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An Ill Wind
High on a hill above the small Victorian town of Carrabeen, 300 wind turbines constantly spin.
Except one is now deadly still - a body hanging from its huge white blade.
Detective Sergeants Belinda Burney and Will Lovell are shocked to discover the dead man is Geordie Pritchard, a rich local philanthropist and owner of the wind energy farm.
Suicide at first seems the likely explanation, until Geordie's widow Lucinda insists her husband was murdered - and she has the death threats to prove it.
Certainly the wind farm has ripped the rural town in two. Some welcome the jobs and prosperity it brings, others are enraged by the loss of farming land.
In short, Pritchard was both saint and sinner. But who in the small community hated him enough to want him dead?
'Hickey is a rising talent in the Australian bush noir genre, and her latest offering is a ripper . . . a fabulous novel. FIVE STARS.' Good Reading magazine
'This is a terrific novel with a great plot that reflects a lot of current issues.' Readings
'A solid slice of bush noir.' Canberra Weekly
Except one is now deadly still - a body hanging from its huge white blade.
Detective Sergeants Belinda Burney and Will Lovell are shocked to discover the dead man is Geordie Pritchard, a rich local philanthropist and owner of the wind energy farm.
Suicide at first seems the likely explanation, until Geordie's widow Lucinda insists her husband was murdered - and she has the death threats to prove it.
Certainly the wind farm has ripped the rural town in two. Some welcome the jobs and prosperity it brings, others are enraged by the loss of farming land.
In short, Pritchard was both saint and sinner. But who in the small community hated him enough to want him dead?
'Hickey is a rising talent in the Australian bush noir genre, and her latest offering is a ripper . . . a fabulous novel. FIVE STARS.' Good Reading magazine
'This is a terrific novel with a great plot that reflects a lot of current issues.' Readings
'A solid slice of bush noir.' Canberra Weekly
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Published July 1, 2025
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About the author
Margaret Hickey
16 books321 followersMargaret Hickey is an award-winning author and playwright from North East Victoria. She has a PhD in Creative Writing and is deeply interested in rural lives and communities. She is the author of Cutters End and Stone Town.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
July 11, 2025
Big Margaret Hickey fan here… huge!! This is one amazing writer and an Ill Wind is another absolute cracker of a book. How can you go past a book that starts with a body hanging from a wind turbine?! I mean come on.. you need to know more about that. I know ai did, and it was disturbing 😳
I love a small town murder mystery, rural crime is one of my favourite genres to read, especially when it is set in Australia. Set in the town of Carrabeen Victoria, a place where the wind turbines have divided a community. The farmers are struggling, people can’t afford a home and yet people are making millions from these eyesores. Not everyone is happy about them, but who is angry enough to kill?
Enter Sergeant Belinda Burney, a former resident of the town, and her city slicker husband Will. They have their work cut out for them with all the secrets in town. On top of that Belinda is dealing with being heavily pregnant and an ailing father.
I was so caught up in the drama!! As always with this authors work, you get a real sense of the environment around the characters. It plays a huge part of this story and you can picture it as you are reading. Get ready to be shocked until the very end.
Thanks so much to Penguin Books Australia for sending me a copy of this book to read. Another fantastic Australian crime fiction book.
I love a small town murder mystery, rural crime is one of my favourite genres to read, especially when it is set in Australia. Set in the town of Carrabeen Victoria, a place where the wind turbines have divided a community. The farmers are struggling, people can’t afford a home and yet people are making millions from these eyesores. Not everyone is happy about them, but who is angry enough to kill?
Enter Sergeant Belinda Burney, a former resident of the town, and her city slicker husband Will. They have their work cut out for them with all the secrets in town. On top of that Belinda is dealing with being heavily pregnant and an ailing father.
I was so caught up in the drama!! As always with this authors work, you get a real sense of the environment around the characters. It plays a huge part of this story and you can picture it as you are reading. Get ready to be shocked until the very end.
Thanks so much to Penguin Books Australia for sending me a copy of this book to read. Another fantastic Australian crime fiction book.
September 21, 2025
When a body is found hanging from one of the three hundred wind turbines in the small country town of Carrabeen in Victoria it seems that suicide is what has happened here, did Geordie Pritchard owner of the wind farm, local wealthy philanthropist kill himself?
Detective Sergeants Belinda Burney and Will Lovell are married and Belinda is very pregnant they moved to Carrabeen nearly one year ago to the town Belinda grew up in so as she can be close to her father who is ill, they are only here for a year before they move back to Melbourne, now they must find out what happened to Geordie and it seems that what they uncover points to murder not suicide, was it the turbine haters.
What they are uncovering is taking them in many directions and there is more happening when another local falls into a silo and says he was pushed and then one of the teachers at the school is found murdered there are more questions than answers, will they find out what really happened is it one culprit or more than one?
