Humidity

by Dan Kaufman

Ben doesn’t like being a nude model in a small country town. Then again, the local footballers don’t like their girlfriends ogling Ben.

Broke and lonely, Ben falls for Marty, the ambitious and violent young woman rapidly taking over her brother’s drug and gun-running trade.

Once Ben gets pulled into their dark world of bikies and crime, he discovers a new level of violence that makes the footballers seem harmless – especially when his only friend is then murdered.

269 pages, Paperback

Published June 9, 2024

About the author

Dan Kaufman spent most of his career at The Sydney Morning Herald, where he edited almost every section at one time or another, from Travel to Health and Science.

He also wrote for almost every section, including essays and literary articles for Spectrum, in addition to being the bar reviewer until the paper came to its senses and realised it was paying him to get liquored up.

His short stories and poems have been published in a variety of journals. He was longlisted for the Great Australian Yarn award, shortlisted for the Lord Mayor’s Creative Awards in Melbourne, and published his first novel, Drowning in the Shallows, in 2020, during the same month that the pandemic hit. He is still in therapy.

His second novel, Humidity, has just come out (June 2024) – it’s a coming-of-age literary Aussie noir about a young male nude model in a small country town who falls in love for the first time – with the ambitious and ruthless young woman rapidly taking over the local drug and gun-running trade.

Reviews

[Paul McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Packed with suspense
This is a great action/thriller based in a small rural town in Australia.
The author does an excellent job of building the characters whilst packing every page with amusing detail and excitement.
I read the book over two sessions and was captivated by page 1. I just had to know what was coming up next.

Thanks to Booksirens for the ARC.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great addition to the 'outback noir' genre. The book is powerfully atmospheric: the desperation of an outback town, the toxic masculinity, the marginal characters, the vivid sense of impending violence. Kaufman immediately draws you into his finely crafted world with tight, punchy writing, capturing his rogue's gallery of characters right down to the regional patois and the omnipresent scent of beer and cigarettes. The two main characters - a sexy femme fatale and an underdog you can't help cheer on - are fascinating, too. I read it all in two sittings. I was reminded somewhat of a more modern version of Wake in Fright, but with more romance and emotional connection. It would make a great TV series, too.

[Sandie Briggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took a little bit to get into & it was a bit slow paced but it picked up & yep I could see a backwater Australia town being a little like this as I’ve been in them. It a rough book & has some colourful characters in it, to say the least. I thought the main character was a bit wimpy & a bit stupid to not realise what was going on but then he was a nice bloke rather than a thug or druggie. I liked how it ended. I enjoyed it but it is a tough read. If you like tough outback Aussie, biker gangs, prossies, druggies, violence & a strange sort of love story with weirdness but saying all that I enjoyed it.

[Lyndsay Fiorentino · Rating 4 out of 5]

The was a story about a young man getting caught up with a questionable crowd and his experiences. I found this book to be exciting and a page turner, I just had to know what he would get caught up in next.
I was given a complimentary copy of the book from the author via voracious readers only.

[Kerrie Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Australian noir

Somewhere in a decaying Australian town that is too far from the coast or a vineyard there is a pub like the Castle, with an anti hero pulling a beer. Order a schooner and settle in.

[Lu Hoppy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike any other thriller I've read ... but in a good way. Compelling, with a dark, twisted sense of humour – and characters you won't be able to forget (I especially liked the strong female characters). Love the quirky small Australian town and its interesting inhabitants!

[Belinda Cranston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humidity takes place in a small nameless Australian town, somewhere north of Wyong in NSW, but certainly not on the coast. Without a beach the tourism is as stagnant as the local lagoon, and with the iron ore plant shut it’s just a race to the bottom before the place becomes a ghost town, the narrator of the story, Ben tells us at the start. It’s too hot for bushwalking and the lagoon’s too shallow and fetid for swimming. As with a lot of country towns, a lot of the action takes place at the local pub. This one is called The Iron Castle, marked by its black and sticky floor, girly pics on the otherwise bare walls, and blokes best avoided.

Ben, who is in his late teens, finds himself in the grim setting after his grandfather passes, prompting him to use what little of the inheritance he scores to skip town for a slightly more exciting place. He was aiming for Newcastle or Sydney, but Ben is resigned to viewing life through a bewildered and slightly off beat-lens. There’s certainly more action than he is used to in this nameless town - but it’s not the sort of action an anxiety-prone, easily spooked young man needs.

We first meet Ben disrobing for an art class. The humiliating, short-lived career comes to an end the day he locks eyes with a young woman whose gaze is ‘so cool, so calm, so unnerving,’ he wants to put his clothes back on. It’s the beginning of a relationship laced with lust, deceit, coercive control and near death as Ben learns the hard way, mixing with people on the wrong side of law isn’t a path to peace and serenity.

Told with black humour and a sharp eye for the shrewd tactics of bikies down under (who, I wonder, did Dan Kaufman hang out with when researching his subject matter?), this is a fish out of water tale with a difference.

Quintessentially Australian, it’s also a cautionary tale - anyone seeking a tree change should do a lot of research and adopt the mantra ‘try before you buy’, before deciding on a town to call home.

[Molli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book kept my mind in it. It is so interesting and engaging to read i loved the book just how amazing it was and surprising so to say

I received an advance copy for free which was also amazing, but this review is totally my choice, and I would recommend it to people who like a mystery in their books.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quirky small Australian outback town community. I loved how the author has created a action packed suspense thriller. Whilst there is a mystery there is also a light hearted humour filled plot that is quite funny. The characters developed at a startling pace and I could not help but like them even the not so good ones. The atmosphere is typical of Australia and I could feel the heat.

[Amanda Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a officially a fan of Dan Kaufman. He has captured the disturbing underbelly of a country town with light hearted humour - not easy but utterly Australian. Loved this book and all it sweaty gross-ness.

[Kerri Fitzmaurice · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not for me. No storyline, just a whole lot of rubbish.

[Felina Pittman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a surprisingly good suspense story. The characters were "Fred Nurkish," the regular average Aussie eking out a living in a small Australian town. The portrayal was sharply delineated. Most of them were fleshed out and well defined. The simple but viable plot was character driven.

Ben, the young protagonist. was previously working as a nude mode, when he accidentally bumped into Marty who gave him a job at Iron Castle, a pub. The establishment managed by Shane, Marty's brother, was a front for a sleazy narcotics operation. Marty, who was assisting her brother, invited Ben to be involved in the drug scheme in exchange for a sizable financial gain. However, after the death of Dave, his friend, and attempts on his life, he drastically decided to leave the town and cut ties with his employers.

Violence in the narrative was pervasive, but it was essential to the tale. The climax was built up slowly but surely. The rising action, simmering gradually in the background, will grab your attention unexpectedly. The writer did a good job of creating a subtle but effective hook in maintaining the reader's interest.