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Angel Rock
Australia, 1969: two half-brothers get lost around the town of Angel Rock. Only one finds his way home. At about the same time, a girl goes missing and is found dead in Sydney. The policeman assigned to her case is searching for the reasons behind the death and also for a meaning in his own life.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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Darren Williams
15 books5 followersThis page contains works by multiple authors with the same name
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
April 12, 2018
Well, was I surprised by this little gem! The cover didn't pull me in but after chapter two it was a kind of "grit your teeth and hold on!"book. Much impressed. Would recommend to others who like mystery and adventure stories
January 16, 2020
In Angel Rock by Australian author Darren Williams, we are introduced to Tom--a boy just turned adolescent. He hasn't had an easy life...his mother is often gone pursuing her dubious occupation, his father abandoned them, and he now as an un-easy truce with his logger step-father who loves to drink more than he loves him. He *is* loved by his four year old half-brother Flynn though, and well he should be as he is responsible for much of his care. Dragged along to help with logging one Saturday afternoon, the boys are dropped back off miles from town so that Tom's step-father's friend can more quickly return to carousing. Attempting to walk home they become lost in the surrounding wilderness. The first third of the novel chronicles both the boys' attempt to find their way home, and the search efforts in alternating chapters. (not spoiler alert b/c this is all on the cover blurb). Tom eventually wanders onto a farm a week after becoming lost, with a decent knock to the head, multiple scratches/abrasions, and no memory of how he became separated from Flynn.
Treated by the town doctor, questioned by the local law officer "Pop", and then released to his step-father, Tom is subjected to an episode of emotional & physical abuse at the hands of grieving Henry. This scene will stay with me a long time, and is a vivid example of William's skill in creating scenes and moods. "Where's Flynn?" Henry sobbed. "Where's my boy?"
"I--"
Without another word Henry stood him against the door and pressed his face hard against the wood. With a high little moan each time his arm lifted and with tears streaming down his cheeks, Henry swung the belt in a figure eight, the meat of it striking Tom across the back, the buttocks, the legs, twice each revolution. The pain was worse than kicking your toe into a table leg, worse than falling off a bike and skinning your knee, worse than biting down very hard on your tongue, but still nothing like the pain flooding his heart."
And so for the most part, the town gives up on finding Flynn, assuming the worst. However, a detective from out of town, Gibson, drives in on the trail of another mystery...the apparent suicide of a girl from Angel Rock who fled to Sydney. Whether or not the two events are connected, and if so how, make up the majority of the remainder of the novel. Along the way, we are told snippets of a disturbing backstory that only adds to the haunting mood of the book. Williams gets 4 stars for mood/narration, 3.5 stars for dialogue, and 3 stars for plot progression. Overall, I gave the book 3.5 stars or "Very Good", and I recommend it to anyone looking for a mystery that is more psychologically driven than event driven. I'll end my review with another quote, this one is Pop talking to Tom about the death of his (Pop's) father.
"I was ...heartbroken by that at first, that he'd died alone, but then I remembered what he'd always said. He used to say he didn't want to be a burden and he used to say that while his wife--my mother--was in his head, fresh and young as the day he'd met her, he'd keep going, but the moment her memory started to fade he'd know it was time to go. He couldn't bear the thought of that happening. I knew then that he hadn't died alone up there, but that she'd been with him. It did me good, that. It made it easier. It made me realize that a memory like that, of someone who's gone, can help you for the rest of your whole life. That's what I tell Gracie about young Darce, and that's what I want you to consider as well."
Treated by the town doctor, questioned by the local law officer "Pop", and then released to his step-father, Tom is subjected to an episode of emotional & physical abuse at the hands of grieving Henry. This scene will stay with me a long time, and is a vivid example of William's skill in creating scenes and moods. "Where's Flynn?" Henry sobbed. "Where's my boy?"
"I--"
Without another word Henry stood him against the door and pressed his face hard against the wood. With a high little moan each time his arm lifted and with tears streaming down his cheeks, Henry swung the belt in a figure eight, the meat of it striking Tom across the back, the buttocks, the legs, twice each revolution. The pain was worse than kicking your toe into a table leg, worse than falling off a bike and skinning your knee, worse than biting down very hard on your tongue, but still nothing like the pain flooding his heart."