This story started a little slow for me but then wow it moved in so many different directions there are twists and turns throughout the story that had me turning the pages and coming up with no answers, I thoroughly enjoyed this one, fabulous characters they are strong and determined but real people, I would highly recommend this one to any reader of a good crime, mystery, thriller story.
My thanks to Penguin AU for my copy to read and review.
Detective Sergeants Belinda Burney and Will Lovell are married and Belinda is very pregnant they moved to Carrabeen nearly one year ago to the town Belinda grew up in so as she can be close to her father who is ill, they are only here for a year before they move back to Melbourne, now they must find out what happened to Geordie and it seems that what they uncover points to murder not suicide, was it the turbine haters.
What they are uncovering is taking them in many directions and there is more happening when another local falls into a silo and says he was pushed and then one of the teachers at the school is found murdered there are more questions than answers, will they find out what really happened is it one culprit or more than one?
This story started a little slow for me but then wow it moved in so many different directions there are twists and turns throughout the story that had me turning the pages and coming up with no answers, I thoroughly enjoyed this one, fabulous characters they are strong and determined but real people, I would highly recommend this one to any reader of a good crime, mystery, thriller story.
My thanks to Penguin AU for my copy to read and review.
August 10, 2025
An amazing Aussie author? ✅
A body hanging from the top of a wind turbine? ✅
A small town mystery with a difference? ✅
I loved this read. Who can resist a Margaret Hickey book. Certainly not me. This one had it all: great characters, plot twists, a beautiful setting. I could rave all day about how awesome Margaret Hickey’s writing is. 5 stars all day for this one!
A body hanging from the top of a wind turbine? ✅
A small town mystery with a difference? ✅
I loved this read. Who can resist a Margaret Hickey book. Certainly not me. This one had it all: great characters, plot twists, a beautiful setting. I could rave all day about how awesome Margaret Hickey’s writing is. 5 stars all day for this one!
March 4, 2026
An Ill Wind by Margaret Hickey
Synopsis /
High on a hill above the small Victorian town of Carrabeen, 300 wind turbines constantly spin.
Except one is now deadly still – a body hanging from its huge white blade.
Detective Sergeants Belinda Burney and Will Lovell are shocked to discover the dead man is Geordie Pritchard, a rich local philanthropist and owner of the wind energy farm.
Suicide at first seems the likely explanation, until Geordie’s widow Lucinda insists her husband was murdered – and she has the death threats to prove it.
Certainly the wind farm has ripped the rural town in two. Some welcome the jobs and prosperity it brings, others are enraged by the loss of farming land.
In short, Pritchard was both saint and sinner. But who in the small community hated him enough to want him dead?
My Thoughts /
High on a hill above the small Victorian town of Carrabeen, 300 wind turbines constantly spin.
Except one is now deadly still – a body hanging from its huge white blade.
Whether local businessman Geordie Pritchard did or did not die by hanging from the blade of a wind turbine is going to be a question DS Belinda Burney and her husband, DS Will Lovell need to answer; but a more pressing question to be asked and answered might be 'how'?
Author, Margaret Hickey has opened her story with a mind boggling sight. I did some quick research into wind farms and wind turbines while reading this story, and these things are huge!
Melbourne-based journalist Joshua S Hill reported in an online article on Nov 19, 2024 that:—
Chinese wind energy giant Sany Renewable Energy has reportedly powered up the world’s largest onshore wind turbine, a 15 megawatt (MW) behemoth capable of powering 160,000 households with turbine blades nearly the length of the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Sany Renewable Energy successfully hoisted its 15MW wind turbine back in early October, breaking two world records as it did so, as it is the world’s largest single-unit capacity turbine and the largest rotor diameter for an onshore turbine.
The imaginatively named SI-270150 boasts a rotor diameter of 270 meters and blades measuring 131 metres in length – which rolled off the production line earlier this year.
read article here
Set in the small Victorian town of Carrabeen. A place where there is plenty of picturesque open pastureland — but, it's not all about dairy cows, sheep and food crops; this is a town deeply divided by a massive new wind farm built by Carrabeen local philanthropist, Geordie Pritchard. Many local farmers have sold their properties to the local success story, fuelling his sustainability dreams. Yet for those in favour of Geordie's entrepreneurship, there are many others not so keen on what that sustainability looks like, and its impact on farmable land.
The novel uses a multi-perspective narrative, alternating between DS Belinda Burney and her husband Will. The pair have only just recently moved from Melbourne to the small town. Belinda, heavily pregnant with their first child, has a deep connection to the town, being raised in Carrabeen by her single father, Reg.
As the couple start to assist the local investigative team they quickly uncover a township of divided opinion and long simmering resentments over Geordie's "vision" of renewable energy farming; and the list of suspects grows as long a wind blade.
