Deep Down

by Colin King

Homicide detective sergeant Rory James has young First Nations archaeologist, Tahlia Lock, in tow when a Grampians gemstone fossicker strikes human bones. The find is so deep there is no way the remains could be non-archaeological ... except they are. The body turns out to be a woman from Sydney.



Tahlia insists she stay on the case nonetheless. From their testy exchanges, Rory learns Tahlia's real reason for hanging around is to have him re-investigate her brother's unsolved disappearance.



For Rory's colleagues, it is an open and shut case of the Sydney woman being murdered by her mining geologist husband. Rory thinks otherwise when he finds a link to the case of Tahlia's missing brother ... and is it possible that a frontier wars massacre is somehow connected?



As Rory digs deeper, the atrocity becomes more than ancient history and imperils Tahlia.



BONUS SHORT STORY. This edition includes the Detective Sergeant Rory James mini-mystery set in Bendigo - "Dying for a Coffee".

255 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 20, 2025

About the author

Colin King is an artist and illustrator working in the UK, and often associated with Usborne.
He graduated with a Master of Art degree at the Royal College of Art, London, and has taught at the Cambridge School of Art and Wimbledon School of Art.
He began drawing children's picture books in 1976.
There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Victorian Grampians mountain range looms over many a dark moment in this local crime thriller. Colin King has created a relatable cast of characters that are 'mostly' likeable and with underlying themes of unspoken historical Aboriginal massacres, navigating the modern cultural landscape, and PTSD it sounds grimmer than it is. Overall you can tell that Colin has some not-so-small obsessions with local, and surprisingly interesting, historical details, and that his love of lobbing grenades at the political Right is an itch he can't stop scratching (which I well laughed at!) Fair warning to any potential international readers that you may need an Aussie guide to navigate some of our local -isms, but the wonder of Grampians escarpments will have you reaching for Google Images and booking a trip to western Victoria to walk amongst it yourselves. I know I am.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story let down by clunky writing

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad.

[Aj · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the returned focus on Victorian history in this book as well as the writing style. My issues were the 2-dimensional-ness of some of the female characters and the handling of the Indigenous aspects.