Ecstasy Lake

by Alastair Sarre

Hidden in the outback, somewhere near Ecstasy Lake, is a massive gold deposit worth billions of dollars.

Steve West, mining engineer and ex-AFL footballer, is the third person to know about it. The second is his good mate Tasso - loud, brilliant, filthy rich and just possibly mad. The first has just been brutally murdered.

A goldmine like this is just the thing to turn a man's fortunes around. It might even change the fortunes of the state.

All Steve and Tasso need do is play their cards right, which means keeping their discovery a secret, staying out of gang wars, and trying not to get killed.

Easier said than done. ...

Genres: Australia

320 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2016

About the author

Alastair Sarre studied forestry at the Australian National University and worked for a mining company in Western Australia before obtaining a writing diploma and embarking on a career as an editor and writer specialising in forestry. He lives with his family in the Adelaide Hills.

Reviews

[Lyn Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

With this second Steve West book, Alastair Sarre has underlined his strength in creating plots that twist and turn, take you into new territory and hold you till the very end. The central character, mining engineer Steve West, has knocked about the world a bit and clearly hung out with some rough and ready characters along the way, as I expect you would if you're a miner. He is engaging, on the side of decency, not naturally violent (I like the injury inflicted on a villain with a pencil), but well able to take care of himself in a difficult situation, which happens to him often in this book. After all, if you find yourself in the middle of a bikie war over controlling drug production and distribution anywhere, what can you expect? And then if you and the warlord's girlfriend start seeing each other, hoping its secret but it's not....
All this happens in and around Adelaide, where I live, and I've been fascinated to see the city I know very well propelled into the thriller world like this.
A good story, great dialogue and it's fun.
3.5 rounded up.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Following on from his exceptionally good debut thriller Prohibited Zone, (see my review) Alastair Sarre’s new novel Ecstasy Lake is enjoyable reading…

Back in the lead role is Steve West (the ex-AFL footy star ‘Westie’), nursing a broken heart and laconically trading insults with exasperated cops and homicidal maniacs. He’s a classic irreverent Aussie laidback hero, and Sarre is a master at doing the dialogue:

‘Right,’ said Bert. ‘Your role in the incident would also be scrutinised. As it is, you’ll no doubt hear from cops regarding events at the restaurant.’

‘I’m not sure I want to hear about those,’ said Paul.

‘I pencilled a guy,’ I said.

‘Is that slang for something vulgar?’

‘No, I actually stuck a pencil in a guy’s leg. And I belted another guy in the head. Knocked him out. And of course I also knocked Harlin out with a pistol.’

Chris and Paul exchanged a look. ‘Most of the time he’s harmless,’ said Bert.

‘You put three men in hospital?’ said Paul.

‘I bet Harlin hasn’t gone to hospital. Maybe none of them has.’

‘The man with the pencil in his leg should go to hospital,’ said Paul ‘He could get lead poisoning.’ Bert and I laughed. (p.140)

‘

The setting is not Adelaide as we visitors might know it. This is not Arty Adelaide with gourmet food trails and quiet leafy streets. This is Adelaide with gang warfare between two drug lords (and a wannabe) and a swathe of sordid suburbs called the Badlands. And beyond that there is the barren desert that might have a gold deposit big enough to create the mining boom that South Australia never had. A mining boom to lift Adelaide out of its economic doldrums and give the indigenous owners of the land a real future.

To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2016/04/03/ec...

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend 'Ecstasy Lake' to anyone who enjoys a good story which is well written.

I generally don't read 'thrillers' - but I enjoyed Alastair Sarre's first novel, Prohibited Zone, so I thought I'd be in safe hands with his second novel in the Steve West series. My assumption proved correct: I loved this book and Alastair Sarre has confirmed himself to be a master wordsmith and a talented storyteller.

The book grabbed me from the first page and it did not let go until the very end. It was a 'page-turner'. Along the way the plot twisted and turned unpredictably - and then it did a few loops, and sped off in a direction I did not see coming. Great! A wild ride: Guns. Police. Drug labs. Seedy pubs. Dangerous streets. Bikies. Gold. Greed. Lessons learned - the hard way. Also, fortunately: Friendship. Loyalty. Courage. Love. Compassion.

