worst of the worst Aussie stereotyping, and the jumping around of the storyline made it difficult to become engaged in the story or invested in the outcome.
By halfway in, I was really just flicking through the book, and I really did not care how the killer was caught or by whom.
Sorry Bryan, but I don't think this was your finest work, and nostalgia can only go so far.
December 4, 2023
DNF! I couldn't take any more of this bewildering mess! Am I the only one who was confused by two characters named Dave/David? Or did I miss something? How this book got to publication is beyond me. The short sentences, the abbreviations and slang and the disjointed plot that jumped around so much that no character gained depth or traction made for a disaster, in my humble opinion. Sorry Bryan, I wanted to like it but it just wasn't for me!
December 30, 2023
I dnf this book, I love Bryan Brown and got really excited after hearing an interview on the radio talking about this book!
I couldn't make it past chapter two. Although as an Aussie, I understood the abbreviations used, it was too much for even me. The short sentences did my head in and why was it necessary to use the description "bullshit grass"?
Super disappointed, sorry Bryan
I couldn't make it past chapter two. Although as an Aussie, I understood the abbreviations used, it was too much for even me. The short sentences did my head in and why was it necessary to use the description "bullshit grass"?
Super disappointed, sorry Bryan
November 24, 2023
Couldn't read more than a few pages here and there, actors often exaggerate the Australian accent and slang .. Brown writes the same ... the writing is disjointed , cannot connect with any character ... Brown does not know how to be descriptive .. stick with acting Bryan ... sorry
November 30, 2023
Disappointing.
Brown's conversational style tends to grate after a while. Inconsistencies in time and place were annoying. Why would he place Hurstville west of Sydney's CBD?
It seemed like he got bored with it and just quickly killed it off so he could go and do other things.
Brown's conversational style tends to grate after a while. Inconsistencies in time and place were annoying. Why would he place Hurstville west of Sydney's CBD?
It seemed like he got bored with it and just quickly killed it off so he could go and do other things.
February 24, 2024
The only thing more Australian than Bryan Brown are backpacker rapin' hillbillies... apparently.
The book relies on co-incidences, there are too many characters and the time jumps are annoying but it's so short that you don't get too hung up on that stuff.
The book relies on co-incidences, there are too many characters and the time jumps are annoying but it's so short that you don't get too hung up on that stuff.
November 6, 2024
Scooped this book up at the school fete and it was well worth the read.
November 16, 2023
My review of Bryan Brown's first full length crime novel - The Drowning has been posted at Newtown Review of Books:
https://newtownreviewofbooks.com.au/b...
"Actor and Australian icon Bryan Brown brings his laconic style to his first full-length crime novel."
https://newtownreviewofbooks.com.au/b...
"Actor and Australian icon Bryan Brown brings his laconic style to his first full-length crime novel."
March 5, 2024
I started listening to this over breakfast on Sunday morning, with the intention of just getting it started and having it as my audio book for the daily commute to and from work, but I ended up finishing it by the end of the day. Narrated by Bryan Brown himself, I found it impossible to step away from. He knows not only how to write a good story, but how to narrate one too. His distinctive Australian voice, so familiar to us all from his extensive acting, brought the story to life, so much so, I could see it all playing out in my imagination.
There’s quite a lot going on in this story and quite a lot of different characters. It also moves back and forth often as well as giving us the backstories on pretty much everyone – major and minor players. I’m not sure if I would have enjoyed reading it as much as I did listening to it. Bryan’s narration is quite captivating, and his delivery of all aspects of the story engaging. There was the potential for the narrative to get bogged down with so many characters and the storyline jumping around as it did, but surprisingly, I didn’t find myself losing track at all, and I put that down to the narration.
It’s crime stories like this that make you fear for young women travelling. A backpacker going missing, how long until someone even notices? And when their family does, what can they even do from another country? While the plot was not especially unique or unheard of, it was still gripping, realistic, and made for compulsive reading/listening. I’ll definitely be listening to Bryan Brown’s other novel, Sweet Jimmy, along with any future ones he releases as well.
