Ash Island

The Belltree Trilogy #2

by Barry Maitland

Detective Sergeant Harry Belltree, back on the job after a near-fatal confrontation with corrupt colleagues, has become a departmental embarrassment. The solution is a posting away from Sydney and a quiet life in Newcastle.

Or maybe not so quiet. A body’s been found buried just offshore on Ash Island; there may be more. There’s also Harry’s unfinished business. The car crash that killed his parents and blinded his wife happened not far from Newcastle. And Harry knows it was no accident.

The other unfinished business is Jenny’s longed-for pregnancy. Which means that now the stakes are higher than ever.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Australia, Fiction, Thriller, Audiobook, Detective

298 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2015

About the author

Barry Maitland is the author of the acclaimed Brock and Kolla series of crime mystery novels, which are set in London, where Barry grew up after his family moved there.

His books have been described as whydunits as much as whodunits, concerned with the devious histories and motivations of their characters. Barry's background in architecture drew him to the structured character of the mystery novel, and his books are notable for their ingenious plots as well as for their atmospheric settings, each in a different intriguing corner of London.

Barry studied architecture at Cambridge University, and went on to work as an architect in the UK, then took a PhD in urban design at the University of Sheffield, where he also taught and wrote a number of books on architecture and urban design. In 1984 he moved to Australia to head the architecture school at the University of Newcastle in New South Wales, and held that position until 2000. He now writes fiction full time, and lives in the Hunter Valley, Australia.

Reviews

[Paromjit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an Aussie set thriller, a sequel to the wonderful Crucifixion Creek which I adored. Indigenous Detective Harry Belltree is back, suffering from trauma as he barely made it out alive in the last book. Seen as an embarrassment, he has now been transferred to Newcastle. Life is not easy here but Harry and his now pregnant wife, Jenny, are making an effort to settle in. Harry is intending to look into the car crash that killed his parents and left Jenny blind. Kelly Pool, the journalist, has also returned looking for justice.

Out of the blue, a body is discovered on Ash Island and Harry and DS Ross Bramley head out to investigate. More bodies are found and Harry finds himself in a complete quagmire of a case. Kelly's search leads her to Newcastle, and she discovers a number of connections which she wants to bring to Harry's attention. The case takes in corruption, crime, drug smuggling, coal mines and land rights. The past has a great deal with what is happening now. There are links to Crucifixion Creek, the car crash in which Harry's parents died, and events on Ash Island.

This is a fast paced, action driven, and full of twists story. I loved it, finding it both gripping and compelling. Harry is a flawed, but engaging character that you cannot help but root for and like enormously. Barry Maitland is writing one more book to complete this trilogy and I cannot wait to read it. Wonderful book which I highly recommend. Many thanks to Text Publishing for an ARC.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the events of Crucifixion Creek Detective Sergeant Harry Belltree was posted to Newcastle – away from the embarrassment he had caused his Sydney colleagues; Newcastle was the “bush outpost” where nothing much happened – or so they thought. Harry’s wife Jenny and her new dog Felecia accompanied Harry to their new rental in Carrington; a quiet place Jenny was growing to love. With the help of Felecia, she was finding her way around, growing familiar with the area.

The Hunter Valley was also where Harry’s parents had been killed three years previously. Jenny had been badly injured in the accident, losing her sight but not her life. Harry couldn’t let the past go – he was convinced it wasn’t an accident; but finding out more could be difficult…

When the call came in about a body having been found on Ash Island, Harry accompanied his partner, DS Ross Bramley from Newcastle area command to investigate. But was this the beginning of a new horror for DS Harry Belltree? As sinister undertones began to surface and more bodies were found, the danger intensified. Suddenly the race was on and Harry found himself mixed up in multiple issues with no idea who could he trust.

I absolutely loved Ash Island by Aussie author Barry Maitland! Second in The Belltree Trilogy, the flow-on from Crucifixion Creek is impeccable. Harry is a wonderful character – he shows a quiet but intense vulnerability when it comes to Jenny. The pace of the story is fast – it flows, gaining momentum until it reaches the crashing (and totally unexpected) finale! Told in the voices of the three main characters; Harry, Jenny and Kelly Poole (journalist), Ash Island is a brilliant part of the trilogy and I’m really looking forward to book 3 in September 2016! Highly recommended.