And so for the most part, the town gives up on finding Flynn, assuming the worst. However, a detective from out of town, Gibson, drives in on the trail of another mystery...the apparent suicide of a girl from Angel Rock who fled to Sydney. Whether or not the two events are connected, and if so how, make up the majority of the remainder of the novel. Along the way, we are told snippets of a disturbing backstory that only adds to the haunting mood of the book. Williams gets 4 stars for mood/narration, 3.5 stars for dialogue, and 3 stars for plot progression. Overall, I gave the book 3.5 stars or "Very Good", and I recommend it to anyone looking for a mystery that is more psychologically driven than event driven. I'll end my review with another quote, this one is Pop talking to Tom about the death of his (Pop's) father.
"I was ...heartbroken by that at first, that he'd died alone, but then I remembered what he'd always said. He used to say he didn't want to be a burden and he used to say that while his wife--my mother--was in his head, fresh and young as the day he'd met her, he'd keep going, but the moment her memory started to fade he'd know it was time to go. He couldn't bear the thought of that happening. I knew then that he hadn't died alone up there, but that she'd been with him. It did me good, that. It made it easier. It made me realize that a memory like that, of someone who's gone, can help you for the rest of your whole life. That's what I tell Gracie about young Darce, and that's what I want you to consider as well."
September 24, 2019
Really torn between "it was okay" and "liked it," because for me, it fell apart in the second half. Part detective story, part coming-of-age story. I loved the setting, really *feeling* rural Australia--the heat, the space, the isolation--there's a sort of Cormac McCarthy feel to it. I was gripped from the start, as we follow two children, whom we have been skillfully primed to care for, as they wander the back country, hopelessly lost. The hard-boiled detective is likeable in his own way, and complicated--yes, even though the hard-boiled detective is a cliche. The constraints of village life, where everyone knows each other's business--or thinks they do--is well drawn. The constable, Pop, is an appealing figure of gentle stability and intelligence. So, how did the book ultimately let me down? First, the descriptions of setting, that at the outset drew me in, became overmuch: every tree named, every turn of the weather detailed, full of portent. Then, the drama became just over-the-top Gothic, with so many horrors and maladies that it was hard to keep them straight: one prime suspect is an inevitable Town Crazy Guy; incest and rape; two suicides; a murder; two obsessed evangelicals; a grave robbing; and a kidnapping. In a final scene, there's not just blood, but blood "extended out all around him, over the floor and up the walls." Some scenes seemed like they were padding--the fishing scene with Pop and the kids, for instance. Tom's preoccupation with the circus lions seemed symbolic. Is it necessary to the book, in either plot or depth--especially when we have the angel in the rock (but the angel's linked to the lion...)? Likewise, there are multiple descriptions of dreams (full disclosure: that's a pet peeve of mine: long dreams as part of fiction; it's like the author erects a flashing billboard of symbology of his or her own devising--so we're supposed pore over them as mirrors of meaning for the character, the book? Isn't that too easy? Can't you just say something like, "Dreams of being chased by hooded figures troubled X's sleep.") Nonetheless, I was compelled to read most of Angel Rock straight through in one sitting, To Find Out What Happens. That's 80% of what we want from a story, eh?
August 14, 2010
Too many dreams. I never did figure out the point to them. An interesting story. It was intriguing to see how unattended children grow up in Australia, but it also caused me difficulties in relating to the characters. If you like stories about Australia, I would recommend it, otherwise go read something else.
May 24, 2012
Definitely a page turner, and one that keeps you hopping trying to figure out what will be revealed. Somewhat dark but enjoyable read -- better than your average mystery, but doesn't rise to the level it may aspire to. I'd say it's a super beach read.
June 9, 2024
I loved these characters so dearly and am shattered to find that the author has written only one other book which I'm currently trying to locate. I tend to enjoy Australian stories and this is one of the best, as well as being one of the most anxiety-provoking reads I've ever picked up.
January 16, 2020
Mystery, immense sadness and redemption. What more do you need?
July 11, 2020
Angel Rock is an Australian novel which takes up the theme of "lost in the bush", with two children from an unstable home, left by a roadside to find their own way back. Only one returns, and the search for the lost child touches off a series of quests, self-destructions, and revelations.
