What do you think?
Rate this book
Peninsula Crimes #7
Signal Loss
A small bushfire, but nasty enough for ice cooks to abandon their lab. Fatal, too. But when the bodies in the burnt-out Mercedes prove to be a pair of Sydney hitmen, Inspector Hal Challis’s inquiries into a local ice epidemic take a darker turn. Meanwhile, Ellen Destry, head of the new sex crimes unit, finds herself not only juggling the personalities of her team but hunting a serial rapist who leaves no evidence behind.
The seventh instalment in Garry Disher’s celebrated Peninsula Crimes series sets up new challenges, both professional and personal, for Challis and Destry. And Disher delivers with all the suspense and human complexity for which readers love him.
The seventh instalment in Garry Disher’s celebrated Peninsula Crimes series sets up new challenges, both professional and personal, for Challis and Destry. And Disher delivers with all the suspense and human complexity for which readers love him.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 31, 2016
199 people are currently reading
665 people want to read
About the author
Garry Disher
92 books719 followersGarry Disher was born in 1949 and grew up on his parents' farm in South Australia.
He gained post graduate degrees from Adelaide and Melbourne Universities. In 1978 he was awarded a creative writing fellowship to Stanford University, where he wrote his first short story collection. He travelled widely overseas, before returning to Australia, where he taught creative writing, finally becoming a full time writer in 1988. He has written more than 40 titles, including general and crime fiction, children's books, textbooks, and books about the craft of writing.
He gained post graduate degrees from Adelaide and Melbourne Universities. In 1978 he was awarded a creative writing fellowship to Stanford University, where he wrote his first short story collection. He travelled widely overseas, before returning to Australia, where he taught creative writing, finally becoming a full time writer in 1988. He has written more than 40 titles, including general and crime fiction, children's books, textbooks, and books about the craft of writing.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
June 16, 2025
Book seven in the Peninsular Crimes series and I loved it. So many things were happening at once. We follow Challis and his team investigating farm equipment thefts, an ice-crime epidemic and the discovery of two bodies in a burnt out car. Ellen Destry is head of the Sex Crimes Unit and we also see her at work.
One of the best things about this series is the character of Inspector Challis. He brings an enormous amount of common sense, intelligence and integrity to his work. It is nice to have a main character who is reliable and a genuinely good man. The relationship between him and Ellen is also good to watch. Another plus is Disher's writing which is always well done.
Highly recommended especially if you enjoy an Aussie setting. Five stars.
One of the best things about this series is the character of Inspector Challis. He brings an enormous amount of common sense, intelligence and integrity to his work. It is nice to have a main character who is reliable and a genuinely good man. The relationship between him and Ellen is also good to watch. Another plus is Disher's writing which is always well done.
Highly recommended especially if you enjoy an Aussie setting. Five stars.
November 8, 2024
The investigation began with a burnt out Mercedes which had obviously been caught on an old track in the bushfire not far from Melbourne. The two bodies inside would need DNA for identification; but there was much more involved than that one incident.
Inspector Hal Challis was frustrated by the epidemic of ice related crime – the search for the dealers, runners and makers of the drug was a long and ongoing one. The lab which was on the edge of the bushfire had been abandoned at the height of the blaze; the evidence was sparse but there. When it was discovered a known small-time drug addict was missing and his daughter also unable to be located, the task force was expanded to include the different avenues.
Ellen Destry in the meantime was working with her sex crimes unit in their search to find an elusive rapist. Between Challis, Destry and Pam Murphy their teams had wide tentacles – but would it be enough to catch the criminals in the act?
Signal Loss by Aussie author Garry Disher is the 7th in the Inspector Challis Peninsula Crimes series and it was wonderful! Gritty, fast-paced and filled with suspense, it was also laugh out loud funny in places! I loved Pam Murphy’s mother Harriet – she cracked me up! A thoroughly enjoyable read, Signal Loss is one I highly recommend.
With thanks to Text Publishing for this copy to read in exchange for my honest review.
Inspector Hal Challis was frustrated by the epidemic of ice related crime – the search for the dealers, runners and makers of the drug was a long and ongoing one. The lab which was on the edge of the bushfire had been abandoned at the height of the blaze; the evidence was sparse but there. When it was discovered a known small-time drug addict was missing and his daughter also unable to be located, the task force was expanded to include the different avenues.
Ellen Destry in the meantime was working with her sex crimes unit in their search to find an elusive rapist. Between Challis, Destry and Pam Murphy their teams had wide tentacles – but would it be enough to catch the criminals in the act?
Signal Loss by Aussie author Garry Disher is the 7th in the Inspector Challis Peninsula Crimes series and it was wonderful! Gritty, fast-paced and filled with suspense, it was also laugh out loud funny in places! I loved Pam Murphy’s mother Harriet – she cracked me up! A thoroughly enjoyable read, Signal Loss is one I highly recommend.
With thanks to Text Publishing for this copy to read in exchange for my honest review.
October 18, 2016
Signal Loss is the seventh book in the Inspector Challis series by award-winning Australian author, Garry Disher. Head of the Peninsula’s Crime Investigation Unit, Detective Inspector Hall Challis has a bit on his mind: the spate of farm equipment thefts is puzzling; the ice-crime epidemic is worrying; and now the tinder-dry bushland has caught fire, leaving two unidentified bodies in a burnt-out Mercedes with stolen plates, and revealing an abandoned illicit drug lab.
On a routine follow-up to an assault complaint, Detective Constable Pam Murphy learns that the complainant appears to have done a runner; at the recently uncovered drug lab, the discovery of a child’s clothing is disturbing; and when a shooting victim is found with some rather interesting sheds on his property, Pam’s interview of the man who stumbled upon the body challenges her pre-conceived ideas.
Sergeant Ellen Destry, in charge of the Sex Crimes Unit, has her hands full too: as well as a masturbating flasher, a children’s playground photographer, sexual assaults on trains, and the molestation of an exchange student, she now seems to have a serial rapist/burglar to track down. But her small team is dedicated, determined and, if nothing else, resourceful.
Disher gives the reader a tightly-plotted page-turner that is a joy to read from the opening sentence - “Lovelock and Pym. They sounded like some kind of show-business duo – magicians maybe; folk singers”- to the final full stop. The book is filled with superlative descriptive prose. This succinct example shows how easily Disher paints a graphic portrait: “Valentine snorted, a skinny, ice-ravaged creature dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. Gummy eyes, when they finally opened. Three or four days’ worth of whiskers, grubby feet with a yellow talon at the end of each toe”
While a bad-boy cop can be fun, it is also refreshing to have a protagonist who is intelligent, responsible and reliable, a man whose principles and integrity extend into his personal life. Each of the main characters may have flaws but they are, nonetheless appealing; their teamwork and some satisfyingly good deductive police work gets the job done.
