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Pacific Heights
FIVE WITNESSES. FIVE DIFFERENT STORIES. WHO IS THE KILLER?
'A rising star of Australian crime fiction' SUNDAY TIMES
'S. R. White is the real deal' CHRIS HAMMER
In the courtyard of the Pacific Heights building, a local waitress is found dead.
Five apartments overlook the murder scene. Five people witnessed a crime take place.
Finding the killer should be simple.
Except none of the witnesses' stories match.
They all saw something - from a different angle, at a different time.
None of them saw everything. Anyone could be the killer.
Detectives Carl "Bluey" Blueson and Lachlan Dyson, each with their own careers in peril, must solve what others assume is a straightforward case. But to unmask a killer they must unpick a complex puzzle - where the motivations of the witnesses are as mystifying as the crime itself.
How can you solve a crime if anyone could be lying?
'A rising star of Australian crime fiction' SUNDAY TIMES
'S. R. White is the real deal' CHRIS HAMMER
In the courtyard of the Pacific Heights building, a local waitress is found dead.
Five apartments overlook the murder scene. Five people witnessed a crime take place.
Finding the killer should be simple.
Except none of the witnesses' stories match.
They all saw something - from a different angle, at a different time.
None of them saw everything. Anyone could be the killer.
Detectives Carl "Bluey" Blueson and Lachlan Dyson, each with their own careers in peril, must solve what others assume is a straightforward case. But to unmask a killer they must unpick a complex puzzle - where the motivations of the witnesses are as mystifying as the crime itself.
How can you solve a crime if anyone could be lying?
- GenresCrime
324 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 27, 2025
9 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
S.R. White
8 books70 followersS.R. White worked for a UK police force for twelve years, before returning to academic life and taking an MA in Creative Writing at Nottingham Trent University. He now lives in Queensland, Australia.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 26, 2025
One dead body. Five witnesses. Two mismatched detectives.
This sets the scene for a fantastic police procedural that really hit the spot for me.
With a city in the midst of a gang related crime wave, when a young woman is killed in the courtyard of her apartment block, resources are thin on the ground. Two detectives on the outer are thrown together to solve the case, and expectations are high that with five witnesses this should be an easy solve.
Over the next 36 hours or so, Detectives Carl 'Bluey' Blueson and Lachlan 'die in a ditch' Dyson, try to unravel the not quite matching stories of the five witnesses. Getting to the bottom of this might not be as easy as first thought. With each witness having a different vantage point of the crime scene, Bluey and Lachie need to try and put these five versions together to make one. But are they missing something?
With a cameo by Mila Jelovic from White Ash Ridge, this was an intriguing police procedural and I do like the way this author writes and sets the scene and solves the crime. I have read and loved all the books in the Dana Russo series and this book is just as good.
Definitely one to check out.
This sets the scene for a fantastic police procedural that really hit the spot for me.
With a city in the midst of a gang related crime wave, when a young woman is killed in the courtyard of her apartment block, resources are thin on the ground. Two detectives on the outer are thrown together to solve the case, and expectations are high that with five witnesses this should be an easy solve.
Over the next 36 hours or so, Detectives Carl 'Bluey' Blueson and Lachlan 'die in a ditch' Dyson, try to unravel the not quite matching stories of the five witnesses. Getting to the bottom of this might not be as easy as first thought. With each witness having a different vantage point of the crime scene, Bluey and Lachie need to try and put these five versions together to make one. But are they missing something?
With a cameo by Mila Jelovic from White Ash Ridge, this was an intriguing police procedural and I do like the way this author writes and sets the scene and solves the crime. I have read and loved all the books in the Dana Russo series and this book is just as good.
Definitely one to check out.
April 19, 2025
An engrossing and compelling police procedural set in suburban Melbourne. When Tahlia Moore, a local cafe waitress, is murdered five people from her apartment building each have a partially obscured view of the event. The two detectives assigned to the case need to sift through their evidence, the forensics and post-mortem results to find the actual murderer. I wasn’t expecting the murderer or the motive but the painstaking detective work was intriguing. The novel, in my opinion, was very well written with Australianisms adding to the enjoyment.
May 23, 2025
‘Someone’s tragic death was everyone else’s direct messaging.’