With thanks to Text Publishing for my copy to read and review.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ash Island is the second book in The Belltree Trilogy and the fifteenth novel by Scots-born Australian author, architect and urban design expert, Barry Maitland. After the shocking events at Crucifixion Creek deem him an embarrassment to his Sydney station, DS Harry Belltree is sent to Newcastle. While his colleagues there make him less than welcome, he and Jenny, now pregnant, try to settle in. Closer, too, to the site of the car crash that blinded Jenny and killed Justice Danny Belltree and his wife, Mary, Harry hopes he may solve the mystery of their murder.

But the slow pace of his new job gets a jolt when a body turns up on Ash Island. Maybe more than one. And his private investigations have him wondering just how well he knew his parents. Soon enough, events have Harry and Jenny wondering if the evil from Crucifixion Creek has followed them to Newcastle, or if there is a new evil here, threatening their fragile peace. At the same time, reporter Kelly Pool, determined to bring to justice the woman who facilitated her kidnap at Crucifixion Creek, follows her trail to Newcastle. Her research reveals some intriguing connections, and Kelly doesn’t believe in coincidence. She once again wants to share information with Harry.

Maitland gives the reader another fast-paced tale with plenty of twists and more than one heart-stopping climax. This wholly believable piece of crime fiction includes a sailors’ mission, tattoos in very strange places, drug smuggling, open cut coal mining, an environmental activist, an Aboriginal Land Council, quite a bit of covert surveillance and some explosions.

Maitland’s characters are complex and multi-faceted: while some are exactly what they first seem to be, this is certainly not the case for all of the players. Harry is appealing: a tenacious maverick who cares for those close to him but is certainly no saint. Jenny certainly shows her mettle in this instalment. The final chapter’s shock development will have readers eager for the third book of the trilogy. Aussie crime fiction at its best.

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Just as good as the first one if not a smidgen better.

That ending. 😭

Poor Harry.

Let’s hope things run more smoothly for him in the final book of the Belltree Trilogy. Who am I kidding? It’s Harry!

Set in Newcastle, NSW and Ash Island. I can see a day trip coming up soon as hubby and I have never been to Ash Island but to Newcastle many times. Ash Island sounds like a gorgeous place to explore on bicycles.

A thrilling, fast paced, and intriguing read.

Slaughter Park up next. Who can wait after that cliffhanger ending?!

Listened to the audio version. Excellent.

[Petra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ash Island is the second book in Barry Maitland's Belltree trilogy featuring Sydney homicide Detective Sergeant Harry Belltree. This starts off shortly after the events of Crucifixion Creek. They should ideally be read in order as there is a plot line that continues throughout the trilogy.
In Ash Island, Harry discovers more information about the road traffic accident that killed his parents and left his wife, Jenny, blind. Following the events in Crucifixion Creek, Harry has been transferred to Newcastle, where he isn't exactly made to feel very welcome but he is trying to settle down with Jenny who is expecting their first child. But when a body is discovered on Ash Island, Harry soon finds himself investigating a complex case involving corruption, drugs, smuggling, coal mining and Aboriginal land rights. On top of it, there are connections to past events in Crucifixion Creek and the death of Harry's parents. Harry is a really appealing character although he likes to do his own thing and is at times rather unconventional when it comes to police investigations. Though not as suspenseful as the first book, this was another fast-paced, action-packed and enjoyable installment and the shocking ending left me longing to get the final part of the trilogy as soon as possible.

[Tien · Rating 4 out of 5]

The human interest in this novel is what I really loved in this novel. The relationship between Harry Belltree and his wife seems so solid despite all that they've been through in the first book. I'm keen to find out what happens next. The mystery itself was pretty interesting too & fairly complex. I do think you'd need to read the trilogy one after the other to make sense of everything as they seem to be intricately connected.

[Text Publishing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harry Belltree is back again in another thriller from the pen of hard-boiled crime master Barry Maitland. And the pace hasn’t dampened for this Sydney homicide detective who just knows how to court danger.