This may be a crime novel, but there is plenty of humour, much of it quite black. The banter between the characters is entertaining, and there are, perhaps unexpectedly, plenty of laugh-out-loud moments as well as a good dose or two of irony.
This series is published under the Peninsula Crimes banner, which makes sense, as they are set in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. Locals must surely delight in reading about their area, and Disher’s descriptions are, naturally, well-informed: after all, he does live there.
While this is the seventh book in the series, it can easily be read as a stand-alone, although that’s unlikely to happen: readers new to the series will be unable to resist seeking out the earlier books; fans of Disher’s work will not be disappointed. Clever and topical, this is Aussie crime fiction at its best.
On a routine follow-up to an assault complaint, Detective Constable Pam Murphy learns that the complainant appears to have done a runner; at the recently uncovered drug lab, the discovery of a child’s clothing is disturbing; and when a shooting victim is found with some rather interesting sheds on his property, Pam’s interview of the man who stumbled upon the body challenges her pre-conceived ideas.
Sergeant Ellen Destry, in charge of the Sex Crimes Unit, has her hands full too: as well as a masturbating flasher, a children’s playground photographer, sexual assaults on trains, and the molestation of an exchange student, she now seems to have a serial rapist/burglar to track down. But her small team is dedicated, determined and, if nothing else, resourceful.
Disher gives the reader a tightly-plotted page-turner that is a joy to read from the opening sentence - “Lovelock and Pym. They sounded like some kind of show-business duo – magicians maybe; folk singers”- to the final full stop. The book is filled with superlative descriptive prose. This succinct example shows how easily Disher paints a graphic portrait: “Valentine snorted, a skinny, ice-ravaged creature dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. Gummy eyes, when they finally opened. Three or four days’ worth of whiskers, grubby feet with a yellow talon at the end of each toe”
While a bad-boy cop can be fun, it is also refreshing to have a protagonist who is intelligent, responsible and reliable, a man whose principles and integrity extend into his personal life. Each of the main characters may have flaws but they are, nonetheless appealing; their teamwork and some satisfyingly good deductive police work gets the job done.
This may be a crime novel, but there is plenty of humour, much of it quite black. The banter between the characters is entertaining, and there are, perhaps unexpectedly, plenty of laugh-out-loud moments as well as a good dose or two of irony.
This series is published under the Peninsula Crimes banner, which makes sense, as they are set in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. Locals must surely delight in reading about their area, and Disher’s descriptions are, naturally, well-informed: after all, he does live there.
While this is the seventh book in the series, it can easily be read as a stand-alone, although that’s unlikely to happen: readers new to the series will be unable to resist seeking out the earlier books; fans of Disher’s work will not be disappointed. Clever and topical, this is Aussie crime fiction at its best.
May 30, 2019
‘The Penisula is full of dead zones, mate,’ his landlord had told him, his first day on the job. ‘No signal bars, the power goes off if a leaf falls, and if we are not in the middle of a drought we’re slogging around in mud.’
Signal Loss opens with a couple of heavies working for an inner Sydney crime boss, driving to the Mornington Peninsula south-east of Melbourne in a rented Mercedes. Their instructions: to take out meth-head Owen Valentine, make it look as if he’s done a runner, and bury the body in a remote site near a reservoir. But the city-slickers are greedy and in a bungled attempt to cover their traces, take out a potential witness and become victims of their own stupidity and carelessness.
The bodies in the burned out car falls to DI Hal Challis, head of the Crime Scene Unit at Waterloo Police station, where there is a flurry of other cases; stolen farm equipment, a possible serial rapist (handled by the small sex-crimes unit, led by DS Ellen Destry), and a wave of ice-related crimes on the Peninsula bringing in Senior Sergeant Serena Coolidge of the Melbourne Drug squad. But when a drunken pest known as the “Moonta Moth” lodges a charge of assault against the missing Owen Valentine, Coolidge is particularly heavy-handed in dealing with Valentine’s distraught ice-addled girlfriend, mother of two Christine Penford. And the police hold fears for the missing 6-year-old daughter.
Two-time Ned Kelly Award winner Garry Disher produces a novel with an almost action overload while the reader gains an insight into the work/life balance of the detectives. Throw in local business identities with criminal interests, Destry’s airhead sister, setbacks and breakthroughs in patient detective work, ordinary citizens who do the right thing, and you have another entertaining read.
Signal Loss opens with a couple of heavies working for an inner Sydney crime boss, driving to the Mornington Peninsula south-east of Melbourne in a rented Mercedes. Their instructions: to take out meth-head Owen Valentine, make it look as if he’s done a runner, and bury the body in a remote site near a reservoir. But the city-slickers are greedy and in a bungled attempt to cover their traces, take out a potential witness and become victims of their own stupidity and carelessness.
The bodies in the burned out car falls to DI Hal Challis, head of the Crime Scene Unit at Waterloo Police station, where there is a flurry of other cases; stolen farm equipment, a possible serial rapist (handled by the small sex-crimes unit, led by DS Ellen Destry), and a wave of ice-related crimes on the Peninsula bringing in Senior Sergeant Serena Coolidge of the Melbourne Drug squad. But when a drunken pest known as the “Moonta Moth” lodges a charge of assault against the missing Owen Valentine, Coolidge is particularly heavy-handed in dealing with Valentine’s distraught ice-addled girlfriend, mother of two Christine Penford. And the police hold fears for the missing 6-year-old daughter.
Two-time Ned Kelly Award winner Garry Disher produces a novel with an almost action overload while the reader gains an insight into the work/life balance of the detectives. Throw in local business identities with criminal interests, Destry’s airhead sister, setbacks and breakthroughs in patient detective work, ordinary citizens who do the right thing, and you have another entertaining read.
November 23, 2016
An outstanding Australian police procedural set in Victoria. Easily one of the best books I have read this year.
August 5, 2020
Signal Loss is number seven in the Inspector Hal Challis series by Garry Disher and continues to maintain the excellent consistency of the previous six.
I know I've mentioned this before again and again, but novels by Disher are greatly underappreciated in apparently all places except for that of Australia.
The Inspector Challis series is every bit as good as the Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly and would most likely be a welcome find by any that enjoy quality police procedurals.
In this installment, Challis and his co-workers are pursuing separate compelling investigations at the same time. Disher even throws in a new, hard-charging female sergeant from out of town that seems more interested in stirring things up while solving her own investigation into a methamphetamine drug ring than working close with Challis and his investigators on a case apparently related to hers.
Disher brings back all of the regulars and continues to develop their characters with just enough information to keep them interesting and moving forward without growing tedious and stale while providing interesting casework to keep the reader interested.