There’s quite a lot going on in this story and quite a lot of different characters. It also moves back and forth often as well as giving us the backstories on pretty much everyone – major and minor players. I’m not sure if I would have enjoyed reading it as much as I did listening to it. Bryan’s narration is quite captivating, and his delivery of all aspects of the story engaging. There was the potential for the narrative to get bogged down with so many characters and the storyline jumping around as it did, but surprisingly, I didn’t find myself losing track at all, and I put that down to the narration.
It’s crime stories like this that make you fear for young women travelling. A backpacker going missing, how long until someone even notices? And when their family does, what can they even do from another country? While the plot was not especially unique or unheard of, it was still gripping, realistic, and made for compulsive reading/listening. I’ll definitely be listening to Bryan Brown’s other novel, Sweet Jimmy, along with any future ones he releases as well.
June 10, 2025
Funny, entertaining, and very Australian, with an interesting plot, bikies, nutbags, undercover cops and a lot of surfing!
December 19, 2023
"The Drowning" had a very good beginning and got me interested. Bryan Brown's narration was excellent throughout the audio book and kept me engaged. However, towards the middle the story appeared to be abridged and it seemed that the author wanted to finish the book rather than fleshing out the drama. The ending was very flat and very conveniently resolved - hence the two star rating.
November 26, 2023
Bryan Brown is a MUCH better actor than writer!
April 12, 2024
I liked it, I really did, but I did feel it maybe suffered a bit from second book syndrome. I loved Sweet Jimmy and felt that it was cleverly written.
The book is written in the third person with the narration switching from person to person. The style is very laconic and the story unfolds rather than being a pacey thriller. The book is set in an unnamed laidback seaside town south of Byron Bay but several hours north of Sydney - somewhere there is good surf. Somewhere the tourists haven't really found yet. As we meet each character we find that each hides a secret and we learn a bit of their backstory. There are all these little sub-stories going on.
It opens with the drowning of a young Aboriginal Boy, but goes back in time before the event to several weeks earlier when when a young female backpacker goes missing. Failed to turn up for work in the coffee shop, assumed to have just shot through. As with the drowning of the boy, we know who was responsible for her disappearance and we know why. We watch as our cast of characters start to figure it out. You could say this is a reverse 'who done it' the question is will the answers come out and will there be a positive outcome for all involved.
The book is written in the third person with the narration switching from person to person. The style is very laconic and the story unfolds rather than being a pacey thriller. The book is set in an unnamed laidback seaside town south of Byron Bay but several hours north of Sydney - somewhere there is good surf. Somewhere the tourists haven't really found yet. As we meet each character we find that each hides a secret and we learn a bit of their backstory. There are all these little sub-stories going on.
It opens with the drowning of a young Aboriginal Boy, but goes back in time before the event to several weeks earlier when when a young female backpacker goes missing. Failed to turn up for work in the coffee shop, assumed to have just shot through. As with the drowning of the boy, we know who was responsible for her disappearance and we know why. We watch as our cast of characters start to figure it out. You could say this is a reverse 'who done it' the question is will the answers come out and will there be a positive outcome for all involved.
January 4, 2024
2.5. I like Bryan Brown as an actor so I really wanted to like this book. I was disappointed. I was bored for much of the book - too many characters, all speaking with the same voice. You couldn't really differentiate them or give them a personality separate to others. The book really should have been called 'The abduction'. The drowning or the account of it made up about 5% of the story. Instead it focused on the perpetrator, followed by pretty much the whole village, as well as a woman from Brazil! The ending or resolution, when it did come in the last couple of pages, was rushed in comparison.
March 6, 2024
Not a fan of this book unfortunately. I decided not to finish it, as the writing style was too abrupt (Bryan clearly is not a fan of a complex sentence haha) and it was too hard to follow. There were too many characters to keep up with and it felt very disjointed. I did enjoy the Aussie slang though.
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