This is the second in the Belltree Trilogy after Crucifixion Creek (Shortlisted, Ned Kelly Awards, Best Crime Novel, 2015), in which Harry went off-grid investigating his brother-in-law Greg’s death and things got ugly.

And here life isn't getting any easier for Harry. But there's no point getting down about it, when there's a job that needs doing.

If you missed the buzz last year, this is what they were saying about Crucifixion Creek:

‘A terrifically exciting novel.’ Canberra Times

‘Maitland just gets better, and he’s long been, if quietly, one of the very best…the writing is lean and top-knotch as always.’ Weekend Herald

‘Crucifixion Creek…takes off at a frantic gallop towards a heart-thumping finale that promises only a brief respite. Be prepared to stay up late.’ Saturday Age

[Mish · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is the second book in The Belltree Trilogy, and the reason I gave it 3* was partly my fault. I got lost along the way.

Ash Island is a direct continuation from Crucifixion Creek. After Harry Belltree’s release from hospital, he was strongly advised to relocate from Sydney. Harry decided to move to Newcastle, the location not far from where his parents were killed – or murdered actually – and Harry secret agenda is to find his parents killer. On duty, Harry and his partner Ross Bramley are called to Ash Island where a Chinese immigrant body was buried. The body found leads to another, and then investigation comes full circle to Harry’s agenda.

Many people (criminals, officers etc..) start to make an appearance that was directly linked to Crucifixion Creek and I had a real difficult time placing them. I thought I left a long break between books and that’s why it wasn’t coming to me. Or perhaps not enough background information was outlined for the reader from the previous book. However, by this point, activity intensified greatly and I found myself just enjoying the ride.

Maitland is an amazing crime writer and I like his style. He’s got a slight hard edge to his writing; his narration is serious, sharp and too the point. And Mr Maitland is certainly not kind to his protagonist – he goes through hell and back and makes him work.

[LJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

First Sentence: On a November night in 2013, two kilometers off the coast of New South Wales, a helicopter rises from the deck of a Chinese bulk carrier ship.

Det. Sgt. Harry Belltree has been reassigned to Newcastle, Australia. With him is his wife, pregnant and blinded from an auto accident which also killed his parents. Yet on the job, a corpse has been found, which turns out to be one of many and, Harry suspect, related to the car accident.

Maitland does provide excellent descriptions and analogies—“The boom of the surf rises up to her like the rhythmic chant of some primeval chorus, the chorus of the dead.”

This is definitely the 2nd of a trilogy, as there are a lot of references to past events. Maitland does try to catch new readers up, but there are times when it is rather frustrating for those who start with this book.

For a cop, Harry certainly plays fast and loose with the law. However, there is some very good suspense.

By far, the female characters are the strength of the story, particularly Harry’s wife, Jenny. The journalist, Kelly, is also interesting, even though she does commit the classic TSTL (too stupid to live) act. Sadly, Harry was a difficult character with whom to connect. And yes, sadly, there is a completely unnecessary portent.

“Ash Island” was an okay read. The dialogue was rather flat, and one felt a bit manipulated knowing it was necessary to read all three books in order to know the full story.

ASH ISLAND (Pol Proc-Sgt. Harry Belltree-Newcastle, Australia-Contemp) – Okay
Maitland, Barry – 2nd of Trilogy
Minotaur Books, Nov 2016

[Michael Martz · Rating 2 out of 5]

'Ash Island' is a rare miss for Barry Maitland, though I partially blame myself for not having read the 1st novel (Crucifixion Creek) in the series before this one. However, with all that was going on in the story line, there still didn't seem to be anything really propelling it forward. One aspect I typically use in reviewing a book is how engaged I become in reading it, and it must've taken me 20 reading sessions to get through Ash Island. For an interesting or engaging novel, I'll read right through or it may take 2 or 3 sessions at most.

So, Ash Island is a continuation of the first effort in the Belltree Trilogy. The story begins with detective Harry Belltree, banished to a quiet posting outside Sydney, Australia after what went down at Crucifixion Creek, getting asked to look in on a corpse discovered on Ash Island. His initial investigation leads him to believe other bodies may be buried on the island, which turns out to be the case. A journalist gets involved who had herself been subjected to a vicious physical attack and gets into the action when Belltree begins examining potential theories on the sudden increase in cadavers showing up on the island. Is there a serial killer active in the community? Is drug trade somehow involved? How about Big Business?