The novel is very well written. I, personally, am a bit of an escapist, and I am the sort of person who looks at the film list which says "Does the dog die", in order to avoid such stories. Two dogs die in this novel. That is quite realistic, in a rural Australian novel, but it puts me off and makes me miserable. This shows what a sap I am.
The novel is set in 1969, and initially has strong references to the era. But as it goes on, I found that it lacked any sense of being in the late 60s. In fact, it seemed vaguely to have the atmosphere of the 1980s or 90s. (For instance, the empty convent in the country town.) The troubled police officer who goes to Angel Rock to investigate a girl's suicide in Sydney also seems to relate to others in a more end-of-the-century way. The character and actions of Darcy, one of a pair of teenage girls who is in contrast to the two brothers throughout the story line, never seems fully convincing.
However, in the overall context of Angel Rock, these are small points of criticism, and the novel is a compelling, beautifully described story.
Both dogs and lions (caged circus lions) play symbolic and actual roles in Angel Rock. This is a paragraph near the end:
"Even as the shock and the pain of the memory began to numb him his head swam and he saw himself again, but much later, as a nineteen-year-old vagabond, standing in the centre of Venice, dreaming of a grand romance, something to take away the pain of his childhood, and looking up at the winged lion of St Mark, and his sister, his beloved sister, was standing there beside him, smiling. He knew then that she'd always been there, ever since she's left him. She's been with him at the side of the road on the night he's driven to Angel Rock, and she was here even now. He knew too that it was a lion he's seen in the rock above the town - not an angel at all - but a winged lion, a queen of her race, her brow heavy, her wings ready for flight, yet caught in the stone for eternity. She was a beast from some age long past and he knew then that some plan did exist, something far greater than him - than anyone - and unknowable into the bargain. He was glad he's glimpsed it an was glad he'd been shown a world beyond fact, beyond evidence."
The novel is very well written. I, personally, am a bit of an escapist, and I am the sort of person who looks at the film list which says "Does the dog die", in order to avoid such stories. Two dogs die in this novel. That is quite realistic, in a rural Australian novel, but it puts me off and makes me miserable. This shows what a sap I am.
The novel is set in 1969, and initially has strong references to the era. But as it goes on, I found that it lacked any sense of being in the late 60s. In fact, it seemed vaguely to have the atmosphere of the 1980s or 90s. (For instance, the empty convent in the country town.) The troubled police officer who goes to Angel Rock to investigate a girl's suicide in Sydney also seems to relate to others in a more end-of-the-century way. The character and actions of Darcy, one of a pair of teenage girls who is in contrast to the two brothers throughout the story line, never seems fully convincing.
However, in the overall context of Angel Rock, these are small points of criticism, and the novel is a compelling, beautifully described story.
Both dogs and lions (caged circus lions) play symbolic and actual roles in Angel Rock. This is a paragraph near the end:
"Even as the shock and the pain of the memory began to numb him his head swam and he saw himself again, but much later, as a nineteen-year-old vagabond, standing in the centre of Venice, dreaming of a grand romance, something to take away the pain of his childhood, and looking up at the winged lion of St Mark, and his sister, his beloved sister, was standing there beside him, smiling. He knew then that she'd always been there, ever since she's left him. She's been with him at the side of the road on the night he's driven to Angel Rock, and she was here even now. He knew too that it was a lion he's seen in the rock above the town - not an angel at all - but a winged lion, a queen of her race, her brow heavy, her wings ready for flight, yet caught in the stone for eternity. She was a beast from some age long past and he knew then that some plan did exist, something far greater than him - than anyone - and unknowable into the bargain. He was glad he's glimpsed it an was glad he'd been shown a world beyond fact, beyond evidence."
July 27, 2022
This novel is set in a small town in the Australian outback. Tom, a young boy, may be poor and bare-footed but he is nice and polite and honest and clever. But he gets lost in the bush while looking after his little step-brother and when he is found, he's alone. Whatever happened seems to be linked to the running away to Sydney and the suicide of Darcy, the brother of Sonny, a boy who hates and bullies Tom. Pop, the town's policeman, and Sydney detective Gibson, have to explore deep into the past to find out what has happened.
It's a lovely story, well-told, that pulls no punches. It's real beauty is the lyrical descriptions of Australia. It sounds like a dreadful place, a harsh landscape which can easily kill a man, and the Australians that inhabit it have been toughened and coarsened to survive.