In the courtyard of the Pacific Heights apartment block, somewhere in an Australian city, a local resident is found dead. Given that five apartments overlook the murder scene and several residents were awake at the time, solving the murder should be straightforward. At least, that is what is assumed by Superintendent Laxton when he assigns Detectives Carl ‘Bluey’ Blewson and Lachlan Dyson are assigned to the case. He doesn’t have a high regard for either of them, but all the other detectives are busy.
Once on scene, the detectives try to determine what happened. They start by interviewing several residents who either witnessed some of the events surrounding the murder or who knew the victim. But, even allowing for different perspectives of the site and the fact that no-one saw everything, discrepancies appear.
And what about the victim? The more the detectives dig, the more motivation they find. The victim had manipulated or taken advantage of several people, any one of whom might have resorted to murder.
Mr White has peopled his novel with a range of well-developed and complex characters. Each has his or her own story, and some apparently knew the victim better than they claimed.
I was fascinated. While I thought I knew who was responsible for the murder, there were aspects of the case I did not work out before the end. And, while it is totally inappropriate for me to say so, I had much more sympathy for the perpetrator than the victim.
‘We answered your questions, Detective.’
This is the fifth of Mr White’s novels I have read, following the (currently four volume) Detective Dana Russo series. Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
~~~~
In the courtyard of the Pacific Heights apartment block, somewhere in an Australian city, a local resident is found dead. Given that five apartments overlook the murder scene and several residents were awake at the time, solving the murder should be straightforward. At least, that is what is assumed by Superintendent Laxton when he assigns Detectives Carl ‘Bluey’ Blewson and Lachlan Dyson are assigned to the case. He doesn’t have a high regard for either of them, but all the other detectives are busy.
Once on scene, the detectives try to determine what happened. They start by interviewing several residents who either witnessed some of the events surrounding the murder or who knew the victim. But, even allowing for different perspectives of the site and the fact that no-one saw everything, discrepancies appear.
And what about the victim? The more the detectives dig, the more motivation they find. The victim had manipulated or taken advantage of several people, any one of whom might have resorted to murder.
Mr White has peopled his novel with a range of well-developed and complex characters. Each has his or her own story, and some apparently knew the victim better than they claimed.
I was fascinated. While I thought I knew who was responsible for the murder, there were aspects of the case I did not work out before the end. And, while it is totally inappropriate for me to say so, I had much more sympathy for the perpetrator than the victim.
‘We answered your questions, Detective.’
This is the fifth of Mr White’s novels I have read, following the (currently four volume) Detective Dana Russo series. Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
~~~~
July 20, 2025
No time for a full review but I’m finding S. R. White one of the best new Australia ln crime fiction authors around especially if you like police procedurals. This one introduces new detectives - neither considered top shelf - together to handle what looks like a straightforward case with witnesses but is much more complex. Not high action but pretty constant intrigue.
August 17, 2025
I’m a fan of the author but not of this latest book sorry to say. It was so obvious from the get go who the murderer was and that they were covering it up. I really wish there had been more than one person with a reason to murder. It’s well written which is why I gave as high as a 3 but the plot is a flop sorry to say. Hopefully the next book by this author is better!
July 13, 2025
I finished this book because, I enjoyed the characters but, not the way it was wrote, I found it to go over the same point many times without actually getting anywhere.
This is why it took me longer than usual to finish it.
Rutherford library
This is why it took me longer than usual to finish it.
Rutherford library
Read
July 5, 2025DNF didn’t want a detective story and the mention of gangland crimes out me off. Also too many Australian terms.
July 22, 2025
Really enjoyed this
July 25, 2025
It was good enough. A good concept but probably a. it too simply written and plotted
December 26, 2025
3.5* rounded down.
This was a bit of a mixed bag. There were elements of a really strong police procedural, with three likeable police officers (all male, sadly), but then towards the end it lost focus. There were unrealistic-feeling conversations between the detectives about whether or not it is important to feel empathy for witnesses and whether it matters if you like the victim. There was also a massive overshare by one detective after the murderer had confessed. By the way, I would not have confessed on the basis of the evidence the police had. There were threads which went nowhere (e.g. Reagan) and I skimmed the last 20%. I don't think the concept of all the partial eye witnesses was as interesting as the author thought it would be.