Also, I love the beautiful prose, in Alastair's novels, which he tosses in with all the 'rough-as-guts' characters, and the coarse Aussie vernacular. A nice mix.

Finally, great ending: Massive climax ... and then all of the loose ends are tied off in a very satisfying way. The novel leaves me wanting to read more.

So, now I'm looking forward to the next novel by Alastair Sarre: A skilled and confident storyteller.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written crime yarn set in Adelaide, with a blokey cast of characters who are mostly up to no good.

[Suzy Va · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like its predecessor, Prohibited Zone, this novel opens with a vibrant evocation of place – heat, haze and “power station stacks standing like forgotten survey pegs at the edge of the saltpans” – only to plunge the reader into the thick of the budding drama: a long-awaited return from abroad, a reunion, and the news of a recent murder.

The main character, Steve, who also featured in the previous novel, has become a little more edgy and jaded in this one, and money and greed play a stronger part in the plot, as do drugs and gangsters.

Beyond its examination of the seedier side of human nature, the book also looks at the dreams that drive people to look for a different life, and while it wends its way around the streets of Adelaide and environs, it explores the deeper question of what makes a city a good city.

[Alex Rogers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Readable if a bit improbable and uneven. A decent effort

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this second crime thriller featuring mining engineer Steve West. Set several years after the first novel (Prohibited Zone), it introduces and reintroduces a cast of great characters to complement the seedy aspects of the plot. This is a story that exposes the worst sides of society and business, such as excessive wealth, power, bikies, drugs, prostitution and violence. A central character, who is a mining engineer and a former Adelaide Crows footballer, make a great point of difference from most crime thrillers. He never seeks out the situations he encounters, they just seem to happen among the people he went to university with, or worked with over the years. I found the story, which starts with the violent murder of a colleague, to be gripping and insightful. Using Adelaide as a backdrop, the author brings in many social and cultural nuances to enhance the atmosphere of the plot. I especially liked the context of Steve's brother Luke, who takes a much lesser role in this story, but a most memorable one. I hope the author has a few more Steve West novels to come. Another South Australian author, published by Wakefield Press, that makes me proud of the literary talent in the state.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hadn't read Alastair Sarre's first novel in his series about Steve West, but I was put on to this one by my mum, who is also a big fan of crime and thriller novels.

I was struck immediately by the descriptive and immersive writing style; perhaps i am biased being from Adelaide, but the way Mr Sarre described the look and feel of the city was really well written. The story was perfectly paced and the characters were well developed. I loved the character of Tasso - he was individual and charismatic, reminding me of so many quintessential Aussie "blokes" while still remaining interesting and unique.

One of the best parts of the book is it's exploration of societal issues - modern racism in Australia, sexism, domestic violence, and corruption. It explores these issues organically, letting the reader learn and come to their own conclusions without feeling like they've had an Anvil dropped on their head.

Sarre's dialogue is also fantastically written, nailing Aussie colloquialisms without sounding cheesy and giving each character their own voice. Overall, this book was both a mystery, a crime, and a social commentary - I recommend it to anyone looking for a crime novel that stands out.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read Alastair Sarre's first novel in the Steve West series, Prohibited Zone, I thought this did a good job of extending the plot line. This time, Steve is a decade older but not all that much wiser when it comes to decision-making.

Just like the first book, there were a lot of broader societal issues woven into the story. Instead of refugee detention centers, however, he primarily focused on Aboriginal rights and domestic abuse among other issues. He has an excellent way of making you sympathetic to the characters and those issues in a way that is not overt or forced.

As a non-Australian, I love the colloquial language throughout the books – I feel like a native now that I know that diapers are called ‘nappies’ and Australian football is called ‘footie’. I still have no idea what Australian football is, but that is beside the point. I also liked that he explain what things are that anyone outside of Australia would probably not know.

Overall, I give it four out of five stars. I thought it checked all of the boxes for a great and entertaining read and I am very excited to read the next.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping read with well thought out characters and good throwbacks to his first novel, Prohibited Zone. Well constructed dialogue with barely a page wasted, kept me intrigued right until the end.