Apart from the main issue of Geordie's death, Hickey explores the broader issues surrounding windfarms and their development — encompassing discussions around the economic and environmental benefit (or not) and its impact on the landscape. Additionally, she's not shy to tackle issues which impact us all — climate change, financial hardship, homelessness and class divisions, all taken on here and written with considered cognitive empathy.
Great pacing, setting and character development; this is a read I can highly recommend from one of my favourite Australian authors.
Synopsis /
High on a hill above the small Victorian town of Carrabeen, 300 wind turbines constantly spin.
Except one is now deadly still – a body hanging from its huge white blade.
Detective Sergeants Belinda Burney and Will Lovell are shocked to discover the dead man is Geordie Pritchard, a rich local philanthropist and owner of the wind energy farm.
Suicide at first seems the likely explanation, until Geordie’s widow Lucinda insists her husband was murdered – and she has the death threats to prove it.
Certainly the wind farm has ripped the rural town in two. Some welcome the jobs and prosperity it brings, others are enraged by the loss of farming land.
In short, Pritchard was both saint and sinner. But who in the small community hated him enough to want him dead?
My Thoughts /
High on a hill above the small Victorian town of Carrabeen, 300 wind turbines constantly spin.
Except one is now deadly still – a body hanging from its huge white blade.
Whether local businessman Geordie Pritchard did or did not die by hanging from the blade of a wind turbine is going to be a question DS Belinda Burney and her husband, DS Will Lovell need to answer; but a more pressing question to be asked and answered might be 'how'?
Author, Margaret Hickey has opened her story with a mind boggling sight. I did some quick research into wind farms and wind turbines while reading this story, and these things are huge!
Melbourne-based journalist Joshua S Hill reported in an online article on Nov 19, 2024 that:—
Chinese wind energy giant Sany Renewable Energy has reportedly powered up the world’s largest onshore wind turbine, a 15 megawatt (MW) behemoth capable of powering 160,000 households with turbine blades nearly the length of the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Sany Renewable Energy successfully hoisted its 15MW wind turbine back in early October, breaking two world records as it did so, as it is the world’s largest single-unit capacity turbine and the largest rotor diameter for an onshore turbine.
The imaginatively named SI-270150 boasts a rotor diameter of 270 meters and blades measuring 131 metres in length – which rolled off the production line earlier this year.
read article here
Set in the small Victorian town of Carrabeen. A place where there is plenty of picturesque open pastureland — but, it's not all about dairy cows, sheep and food crops; this is a town deeply divided by a massive new wind farm built by Carrabeen local philanthropist, Geordie Pritchard. Many local farmers have sold their properties to the local success story, fuelling his sustainability dreams. Yet for those in favour of Geordie's entrepreneurship, there are many others not so keen on what that sustainability looks like, and its impact on farmable land.
The novel uses a multi-perspective narrative, alternating between DS Belinda Burney and her husband Will. The pair have only just recently moved from Melbourne to the small town. Belinda, heavily pregnant with their first child, has a deep connection to the town, being raised in Carrabeen by her single father, Reg.
As the couple start to assist the local investigative team they quickly uncover a township of divided opinion and long simmering resentments over Geordie's "vision" of renewable energy farming; and the list of suspects grows as long a wind blade.
Apart from the main issue of Geordie's death, Hickey explores the broader issues surrounding windfarms and their development — encompassing discussions around the economic and environmental benefit (or not) and its impact on the landscape. Additionally, she's not shy to tackle issues which impact us all — climate change, financial hardship, homelessness and class divisions, all taken on here and written with considered cognitive empathy.
Great pacing, setting and character development; this is a read I can highly recommend from one of my favourite Australian authors.
November 1, 2025
Fabulous small town Aussie crime fiction.
I enjoyed as the details unfolded about the death of philanthropist Geordie Pritchard, the owner of the wind energy farm. I would like to read more from Detective Sergeants Belinda Burney and Will Lovell.
Margaret Hickey remains an auto-read author for me.
Another great read for #AussieAugust2025
4.5 stars (rounded up)
I enjoyed as the details unfolded about the death of philanthropist Geordie Pritchard, the owner of the wind energy farm. I would like to read more from Detective Sergeants Belinda Burney and Will Lovell.
Margaret Hickey remains an auto-read author for me.
Another great read for #AussieAugust2025
4.5 stars (rounded up)
August 5, 2025
Margaret certainly knows how to write a fantastic small town murder mystery. This one had all the right ingredients - a dead body or two, secrets and lies, warring factions, old enemies, revenge and some great policing.
Wind farms aren't everyone's favourite thing in the rural town of Carrabeen, but nobody expected to see a body hanging from one of the massive blades one Monday morning. When the body is discovered to be local businessman and wind farm owner Geordie Pritchard, the list of suspects grows day by day.
We are introduced to husband and wife policing team, Senior Sergeants Belinda Burney and Will Lovett, who have a great working relationship and really bounce off each other well.