As a thriller it didn't quite work for me because there were a lot of characters and I lost track of who was who. But the principal characters of Tom and Grace and Pop and Gibson were incredibly real and alive and their stories were told with sensitivity and understanding. There was young love and there was revenge, there was redemption and there was betrayal, there was loss and there was heartbreak and there was madness. But the main character was the landscape and here the author's descriptions made the book into literature.
It's a lovely story, well-told, that pulls no punches. It's real beauty is the lyrical descriptions of Australia. It sounds like a dreadful place, a harsh landscape which can easily kill a man, and the Australians that inhabit it have been toughened and coarsened to survive.
As a thriller it didn't quite work for me because there were a lot of characters and I lost track of who was who. But the principal characters of Tom and Grace and Pop and Gibson were incredibly real and alive and their stories were told with sensitivity and understanding. There was young love and there was revenge, there was redemption and there was betrayal, there was loss and there was heartbreak and there was madness. But the main character was the landscape and here the author's descriptions made the book into literature.
October 24, 2017
Bien plus psychologique que roman de suspense, c'est néanmoins un roman qui prend prétexte d'événements se produisant dans une petite ville australienne durant une saison de vacances pour creuser autour de quelques habitants des vies pleines de secrets, de rancoeur et de blessures. Le récit s'articule autour de la présence de deux ados éprouvés par la vie, l'un qui s'est perdu avec son petit frère qu'on n'a pas retrouvé et l'autre venant de perdre sa meilleure amie. Tous deux sont fragiles mais vivants, et tâtonnent dans leur vie, à la recherche de la lumière. L'autre personnage est un flic de Sydney qui par l'affaire d'Angel Rock cherche à guérir d'une plaie personnelle. Comme souvent, il est abîmé, mais il a du flair. En contrepoids, le chef de la police locale, père de la jeune ado, stable, plein de bon sens, d'intelligence et de coeur. L'intrigue se développe doucement mais d'une manière très attachante autour de ces différentes personnalités dont on souhaite qu'elles verront leur quête aboutir. Le style de l'auteur est bienveillant, tantôt rude mais réaliste, tantôt compassionnel. On sent qu'il aime tous ses personnages, du moins ceux qu'il décrit comme malmenés par la vie. Seul regret, la fin, un peu bâclée.
February 19, 2024
Australia is a big place and in rural areas you have to do a lot of driving around, and its important to carry water. That I learned from Angel Rock, a mystery of a missing young brother. Very atmospheric, crowded with a bunch of religious and circus imagery and lots of dreams that really didn't go anyplace. So the coming of age story was good, but the black-out drinking cop struggling with his past veered into gothic melodrama. Then, like so many psychological thrillers and detective stories, if the characters just talked to each other rather than keeping secrets things would have been quickly solved. It kept me reading but I had to search for the plot amid all the setting.
March 26, 2020
Een beklemmende thriller over een Australische plattelandsdorp, waar gemeenschappelijk zwakte elkaar ontmoeten.
Een kind geraak verloren terwijl zijn broer de weg naar huis wel terugvindt. In Sydney vinden e een lijk van een meisje dat zelfmoord heft gepleegd. Zij is afkomstig van het stadje waar dat kind verloren is. Gibson, wil meer weten over deze zelfmoord en gaat naar dat stadje.Hij geraak daar verwikkeld in allerlei familie problemen en relaties.
Het verloren schaap vinden zij terug.
Besluit: redelijk. 95 bladzijde nodig om de verdwijning te vertellen.
Een kind geraak verloren terwijl zijn broer de weg naar huis wel terugvindt. In Sydney vinden e een lijk van een meisje dat zelfmoord heft gepleegd. Zij is afkomstig van het stadje waar dat kind verloren is. Gibson, wil meer weten over deze zelfmoord en gaat naar dat stadje.Hij geraak daar verwikkeld in allerlei familie problemen en relaties.
Het verloren schaap vinden zij terug.
Besluit: redelijk. 95 bladzijde nodig om de verdwijning te vertellen.
November 2, 2023
I don't understand, why did Darcy commit suicide????
I had to force myself to read this book, the only thing that kept me going was wanting to know what happened to Darcy, Flynn and Tom. I'm left confused.