Belltree makes a couple missteps and soon finds himself in the penalty box. However, he has a sense he's gotten close to the truth and his wife is at risk from the bad guys, so he relocates her to the countryside. Wrapped up in the main plot are a couple significant subplots: his wife was blinded and his parents killed in a car accident not far from where he's posted and he believes it was no accident. Also, the journalist who has an interest in the case is intent on locating who was responsible for her own assault. His investigation into the Ash Island corpses soon becomes intertwined with these subplots and it all comes together in a somewhat unlikely conclusion.

Again, my bad for not starting with the 1st novel in the series. Ash Island began with an interesting discovery, the multiple paths of the investigation had potential, but the characters just weren't developed enough or compelling enough to carry the story. I didn't get a sense I 'knew' Belltree or any of the other participants at the end. I've read most of Maitland's Brock & Kolla series and have enjoyed it and its characters immensely, but my initial foray into the Belltree trilogy hasn't been productive.

[Simona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t wait to read bk 3

[Ron Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

I unfortunately read the Belltree trilogy out of order. 1, 3 and then 2. Ash Island is two. Wrong move. I would strongly suggest that your read them in order, there is much cross referencing.
I live in Newcastle and drive past Ash Island every weekday so I was expecting Maitland to capture the feel and vibe of Newcastle. It's neighbourhood blend of old and new. The timber workingman cottages throughout the inner city with the commercial development of Honeysuckle. The cities reliance on coal. How it is a football playing surfer city with a sizeable young trendy population. This never happens. Maitland is no Ian Rankin and I don’t think tourists will be seeking out mentioned sites from this book.
Also, Harry Belltree is no John Rebus. Belltree is a fairly one-dimensional character, a muscular action orientated cop. He has no interests outside of catching the bad guys, except for his blind wife, Jenny. Poor Jenny gets a buffering from the evil doers. She ought to sue the Police Service for all nasty criminals she has to avoid.
This novel reads as one long police report where Harry is the smart insightful guy and his superiors are knuckleheads, boarding on being corrupt.
There are too many contrived events where Harry, Jenny and Kerry Poole (reporter and Harry ally) manage to escape an untimely demise too often. There is a scene where Jenny’s guide dog wakes them in the middle of the night to go for a walk. As they are returning to the house it is destroyed in a massive explosion.
A crossdressing, transgender wife basher is introduced in a scene where Harry saves the life of his police partner. If this was Joseph Wambaugh writing we would have a comical cruel character who would add interest to the story. But no Mr Logan McGilvray’s LGBTQI status is not mentioned again and Harry uses physical motivation tactics to extract information. Logan disappears from the story to surface later somewhat dismembered.
There is some good writing in the opening pages.

“The helicopter pilot banks away towards the coast, his last flight for the night, and checks the time 2:16am. Ahead of him he can see the white figure of the lighthouse on Nobby’s Head marking the mouth of the Hunter River and the entrance to the port. To the left are the lights of the city – the city of people, mostly asleep now – while to the right lies the floodlit city of machines that never sleep. Gantries, towers crawling scoops and mumming conveyor belts, all of gigantic size, gathering up the long ridges of coal that the trains have brought from the valley and pumping into the bellies of the ships.”

Unfortunately this type of descriptive writing remains unused throughout the rest of the story.
There is mention of the mysterious Nordland family – the land developing Corleone’s of the story and the death of Harry’s parents surfaces regularly as the story progresses.
The language is mundane, the characters uninteresting and the setting scarcely described all lead to a fairly tedious, unremarkable story and in the crowded world of police crime/murder/mysteries Ash Island does not rank very highly.
I have read better Maitland novels.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second in the Harry Belltree trilogy, events in ASH ISLAND follow closely on from CRUCIFIXION CREEK. Short-listed for the 2015 Ned Kelly Awards CRUCIFIXION CREEK set up a different character for Maitland to work with in Australian, Indigenous Detective Harry Belltree. There is still, however, that use of a defining geographical location as is always the case in any of Maitland's novels - in this case much of the action centres around Newcastle's Ash Island.