There are a lot of different personalities in this town and that made this a interesting read. There was the RM Williams wearing old money pastoralists, the hardworking shopkeepers, blow ins from the city and those on either end of the clean energy argument. The interwoven stories while easy to keep track of, had me guessing how it was all going to join up.
Margaret's sharp writing, the short chapters and the great characters made this a great story to read.
This is my fifth book by Margaret and if you haven't read any, you are seriously missing out on some great stories.
Wind farms aren't everyone's favourite thing in the rural town of Carrabeen, but nobody expected to see a body hanging from one of the massive blades one Monday morning. When the body is discovered to be local businessman and wind farm owner Geordie Pritchard, the list of suspects grows day by day.
We are introduced to husband and wife policing team, Senior Sergeants Belinda Burney and Will Lovett, who have a great working relationship and really bounce off each other well.
There are a lot of different personalities in this town and that made this a interesting read. There was the RM Williams wearing old money pastoralists, the hardworking shopkeepers, blow ins from the city and those on either end of the clean energy argument. The interwoven stories while easy to keep track of, had me guessing how it was all going to join up.
Margaret's sharp writing, the short chapters and the great characters made this a great story to read.
This is my fifth book by Margaret and if you haven't read any, you are seriously missing out on some great stories.
June 16, 2025
3.5 stars. I particularly liked the setting amongst wind turbines in rural Victoria. The husband and wife police duo was also an interesting addition to the Australian crime catalogue. This is well paced and neatly tied up.
July 21, 2025
You needn’t look further than a Margaret Hickey novel to get a taste of Australian outback crime thriller noir at its best. Especially when it begins with a man hanging from a wind turbine blade – an ominous and overwhelming sight even without a body in situ, in a local wind-farm on the Victorian plains. Entrepreneur Geordie Pritchard is dead, and there is more than one suspect, let along story line interconnected to his death. This story’s tributaries were far reaching: there were connections back to the local school where thefts and a potential squatter were playing havoc, their principal and sports teacher, both with reputations to hide, the local campers and their wild bush parties, and the community stalwarts including Reg, who all seem to be connected in some way or another to the death of Geordie.
This small rural community and its connections stem way back to the old shearing days and the local schools where many of the children were linked through study, sport or the depth of their families’ pockets. The argument for and against the wind farms are balanced, as are the outcomes (perceived or otherwise) arising from them, from displaced farming land, and physical symptoms. The small town of Carrabeen seems to be happy to embrace the future of renewable energy, but at what cost? The underlying secrets are buried but nor far enough for Senior Sergeant’s Belinda Burney and Will Lovell to expose where they are based temporarily in the town as part of their rural policing service. Thee town has connections to Belinda’s past – where Reg, her father, still lives - and Will’s past – where his family had old money connections. This is also the last case for Belinda, days out from starting maternity leave. The way that Belinda and Will have been created is a testament to Hickey’s writing style. They are realistic in their roles as rural police officers, staffing an under resourced small town station and reporting to and working with ‘city’ police who pull rank. They are also realistic in their relationship: the way they lean on each other, are respectful yet also get frustrated with each other was both cute and refreshing. Belinda’s frustration with her father was also convincing, down to her not delivering a homemade orange cake to him and using it as a peace offering to speak to the wife of Geordie Pritchard.
An intriguing tale where the past and the present are in battle in rural Australia – what better place to experience crime thriller noir!
Thank you #penguinaustralia for the #gifted copy!
This small rural community and its connections stem way back to the old shearing days and the local schools where many of the children were linked through study, sport or the depth of their families’ pockets. The argument for and against the wind farms are balanced, as are the outcomes (perceived or otherwise) arising from them, from displaced farming land, and physical symptoms. The small town of Carrabeen seems to be happy to embrace the future of renewable energy, but at what cost? The underlying secrets are buried but nor far enough for Senior Sergeant’s Belinda Burney and Will Lovell to expose where they are based temporarily in the town as part of their rural policing service. Thee town has connections to Belinda’s past – where Reg, her father, still lives - and Will’s past – where his family had old money connections. This is also the last case for Belinda, days out from starting maternity leave. The way that Belinda and Will have been created is a testament to Hickey’s writing style. They are realistic in their roles as rural police officers, staffing an under resourced small town station and reporting to and working with ‘city’ police who pull rank. They are also realistic in their relationship: the way they lean on each other, are respectful yet also get frustrated with each other was both cute and refreshing. Belinda’s frustration with her father was also convincing, down to her not delivering a homemade orange cake to him and using it as a peace offering to speak to the wife of Geordie Pritchard.
An intriguing tale where the past and the present are in battle in rural Australia – what better place to experience crime thriller noir!
Thank you #penguinaustralia for the #gifted copy!
July 18, 2025
This is my fifth Hickey. Her writing provides a comfortable ride through a story: she knows rural people and she knows the land they live on. On top of that, she writes compelling plots with multiple threads of possibility and interest to keep you guessing.