This series and other Disher stand-alone novels are highly recommended to fans of crime fiction.
I know I've mentioned this before again and again, but novels by Disher are greatly underappreciated in apparently all places except for that of Australia.
The Inspector Challis series is every bit as good as the Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly and would most likely be a welcome find by any that enjoy quality police procedurals.
In this installment, Challis and his co-workers are pursuing separate compelling investigations at the same time. Disher even throws in a new, hard-charging female sergeant from out of town that seems more interested in stirring things up while solving her own investigation into a methamphetamine drug ring than working close with Challis and his investigators on a case apparently related to hers.
Disher brings back all of the regulars and continues to develop their characters with just enough information to keep them interesting and moving forward without growing tedious and stale while providing interesting casework to keep the reader interested.
This series and other Disher stand-alone novels are highly recommended to fans of crime fiction.
July 14, 2020
Probably the last in the series. Probably not the best. All of the characters have crimes to solve and there are plenty of crimes; hit men carry out a hit, a murder, bushfire, stolen farm machinery, burglary and rape, paedophilia, drug labs and dealers. Then there are the various relationships, new relationships and wannabe relationships. It may be too many issues being resolved to end the series in a neat package.
June 15, 2019
Another excellent series,cleverly plotted,great characters that grow,and quite funny in a subtle,clever way.
Pity the books are so few and far between,though.
Pity the books are so few and far between,though.
May 14, 2018
‘Sometimes, like a lot of readers, I have two or three books going at once: one by the bed, one by the couch, one in my bag for reading on the Metro. But sometimes a book will command attention across all venues because of the story, the characters, or the writing, and the other simultaneous books simply have to wait. Garry Disher is a quietly compelling writer whose new novel, Signal Loss, caused me to set everything else aside, pulling my attention away from the competition.’
LA Review of Books
Garry Disher’s crime fiction is as prolific as it is highly decorated…One for the summer holiday reading stack.’
Guardian
‘Disher dishes out yet another excellent procedural, atmospheric and dusty, thrilling and addictive.’
Readings
‘Disher is a world-class crime novelist, and Signal Loss is another superbly written police procedural that mixes strong characterisations with a taut, intelligent plot and biting social commentary…the Peninsula locations are richly evoked. Highly recommended.’
Canberra Weekly
‘The novel is also a commentary on celebrity and the influence of the media in convicting or acquitting regardless of the legal system, equity or the consequences for those involved. Most chillingly, Signal Loss portrays a world in which life is cheap and where the most vulnerable are traded and abused.’
Good Reading
‘Disher handles the theme of ice and its impact upon small rural communities with fascinating insight, one which will inform and sadden all his readers, but cheer as Hallis and co are able to stamp out a small part of the syndicate causing chaos for those least able to cope.’
ReadPlus
‘It’s the kind of Australian gangland killing that’s so grubby and pseudo comical that it could almost be real…It’s small town Australia in all its narrow, tinder-dry, community-minded gloriousness.’
Australian Women’s Weekly
‘Disher is not afraid to use his novels to explore difficult questions, to highlight injustices and to dig deep into law-enforcement frustrations—and what causes a lot of crime in the first place. Pointed, and often slyly funny, there’s a willingness to let readers draw conclusions as well as plenty of ‘What the …?!’ moments along the way…Disher is also very willing to switch the spotlight around. Signal Loss pulls an ongoing minor police character, Pam Murphy, to centre stage, giving this reader hope that we might be headed towards a more expanded partnership. It’s a clever way to keep an ongoing series fresh and interesting, and exactly the sort of bold manoeuvre that you’d expect from an author as accomplished and talented as Garry Disher.’
Newtown Review of Books
‘One of the godfathers of Australian crime writing…Disher’s Mornington Peninsula reflects many of the problems for small town residents across Australia—including drugs, persistent unemployment and poverty along with gangs and racial tension for some, while others accrue great wealth and move to mansions by the sea.’
Literary Hub
LA Review of Books
Garry Disher’s crime fiction is as prolific as it is highly decorated…One for the summer holiday reading stack.’
Guardian
‘Disher dishes out yet another excellent procedural, atmospheric and dusty, thrilling and addictive.’
Readings
‘Disher is a world-class crime novelist, and Signal Loss is another superbly written police procedural that mixes strong characterisations with a taut, intelligent plot and biting social commentary…the Peninsula locations are richly evoked. Highly recommended.’
Canberra Weekly
‘The novel is also a commentary on celebrity and the influence of the media in convicting or acquitting regardless of the legal system, equity or the consequences for those involved. Most chillingly, Signal Loss portrays a world in which life is cheap and where the most vulnerable are traded and abused.’
Good Reading
‘Disher handles the theme of ice and its impact upon small rural communities with fascinating insight, one which will inform and sadden all his readers, but cheer as Hallis and co are able to stamp out a small part of the syndicate causing chaos for those least able to cope.’
ReadPlus
‘It’s the kind of Australian gangland killing that’s so grubby and pseudo comical that it could almost be real…It’s small town Australia in all its narrow, tinder-dry, community-minded gloriousness.’
Australian Women’s Weekly
‘Disher is not afraid to use his novels to explore difficult questions, to highlight injustices and to dig deep into law-enforcement frustrations—and what causes a lot of crime in the first place. Pointed, and often slyly funny, there’s a willingness to let readers draw conclusions as well as plenty of ‘What the …?!’ moments along the way…Disher is also very willing to switch the spotlight around. Signal Loss pulls an ongoing minor police character, Pam Murphy, to centre stage, giving this reader hope that we might be headed towards a more expanded partnership. It’s a clever way to keep an ongoing series fresh and interesting, and exactly the sort of bold manoeuvre that you’d expect from an author as accomplished and talented as Garry Disher.’
Newtown Review of Books
‘One of the godfathers of Australian crime writing…Disher’s Mornington Peninsula reflects many of the problems for small town residents across Australia—including drugs, persistent unemployment and poverty along with gangs and racial tension for some, while others accrue great wealth and move to mansions by the sea.’
Literary Hub
February 8, 2018
Signal Loss is book seven in the Inspector Challis series by Garry Disher. One morning Inspector Hal Challis started the day looking at the consequences of a bushfire. However, at first Inspector Hal Challis did not realise that the fire was the start of more adverse events that will affect the small regional community and the Waterloo Police Station. The readers of Signal Loss will follow the twist and turns in the investigation of the rapes, fraud and murders by Inspector Challis and Sargent Ellen Destry.