I hated how the book was written, I skim read at least 1/4 of the book.
I can't make sense of the motive. At all.
I really liked the concept of the book, but if some one else had wrote it, it would have been better.
UUGH!
I had to force myself to read this book, the only thing that kept me going was wanting to know what happened to Darcy, Flynn and Tom. I'm left confused.
I hated how the book was written, I skim read at least 1/4 of the book.
I can't make sense of the motive. At all.
I really liked the concept of the book, but if some one else had wrote it, it would have been better.
UUGH!
March 29, 2023
Riveting and sad. A tragic story about family, love, loss and trauma.
May 17, 2024
2.5/5
September 4, 2008
Darren Williams' U.S. debut, Angel Rock, is a beautifully crafted novel. At once a mystery, tale of grief and loss, and a thriller, Angel Rock is the story of Tom and Flynn, two brothers who go missing in the Australian wilderness. Ten days later, only one brother, Tom, returns. Unable to remember what happened to his brother Flynn, tormented by the loss, and his family decimated by the grief, Tom refuses to accept his brother's loss.
Amidst one family's loss, another family suffers, when their daughter is found dead in a run down house in Sydney. Her death brings a detective from Sydney to Angel Rock. The detective, Gibson, comes with his own heavy weights - the mysterious loss of his own sister, which he cannot recall.
Williams is an artist. It is as if he spread out words in front of him, then carefully selected each word, in a slow deliberate process of building the world of Angel Rock. Williams wastes nothing in creating the characters of Angel Rock - the landscape is described elegantly, and with such a dedication to recreation, that I could see the landscape. The relationship between Tom and Flynn is touching and untraditional, and is a highlight of the novel.
The book is divided into three sections. While Part II and III seem to mesh, there is a noticeable disjunction between Part I and II. This lack of continuity is the one small piece that keeps this from being a 4 star book. The arrival of Gibson, who becomes a key part of the character trinity in the novel, is somewhat disjointed and distracted. Yet our introduction to him is memorable, and certainly he serves a key purpose in the novel.
Angel Rock is all about parallels, dreams, and symbols. It's like a walkabout for readers. I'd recommend the book - even with its slow parts, imperfections, and slight narrative struggles. Williams has delivered an engaging, touching, well-written, and interesting work.
Amidst one family's loss, another family suffers, when their daughter is found dead in a run down house in Sydney. Her death brings a detective from Sydney to Angel Rock. The detective, Gibson, comes with his own heavy weights - the mysterious loss of his own sister, which he cannot recall.
Williams is an artist. It is as if he spread out words in front of him, then carefully selected each word, in a slow deliberate process of building the world of Angel Rock. Williams wastes nothing in creating the characters of Angel Rock - the landscape is described elegantly, and with such a dedication to recreation, that I could see the landscape. The relationship between Tom and Flynn is touching and untraditional, and is a highlight of the novel.
The book is divided into three sections. While Part II and III seem to mesh, there is a noticeable disjunction between Part I and II. This lack of continuity is the one small piece that keeps this from being a 4 star book. The arrival of Gibson, who becomes a key part of the character trinity in the novel, is somewhat disjointed and distracted. Yet our introduction to him is memorable, and certainly he serves a key purpose in the novel.
Angel Rock is all about parallels, dreams, and symbols. It's like a walkabout for readers. I'd recommend the book - even with its slow parts, imperfections, and slight narrative struggles. Williams has delivered an engaging, touching, well-written, and interesting work.
March 17, 2009
This book plays in the isolated and quiet town of Angel Rock. Two boys, step-brothers Tom and Flynn, go missing. The town spends over a week searching for them, but looses hope and gives up. Then Tom suddenly turns up again, without his brother; he also does not remember anything about his time away.
A few months later, a girl is found dead in Sydney, an obvious suicide. One of the inspectors investigating the death, Gibson, is still haunted by his own sisters suicide and decides to dig deeper into the case, especially when it turns out that the girl is from Angle Rock.
Williams is a master at creating an image with his writing. The descriptions of the landscape and the townspeople of Angel Rock were so realistic, and the unusual situations well crafted. The book was divided into three parts, but the only really interesting one was part 1, where we were pulled into this story. The rest of the book kind of dragged on and the ending was unsatisfying to me. But I do consider it one of the best (psychological) thrillers I've read in a long time.