In addition to knowing the land and people, Hickey understands the politics and tensions between different interest groups, and with her tackling clean energy and wind farms, she is tapping into some ready-made tension. This is a growing trend in crime writing, as seen recently in Matthew Spencer's Broke Road where wine makers are pitted against coal miners.
In terms of protagonists, I'm not sure if I'm a big fan of the husband and wife detective team in this story... But then I'm still grieving that Hickey hasn't done another Mark Ariti. I'd enjoy finding out more about him!
The confession of the guilty party at the end of this story also felt a little too convenient and unforced though, I have to say, even though dramatically it worked very well. I found myself thinking why are you admitting to everything you fool? Although there's always that assumption that whoever is guilty must be just a bit unbalanced and egotistical...
All up, smooth interesting writing; good tension and suspense with a knotty problem at its heart. Light and entertaining. It will suck you in.
In addition to knowing the land and people, Hickey understands the politics and tensions between different interest groups, and with her tackling clean energy and wind farms, she is tapping into some ready-made tension. This is a growing trend in crime writing, as seen recently in Matthew Spencer's Broke Road where wine makers are pitted against coal miners.
In terms of protagonists, I'm not sure if I'm a big fan of the husband and wife detective team in this story... But then I'm still grieving that Hickey hasn't done another Mark Ariti. I'd enjoy finding out more about him!
The confession of the guilty party at the end of this story also felt a little too convenient and unforced though, I have to say, even though dramatically it worked very well. I found myself thinking why are you admitting to everything you fool? Although there's always that assumption that whoever is guilty must be just a bit unbalanced and egotistical...
All up, smooth interesting writing; good tension and suspense with a knotty problem at its heart. Light and entertaining. It will suck you in.
August 15, 2025
⭐️4.5 Stars⭐️
Margaret Hickey has delivered yet another entertaining and gripping book! An Ill Wind is set in a small Victorian rural town and it centres around the wind turbine farms and a murder…….a body found hanging from one of the blades!
There are multiple suspects and our husband and heavily pregnant wife policing team Belinda Burney and Will Lovell have their work cut out for them. They’re great personalties and I enjoyed their relatable characters and the way they worked together as a team.
I love reading stories of rural crime in an Australian setting and this was a creative and fantastic read! I’ve learned some things I didn’t know about the wind turbines and the story overall has a great environmental theme.
Great pacing and loved the suspense! Highly recommend.
Publication Date 01 July 2025
Publisher Imprint Penguin
Thank you so much to the lovely team at Penguin Books Australia for a copy of the book.
Margaret Hickey has delivered yet another entertaining and gripping book! An Ill Wind is set in a small Victorian rural town and it centres around the wind turbine farms and a murder…….a body found hanging from one of the blades!
There are multiple suspects and our husband and heavily pregnant wife policing team Belinda Burney and Will Lovell have their work cut out for them. They’re great personalties and I enjoyed their relatable characters and the way they worked together as a team.
I love reading stories of rural crime in an Australian setting and this was a creative and fantastic read! I’ve learned some things I didn’t know about the wind turbines and the story overall has a great environmental theme.
Great pacing and loved the suspense! Highly recommend.
Publication Date 01 July 2025
Publisher Imprint Penguin
Thank you so much to the lovely team at Penguin Books Australia for a copy of the book.
December 8, 2025
Margaret Hickey is a fabulous writer. Her books are all set in Australian country areas. This one is set in the golden plains shire, Ballarat being the nearest big town. Her main characters Belinda and Will, are both police figures faced with solving a shocking death on a wind farm . The author is familiar with the disputes such machines bring with them to rural communities. Depicting town life involves a creating a range of different characters, all authentic in this case. It’s a mystery that seems harder to solve as more deaths occur.
Very entertaining writing, I really enjoyed it.
Very entertaining writing, I really enjoyed it.
September 5, 2025
A solid 4 ⭐️ I think, certainly not as menacing as her previous book. But boy lots of things happen in those small country towns. Makes me happy to live in the suburbs. 🙂
February 25, 2026
4.5★
Geordie Pritchard: CEO of Clean Energy Solutions Australia is found dead at the age of thirty-nine years. Hanging from one of the blades on wind turbine 82.
Now the investigation team must work out if this was suicide or if someone killed Geordie. As the investigation gets underway, it’s easy to see that nothing is as it seems, but getting to the bottom of this could be more difficult than they first thought.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the more pages I read, the more I began to see where this story was going and how it would end. And I must say I was not disappointed by that ending and I highly recommend.
Geordie Pritchard: CEO of Clean Energy Solutions Australia is found dead at the age of thirty-nine years. Hanging from one of the blades on wind turbine 82.
Now the investigation team must work out if this was suicide or if someone killed Geordie. As the investigation gets underway, it’s easy to see that nothing is as it seems, but getting to the bottom of this could be more difficult than they first thought.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the more pages I read, the more I began to see where this story was going and how it would end. And I must say I was not disappointed by that ending and I highly recommend.