Signal Loss is an enjoyable book to read. The way Garry Disher combines four parallel plots throughout Signal Loss and them combines two of the stories at the end of the book was well done. Garry Disher indeed ensures that I am kept on my toes while reading Signal Loss. I love Garry Disher portrayal of his characters especially Inspector Hal Challis.
The readers of Signal Loss will learn about the problems of Ice have on the addicts, families and the community. Also, the readers of Signal Loss will start to understand the issues of small regional law enforcement station have to handle. Signal Loss also highlights the consequences when someone begins a bushfire.
I recommend this book.
Signal Loss is an enjoyable book to read. The way Garry Disher combines four parallel plots throughout Signal Loss and them combines two of the stories at the end of the book was well done. Garry Disher indeed ensures that I am kept on my toes while reading Signal Loss. I love Garry Disher portrayal of his characters especially Inspector Hal Challis.
The readers of Signal Loss will learn about the problems of Ice have on the addicts, families and the community. Also, the readers of Signal Loss will start to understand the issues of small regional law enforcement station have to handle. Signal Loss also highlights the consequences when someone begins a bushfire.
I recommend this book.
Read
January 28, 2021DNF this audio version at 16% as I am not enjoying Colin McPhillamy's narration.
Signal Loss is the seventh book in the Inspector Challis series by award-winning Australian author, Garry Disher. Head of the Peninsula’s Crime Investigation Unit, Detective Inspector Hall Challis has a bit on his mind: the spate of farm equipment thefts is puzzling; the ice-crime epidemic is worrying; and now the tinder-dry bushland has caught fire, leaving two unidentified bodies in a burnt-out Mercedes with stolen plates, and revealing an abandoned illicit drug lab.
On a routine follow-up to an assault complaint, Detective Constable Pam Murphy learns that the complainant appears to have done a runner; at the recently uncovered drug lab, the discovery of a child’s clothing is disturbing; and when a shooting victim is found with some rather interesting sheds on his property, Pam’s interview of the man who stumbled upon the body challenges her pre-conceived ideas.
Sergeant Ellen Destry, in charge of the Sex Crimes Unit, has her hands full too: as well as a masturbating flasher, a children’s playground photographer, sexual assaults on trains, and the molestation of an exchange student, she now seems to have a serial rapist/burglar to track down. But her small team is dedicated, determined and, if nothing else, resourceful.
Disher gives the reader a tightly-plotted page-turner that is a joy to read from the opening sentence - “Lovelock and Pym. They sounded like some kind of show-business duo – magicians maybe; folk singers”- to the final full stop. The book is filled with superlative descriptive prose. This succinct example shows how easily Disher paints a graphic portrait: “Valentine snorted, a skinny, ice-ravaged creature dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. Gummy eyes, when they finally opened. Three or four days’ worth of whiskers, grubby feet with a yellow talon at the end of each toe”
While a bad-boy cop can be fun, it is also refreshing to have a protagonist who is intelligent, responsible and reliable, a man whose principles and integrity extend into his personal life. Each of the main characters may have flaws but they are, nonetheless appealing; their teamwork and some satisfyingly good deductive police work gets the job done.
This may be a crime novel, but there is plenty of humour, much of it quite black. The banter between the characters is entertaining, and there are, perhaps unexpectedly, plenty of laugh-out-loud moments as well as a good dose or two of irony.
This series is published under the Peninsula Crimes banner, which makes sense, as they are set in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. Locals must surely delight in reading about their area, and Disher’s descriptions are, naturally, well-informed: after all, he does live there.
While this is the seventh book in the series, it can easily be read as a stand-alone, although that’s unlikely to happen: readers new to the series will be unable to resist seeking out the earlier books; fans of Disher’s work will not be disappointed. Clever and topical, this is Aussie crime fiction at its best.
Signal Loss is the seventh book in the Inspector Challis series by award-winning Australian author, Garry Disher. Head of the Peninsula’s Crime Investigation Unit, Detective Inspector Hall Challis has a bit on his mind: the spate of farm equipment thefts is puzzling; the ice-crime epidemic is worrying; and now the tinder-dry bushland has caught fire, leaving two unidentified bodies in a burnt-out Mercedes with stolen plates, and revealing an abandoned illicit drug lab.
On a routine follow-up to an assault complaint, Detective Constable Pam Murphy learns that the complainant appears to have done a runner; at the recently uncovered drug lab, the discovery of a child’s clothing is disturbing; and when a shooting victim is found with some rather interesting sheds on his property, Pam’s interview of the man who stumbled upon the body challenges her pre-conceived ideas.
Sergeant Ellen Destry, in charge of the Sex Crimes Unit, has her hands full too: as well as a masturbating flasher, a children’s playground photographer, sexual assaults on trains, and the molestation of an exchange student, she now seems to have a serial rapist/burglar to track down. But her small team is dedicated, determined and, if nothing else, resourceful.
Disher gives the reader a tightly-plotted page-turner that is a joy to read from the opening sentence - “Lovelock and Pym. They sounded like some kind of show-business duo – magicians maybe; folk singers”- to the final full stop. The book is filled with superlative descriptive prose. This succinct example shows how easily Disher paints a graphic portrait: “Valentine snorted, a skinny, ice-ravaged creature dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. Gummy eyes, when they finally opened. Three or four days’ worth of whiskers, grubby feet with a yellow talon at the end of each toe”
While a bad-boy cop can be fun, it is also refreshing to have a protagonist who is intelligent, responsible and reliable, a man whose principles and integrity extend into his personal life. Each of the main characters may have flaws but they are, nonetheless appealing; their teamwork and some satisfyingly good deductive police work gets the job done.
This may be a crime novel, but there is plenty of humour, much of it quite black. The banter between the characters is entertaining, and there are, perhaps unexpectedly, plenty of laugh-out-loud moments as well as a good dose or two of irony.
This series is published under the Peninsula Crimes banner, which makes sense, as they are set in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. Locals must surely delight in reading about their area, and Disher’s descriptions are, naturally, well-informed: after all, he does live there.
While this is the seventh book in the series, it can easily be read as a stand-alone, although that’s unlikely to happen: readers new to the series will be unable to resist seeking out the earlier books; fans of Disher’s work will not be disappointed. Clever and topical, this is Aussie crime fiction at its best.
July 31, 2022
I am quite a fan of Garry Disher and I think he has not received the public accolades for his writing that he deserves. Australian bush crime noir is becoming a crowded field and I believe Disher should be near the top in sales and praise. There are authors in this field who are over-rated and over publicized. With that gripe out of the way Signal Loss is a crowded story, there are many plotlines, many crime themes and many characters. With a less controlling author the novel could become a meaningless menagerie of characters and stories, but Disher has the ability to bring all the characters, plots and themes to a tight conclusion.