A few months later, a girl is found dead in Sydney, an obvious suicide. One of the inspectors investigating the death, Gibson, is still haunted by his own sisters suicide and decides to dig deeper into the case, especially when it turns out that the girl is from Angle Rock.
Williams is a master at creating an image with his writing. The descriptions of the landscape and the townspeople of Angel Rock were so realistic, and the unusual situations well crafted. The book was divided into three parts, but the only really interesting one was part 1, where we were pulled into this story. The rest of the book kind of dragged on and the ending was unsatisfying to me. But I do consider it one of the best (psychological) thrillers I've read in a long time.
March 1, 2020
Je ne sais pas si j’ai aimé ou non ma lecture. Elle ne fut pas désagréable.
J’ai beaucoup aimé le cadre dans lequel se déroule l’histoire. C’est une atmosphère très angoissante, lourde et anxiogène, et ce dès les premières pages. Nous ressentons la chaleur typique de l’Australie. Il y a beaucoup de descriptions et peu de dialogues. Nous comprenons que de nombreux secrets et de non-dits pèsent sur la ville de Angel Rock.
Ce roman est beaucoup plus qu’un simple roman policier. On peut le qualifier de roman noir ou de roman de société. Il n’y a pas beaucoup d’actions et de révélations. C’est très lent mais l’alternance de différents points de vue dynamise le récit. Les personnages sont travaillés et développés. Darren Williams s’attarde plus sur la construction de ses protagonistes que sur l’intrigue elle-même. La fin fut précitée et décevante.
C’est donc un roman policier assez particulier et différent de ceux que j’ai pu lire auparavant. Conséquences s’avère être une bonne découverte.
J’ai beaucoup aimé le cadre dans lequel se déroule l’histoire. C’est une atmosphère très angoissante, lourde et anxiogène, et ce dès les premières pages. Nous ressentons la chaleur typique de l’Australie. Il y a beaucoup de descriptions et peu de dialogues. Nous comprenons que de nombreux secrets et de non-dits pèsent sur la ville de Angel Rock.
Ce roman est beaucoup plus qu’un simple roman policier. On peut le qualifier de roman noir ou de roman de société. Il n’y a pas beaucoup d’actions et de révélations. C’est très lent mais l’alternance de différents points de vue dynamise le récit. Les personnages sont travaillés et développés. Darren Williams s’attarde plus sur la construction de ses protagonistes que sur l’intrigue elle-même. La fin fut précitée et décevante.
C’est donc un roman policier assez particulier et différent de ceux que j’ai pu lire auparavant. Conséquences s’avère être une bonne découverte.
June 19, 2017
The description of this book bears no resemblance whatsoever to that which I read! Ridiculous....I have copied below from another edition what it was all about. (I like to look back from time to time to see what books I have read and a correct description would be better!)
After a week lost in the Australian outback, thirteen-year-old Tom Ferry makes his way back to Angel Rock. To the horror of everyone in the small town, he is alone. Exhausted and traumatized, he can't remember what happened to Flynn, his little brother. Shortly thereafter, another child of Angel Rock is found dead in Sydney, the apparent victim of suicide. But it is only with the arrival of Gibson, the investigating detective from Sydney, that the intertwining questions surrounding the fate of the two children, the silence of the townsfolk, and the mysteries of the land itself begin to unravel.
After a week lost in the Australian outback, thirteen-year-old Tom Ferry makes his way back to Angel Rock. To the horror of everyone in the small town, he is alone. Exhausted and traumatized, he can't remember what happened to Flynn, his little brother. Shortly thereafter, another child of Angel Rock is found dead in Sydney, the apparent victim of suicide. But it is only with the arrival of Gibson, the investigating detective from Sydney, that the intertwining questions surrounding the fate of the two children, the silence of the townsfolk, and the mysteries of the land itself begin to unravel.
September 30, 2012
I found this a well-crafted period mystery that made effective use of its late 1960s setting in rural Australia.
Its theme of the two boys going missing and one returning with no memory did have echoes for me of Joan Lindsay's 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' and this also heightened by the presence of dreams and spiritual elements, which were not overplayed but felt very much a part of the essence of the landscape.
It was well received by our reading group generating discussion about various themes such as the role in such tales of a catalyst, in this case the presence of Sydney police detective Gibson.
