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Wire and Bone
"Dune scrub in every direction... and a body that appears to have fallen out of an endless, cloudless sky. Colin King takes us to the remote and beautiful Big Desert of Victoria's Mallee to introduce his latest absorbing murder mystery. Here is an author who knows and loves his Australia, and his detective André Marshall and journalist-partner Ella Ritchie transport us from the middle of nowhere to big city intrigue, with an excursion through painful family secrets on the way to solving a baffling crime." Tony Wright, The Age
"The Mallee is the perfect location for a murder mystery, and Colin King has superbly captured the vast, arid emptiness of the region and the stoic nature of its people in Wire & Bone. A great read set in a captivating corner of Australia." Adam McNicol - author, The A journey through north-west Victoria
"The Mallee is the perfect location for a murder mystery, and Colin King has superbly captured the vast, arid emptiness of the region and the stoic nature of its people in Wire & Bone. A great read set in a captivating corner of Australia." Adam McNicol - author, The A journey through north-west Victoria
364 pages, Paperback
Published April 8, 2024
8 people want to read
About the author
Colin King
217 books10 followersColin King is an artist and illustrator working in the UK, and often associated with Usborne.
He graduated with a Master of Art degree at the Royal College of Art, London, and has taught at the Cambridge School of Art and Wimbledon School of Art.
He began drawing children's picture books in 1976.
There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database
He graduated with a Master of Art degree at the Royal College of Art, London, and has taught at the Cambridge School of Art and Wimbledon School of Art.
He began drawing children's picture books in 1976.
There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 19, 2024
I heard about this book on the radio several months ago. It was a mystery set in the Mallee so I thought I would grab it. It is a reasonably good read, but I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in it.
First and foremost, while the body is found in the Mallee, most of the book takes place in Melbourne. While I quite like Melbourne and am happy to read books set there as well, I was hoping for more in and around the Mallee.
Second, I guessed a lot of the murder, the method to disguise it and even several elements of the B story involving the detective's girlfriend. Some of this definitely attests to the writer's skill and I've read some bad mystery books were even when explained, the methods and motives are still pretty murky. On the other hand, I found this a little too obvious.
As I did say, this isn't a bad book. It is well written, well paced and the characters are actually quite well done. I was worried at first that I wasn't going to like the detective as he's really into running – and I am definitely not. However, he is engaging and has greater depth. One quibble I did have though was that the main character is Andre and he has a partner named Alex. I ended up getting these two confused about a dozen times during the book. I really wish that the author had renamed the partner Russ, or Peter, or as he is Greek, even Demitrios. Granted, this is just me though.
The plot moves well and the book is well edited. I even really like the author's descriptions of both Melbourne localities and those in the Mallee.
Coincidence is another fault with this book, perhaps it's major fault. The detective almost literally stumbles over the body located in the middle of the Wyperfeld National Park and they go one to state what a massive coincidence this is. The detective even picks the cause of death from finding the remains and accurately determines that they have been there for six months just by looking at them for ten minutes. The resolution also features a massive coincidence with a photo.
Despite these faults though, I still give it three stars as an entertaining read.
First and foremost, while the body is found in the Mallee, most of the book takes place in Melbourne. While I quite like Melbourne and am happy to read books set there as well, I was hoping for more in and around the Mallee.
Second, I guessed a lot of the murder, the method to disguise it and even several elements of the B story involving the detective's girlfriend. Some of this definitely attests to the writer's skill and I've read some bad mystery books were even when explained, the methods and motives are still pretty murky. On the other hand, I found this a little too obvious.
As I did say, this isn't a bad book. It is well written, well paced and the characters are actually quite well done. I was worried at first that I wasn't going to like the detective as he's really into running – and I am definitely not. However, he is engaging and has greater depth. One quibble I did have though was that the main character is Andre and he has a partner named Alex. I ended up getting these two confused about a dozen times during the book. I really wish that the author had renamed the partner Russ, or Peter, or as he is Greek, even Demitrios. Granted, this is just me though.
The plot moves well and the book is well edited. I even really like the author's descriptions of both Melbourne localities and those in the Mallee.
Coincidence is another fault with this book, perhaps it's major fault. The detective almost literally stumbles over the body located in the middle of the Wyperfeld National Park and they go one to state what a massive coincidence this is. The detective even picks the cause of death from finding the remains and accurately determines that they have been there for six months just by looking at them for ten minutes. The resolution also features a massive coincidence with a photo.
Despite these faults though, I still give it three stars as an entertaining read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review