July 31, 2025
I love Margaret's book but this one just missed slightly. still a good read just didn't grab like past books have.
October 26, 2025
It took a bit to get started. I did like Belinda & Will. I wonder if they'll feature again.
August 26, 2025
Margaret Hickey has done it again! An Ill Wind is a fabulous small town murder mystery. So well researched, you will quickly feel completely immersed in this small rural community and all the drama. The lead characters Belinda and Will are interesting and very relatable and the murder mystery twists keep you turning the pages trying to piece together the clues along the way
I loved the country Victorian setting with many local references, such as the Melbourne Vixens
🦊
With a solid pace and interesting characters and story line, I was gripped from the get go
Highly recommend this fantastic book!
Thank you so much Penguinbooksaus for my gifted review copy 🫶
I loved the country Victorian setting with many local references, such as the Melbourne Vixens
🦊
With a solid pace and interesting characters and story line, I was gripped from the get go
Highly recommend this fantastic book!
Thank you so much Penguinbooksaus for my gifted review copy 🫶
January 2, 2026
2.5 rounded up
Set in Victoria and centred around a small town where the population is divided by the arrival of wind turbines and their role, or not, in a series of murders.
I have read a number of this authors Australian noir/police procedurals and while I always enjoy them for their settings and the ease of read I am always left a little disappointed, somehow wanting a bit more grit but not really able to put my finger on why or what.
Set in Victoria and centred around a small town where the population is divided by the arrival of wind turbines and their role, or not, in a series of murders.
I have read a number of this authors Australian noir/police procedurals and while I always enjoy them for their settings and the ease of read I am always left a little disappointed, somehow wanting a bit more grit but not really able to put my finger on why or what.
November 7, 2025
4.5 .. very good read; Belinda and Will are a husband and wife team of detectives temporarily based in Ballarat/Bendigo hinterland investigating a murder in a farmland area of wind turbines. Satisfactorily weaves the pro and con arguments around turbines and their placement; but more than that the story echoes the rural community, rural conditions and relationships and money; a good read.
November 7, 2025
I am a big fan of Margaret Hickey's writing and this book was fantastic.
January 17, 2026
4.5⭐️ love the way it all wrapped up. never forget a character!
February 7, 2026
I got to page 45, the main characters are married cops, they are bland and boring. Someone relates something someone says and the heavily pregnant, working class cop asks "What is a parapet?". You know, because working class means dumb. Her husband, who comes from a wealthy family says, "It's a defensive wall on a castle." He knows this "because I did first year history at University."
I don't wish to waste my life reading boring, stupid characters in books.
I don't wish to waste my life reading boring, stupid characters in books.
October 12, 2025
A really great read. I loved the mystery and the reasons behind the murder(s). I wish the author had addressed the myths that some of her characters believed about wind turbines in an afterword or similar, but otherwise an enjoyable book.
November 15, 2025
The wind turbines that have been built around the small Victorian town of Carrageen have divided the community. Some farmers are struggling while others are making a fortune from the turbines that are considered an eyesore and a danger to health. When the body of Geordie Pritchard, the owner of the wind farm is found hanging from one of the turbines, suicide is suspected. But would this wealthy philanthropic man really have killed himself?
Well done Margaret Hickey on another great australian rural crime novel.
Well done Margaret Hickey on another great australian rural crime novel.
August 22, 2025
3.5 ⭐️ interesting but just didn’t grab me the way “the creeper did”. Perhaps I didn’t feel a connection with the main characters
January 22, 2026
Loved this! set in regional Vic, but a most contentious subject with today's farmers.
January 14, 2026
Another great story from Margaret Hickey who brings Australian rural area to life.
June 18, 2025
Read as a read and review ARC thanks to Better Reading Preview. Here's my review of this great addition to the Australian rural noir crime thriller genre :)
Margaret Hickey’s modern rural ‘outback noir’ crime thriller starts with a gripping discovery of a shockingly chilling death scene at a wind turbine.
An Ill Wind, without pushing an agenda or overpowering the crime thriller storyline, delves into the current political and environmental arguments around wind farms and their impacts, both positive and negative, in rural farming communities. The novel reflects the interconnectedness of rural communities, where there are so many links between people and events, where local history is long remembered, and connections can extend well beyond the local town. There is beauty and foreboding in both the local scenery and the local relationships. The wind farms are a presence that tower over all.
Our lead characters are policing couple Senior Sergeant’s Belinda Burney and Will Lovell, they’re doing rural service together in expectant Belinda’s former home town, while she also cares for her aging father. Belinda is a force to be reckoned with despite being heavily pregnant and underestimated by other policing investigators. Will makes a wonderful counterpoint to her character as well as adding a layer of discussion around class and connections through his ‘old boys’ school network and more privileged upbringing. A great read!!
