The Brisbane Line

by J.P. Powell

As WWII ravages the world and the Japanese Empire has set its sights on Australia, the Americans have come to save us. But not all soldiers are heroes and not all heroes are soldiers.

Sergeant Joe Washington, a US Military Police, loves music and photography but spends his days delving into the sordid and petty crimes committed by the thousands of American troops passing through town.

While trying to find stolen gasoline stores, he is sent to investigate the body of an American soldier found dumped in a cemetery. Suddenly Joe is up against notorious detective Frank Bischof. Although ordered to leave the investigation alone, Joe fears that Bischof is protecting the most likely suspect while trying to pin the crime on an innocent – and intriguing – young woman, Rose. A woman who seems to walk between the parallel worlds of black market deals and Brisbane’s high society.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Crime, Australia, War, Book Club

Paperback

Reviews

[Eleanor Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, as I do enjoy a good mystery and the local, historical angle was intriguing. Unfortunately, I found the story difficult to get into. The narrative jumped around a lot, as did the character perspective, which left everything feeling a bit disjointed. I wanted to be drawn into history, and though the author clearly relished the descriptions of wartime Brisbane, the lack of a strong story thread throughout, left me frustrated and bored. There was not much mystery to this mystery sadly.

[Gretchen Bernet-Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I had to read. The name is derived from "an alleged 1942 WWII-era government plan to abandon Northern Australia in the event of a Japanese invasion"— there is nothing alleged about it. My father was a young soldier in WWII based in Melbourne when his division received the command to form The Brisbane Line. It made such an impression on him that later, when he was married, he relocated the family to Brisbane where I currently live.

I dearly wish I could discuss this book with my late father but I do remember him reminiscing about the off-duty times and leave in tropical Far North Queensland where hi-jinks often lead to a soldier's death. I am sure there was tension, corruption and possibly murder among the thousands of American troops stationed in Brisbane, but on the other hand I know families of young women who married GI Joe's and went to live in US never to return.

This well-researched story is more interesting than a text book and follows Sergeant Joe Washington, a US Military Police officer and amateur photographer who battles black market crime and has suspicions of a murder cover-up. The humid atmosphere is laced with grunge, irritability and well-known people like General Douglas MacArthur, an American who commanded the Southwest Pacific region. Powell has recreated a vibrant town which embraced a huge influx of strangers in uniform and the repercussions this had on Brisbane society, some of which still lingers today.

More with images on my blog https://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2020/...

[Cass Moriarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

An historical crime mystery set in wartime Brisbane, J.P. Powell’s The Brisbane Line (Brio Books 2020) is a tale of murder, corruption, art and love during a week in late 1943, featuring a handful of real-life people combined with fictional characters in a familiar landscape. The main protagonist, Sergeant Joe Washington, is a United States Military Policeman who loves music and photography but is responsible for investigating the many petty and sometimes sordid and serious crimes committed by the American troops stationed in town. Known as the Garrison Town, Brisbane was flooded with thousands of ‘Yank’ soldiers at that time, causing many small skirmishes and local ‘misunderstandings’ and of course much larger conflicts such as The Battle of Brisbane, where soldiers from each side were pitted against each other in a clash of cultures surrounding who had the most cash, who got the most girls, who was most handsome in uniform and who held the most sway.
The Trocadero and the Carver Club, the Office of the American Provost Marshall, the Lyceum Club, the Courier-Mail, the Tower Mill, Customs House – all feature as backdrop to the action, as Powell enthusiastically and meticulously recreates Brisbane past.
Frank Bischof, the notorious Police Commissioner known for his illicit backroom deals, corruption, standover tactics and criminal connections, is fleshed out in a fictional way that feels entirely believable.
The literary community of the time also features strongly. Thea Astley and Judith Wright (among others) make an appearance, as does the literary journal Meanjin Papers which was founded in 1940, and the journal Senior Tabloid (later known as Barjai), first written and produced by senior students of Brisbane State High in 1943. The author has very cleverly woven these true facts, actual places, real-life events and well-known people into this fictional tale in a way that provides the kind of authenticity that normally accompanies true crime or historical / memoir writing. The amount of detail regarding real places, as well as foods, clothing, vehicles, past-times, music and the literary scene of the time has obviously been well-researched and it is no surprise that the author is an historian and an archaeologist.
The book explores the attitudes of the time including racism, sexism, homophobia, police corruption, class snobbery, and anger and mistrust towards foreigners.
I found the first half of the book the most compelling, with the ending also satisfying, but the story perhaps slowing a little in the middle. A complex plot with many subplots and a host of characters at times got a little confusing, but the author does bring it all together again towards the end, and leaves the story with the possibility of future adventures by Joe Washington, perhaps in other novels. I did really enjoy the familiarity of Brisbane and Queensland depicted throughout the book – the weather, the flora and fauna, the colloquial language, the names of streets and suburbs and local landmarks, many of which still stand today. And I appreciated the meticulous attention Powell pays to the authenticity of dialogue, and the morals and behaviour of the time, as if she has captured a snapshot of 1943 Brisbane and allowed it to develop fully before our eyes as the novel progresses.
If you enjoyed Melanie Myers’ award-winning novel Meet Me at Lennons, The Brisbane Line will be of similar appeal. And if you’ve read Matt Condon’s trilogy of true-crime accounts of Queensland’s political, judicial and policing history, this will encapsulate the fact with the addition of imagined but quite plausible fiction.

[HanniCentaur · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really enjoyable read and clearly well-researched!

