Enter The Devil: A Detective Bannon and Sergeant Ryan Mystery - The Mara Mysteries Book One - An Outback Australian Crime Thriller

by R. Bownds

Three bodies, three suspects, one frightened town.

The discovery of a body dangling from a tree in the Mara Forestry forces newly appointed local police officer Sergeant Michael Ryan to call in disgraced homicide Detective Mark Bannon, known as ‘The Devil’, to investigate the murders.

Detective Bannon calls upon his years of experience in the outback to examine the crime scene, and they soon discover they have three bodies, three suspects and clues lead them to the nearby small outback town of Blackpond where the residents are unwilling to cooperate with police.

With the odds piling up against them, and time running out, can they track down the murderers before they kill again?
This is the first book in the Mara Mysteries Series.
This book is written in Australian English. It contains Australian slang, Australian Idioms, Australian wit and humour.

417 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 1, 2025

About the author

Born in Albany, Western Australia, R. Bownds has been exploring her passion for writing since childhood, creating short stories, comics, poetry, and songs. Her family journeyed through the Australian outback, taking on various occupations, such as farming, gold mining, opal mining, sapphire mining, and rabbit trapping.

She studied school via correspondence at the kitchen table in a hut made from corrugated iron sheeting and canvas tarp walls. A life rich with experiences and knowledge of the Australian outback and its people's way of life. Her novels draw on these experiences.

Reviews

[Mehmet Çalışkan · Rating 5 out of 5]

R. Bownds’ Enter the Devil is a gripping crime thriller. The story unfolds in the scorching heat and dusty atmosphere of Australia, centered around the inexperienced Sergeant Michael Ryan and the disgraced but brilliant Detective Mark “The Devil” Bannon. The author’s descriptions and narrative style give the story a realistic flow. If you want to read a crime story that feels like a movie scene, set in the Australian outback, full of tension and layered with mysteries, this book is definitely recommended.

[Sonia R · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading Book 2 in the Mara Mysteries series, I decided to go back and start from the beginning... and I’m so glad I did. This book sets the tone for everything that follows: raw, atmospheric, and authentically Australian.

The story opens with a shocking murder in the harsh outback and introduces us to Sergeant Michael Ryan, new to the job and completely out of his depth. His uneasy partnership with Detective Mark Bannon drives the narrative with sharp tension and dark humour. Together, they navigate the suffocating silence of Blackpond, a town that guards its secrets as fiercely as its borders.

What I loved most about this book is its sense of place. The Australian slang, the dry wit, and the harsh, sun-scorched landscape all feel utterly real. The town itself becomes a character, hostile, secretive, and unyielding. The pacing is tight, the dialogue crackles with authenticity, and the unfolding mystery kept me guessing right up to the final pages.

[Select Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

R. Bownds’ “Enter The Devil: A Detective Bannon and Sergeant Ryan Mystery - The Mara Mysteries Book One - An Outback Australian Crime Thriller” is a formidable read, written in Australian English. The book follows the adventures of Sergeant Michael Ryan who, in attempting to handle his first murder case, calls for help, and is sent Detective Mark “The Devil” Bannon, a former cracker jack homicide detective who has been exiled to outlying Mildura from Melbourne because of misconduct charges.

Mounting evidence takes the coppers to Blackpond where they encounter uncooperative residents who seem to be hiding something or someone. Another murder forces the two to dig deeper and pry the murderer loose before matters get really out of hand.

“Enter The Devil” is well written, interesting, and entertaining, and its characters and plot are well developed. It is crime novel, mystery, and thriller all wrapped in one.

For readers unfamiliar with the subtleties of the Australian vernacular, there is a helpful glossary of Australian terms and slang at the end of this book. Moving the glossary to the front of the book in future printings might ease readers into the language and facilitate the book’s reading.

[Alefiyah Ghadiali · Rating 4 out of 5]

R. Bownds’ Enter the Devil grabs you by the throat from its first scene and doesn’t loosen its grip until the final page. Set in the unforgiving expanse of the Australian outback, the novel blends the stark brutality of true crime with the tension of psychological warfare.

What struck me most wasn’t just the murders or the mystery—it was the atmosphere. You can almost taste the red dust and feel the oppressive heat pressing against every decision Detective Bannon and Sergeant Ryan make. The isolation of Blackpond becomes its own character—hostile, secretive, and soaked in suspicion.

Bannon, haunted and volatile, is a fascinating antihero. His fractured mind and “Devil” persona make him both dangerous and brilliant, a man teetering between redemption and ruin. Ryan, his younger counterpart, adds moral weight and emotional grounding, giving the story balance amidst chaos.

Bownds’ writing is sharp and cinematic. The pacing is relentless, but what gives it substance is the humanity underneath—the cost of silence, the decay of small-town loyalty, and how guilt seeps into every crack of a community built on fear.

[Dimitris Margetas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now this is my kind of book. It had everything I wished for. Lots of crime, lots of mystery. There is a strong story here. The town has a story behind it. Even the detective himself has a story. The plot is generous with action and twists. The language is a bit confusing at times. I got lost a bit with some expressions, but I realized at the end that there was a glossary explaining them at the end. Oops. Still I loved the descriptions. From the smells to the sounds to the surroundings. I felt a I read a true Australian creation and it was like I was in Australia. Now I want to visit it. I recommend the book to all who like crime books and stories that evolve to be complex, but still engaging from the first page.

[Garima Bais · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one.
The Australian outback setting is perfect: hot, dusty, isolated. Small town where nobody trusts cops and everyone's hiding something. That atmosphere is thick throughout. I liked the two main characters. Ryan's the new sergeant dealing with his first murder case and is totally overwhelmed. Bannon's the disgraced detective they bring in. Their dynamic works well.
Bodies keep piling up, and the whole town refuses to cooperate. Watching them try to crack the case while hitting wall after wall of silence kept me hooked. Some good twists I didn't see coming.
Pacing's fast. Never dragged. Good mix of investigation and tension.
If you like gritty crime thrillers or fast paced mysteries, this delivers.

[Leah Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gritty, nail-biting thriller that pulls you straight into the heat and dust of the Australian outback. What starts as one body quickly becomes a series of murders. Rookie Sergeant Ryan is in over his head, and the only one who can help is Detective Mark “The Devil” Bannon—a brilliant but disgraced investigator. Tense and gripping, this book is as much about the silence of a town guarding its past as it is about catching a killer. A gripping read for fans of crime fiction. Also, I didn’t check the table of contents first and kept having to Google many of the slang terms to understand their meaning. I discovered at the end that there is a glossary which is very helpful.

[Tom Leverett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has everything you'd expect from a good crime thriller, an interesting setting (NW Victoria), and two main characters who are opposite but at the same time work together well and become good friends. Bannon is like a Clint Eastwood - with perfect aim, an attitude, and irresistible charm, but of course he's left a trail of divorce, broken hearts, etc. and this reminds us that even those who we rely on most are changing all the time - not to mention being affected by who they kill or what they've done.

[Vishnu · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tense thriller set in the Australian outback, where rookie Sergeant Ryan faces a string of murders. His only ally is Detective Mark “The Devil” Bannon, a brilliant but disgraced investigator. The story is gripping, filled with secrets the town wants to keep buried. Crime fiction fans will enjoy this. Note: there’s a glossary at the end for the slang terms—very useful.

[Gemma Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

The hot, dusty outback is a full-fledged character here. The rookie–Ryan and disgraced–Bannon duo hooks you: brisk pace, fair twists, a town stubbornly silent. It reads like a film, no filler. Australianisms sometimes slow things down, but the glossary helps. An excellent start to the series.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enter The Devil is a tight, engaging crime thriller with a strong sense of the outback. The case pulls you in from the start, and the Bannon–Ryan duo feels believable and well-balanced. Dark atmosphere, good pacing, and a few sharp twists make it a very satisfying read.