Tracks

by Steve Rogan

In the early morning hours, Detective Craig Walker is awakened by a phone call informing him of yet another murder. This victim, like two others the previous week, was found with her throat slit and a number scrawled across her forehead. There is no longer any reason for him to doubt there is a serial killer on the loose in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. Even though each murder had two things in common, there were confusing differences which made him wonder whether there was one killer, or a network using a standard M.O. While the anomalies in each victims’ wounds can be explained, the different number sequences written in black marker on their foreheads leave Detective Walker, his partner Silvia Jacobson, and consultant Detective Jim Malone perplexed. A breakthrough comes from an unlikely source when a woman is brought in for street solicitation, yet more victims keep coming as the layers of the killer’s agenda are peeled back, revealing the crimes he believes he is righting. For Detective Walker though, things are about to get personal.

342 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 15, 2020

About the author

Writing came to me in 1975 like a lost dog emerging from a storm. I knew it, and it knew me, though we had never met before; that dog has been at my side ever since.
I have no idea as to from where the muse comes, and I’ve never sought to question it.
I write whatever comes – only if I believe I’m connected to the idea – and I’m happy to go about this work without the restrictiveness of feeling bound to any one genre.
I went to the University of Sydney and, after the professor took delivery of the bottle of wine that had been sent to him as a Christmas gift, I was then required to leave campus and go about my courier work once more.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story by Steve Rogan

I've read a couple of Steve's books and this is another page turner. Obviously well researched, this thriller is beautifully written, well paced and extremely witty. The unique style and motivation of the serial killer adds an extra layer to this page-turning murder thriller.

[A. Drachenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

It had me hooked

Right from the onset, this story had me captivated. The best crime story I have ever read and a must for anyone that loves this genre. I hope to read more by this author

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

If crime novels are your thing, this one has to be for you; and if you like to get involved in the fine forensic details of cracking the case along with the police, it’s even more for you. Not just ‘whodunnit’, but ‘How and why whoever dunnit did it’; you get a lot of detail for your money here.

It’s set in Australia, in and around Sydney, which is refreshing for this reader, who to her shame never realised that this location was missing from the books she read and which were situated in many other places, both real and fictional, but never in Australia. Why is that? There must be some other good Australian authors out there, setting stories on their own turf, but so far Steve Rogan is the only one whose work has reached me. I’m clearly going to have to take a look around for some more.

So, here we have Detectives Craig Walker and Silvia Jacobson in search of a serial killer, assisted by Detective Jim Malone, an American who has relocated to Australia. Their attention to the finer details of the case is spot-on, and clearly has been researched to a high level by the author; but it’s getting them nowhere. What is the meaning of the numbers which have been written on the foreheads of the victims? This question is solved by a surprising source, showing that you can never tell who knows what and discount anyone on that assumption.

The investigation continues and evidence is found with painstaking precision, yet painfully slowly in terms of trying to prevent the body-count from rising at an alarming rate. Other colleagues join the case as the tension ramps up; will they crack it in time?

There is good creation of characters here, from strong female cops to emotionally-scarred male ones. The police have a life outside of the station, obviously. They take their work ultra-seriously, but play hard when off duty; the tension has to be released, and this is seen in the personal relationships shown here.

An element of fun is added to the serious work at the fore of the story through the efforts of Malone, the American in the room, to get to grips with the Aussie vernacular and slang terms used as a matter of course by his fellow officers. It’s an informative text for the reader in this aspect too; which is why I’m gunna hit this book with five stars and take a Harold Holt to remove my bag of fruit and drink a few Dark and Stormies; well, the English equivalent, anyway. And then I’m going to start another book by Steve Rogan; looking forward to it.

[Amanda Sheridan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is one of my all-time favourite crime thrillers.
It is set in Sydney and revolves around Detective Craig Walker and Silvia Jacobsen and their hunt for a prolific serial killer.
The characters are so well written, I feel I know them. I love the usual police banter that swings back and forth between them and the fun they have with their new American colleague, Jim Malone who has moved to Australia after his divorce, as he struggles with Aussie slang.
But it's not all witty banter. The killer is out there and he needs to be caught.
Rogan has taken a 'catch the serial killer' genre to a new level with his intricate and well-researched back-story that defines the killer's motive. It is so well thought-out that you can almost sympathise with the killer for, not what he does, but why he does it.
If you love a good crime drama, get this book!