In the story there is murder, past and present, hitmen, ice drug trafficking and abuse, paedophilia, a rapist, a fraudster, corruption, love interests, house breaking, stealing farm machinery, legitimate businessmen with illegal sidelines, family issues. With all this Disher is able to make it complex without complication.
Signal Loss is part of Hal Challis series, a police procedural is set in the Mornington Peninsula.
The opening of the novel had a Tarantino feel. Two hitmen on a paid murder trip that goes horribly wrong. The events of the hitmen’s escapade then become the nexus of the police investigation. Disher’s character and scene descriptions add a depth to the quality of the novel. At the conclusion not all the strands of the story are neatly tied up but the reader doesn’t need this to be done.
I recommend this Disher police procedural.
In the story there is murder, past and present, hitmen, ice drug trafficking and abuse, paedophilia, a rapist, a fraudster, corruption, love interests, house breaking, stealing farm machinery, legitimate businessmen with illegal sidelines, family issues. With all this Disher is able to make it complex without complication.
Signal Loss is part of Hal Challis series, a police procedural is set in the Mornington Peninsula.
The opening of the novel had a Tarantino feel. Two hitmen on a paid murder trip that goes horribly wrong. The events of the hitmen’s escapade then become the nexus of the police investigation. Disher’s character and scene descriptions add a depth to the quality of the novel. At the conclusion not all the strands of the story are neatly tied up but the reader doesn’t need this to be done.
I recommend this Disher police procedural.
July 22, 2023
July 2013, 2nd reading still as alive!
Gritty crime novel!
Set in the Mornington Peninsula region, south-east of Melbourne, Australia, makes this a fascinating read, as I happen to know that region reasonably well. So I was already hooked. But then again Garry Disher is one of my fav. authors. Local knowledge gives solidarity and legs to any reading.
The novel deals with drugs, deals, stolen equipment, and a serial rapist.
Laconic Inspector Hal Challis of the Drug Squad and his girlfriend Sergeant Ellen Destry of the Sex Crimes Unit find their cases merging.
The spread of methane-ice and it's consequences are devastating, the squalor real.
Like a fast-paced, noir criminal journalist, Disher leads us across state lines whilst paying attention to the minutiae that surrounds the desolate fate of the addict and the effect on those around them. Disher uses the background of rural Australia as a launching place for the very real issue of drugs on local communities, all the while spinning a mesmerizing story that weaves in and out of criminal, victims and law enforcers lives.
One cannot fault Disher's vivid prose. The situations come to life in that bald, bare way that is so nuanced and yet simultaneously in your face.
By the way I really like the cover!
A NetGalley ARC
Gritty crime novel!
Set in the Mornington Peninsula region, south-east of Melbourne, Australia, makes this a fascinating read, as I happen to know that region reasonably well. So I was already hooked. But then again Garry Disher is one of my fav. authors. Local knowledge gives solidarity and legs to any reading.
The novel deals with drugs, deals, stolen equipment, and a serial rapist.
Laconic Inspector Hal Challis of the Drug Squad and his girlfriend Sergeant Ellen Destry of the Sex Crimes Unit find their cases merging.
The spread of methane-ice and it's consequences are devastating, the squalor real.
Like a fast-paced, noir criminal journalist, Disher leads us across state lines whilst paying attention to the minutiae that surrounds the desolate fate of the addict and the effect on those around them. Disher uses the background of rural Australia as a launching place for the very real issue of drugs on local communities, all the while spinning a mesmerizing story that weaves in and out of criminal, victims and law enforcers lives.
One cannot fault Disher's vivid prose. The situations come to life in that bald, bare way that is so nuanced and yet simultaneously in your face.
By the way I really like the cover!
A NetGalley ARC
January 9, 2018
This is the second ‘Inspector Hal Challis’ novel that I have read in this Garry Disher’s series set on the Mornington Peninsula. It proved to be a good holiday read and for the most part I was clearly engaged in the unfolding plot and the diverse characters. However, towards the end, the writing felt rushed as if Disher wanted the narrative to end and I felt the very readable account at this stage lost impact and clarity as a result. The jury is out for me on this series- I am not disappointed that I have read this second Disher saga but I won’t be rushing to buy or borrow another any time soon. ‘Blood Moon’ is the previous ‘Challis’ novel that I have read and while it was great at the time to read a story set in Victoria, this second separate novel suggests that familiar setting and characters in themselves is not necessarily enough to guarantee a great read.
September 25, 2021
My first Garry Disher although I've spent the last twenty years meaning to read him. Clearly an accomplished crime writer. This police procedural was well crafted and paced, to ensure an engaging read throughout. I'll definately prioritise further reading by Disher. If I had any complaint though, it was that the characters were a little colourless. Having said that, this is the seventh offering in the Hal Challis series and so perhaps there's an assumption about familiarity with character. I should have six other titles under my belt. I'll work on this.
August 7, 2023
The last, at the time of writing, in the Peninsula Series. I've noted Garry Disher's writing evolve immensely over the 7 books in this series. I feel at the ending that everyone, the characters that have developed over the series to be people almost in the flesh, are settled, somewhere good. As if this might be a place he will leave them.
I began with Disher, via the Paul Hirschhausen books, that series began later, and has a completely different setting to the Peninsula series. Outback and very rural, with a more contemporary feel.
I began with Disher, via the Paul Hirschhausen books, that series began later, and has a completely different setting to the Peninsula series. Outback and very rural, with a more contemporary feel.
January 11, 2018
This police procedural is #7 in a series, but my first book by the author. I received it through my book subscription service Page Habit. It was a little dry for my liking, and perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the books that led to this one. The prose is good, the characters a bit flat, but the evidence is all laid out so that the reader can follow along as the police process their cases.
I think the strongest part of this book is the way it illuminates the struggle between the departments for funding and recognition. Each of the officers running his or her department really believes that his or her job should take priority - the drug unit wants to clear away a big distributor, believing that will go a long way to cleaning up the drug issues down the rural lines. The major crimes department has murders and arson to figure out. And the sex crimes unit is looking for a serial rapist who shows no signs of stopping. This novel shows how each department navigates and butts heads with others, but while doing their jobs to the best of their abilities. This book is a tribute to the police who work the beats and solve the crimes.
I think the strongest part of this book is the way it illuminates the struggle between the departments for funding and recognition. Each of the officers running his or her department really believes that his or her job should take priority - the drug unit wants to clear away a big distributor, believing that will go a long way to cleaning up the drug issues down the rural lines. The major crimes department has murders and arson to figure out. And the sex crimes unit is looking for a serial rapist who shows no signs of stopping. This novel shows how each department navigates and butts heads with others, but while doing their jobs to the best of their abilities. This book is a tribute to the police who work the beats and solve the crimes.
November 27, 2017
Breaking bad Down Under. Australian crime fiction has produced some fine series, and it is with pleasure that I've come across this one. Initially I thought the lead story involving rural meth labs, drug lords, and distribution would not hold interest, but Disher has created a police procedural that zips from the first page. He manages to keep at least four storylines balanced and intriguing. This is a smaller town on a peninsula across the Bay from Melbourne, and the Australian topography, local customs, idioms and of course wildlife are so different from northern countries. But the challenges faced by law enforcement are the same world wide. There are six preceding volumes in this series, but this could stand on its own since enough is revealed about the prior histories of the central characters and make this a satisfying read even if it's a reader's first exposure. Looking forward to the others.
September 28, 2016
Love the series, love the writing, love that it's a such a well rounded portrayal of people, crime, and the area!
January 8, 2018
I enjoy this series because even though it’s called the Inspector Challis series it’s much more than the story of one character. It’s the story of a police station. Lots of action involving many characters. In this episode we have meth dealers, murders, rapists, burglars, and the criminals have an informant in the station. Plus Disher weaves the personal lives of the officers into the narrative so it seems like so much more than crime fiction. I just wish the author would increase the frequency of this series. Four years is too long to wait for these well told tales of Challis and his team.
August 9, 2017
Oh, I love you Garry Disher. Signal Loss (along with Bitterwash Road) just shows how a damn good story is spun in such skilled hands. Aussie crime at its best.
October 13, 2021
Excellent country Victoria police procedural.
November 29, 2023
Der Anfang: «Lovelock und Pym. Hörte sich an wie irgendein Showbuisiness-Duo – Magier vielleicht, oder Folksänger.
In Wirklichkeit arbeiteten sie für Hector Kaye, der früher mal zu den Bandidos aus Kings Cross in Sydney gehört hatte. Bevor er seriöser Geschäftsmann wurde und begann, Crystal Meth aus China zu importieren.»
Lovelock und Pym, sowas wie Dick und Doof, reisen aus Sydney an, sollen für den Boss auf Peninsula, südlich von Melbourne, einen Owen Valentine umlegen. Es soll aussehen, als sei er abgehauen, hätte Frau und Kinder sitzen gelassen. Die Familie verlässt das Haus und nichts wie rein in die Bude, den Typ in die Garage gezerrt, kaltgemacht und in den Kofferraum gesteckt. Jetzt noch die Tasche packen – Bad, Kleiderschrank … ja und was ist denn das hier? Ein außergewöhnliches und hervorragendes Gewehr. Wird eingepackt. Nun Owen verbuddeln – der Boss hat gesagt, wo sie es machen sollen. Wie kommt dieser kleine Hund ins Auto? Später drum kümmern. Es ist mächtig heiß, das Farmland hinter der Küste ist bereits im Frühjahr zu trocken. Alle sind auf der Hut, viel zu schnell kann es zu einem Flächenbrand kommen. Lovelock und Pym heizen durch die Gegend, kennen sich nicht aus. Funkloch. Sie haben sich verfahren – es gibt ja nicht mal asphaltierte Straßen. Sie halten an einer Farm an, fragen. Der Farmer ist behilflich, meint aber das Gewehr zu kennen, das seinem Kumpel geklaut wurde. Als die beiden verschwunden sind, schreibt er sich Notizen, das Kennzeichen auf einen Zettel. Doch die beiden kehren flux zurück, hatten überlegt: Er ist ein Zeuge. Das Gewehr wird sogleich ausprobiert. Nun endlich Owen verbuddeln. Pym schmeißt seine Kippe aus dem Wagen. Owen ist entsorgt, aber auf dem Rückweg ist alles voller Rauch. Und wieder Funkloch. Müssen sie nun nach rechts oder nach links?
«Polizei und Wohlfahrtseinrichtungen hingegen wussten, dass dieser Fortschritt auch zu sozialen Notlagen und Kriminalität geführt hatte, das die Mittel für Schulen, öffentlich Verkehrsmittel und das Aufstocken des Personals bei Polizei und Wohlfahrt hinterherhinkten.»
Hal Challis wird gerufen: Im Buschfeuer, das schnell gestoppt werden konnte, finden sich die Überreste einer Drogenküche. Doch das Drogendezernat in Melbourne übernimmt den Fall, da Senior Sergeant Serena Coolidge (genannt Cool Bitc) vermutet, dass das organisierte Verbrechen im großen Stil Crystal Meth auf die Halbinsel bringt. Crystal Meth, ein riesiges Problem: billig einzukaufen, macht schnell süchtig und viele Abhängige bekommen baldigst gesundheitliche Probleme, und ihnen brennt das Gehirn durch, sie reagieren verrückt und hoch aggressiv. Challis Lebenspartnerin Ellen Destry, Leiterin der Abteilung für Sexualverbrechen, ist einem Einbrecher auf der Spur, der Frauen vergewaltigt, nach der Tat Tee für sie kocht und ein nettes Schwätzchen hält, und ihnen die Wertsachen entwendet. Hal hat genug zu tun, denn der Junkie Owen ist verschwunden, seine Frau meint, er sei einfach abgehauen. Doch Kriminelle hatten seine Tochter als Pfand genommen, bis er seine Schulden abbezahlt hat … Ein Farmer wurde erschossen, der sich anscheinend als Dealer für geklaute Landmaschinen nebenbei Geld verdient hatte. Und in einem ausgebrannten Wagen werden zwei Leichen nach dem Brand gefunden, die dem organisierten Verbrechen der Bandidos aus Kings Cross von Sydney zuzuordnen sind.
«‹Er hat also eine Unze am Tag gekocht – wie viele Hits wären das?›
‹Points, nicht Hits.›
‹Okay, wie viele Points?›
‹Bis zu zweihundertachtzig.›
‹Das macht?›
‹Achtundzwanzigtausend Dollar.›»
Garry Disher hat in diesem Krimi grandios viele Stränge gelegt, einen Haufen Personal aufgefahren – und erstaunlicherweise behält man als Leser stets die Übersicht. Wir wissen mehr als die Ermittler – aber noch lange nicht alles. Stück für Stück ermitteln Coolidge, Challis und Destry mit ihren Teams in ihren Fällen, bei denen es Querverbindungen gibt, und Coolidge und Challis rempeln hin und wieder gegeneinander. Eine komplexe Handlung, mit vielen Wendungen, in sich schlüssig und süffig erzählt mit wunderbaren Charakteren. Das ländliche Peninsula verdörrt, die Menschen sind auf der Hut vor Flächenbränden. Das hat natürlich Auswirkungen auf die Landwirtschaft; Ernten fallen geringer oder auch ganz aus. Farmer verarmen, suchen sich kriminelle Geschäftsbereiche, um sich über Wasser zu halten. Die Halbinsel entwickelt sich zur Drogenküche, wie in vielen australischen Krimis beschrieben. An den Küsten herrscht beschauliches Strandleben, die Reichen aus Melbourne sichern sich ihre Wochenendresidenzen. Soziale Einrichtungen, die medizinische Versorgung usw. hat man bei der Erweiterung der Infrastruktur vernachlässigt. Wer hier eine Wohnung sucht, muss im umkämpften Markt tief in die Tasche greifen; der Durchschnittsbürger hat das Nachsehen. Krasse Gegensätze in der Gesellschaft. Garry Disher ist in seinen Kriminalromanen immer dicht bei den einfachen Menschen und seine Ermittler sind typische Polizisten. Keine extravaganten Typen, mürrische Eigenbrötler. Das macht sie so sympathisch und glaubwürdig. Coolidge hält in diesem Roman vor der örtlichen Polizei einen kurzen Vortrag zum Thema Meth, der sehr interessant ist. Drogenküchen, die schnell aufgebaut sind, nach drei Tagen weiterziehen, kaum zu entdecken sind – und eben das, weshalb Meth so gefährlich ist; nicht nur für die Drogensüchtigen selbst. Disher schaut hinter die Kulissen, beobachtet genau und fragt nach dem Warum. Ein spannender Polizeikrimi, Whodunnit. Jedes Buch von ihm sind ein Genuss und eine Bereicherung! Jeder Disher Krimi ist in sich geschlosssen, kann unabhängig gelesen werden.
Garry Disher, geboren 1949, wuchs im ländlichen Südaustralien auf. Er schreibt Romane, Kurzgeschichten, Kriminalromane und Kinderbücher. Sein Werk wurde für den Booker Prize nominiert und mehrfach ausgezeichnet, u. a. viermal mit dem Deutschen Krimipreis sowie zweimal mit dem wichtigsten australischen Krimipreis, dem Ned Kelly Award. Garry Disher lebt an der Südküste von Australien in der Nähe von Melbourne. Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing, Best Novel: 2007: winner for Chain of Evidence (Beweiskette, Hall Challis); 2010: winner for Wyatt (Dirty Old Town; Wyatt)
Lifetime Achievement Award, 2018; 2021: winner for Consolation (Barrier Highway; Hirsch); Deutscher Krimi Preis für Garry Disher: 2021 Moder (Kill Shot; Wyatt); 2020 Hope Hill Drive (Peace; Hirsch); 2017 Bitter Wash Road (ebenfalls Orginaltitel; Hirsch); 2002 Drachenmann (The Dragon Man; Hal Challis);
2000 Gier (Kickback; Wyatt)
In Wirklichkeit arbeiteten sie für Hector Kaye, der früher mal zu den Bandidos aus Kings Cross in Sydney gehört hatte. Bevor er seriöser Geschäftsmann wurde und begann, Crystal Meth aus China zu importieren.»
Lovelock und Pym, sowas wie Dick und Doof, reisen aus Sydney an, sollen für den Boss auf Peninsula, südlich von Melbourne, einen Owen Valentine umlegen. Es soll aussehen, als sei er abgehauen, hätte Frau und Kinder sitzen gelassen. Die Familie verlässt das Haus und nichts wie rein in die Bude, den Typ in die Garage gezerrt, kaltgemacht und in den Kofferraum gesteckt. Jetzt noch die Tasche packen – Bad, Kleiderschrank … ja und was ist denn das hier? Ein außergewöhnliches und hervorragendes Gewehr. Wird eingepackt. Nun Owen verbuddeln – der Boss hat gesagt, wo sie es machen sollen. Wie kommt dieser kleine Hund ins Auto? Später drum kümmern. Es ist mächtig heiß, das Farmland hinter der Küste ist bereits im Frühjahr zu trocken. Alle sind auf der Hut, viel zu schnell kann es zu einem Flächenbrand kommen. Lovelock und Pym heizen durch die Gegend, kennen sich nicht aus. Funkloch. Sie haben sich verfahren – es gibt ja nicht mal asphaltierte Straßen. Sie halten an einer Farm an, fragen. Der Farmer ist behilflich, meint aber das Gewehr zu kennen, das seinem Kumpel geklaut wurde. Als die beiden verschwunden sind, schreibt er sich Notizen, das Kennzeichen auf einen Zettel. Doch die beiden kehren flux zurück, hatten überlegt: Er ist ein Zeuge. Das Gewehr wird sogleich ausprobiert. Nun endlich Owen verbuddeln. Pym schmeißt seine Kippe aus dem Wagen. Owen ist entsorgt, aber auf dem Rückweg ist alles voller Rauch. Und wieder Funkloch. Müssen sie nun nach rechts oder nach links?
«Polizei und Wohlfahrtseinrichtungen hingegen wussten, dass dieser Fortschritt auch zu sozialen Notlagen und Kriminalität geführt hatte, das die Mittel für Schulen, öffentlich Verkehrsmittel und das Aufstocken des Personals bei Polizei und Wohlfahrt hinterherhinkten.»
Hal Challis wird gerufen: Im Buschfeuer, das schnell gestoppt werden konnte, finden sich die Überreste einer Drogenküche. Doch das Drogendezernat in Melbourne übernimmt den Fall, da Senior Sergeant Serena Coolidge (genannt Cool Bitc) vermutet, dass das organisierte Verbrechen im großen Stil Crystal Meth auf die Halbinsel bringt. Crystal Meth, ein riesiges Problem: billig einzukaufen, macht schnell süchtig und viele Abhängige bekommen baldigst gesundheitliche Probleme, und ihnen brennt das Gehirn durch, sie reagieren verrückt und hoch aggressiv. Challis Lebenspartnerin Ellen Destry, Leiterin der Abteilung für Sexualverbrechen, ist einem Einbrecher auf der Spur, der Frauen vergewaltigt, nach der Tat Tee für sie kocht und ein nettes Schwätzchen hält, und ihnen die Wertsachen entwendet. Hal hat genug zu tun, denn der Junkie Owen ist verschwunden, seine Frau meint, er sei einfach abgehauen. Doch Kriminelle hatten seine Tochter als Pfand genommen, bis er seine Schulden abbezahlt hat … Ein Farmer wurde erschossen, der sich anscheinend als Dealer für geklaute Landmaschinen nebenbei Geld verdient hatte. Und in einem ausgebrannten Wagen werden zwei Leichen nach dem Brand gefunden, die dem organisierten Verbrechen der Bandidos aus Kings Cross von Sydney zuzuordnen sind.
«‹Er hat also eine Unze am Tag gekocht – wie viele Hits wären das?›
‹Points, nicht Hits.›
‹Okay, wie viele Points?›
‹Bis zu zweihundertachtzig.›
‹Das macht?›
‹Achtundzwanzigtausend Dollar.›»
Garry Disher hat in diesem Krimi grandios viele Stränge gelegt, einen Haufen Personal aufgefahren – und erstaunlicherweise behält man als Leser stets die Übersicht. Wir wissen mehr als die Ermittler – aber noch lange nicht alles. Stück für Stück ermitteln Coolidge, Challis und Destry mit ihren Teams in ihren Fällen, bei denen es Querverbindungen gibt, und Coolidge und Challis rempeln hin und wieder gegeneinander. Eine komplexe Handlung, mit vielen Wendungen, in sich schlüssig und süffig erzählt mit wunderbaren Charakteren. Das ländliche Peninsula verdörrt, die Menschen sind auf der Hut vor Flächenbränden. Das hat natürlich Auswirkungen auf die Landwirtschaft; Ernten fallen geringer oder auch ganz aus. Farmer verarmen, suchen sich kriminelle Geschäftsbereiche, um sich über Wasser zu halten. Die Halbinsel entwickelt sich zur Drogenküche, wie in vielen australischen Krimis beschrieben. An den Küsten herrscht beschauliches Strandleben, die Reichen aus Melbourne sichern sich ihre Wochenendresidenzen. Soziale Einrichtungen, die medizinische Versorgung usw. hat man bei der Erweiterung der Infrastruktur vernachlässigt. Wer hier eine Wohnung sucht, muss im umkämpften Markt tief in die Tasche greifen; der Durchschnittsbürger hat das Nachsehen. Krasse Gegensätze in der Gesellschaft. Garry Disher ist in seinen Kriminalromanen immer dicht bei den einfachen Menschen und seine Ermittler sind typische Polizisten. Keine extravaganten Typen, mürrische Eigenbrötler. Das macht sie so sympathisch und glaubwürdig. Coolidge hält in diesem Roman vor der örtlichen Polizei einen kurzen Vortrag zum Thema Meth, der sehr interessant ist. Drogenküchen, die schnell aufgebaut sind, nach drei Tagen weiterziehen, kaum zu entdecken sind – und eben das, weshalb Meth so gefährlich ist; nicht nur für die Drogensüchtigen selbst. Disher schaut hinter die Kulissen, beobachtet genau und fragt nach dem Warum. Ein spannender Polizeikrimi, Whodunnit. Jedes Buch von ihm sind ein Genuss und eine Bereicherung! Jeder Disher Krimi ist in sich geschlosssen, kann unabhängig gelesen werden.
Garry Disher, geboren 1949, wuchs im ländlichen Südaustralien auf. Er schreibt Romane, Kurzgeschichten, Kriminalromane und Kinderbücher. Sein Werk wurde für den Booker Prize nominiert und mehrfach ausgezeichnet, u. a. viermal mit dem Deutschen Krimipreis sowie zweimal mit dem wichtigsten australischen Krimipreis, dem Ned Kelly Award. Garry Disher lebt an der Südküste von Australien in der Nähe von Melbourne. Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing, Best Novel: 2007: winner for Chain of Evidence (Beweiskette, Hall Challis); 2010: winner for Wyatt (Dirty Old Town; Wyatt)
Lifetime Achievement Award, 2018; 2021: winner for Consolation (Barrier Highway; Hirsch); Deutscher Krimi Preis für Garry Disher: 2021 Moder (Kill Shot; Wyatt); 2020 Hope Hill Drive (Peace; Hirsch); 2017 Bitter Wash Road (ebenfalls Orginaltitel; Hirsch); 2002 Drachenmann (The Dragon Man; Hal Challis);
2000 Gier (Kickback; Wyatt)
August 16, 2023
Garry Disher is a master of the police procedural, in which we follow a police officer in their attempts to solve a crime, or in this case, crimes. 'Signal Loss' is an excellent example of this genre. It follows the redoubtable Inspector Hal Challis of the Victoria police, who investigates major crimes in Australia's Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne. The Peninsula is a region of beach towns in many ways similar to the beach communities south of Los Angeles. Some of its people are longtime residents who enjoy (and want to preserve) its rural or small-town atmosphere. Others are newer, wealthier folks from the big city who build expensive vacation homes and drive up prices for locals (like some of Challis's subordinates on the police force), who now can't afford to buy or even rent a home close to where they work.
In this seventh installment in the Peninsular Crimes series, Challis must deal with an epidemic of offenses related to the trade in methamphetamines, which has invaded his beat from the big city, not to mention a series of thefts of heavy equipment from farms and other businesses. Meanwhile, his coworker (and lover) Ellen Destry, head of the local sex crimes team, searches for a serial rapist who seems very clever at covering his tracks. Disher spends plenty of time on the investigations but also tells us about the lives of the people conducting them. I enjoy the combination and recommend this book highly.
In this seventh installment in the Peninsular Crimes series, Challis must deal with an epidemic of offenses related to the trade in methamphetamines, which has invaded his beat from the big city, not to mention a series of thefts of heavy equipment from farms and other businesses. Meanwhile, his coworker (and lover) Ellen Destry, head of the local sex crimes team, searches for a serial rapist who seems very clever at covering his tracks. Disher spends plenty of time on the investigations but also tells us about the lives of the people conducting them. I enjoy the combination and recommend this book highly.
February 10, 2017
Garry Disher has two successful major crime series out – very different from each other, both of the highest possible standard. Full Review At Newtown Review of Books
July 7, 2022
I was in the mood for a good police procedural, and this delivered, as Garry Disher novels always do. Also, I have discovered a delightful piece of Australian vocabulary: 'whipper-snipper' for strimmer. I plan to use it myself in future.
November 5, 2022
Superbly intertwined personal & professional storey layering of the characters. Some backfilling of detail to complete the readers understanding of them after the main action.
I always want more from Garry Disher after I have read the last sentence of each book.
I always want more from Garry Disher after I have read the last sentence of each book.
January 13, 2023
Another high quality entry in this police procedural series set in the Peninsula region of Australia. There were maybe too many plotlines but all the regular characters got their moments and I found it very enjoyable.
December 18, 2024
I'm so sad as this book is last of seven books in the series. I felt there were too many characters and too much happening in this book. Was the author trying to cram? Having said that, I'd be grateful for an eighth in this series.
April 3, 2024
I was surprised at how emotional I got with this novel, the last so far, of his Peninsula series. Such a clever writer and very economical. Nothing wasted. And like Chain of Evidence, the reader knows a lot more than the characters from the very beginning.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews