The Redline

Jesse Redpath #3

by Adrian Hyland

An open road. A dead cop. A killer in the hills …I flicked on the torch, swept the surrounds. Nothing. Then I directed the beam into the trees on the other side of the road.Up on a high, jutting branch, something moved. It may have been a white face, a pale body, a curved leg. Or it may have been none of those things. Was it human? Too quick for me to tell. A ripple, a blink and it was gone. But it seemed to leave an afterglow, an impression upon the fabric of the night.I took a deep breath. What had I seen? It had appeared to be a pair of piercing eyes in a pale visage. It could almost have been an owl, so compelling was its gaze, so swift its departure. Maybe it was just a trick of the light, a distorted shadow?There was a crunch of leaf in the litter below and it was gone.Whatever it was, it sent a chill through me. It’s the festive season in the Windmark Ranges and Sergeant Jesse Redpath’s day is going from bad to worse. It begins with her having to arrest the usual drunks and troublemakers and ends with the death of a colleague out on the Redline road. A death that may or may not have been an accident.

Jesse learns there have been other deaths and disappearances in the ranges, and that the local rumour mill suggests the perp is an elusive, semi-mythical character who goes by the name of ‘Anarchy’.

Beneath the charm of a close-knit community, a darker truth festers, and Jesse’s driven to expose it, no matter the disruption to the valley’s fragile tranquillity.

Genres: Australia

327 pages, Paperback

Published November 25, 2025

About the author

Adrian Hyland spent many years in the Northern Territory, living and working among indigenous people. He now teaches at LaTrobe University and lives in the north-east of Melbourne. His first novel, Diamond Dove won the 2007 Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction.

Reviews

[Marit · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping murder mystery set in rural Victoria, outside Melbourne. A policeman winds up dead, possibly murdered with more murders and mysterious disappearances to be investigated by Acting Sergeant Jesse Redpath, set during the festive season. A detailed police procedural with a large cast of characters, touches of humour and wry observations on small town life. Does contain a lot of coarse language but overall a compelling read, with an unexpected resolution to the murders (for me at least). Exceptional rural crime story.

[Barondestructo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it up to the introduction of Anarchy, the wild boy. Then at turns silly and predictable.