Its theme of the two boys going missing and one returning with no memory did have echoes for me of Joan Lindsay's 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' and this also heightened by the presence of dreams and spiritual elements, which were not overplayed but felt very much a part of the essence of the landscape.
It was well received by our reading group generating discussion about various themes such as the role in such tales of a catalyst, in this case the presence of Sydney police detective Gibson.
April 21, 2015
Don't be misguided by the blurb because it's obviously referring to a completely different book.
Angel Rock is a slow-burning thriller set in the Australian Outback. The plot concerns the disappearance of two young boys and the discovery of a young woman's body more than two hundred miles away. What's the connection?
For a first novel it's a gem of a story even though the writing style is annoyingly repetitive at times (hence the 4 stars). So many sentences begin 'He. . .' But the story creeps up on you and the main characters live on long after the book is finished. Definitely worth a read.
Angel Rock is a slow-burning thriller set in the Australian Outback. The plot concerns the disappearance of two young boys and the discovery of a young woman's body more than two hundred miles away. What's the connection?
For a first novel it's a gem of a story even though the writing style is annoyingly repetitive at times (hence the 4 stars). So many sentences begin 'He. . .' But the story creeps up on you and the main characters live on long after the book is finished. Definitely worth a read.
February 26, 2012
Angel Rock is a stunningly eerie and atmospheric rural mystery. Two young brothers go missing in a northern NSW town and only one returns, with no memory of what happened to the other. The backstory that may have led to the disappearance is doled out so carefully it becomes chilling, leading to a climax that was deeply unsettling and almost mythic in its horror but still uplifting and rewarding. It reminded me of the film Jindabyne and its portrayal of the spectral power of the Australian bush. I cannot wait for Williams to write a third novel.
September 7, 2012
3 1/2
Lo mejor de esta novela, que se puede encuadrar dentro del género de suspense, es la ambientación y la atmósfera que crea el autor, así como sus personajes; especialmente, Tom y Gibson que, siendo tan diferentes (un niño pre-adolescente y un policía amargado), cuentan ambos con una voz narrativa muy personal y cautivadora.
Una de esas historias negras que sugieren más de lo que muestran, pero que al mismo tiempo muestran mucho. Costumbrismo y buenos personajes.
Lo mejor de esta novela, que se puede encuadrar dentro del género de suspense, es la ambientación y la atmósfera que crea el autor, así como sus personajes; especialmente, Tom y Gibson que, siendo tan diferentes (un niño pre-adolescente y un policía amargado), cuentan ambos con una voz narrativa muy personal y cautivadora.
Una de esas historias negras que sugieren más de lo que muestran, pero que al mismo tiempo muestran mucho. Costumbrismo y buenos personajes.
June 19, 2014
I get suggestions for books to read from friends, from NPR, and from newspapers. This book was recommended by a friend, to whom I am now in debt for sending me to a book that is, to borrow a phrase from C. S. Lewis, good beyond hope. It has rich characters who are all broken in some way, all stumbling towards truth, towards some meaning, and who, not by heroic efforts, but what I would call Grace, find their way. This is one of the rare books that I will probably want to read again.
November 2, 2010
This book started out good but then fell flat. It was entertaining enough as the only book written in English that I could get my hands on for the last day of a beach vacation, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it to anyone with choices as to what to read.
August 29, 2011
This was an amazing book to read, an Aussie crime novel that definitely makes my top 10 for this year. I found it in a pile of books that I had forgotten about. Having trouble finding my next book to read 'cuz one after another that I try just don't measure up to this one.
February 4, 2012
Really a captivating book framed in the small outback area of Australia. It could however, have been framed in most of he rural isolated areas of the US. Each character is carefully crafted and exposed to give a rich texture of motivations for this suspenseful novel.
February 13, 2025
Although full of disturbing elements, I found it eerily nostalgic and comforting. Bright, stuffy summer days of Australia, wild, hallucinating desires, and bottled-up, boiling love and guilt.
Probably a bit too religious for me, but in general enjoyable and quite original.
Probably a bit too religious for me, but in general enjoyable and quite original.
May 7, 2008
Mysterious goings-on in the Australian Outback. I loved the overall feel of this book, but the end felt false to me.
August 11, 2009
I loved this book
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