This was a bit of a mixed bag. There were elements of a really strong police procedural, with three likeable police officers (all male, sadly), but then towards the end it lost focus. There were unrealistic-feeling conversations between the detectives about whether or not it is important to feel empathy for witnesses and whether it matters if you like the victim. There was also a massive overshare by one detective after the murderer had confessed. By the way, I would not have confessed on the basis of the evidence the police had. There were threads which went nowhere (e.g. Reagan) and I skimmed the last 20%. I don't think the concept of all the partial eye witnesses was as interesting as the author thought it would be.
October 2, 2025
Murder
Drug use and overdose
Abuse
Grief
People helping each other
Hearing impaired
Drug use and overdose
Abuse
Grief
People helping each other
Hearing impaired
August 20, 2025
I received a copy of Pacific Heights from Hachette Australia to reivew.
Rating of 4.5.
Over the last couple of years one of the more compelling authors of Australian crime fiction has been S. R. White. A former member of the UK police, White has been writing intriguing crime fiction novels since his move to Australia. His main body of work has so far included excellent reads like Prisoner, Red Dirt Road and White Ash Ridge (part of the Detective Dana Russo series), which featured complex mysteries centred around layered suspects. I really enjoyed the compelling way in which White’s investigators break down the motivations and personalities of the suspects and the victim to get to the truth, and the author has a unique and striking writing style. As such, I was eager to read his 2025 novel, Pacific Heights, which is a standalone spin-off of White Ash Ridge, featuring one of the supporting characters from the previous book in a more substantial role
Plot Synopsis:
FIVE WITNESSES. FIVE DIFFERENT STORIES. WHO IS THE KILLER?
In the courtyard of the Pacific Heights building, a local waitress is found dead.
Five apartments overlook the murder scene. Five people witnessed a crime take place.
Finding the killer should be simple.
Except none of the witnesses' stories match.
They all saw something - from a different angle, at a different time.
None of them saw everything. Anyone could be the killer.
Detectives Carl "Bluey" Blueson and Lachlan Dyson, each with their own careers in peril, must solve what others assume is a straightforward case. But to unmask a killer they must unpick a complex puzzle - where the motivations of the witnesses are as mystifying as the crime itself.
How can you solve a crime if anyone could be lying?
This was a very clever and addictive Australian crime fiction read that I had such a blast getting through. White wove together a very compelling mystery narrative for Pacific Heights that cleverly explored a range of great characters and examined how people view events differently.
To see the full review, click on the link below:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2025/04/15/...
An abridged review of this book also ran in the Canberra Weekly on 17 April 2025:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2025/08/20/...
For other exciting reviews and content, check out my blog at:
https://unseenlibrary.com/
Rating of 4.5.
Over the last couple of years one of the more compelling authors of Australian crime fiction has been S. R. White. A former member of the UK police, White has been writing intriguing crime fiction novels since his move to Australia. His main body of work has so far included excellent reads like Prisoner, Red Dirt Road and White Ash Ridge (part of the Detective Dana Russo series), which featured complex mysteries centred around layered suspects. I really enjoyed the compelling way in which White’s investigators break down the motivations and personalities of the suspects and the victim to get to the truth, and the author has a unique and striking writing style. As such, I was eager to read his 2025 novel, Pacific Heights, which is a standalone spin-off of White Ash Ridge, featuring one of the supporting characters from the previous book in a more substantial role
Plot Synopsis:
FIVE WITNESSES. FIVE DIFFERENT STORIES. WHO IS THE KILLER?
In the courtyard of the Pacific Heights building, a local waitress is found dead.
Five apartments overlook the murder scene. Five people witnessed a crime take place.
Finding the killer should be simple.
Except none of the witnesses' stories match.
They all saw something - from a different angle, at a different time.
None of them saw everything. Anyone could be the killer.
Detectives Carl "Bluey" Blueson and Lachlan Dyson, each with their own careers in peril, must solve what others assume is a straightforward case. But to unmask a killer they must unpick a complex puzzle - where the motivations of the witnesses are as mystifying as the crime itself.
How can you solve a crime if anyone could be lying?
This was a very clever and addictive Australian crime fiction read that I had such a blast getting through. White wove together a very compelling mystery narrative for Pacific Heights that cleverly explored a range of great characters and examined how people view events differently.
To see the full review, click on the link below:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2025/04/15/...
An abridged review of this book also ran in the Canberra Weekly on 17 April 2025:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2025/08/20/...
For other exciting reviews and content, check out my blog at:
https://unseenlibrary.com/
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews