Shoot Through

Stella Hardy #3

by J.M. Green

Stella Hardy, the wisecracking social worker, is back to tackle crooked private contractors, an exotic cattle scam, and a delicious Mushroom Jalfrezi.

All Stella Hardy wants is a romantic country getaway with her artist boyfriend, Brophy. Instead, she must head to the Athol Goldwater Agricultural Prison (aka Arsehole Bogwater) to visit her jailbird brother, Ben, and sort out some ‘urgent’ family paperwork. But Stella has barely set foot in the prison when a prisoner, Joe Phelan, is found dead.

Before she knows it, Stella finds herself tasked, against her will, with investigating Joe’s suspicious death away from the eyes of police, including her best friend, Detective Phuong Nguyen. Her old nemesis Minister for Justice Marcus Pugh is pressuring her from above to save his election-year bacon, and Joe’s old friend and former gang member, Percy Brash, is providing a much more chilling form of pressure from below, promising to reduce her to mush and bone fragments if she doesn’t give him the name of Joe’s killer, and soon.

As the clock counts down, Stella becomes embroiled in a story of corruption, conspiracy, and high-tech cattle-wrangling, all while trying to manage her brother’s pregnant girlfriend, Loretta, get to the bottom of Brophy’s increasingly strange behaviour, and evade the murderous intentions of a shadowy mercenary. And then things get really crazy. It’s Stella’s last hurrah, and she’s going out with a bang.

Genres: Crime, Fiction, Audiobook

288 pages, Paperback

Published July 2, 2019

Reviews

[Carol - Reading Writing and Riesling · Rating 5 out of 5]

J M Green just gets better and better!

My View:
This is most definitely on my list of Best Reads of 2019.

Stella Hardy is a protagonist I have embraced since the first book, Good Money (not literally but if I met her creator I would give her a big hug and thank her for creating this wonderful character and series). I love Stella’s sardonic, wise cracking demeanour, her depth of understanding of the Australian socio-political scene, her honest observations, her complicated life…even her age. It is refreshing to find a protagonists that is so grounded, mature and relatable.

Corruption, crime, mystery and romance… this book has it all. In a year of fabulous 5 star releases J M Green can hold her head high.

Stella Hardy I miss you already.

[Anne Fenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is even funnier, more outrageous than the author’s first Stella Hardy novel. I’m sorry to have missed book 2 in the series. Here we are again, in Brunswick, then the outer fringes of Melbourne, looking into trouble at an open prison. Coincidentally, Stella’s brother Ben is serving time there. The author’s plot devising skills really take off here. I don’t want to give too much away, but it involves corruption, all over the country. Rural Victoria is the setting for wild action, involving a wide range of very entertaining characters.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a big fan of the Stella Hardy series (GOOD MONEY, TOO EASY and now SHOOT THROUGH), and I will admit that the setting of this one appealed enormously - what with Stella returning to the family farm in the Wimmera (there's something going on with lots of books being set in that part of the world), and the prison farm which I could have sworn was in South Australia but seemed a lot more like one not a million miles away from where I grew up... but I digress. The attraction of this series has always been the central character. Stella Hardy is a wisecracking social worker, one of the good people in the world, susceptible to a bit of temptation along the way, but reasonably so, what with the suitcase of drug money under her bed and all.

In SHOOT THROUGH there's a complicated plot involving her jailbird brother, his pregnant girlfriend, the family farm, mismanagement and corruption in the prison system, a new boss at the agency where Stella works, that suitcase of drug money, a ever closer circling police force investigation into that, and problems with her relationship with artist boyfriend, Brophy. Pretty much par for the course when it comes to Stella's hectic and slightly frenetic lifestyle. Although this time out there's less of her best friend Detective Phuong Nguyen, and oddly slightly less of Brophy even as their relationship teeters. There's a bit of a former gang member and general stand-over-man Percy Brash, a big threat from a lurking bloke in a black car, and a lot of driving around on the mean "roads" of Victoria's Wimmera.

To be honest, there was something that felt NQR about SHOOT THROUGH. I don't think the plot quite achieved the levels of credibility that were attained in the earlier novels. It was a bit all over the place, and had too many skeletons in too many closets dancing about with their strings visibly loosening. Having said that, Stella Hardy has always been a bit of a fringe dwelling character - almost forgiveable, chaotic and caring, odd and extremely likeable, and if this is, after all, her last hurrah then she'll be missed.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...

[Laura Tee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it is the third book in the series, 'Shoot Through' has been my introduction to the wise-cracking, cynical, intelligent, usually-chaotic, Stella Hardy. A social worker who finds herself embroiled in the investigation of a suspicious death at a low-security prison in rural Victoria, Stella is a wonderfully likable character. After all, who could help but like a character who calmly and bemusedly exclaims, "What fuckery was this?!?", and who sizes up a trendy bar with this insightful detail:
"I swooshed my petrol station eye wear to the top of my head and my eyes adjusted to the dark. The place teemed with covens of financially and emotionally independent professional women. I hoped they freaked out the old white guard, because they scared the hell out of me."

Aside from the charisma of the protagonist, the plot of 'Shoot Through' is tightly constructed and satisfyingly resolved, even though at certain points during the novel I was worried that it had become too convoluted for me to follow (there are a lot of characters, there are crimes involving high-tech cattle wrangling & there are frequent allusions to the political landscape in Australia, requiring a fair amount of cultural capital to understand and chuckle at), Green ties everything up with a nice hint of the absurd to match Stella's humorous tone.

My only criticism of this charming novel was the pacing. While certain parts of the novel sped by with thrill-inducing acceleration, there were long sections of the novel dealing with Stella's relationships, work, and self-destructive habits that seemed to go on for too long. I found that there were moments when I was losing interest because it felt like a long time since anything had furthered the murder investigation plot that was running parallel to the 'Stella-trying-to-keep-her-life-on-track-and-keep-everyone-happy' plot.

But, perhaps reading 'Good Money' and 'Too Easy' - which I will definitely do now -- will change my mind.

[Scribe Publications]

Green peppers Stella’s adventures with sarcastic asides and light political commentary, which leavens the narrative without detracting from the fast-paced action.
Erich Mayer, ArtsHub

Green has written another edge of your seat thriller. A crime thriller peppered with the desert-dry dark humour I’ve come to love … an action-packed conclusion to a much loved Aussie crime series.
Booklover Book Reviews

Stella is every bit the smart-talking, cynical, hardboiled investigator ... The gritty descriptions of the city read like a love letter to Melbourne’s colour and edge ... The tension grows as the plot unfolds, but there are also unexpected moments of laughter and relief in the form of Stella’s wry and sarcastic observations.
DeeCarey.com

A great read ... Wisecracking good fun.
Karina Barrymore, Herald Sun

Very enjoyable, with a great cast of characters and some nice twists.
Jeff Popple, Canberra Weekly

Crisp prose, rocketing pace, a flawed hero and some of the best jokes in fiction.
Jane Rawson, The Age ‘The books we loved in 2019’

This is a rollicking tale and will readily fill your day as you recline with your favourite beverage.
Maggie Baron, Sisters in Crime

A smart, pacey read, with an engaging protagonist, a nice amount of social commentary and generous dollops of both sly and dry humour.
Carmel Reilly, Sisters in Crime

Complex and entertaining.
Anna Creer, Canberra Times

[Danielle {halfdesertedstreets}]

Shoot Through is the third and latest book in J.M. Green’s contemporary crime series featuring Stella Hardy, a social worker who is neither particularly social nor especially tied to her desk. With a nose for trouble, a best friend who’s a cop, an ex-addict boyfriend, and a deeply dysfunctional family, Stella is always only one phone call away from an explosion of drama. And although she isn’t strictly a detective (after all, she has a hidden stash of cash purloined from a crime scene burning a hole in her pocket), Stella is every bit the smart-talking, cynical, hardboiled investigator authors like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler made us fall in love with.

For my full review, head to my blog.

[Jo | Booklover Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a huge fan of J M Green’s Stella Hardy crime series. I was thoroughly entertained by her debut novel Too Easy (Book 2) . Green has written another edge of your seat thriller. A crime thriller peppered with the desert-dry dark humour I’ve come to love — it is almost as sharp as the knives (and the plethora of other deadly weapons) Stella finds aimed at her back.

But, Shoot Through ‘s plotting was looser than I would have liked on occasion, this novel’s execution not reaching the lofty heights of Too Easy. Continue reading review >> http://bookloverbookreviews.com/2019/...

[Maree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another terrific installment of Stella Hardy. Here she is investigating the murder of Joe Phelan whose mother has threatened Stella and set her hitman onto Stella. He is a wonderful addition to the characters and adds warmth and humour to Stella's experiences. Phuong is not as visible as she is still mourning the loss of her relationship with her boyfriend and Brophy is also not as present as he is dealing with his own health issues. Stella has a Sherlock Holmes way of seeing connections and gathering information and now that she has lost her job who knows what she will do next.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. Unfortunately I've heard the author is not going to write anymore Stella Hardy novels. I have really enjoyed this series.

[Sandra Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too many public servants like Stella.

[Michael Durkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stella Hardy is a great main character. This book is quirky and fun to read. J.M. Green writes as good as Peter Corris or Shane Maloney and I see some influence there.

[Ria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please don't let this be the end of Stella Hardy! Excellent writing as always by Green and I await for more...

[Katharine Pepper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third Stella Hardy novel, and it was just as good as the previous one, “Too Easy”. Stella is a flawed but likeable heroine, and she gets herself into a lot of trouble.

This one begins with a trip to Athol Goldwater jail to visit her brother, Ben, in order to get his signature on some legal papers involving the family farm. Her visit is interrupted by the sounds of alarms and sirens, and she discovers that a prisoner has died in a metalworking accident.

Once back at her job at WORMS (Western and Outer Region Migrant Service), she is told she has been nominated to join a prison inspection group, and will be working with Marcus Pugh, the minister for justice (and someone Stella dislikes, to put it mildly). Marcus has heard rumours of someone at the jail being involved in a “side-line pecuniary activity” and he wants Stella to see what she can find out. The prisoner, Joe Phelan’s, death adds an extra complication to “Puke’s” problem!

Meanwhile, Mrs Phelan, Joe’s mother, asks for Stella’s help in finding out what happened to her son. As an extra “incentive”, Mrs Phelan has enlisted Percy Brash, a murderous thug who also just happens to know all about Stella’s illicitly acquired stash of cash (stolen from a couple of dead drug dealers).

All is not well in other areas of Stella’s life, either. She suspects her lover, Brophy, is once again using heroin. Her sister, Kylie, is having an affair with Stella’s arch nemesis, Shane Farquhar. And Ben’s pregnant girlfriend, Loretta, (together with Nigel, her Alaskan Malamute) have turned up and taken over her small flat.

There are a couple of murders, some hacking, a jail break, a missing prize bull, cattle duffing, and Stella is in the thick of it all. And she learns from her friend, Phuong, that the police are closing in on the stolen drug money.

The situation looks desperate for our heroine — but in the end, things are resolved in a very satisfying way. As the back cover blurb says: “It’s Stella’s last hurrah, and she’s going out with a bang.”
This is a fast paced, gritty but humorous read. Stella is a heroine you can really root for, and I thoroughly enjoyed this final adventure.