Considerably more action orientated, Belltree is also very different from Maitland's other police characters (Brock and Kolla) in that to call him morally ambiguous is possibly understating the case. He's also well out of his comfort zone having been transferred to Newcastle after final events in the earlier novel very nearly killed him. If you've read CRUCIFIXION CREEK already you'll know that this covered a lot of things to do with development, corruption, drugs and bikie gangs, touching briefly on the car crash that killed Belltree's parents and blinded his wife. ASH ISLAND however, builds on that aspect considerably whilst also getting stuck into mining, politicians, land rights and, as always, a hefty dose of corruption and nasty goings on.

Having said "if you've read CRUCIFIXION CREEK" it is almost mandatory that you do read these two novels in sequence. There's a lot of back story to Belltree, his parents, wife and supporting characters, such as journalist Kelly Pool, that you're just going to have to know to make any sense of what's happening in ASH ISLAND, despite some reiteration of background and details.

There's no fudging the fact that whilst CRUCIFIXION CREEK was a great series commencement, there are aspects of ASH ISLAND that are less successful. Whilst there is advancement of an underlying conspiracy with new plot elements introduced, as well as that backwards concentration on the fatal car accident, there is overall less tension here. Obviously because this is part two of the trilogy you can't expect that everything is going to be resolved in ASH ISLAND, but that's not the overwhelming problem. Rather there's a slight sense of wandering, less direction somehow with some hefty personal leaps and bounds that just felt silly contributing overall to a somewhat anti-climactic feeling.

That's not to say that the third book in the series won't be high on the reading list when it comes out, as there's absolutely no doubt that whatever is going to happen to Belltree, he's not going to go down without a bloody good fight.

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...

[Craig Sisterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sydney detective Harry Belltree has been banished to the backblocks after uncovering political and police corruption in Australia’s biggest city. But his personal hunt for the truth behind the accident that killed his parents and blinded his wife continues in this action-packed sequel to Crucifixion Creek.

Maitland crafts an entertaining, action-packed read with a distinctive hero, flavored with organized crime, biker gangs, drug rings, corporate skullduggery, and aboriginal land rights. Back-story plays an important role, so readers may enjoy Ash Island on a deeper level if they’ve read Crucifixion Creek first.

[A Reader's Heaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Detective Sergeant Harry Belltree, back on the job after a near-fatal confrontation with corrupt colleagues, has become a departmental embarrassment. The solution is a posting away from Sydney and a quiet life in Newcastle.
Or maybe not so quiet. A body’s been found buried just offshore on Ash Island; there may be more. There’s also Harry’s unfinished business. The car crash that killed his parents and blinded his wife happened not far from Newcastle. And Harry knows it was no accident.
The other unfinished business is Jenny’s longed-for pregnancy. Which means that now the stakes are higher than ever.

This is the second Harry Belltree novel and, in some respects, exceed the previous one. It is recommended that you read the previous book before getting stuck into this one, just to gain the background of what is happening as some of the characters from the first book appear in this one, although Harry has been transferred away from the city.

In this story, Harry has a number of cases open before him. Bodies have been discovered on Ash Island and he is there to investigate. Also, Newcastle is close to where his parents were killed and his wife was blinded - so there is a little backstory to delve into here as well. Add to that, the appearance of Kelly Pool, the investigative journalist from the previous book, whose own search for justice brings her to Newcastle. She again shares info with Harry and all the strings of this story get brought together perfectly.

I found the pacing of this book to be better than the first one. Paradoxically, some of the backstory here is repetitive and slows the story up somewhat (but probably not for those who didn't read the first book.) The development of Harry and Kelly as characters has been fascinating to watch (read?) and enjoyed the addition of some new secondary characters.

Another gripping novel in this series and I look forward to the final book of the trilogy.


Paul
ARH

[Tony Blenman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ash Island is the second in the Belltree Mystery Trilogy, Crucifixion Creek being the first, which I have not read. In Ash Island, Detective Harry Belltree is transferred from Sydney, Australia, to Newcastle where a quiet and easy life is anticipated, but this was not to be. A body, Chinese, was discovered on Ash Island, Belltree and his colleague, Ross Bramley, were assigned to the case. Other bodies subsequently discovered, thickening the investigation for Belltree and Bramley. Kelly Pool, reporter from Sydney takes the trip to Newcastle, unexpectedly running into Belltree, and both corroborate on the cases.
Bikers gangs, criminals, drug smugglers, tattoo shop, and a cross-dressing tattooed-covered-muscle man all connected in some way to the murders. Parallel to all this is Belltree's compulsion to get to the bottom of the vehicular accident that took the life of his parents and blindness to his wife, Jenny, who was a passenger in the car. Belltree believed it was not an accident, but a murder because his father, Judge Belltree, was going to release his report on native land claims. Kelly Pool likewise had her own agenda, as she was tracking down a woman who was involved in Kelly's previous kidnapping.
Both Belltree and Pool played it loosely at times, not following protocol, putting themselves at risk, but they always managed to do the right thing or had some unexpected intervention contributing to their escape.
Jenny, provided very pertinent information for Belltree with her computer skills and tapping into various sources. This was a highlight for me as it shows the tremendous value of people with impairments - never underestimate their value. The novel was not amazing to me, as I just finished reading another one quite similar to this in which the detective disregarded protocol to achieve his own ends.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I discovered Barry Maitland through a short story of his and was keen to read more of Maitland’s work. That was when I discovered the Beltree trilogy and being set in Australia where I was fortunate enough to live for a while, made it all the more appealing.

The first book, Crucifixion Creek, was exciting for the most part, but for me the end of the first book was particularly thrilling and left me wanting to read on. I don’t think I could say the same for Ash Island though.

The overarching plot does progress somewhat but I couldn’t help but feel that this book was anything more than a filler. The review on the front of the book by the Sydney Morning Herald says “Prepare for a long and gripping haul”. I certainly wouldn’t call it gripping. There are recurring characters and the introduction of a small number of new characters, but overall this just feels like a stretched out story in order to reach three books.

I’m undecided on whether I will complete the trilogy...

[Kerrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took some time for Harry to recover from the injuries he received at the end of CRUCIFIXION CREEK and now there is unfinished business. The other person who has taken some time to recover is Kelly Pool, the journalist now working at the Times.

Harry has been posted to Newcastle doing ordinary police work rather than Homicide. But his reputation has preceded him and the underworld from Sydney knows where he has gone. Also Newcastle Police suspect Harry has been sent there to see if they handled the death of his parents properly, and treat him cautiously.

And so in many ways the action of ASH ISLAND connects seamlessly with the earlier novel, and Harry finds himself investigating some of the same people as before. There are new people and new cases too as well as the connecting threads. That is why you, dear reader, need to read these novels in order.

And at the end of this novel, there is a hook to get you into the third in the trilogy.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barry Maitland is an excellent writer and when I can’t get hold of one of his Brock and Kohler novels, I’m happy to settle for the Harry Belltree trilogy.
I’ve just read the second, Ash Island and, like the first, it’s a rollicking adventure with a cop who is honest at heart but who does the stupidest, most dangerous things, to get to the truth. No wonder that his colleagues generally don’t like him.
The other difficulty, and I suppose, it’s a difficulty with many trilogies, is that you need to remember a hell of a lot of detail from the first book in order to make sense of the second. The fact that I read the first quite a while ago, plus the relative feebleness of my brain, meant that I struggled with some of the references to the earlier story. A synopsis of the earlier events would have been helpful at the start of the book.
That said, the complex plot and the rapid pace of the action make for an enjoyable read and I’ll look for the third instalment soon

[Mark Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well the pace certainly doesn't let up with the second of the Beltree trilogy. This one stands less well on it's own and I certainly wouldn't recommend reading any of this series out of order. Harry Beltree remains unpredictable both for the other characters and the reader as well! As with Crucifixion Creek there's some genuine brutality not found in other Barry Maitland books and the whole tone is coarser and a bit more desperate than the refined bonsai living DCI Brock. But it's certainly refreshing and having lived in Newcastle, it had moments of delight seeing the city revealed with Maitland's architectural eye carefully and unobtrusively fleshing out the features of the city. Don't expect to get much else done while you're reading these.

[Vicki]

Detective Sergeant Harry Belltree, back on the job after a near-fatal confrontation with corrupt colleagues, has become a departmental embarrassment. The solution is a posting away from Sydney and a quiet life in Newcastle.

Or maybe not so quiet. A body’s been found buried just offshore on Ash Island; there may be more. There’s also Harry’s unfinished business. The car crash that killed his parents and blinded his wife happened not far from Newcastle. And Harry knows it was no accident.

The other unfinished business is Jenny’s longed-for pregnancy. Which means that now the stakes are higher than ever.

[Tony Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Up to the usual Barry Maitland standard and part of the of Belltree series. A certain amount of incredulity at the now-blinded wife's dexterity in her role as online researcher and the speed and depth to which she is able to probe on her detective husband's behalf.
Could also do with a fewer fortunate coincidences of people being in the right (or even wrong) place at the wrong (or even right) time.
But it is good pacey writing that carries the reader forward keen to know what happens next. An action-packed finale.
Good bedtime reading by an always reliable Aussie author who provides vivid descriptions of the mostly New South Wales locations where the story is set.

[Peter Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

TWO DOWN AND ONE TO GO...

Barry Maitland's "Harry Belltree" series is just riveting. The books move along at a fast pace and keep your interest at a high state.

WARNING! Don't read this book unless you have read "Crucifixion Creek" (book 1 of the series) first. "Ash Island" is a very good read but you will get much more enjoyment out of these books if you read them in order and close together in time.

As soon as I finish this review I will start "Slaughter Park" (book 3).

Highly recommend,
Peter

[Ann Tonks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry Beltree is in the tradition of the great American PIs. He is actually a police office but as he seems to often be on leave, or stood down, of doing his own thing, it's hard to think of this book as a police procedural per se. He's smart and engaging and finds trouble easily. His wife, although a slightly more distant figure in this part of the trilogy, is equally interesting - blind but doing most of the back work for Harry on the web. The story line has lots of corruption cross-overs between bikie gangs, politicians and property developers. A fast paced, well written read.

[Any Length · Rating 2 out of 5]

a suitable second book in this trilogy. However, I found the writing stilted and at times felt like large chunks of the book were missing as important bits were just left out. And I was NOT reading an abridged version. Especially the ending leaves a lot to be desired. It felt unfinished and left too many questions open. I will read the last one in this series, but I wouldn't have gone out of my way to buy it. I am getting the audio version from the library and thus I am not putting myself out to get the last one.

[Water Moon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable and fast-paced. It’s book #2 in the Belltree trilogy and I haven’t read book #1 but it worked on its own. The only noticeable drawback of reading this one first is some questions were left unanswered at the end; I guess leaving it open for the next book. Also, based on the cover, I assumed it would mostly be set on the island, which it wasn’t. It’s more a crime/detective novel than atmospheric mystery novel. It’s told in present tense and that might annoy some people, but this author pulled it off. I do, however, wish that the final scenes were not so rushed.

[Jeremy Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to read the first book in the trilogy to capture needed info. This is definitely one of a set, with references that are not complete in themselves. But a very good read and angst and anxiety filled.

There is so much I don't know about the place and I wish that the author, Barry Maitland, had spent more time fleshing out the details of the Australian land. But I will read more; he's good.

[MaryAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was just ok for most of the book. Then I got closer to the end and it sped up considerably. Along the way, I tried to piece together what happened in the first book, since I haven't read it yet. Lots of dead bodies, but the reader is left hanging at the end, waiting for the third novel in this series.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed most of the book

Well written with an interesting plot but the ending is very disappointing. An implausible boomerang bullet that hits a person standing behind the person with the gun, followed by a contrived set up for the next book that is equally implausible. I won’t be investing any more time or money in this series.

[Robyn Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harry Belltree has been shifted to Newcastle. I've lived in Newcastle area most of my life and I can see vividly the places Barry Maitland describes. I've driven past Ash Island hundreds of times but I'm sure now I'll see it through different eyes. Very exciting, couldn't put it down, great story, but the end?!!