Margaret Hickey’s modern rural ‘outback noir’ crime thriller starts with a gripping discovery of a shockingly chilling death scene at a wind turbine.
An Ill Wind, without pushing an agenda or overpowering the crime thriller storyline, delves into the current political and environmental arguments around wind farms and their impacts, both positive and negative, in rural farming communities. The novel reflects the interconnectedness of rural communities, where there are so many links between people and events, where local history is long remembered, and connections can extend well beyond the local town. There is beauty and foreboding in both the local scenery and the local relationships. The wind farms are a presence that tower over all.
Our lead characters are policing couple Senior Sergeant’s Belinda Burney and Will Lovell, they’re doing rural service together in expectant Belinda’s former home town, while she also cares for her aging father. Belinda is a force to be reckoned with despite being heavily pregnant and underestimated by other policing investigators. Will makes a wonderful counterpoint to her character as well as adding a layer of discussion around class and connections through his ‘old boys’ school network and more privileged upbringing. A great read!!
July 25, 2025
Lord knows how but I somehow gaslit myself into believing this was as upcoming botm? It's literally not so I read it for no reason and it was very boring.
The characters are flat and bland, Belinda and Tom have no chemistry as characters whatsoever. The environmental plotline could have been interesting but it was done pretty averagely.
There was some 'twists' but idk it was all so meh that none of them have any actual oompf to them.
Pretty disappointing considering Hickey's books are fairly well received.
The characters are flat and bland, Belinda and Tom have no chemistry as characters whatsoever. The environmental plotline could have been interesting but it was done pretty averagely.
There was some 'twists' but idk it was all so meh that none of them have any actual oompf to them.
Pretty disappointing considering Hickey's books are fairly well received.
July 11, 2025
Margaret Hickey is fast establishing herself as one of the best Australian rural crime authors. She has build on her understanding of these communities to deliver a string of engaging and atmospheric procedurals. Her latest book, An Ill Wind, takes on a rural hot button issue – wind farms. In it she tries to explore all sides of the debate and the way it has divided communities.
An Ill Wind has a great hook for an opening – early one morning Geordie Pritchard is found hanging from the blade of one of his company’s wind turbines in the little Victorian town of Carrabeen. Pritchard comes from a wealth family that made its money in environmental destruction but he has tried to turn this around with investment in windfarms. Quickly on the scene are local police Will Lovell and his heavily pregnant wife Belinda Burney. Will and Belinda met as recruits and work in Melbourne but have now taken a job in the town so that Belinda can be closer to her ageing father. The pair start to assist the local investigative team and soon find a range of long held resentments and suspects. At the same time, Belinda is asked to investigate a series of mysterious thefts from the local high school.
After a trilogy featuring South Australian detective Mark Ariti, this is the second book where Hickey is feeling out new investigators. She uses the pair of Will and Belinda to explore and epitomise the wealth divide in these small towns. Will comes from money, much like the victim Geordie, while Belinda’s family came from the wrong side of the tracks, although her father Reg commanded some respect in the town for his shearing prowess. This divide and the long simmering resentments that it creates, are important in the dynamics of the town. To this end, Hickey is keen to flash her credentials as a chronicler of the whole of the rural experience, not just the farming side.
There are plenty of issues raised by this scenario. Foremost, the plot also allows Hickey to explore the tensions around windfarm development. From the economic and environmental benefit, to their impact on the landscape, to the conspiracy theories around their ability to cause cancer. But Hickey also takes readers into the culture of exclusive private schools and university colleges. This is the world that Geordie comes from but also one that is familiar to Will who turned his back on it to join the police.
Overall, An Ill Wind is another solid rural procedural. It suffers only in the surfeit of these narratives – set in a small town where everyone knows everyone, and everyone knows everyone’s business, going back multiple generations. The windfarm angle makes An Ill Wind interesting but not enough to necessarily allow it to rise above the pack. Those looking for a Australian rural crime fix, though, are in good hands.
An Ill Wind has a great hook for an opening – early one morning Geordie Pritchard is found hanging from the blade of one of his company’s wind turbines in the little Victorian town of Carrabeen. Pritchard comes from a wealth family that made its money in environmental destruction but he has tried to turn this around with investment in windfarms. Quickly on the scene are local police Will Lovell and his heavily pregnant wife Belinda Burney. Will and Belinda met as recruits and work in Melbourne but have now taken a job in the town so that Belinda can be closer to her ageing father. The pair start to assist the local investigative team and soon find a range of long held resentments and suspects. At the same time, Belinda is asked to investigate a series of mysterious thefts from the local high school.
After a trilogy featuring South Australian detective Mark Ariti, this is the second book where Hickey is feeling out new investigators. She uses the pair of Will and Belinda to explore and epitomise the wealth divide in these small towns. Will comes from money, much like the victim Geordie, while Belinda’s family came from the wrong side of the tracks, although her father Reg commanded some respect in the town for his shearing prowess. This divide and the long simmering resentments that it creates, are important in the dynamics of the town. To this end, Hickey is keen to flash her credentials as a chronicler of the whole of the rural experience, not just the farming side.
There are plenty of issues raised by this scenario. Foremost, the plot also allows Hickey to explore the tensions around windfarm development. From the economic and environmental benefit, to their impact on the landscape, to the conspiracy theories around their ability to cause cancer. But Hickey also takes readers into the culture of exclusive private schools and university colleges. This is the world that Geordie comes from but also one that is familiar to Will who turned his back on it to join the police.
Overall, An Ill Wind is another solid rural procedural. It suffers only in the surfeit of these narratives – set in a small town where everyone knows everyone, and everyone knows everyone’s business, going back multiple generations. The windfarm angle makes An Ill Wind interesting but not enough to necessarily allow it to rise above the pack. Those looking for a Australian rural crime fix, though, are in good hands.
December 25, 2025
This is my fifth Margaret Hickey book. She is a prodigious author, having written six books over the last six years. I have found that they varied in appeal to me. I think at times she complicates her novels with too many characters. Her previous police investigators were Mark Mariti and Sally White, this time we have husband and wife duo Detective Sergeants Belinda Burney and Will Lovell. I often wonder why authors decide to discontinue a police character, especially if that character creates a following. I quite liked Mariti and I thought White made for an interesting female police officer.
Another Australian bush/outback crime fiction set in a small country town, where everyone knows everyone and there are disputes and troubles going back generations. What sets this story apart is the theme of renewable energy and the place of wind generators in the Australian countryside. I do congratulate Ms Hickey for this concept. Climate change and subsequently renewable energy will probably become a theme crossing over to numerous fiction genres.
The two police protagonists are a married couple, Sergeants Belinda Burney and Will Lovell. Burney is very pregnant and about to go on maternity leave. They are investigating a murder. The deceased is Geordie Pritchard, a rich local philanthropist and owner of the wind energy farm. He was found hanging from one of his wind generators. Ms Hickey takes us is into the turmoil the wind generators are causing in the local community, those for and those against.
As the story develops, we have odd things being stolen from the school, another death occurs, Will does his hero bit, saving a guy from drowning in a wheat silo, he may have been pushed. We meet an array of characters: Reg, Belinda’s cantankerous father, (who is nearly garrotted, sadly only ‘nearly’) the mother-in-law from hell, a school principal with a drinking problem, (don’t they all), a slightly weird home ec teacher. (Yep, most of them are that way!) Ms Hickey uses her own experiences as a teacher to enhance the school setting and the teachers.
In the background, and foreground of the novel are the wind turbines. The community is divided over the installation of these renewable energy machines. Hickey does not present it as a polemic, both side’s views are presented. Unsurprisingly it is an issue dividing communities in the real world.
With murder mysteries I never bother involving myself in the quest to guess who committed the crime. The author reveals all in the final pages and the resolution is reasonably believable.
It took me some while to become interested in the town of Carabeen and the many characters who are part of the story, but I did end up finding the book most satisfying.
Another Australian bush/outback crime fiction set in a small country town, where everyone knows everyone and there are disputes and troubles going back generations. What sets this story apart is the theme of renewable energy and the place of wind generators in the Australian countryside. I do congratulate Ms Hickey for this concept. Climate change and subsequently renewable energy will probably become a theme crossing over to numerous fiction genres.
The two police protagonists are a married couple, Sergeants Belinda Burney and Will Lovell. Burney is very pregnant and about to go on maternity leave. They are investigating a murder. The deceased is Geordie Pritchard, a rich local philanthropist and owner of the wind energy farm. He was found hanging from one of his wind generators. Ms Hickey takes us is into the turmoil the wind generators are causing in the local community, those for and those against.
As the story develops, we have odd things being stolen from the school, another death occurs, Will does his hero bit, saving a guy from drowning in a wheat silo, he may have been pushed. We meet an array of characters: Reg, Belinda’s cantankerous father, (who is nearly garrotted, sadly only ‘nearly’) the mother-in-law from hell, a school principal with a drinking problem, (don’t they all), a slightly weird home ec teacher. (Yep, most of them are that way!) Ms Hickey uses her own experiences as a teacher to enhance the school setting and the teachers.
In the background, and foreground of the novel are the wind turbines. The community is divided over the installation of these renewable energy machines. Hickey does not present it as a polemic, both side’s views are presented. Unsurprisingly it is an issue dividing communities in the real world.
With murder mysteries I never bother involving myself in the quest to guess who committed the crime. The author reveals all in the final pages and the resolution is reasonably believable.
It took me some while to become interested in the town of Carabeen and the many characters who are part of the story, but I did end up finding the book most satisfying.
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