The Crushers

by Bronwyn Rodden

Librarian's note: Alternate cover edition of ASIN B005K6C6YW.

This is crime fiction set in the distinctly Australian Blue Mountains, revolving around Detective Ros Gordon and her colleagues as they aim to uncover the circumstances of the grizzly death of a young woman whose body has been found abandoned in a cave.

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Bronwyn Rodden was born in Sydney, Australia, but now lives on the Mid North Coast of NSW. She won the Patricia Hackett Prize (for short fiction) and was selected for the first New Poets Program Workshop (Scarp). She holds an MA Writing from UTS and her poetry and short fiction have been published in literary journals in Australia and the U.K. and broadcast on radio. She was awarded an Emerging Writer Grant by the Australia Council for the Arts and a residency at the Writers Cottage, Bundanon. She was also selected for the QWC/Hachette Publishing manuscript retreat. She released her first novel, The Crushers, on Amazon Kindle and another novel, Life at Sea, was shortlisted for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel of the Year Competition 2012. She has now released two more Blue Mountains mysteries, Orphan Rock and The Weaver of Blackheath, as well as a book set in ireland, Fish, and two collections of short ficiton and one of poetry, Zen and the Art of Astroturf. She was published in the new International Anthology of Surrealist and Magcial Realist Poetry and was a Finalist in the 2023 Newcastle Poetry Prize. Her short story 'Scone Making' was Highly Commended by the Society of Women Writers NSW and will be included in their Centenary Anthology. Her collection of poetry, 'Stranded' was published by Flying Islands Press and a poem of hers will be performed at the launch of the HERstory festival in Sydney in 2025. Bronwyn is also a visual artist and has held solo exhibitions in Sydney and Bellingen.

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detective Senior Constable Roslyn Gordon was on the scene of the death of a young woman, found naked in a cave in the Blue Mountains by a young boy who had been searching for artefacts for a school project. He stood, trembling with cold and probably shock, his mother beside him, just outside the cave entrance. Ros was waiting for her partner Detective Senior Constable Bill Fontani to arrive, while Constable Leighton, the first police officer on the scene, also waited outside.

Once the crime scene was established, the forensic team had arrived and the investigation began, Ros and Bill started questioning the young boy, whose name was Nathan. As the investigation deepened they found that real evidence was scarce – but the forensic pathologist made a discovery which took them in another direction. Ros knew Dorothy was hiding something, but what could this elderly, feisty old woman have in her mind that she would tell no-one? It was definitely Dorothy who had directed Nathan up to the cave – did she have a hidden agenda?

With the suspicion of which way the case would go, the sudden attack on two people just days apart, one of them a police officer, had Superintendent Simmons on their backs. Could they find the culprit in this strange mystery before something else of a shocking nature happened? And was there more than one person involved?

This debut novel by Aussie author Bronwyn Rodden has everything to make it a great read. It is set in the Blue Mountains which is a beautiful part of the Australian countryside, and the descriptions of the surrounding bush are very apt. The story is let down though by a lack of editing, which would turn it into a great detective mystery.

With thanks to the author for my copy to read and review.

[Lizzy Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

NB: (August 2012) This story has been re-edited and updated since I read it (see author's comments below), so the criticisms below may no longer apply.

The Crushers had all the makings of an excellent read. Set in the Blue Mountains national park of Three Sisters fame, it starts with an intriguing murder mystery premise. I loved the very Australian setting.

The author was given some support for the development of her manuscript via an Emerging Writers Grant and Varuna, but the resulting novel (self-published?) shows all the signs of having been poorly edited. The copy I downloaded (and didn't pay much for admittedly) was full of typographic and proofreading errors (such as different fonts and things going bold). I'd have overlooked these if the story itself hung together. It didn't. There are structural problems toward the end that really should be addressed.

My recommendation to this author is to take it down and pay a freelance editor to give it a once-over. The Crushers has the makings of a classic Aussie story, but it's not there yet.

3 stars for encouragement. I hope to see more from this author.