[Tim Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reading copy of this and loved it. The book is a evocative period piece of what Brisbane, Australia may well have been like in the 2nd World War. The characters are well drawn and the story is a solid thriller from an exciting new writer.
I look forward to the future books in what appears to be a new series.

[Marion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Often the best part of crime novels is the insight they give into the time and place within which they are set. Years later, I remember more about medieval Shrewsbury or tourist-infested Venice than I do about the crimes Brother Cadfael or Guido Brunetti set out to solve.

So it is with J P Powell's The Brisbane Line. A short - and short-sighted - American military investigator sets out to solve the murder of an American serviceman, one of the many thousands that passed through Brisbane during World War II.

Joe Washington gets to the bottom of the murder, but it is the rich tapestry of life in Brisbane in this book that will stay with me, long after the plot has faded from my mind. Brisbane in the 1940s was a garrison town, a place for patching up broken soldiers and repairing ships and submarines, so both men and machines could return to the front line. A place awash with American money, gasoline, and an overflowing PX store full of silk stockings and chocolates with which to seduce the locals.

No wonder then that the seeds of police corruption in Queensland date from this period. I look forward to learning more about the town my grandparents knew in the next book of what promises to be a continuing series.

[Nita Lorimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. My childhood home town, some years before I was there. I am not a detective book reader but this was different. Environments and thoughts mixed into an exciting story. Lots of fine feelings.

[Melanie Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A highly detailed reimagining of World War II Brisbane. Rich in historical and atmospheric detail.

[Jillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was drawn in by a prepublication review of this book. I knew a bit about US servicemen in Sydney during WWII and a bit about the role of how they were paid - in Australian coinage - in the development of trench art. I did not know about the Brisbane Line.

In spite of the evident depth of research, I was disappointed in the book. The narrative failed to gain traction. The prose is dense, verbose - almost desperate - in its efforts to set the scene and convey knowledge of the time. The plot idea has potential never realised.

It’s a shame. I could get a glimpse of the time and place, but no story, crime or otherwise emerged strongly enough to grip or engage me.

[Jill Lawson · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF! Even though I had purchased this book myself, I could not get past about page 100. This was persevering well past page 16, which is where I am "allowed" to give up now I am 84 (100 minus your age). The writing was pedestrian, the plot boring, the characters confusing, and I really didn't need to know the names of all the streets everyone drives down. The well-researched history didn't make up for these deficiencies. Very disappointing.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully researched, this book gives an interesting view of Brisbane in the 1940s. A crime, actually several, the focus of Sergeant Joe Washington, an American fighting his war in Brisbane in 1943. Several real people appear in this story, most notably notorious detective Frank Bischof. The historical view of Brisbane in this book is fascinating.

[Shreedevi Gurumurty · Rating 4 out of 5]

As WWII ravages the world and the Japanese Empire has set its sights on Australia, the Americans have come to save us. But not all soldiers are heroes and not all heroes are soldiers.
Sergeant Joe Washington, a US Military Police, loves music and photography but spends his days delving into the sordid and petty crimes committed by the thousands of American troops passing through town.
While trying to find stolen gasoline stores, he is sent to investigate the body of an American soldier found dumped in a cemetery. Suddenly Joe is up against notorious detective Frank Bischof. Although ordered to leave the investigation alone, Joe fears that Bischof is protecting the most likely suspect while trying to pin the crime on an innocent – and intriguing – young woman, Rose. A woman who seems to walk between the parallel worlds of black market deals and Brisbane’s high society.

General MacArthur called Brisbane the most corrupt place in the South Pacific. During WWII over a million soldiers passed through what had until then been a small town. For the young it was an exciting time, but crime flourished.
The "Brisbane Line" was a defence proposal supposedly formulated during World War II to concede the northern portion of the Australian continent in the event of an invasion by the Japanese. Although a plan to prioritise defence in the vital industrial regions between Brisbane and Melbourne in the event of invasion had been proposed in February 1942, it was rejected by Labor Prime Minister John Curtin and the Australian War Cabinet. An incomplete understanding of this proposal and other planned responses to invasion led Labor minister Eddie Ward to publicly allege that the previous government (a United Australia Party-Country Party coalition under Robert Menzies and Arthur Fadden) had planned to abandon most of northern Australia to the Japanese.

Ward continued to promote the idea during late 1942 and early 1943, and the idea that it was an actual defence strategy gained support after General Douglas MacArthur referred to it during a press conference in March 1943, where he also coined the term "Brisbane Line". Ward initially offered no evidence to support his claims, but later claimed that the relevant records had been removed from the official files. A Royal Commission concluded that no such documents had existed, and the government under Menzies and Fadden had not approved plans of the type alleged by Ward. The controversy contributed to Labor's win in the 1943 federal election, although Ward was assigned to minor portfolios afterward.

The 'Battle of Brisbane' refers to the mass street brawls and riots between Australian and United States servicemen on November 26 and 27 in 1942. The usually friendly interaction, camaraderie and jocularity between the Australians and the Americans turned violent after a series of nasty incidents fuelled by alcohol, mistaken intentions, deep social divides and a toxic relationship between the high commands of the armies. By the time the violence had been quelled, one Australian soldier was dead and hundreds of Australians and U.S. servicemen had been injured. News reports of these incidents were suppressed overseas, with the causes of the riot not made evident in the few newspaper reports of the event that were published within Australia. Following the Battle of Brisbane, resentment towards American troops led to several smaller riots in Townsville, Rockhampton and Mount Isa. Similar riots in other states also followed: Melbourne on 1 December 1942, Bondi on 6 February 1943, Perth in January 1944 and Fremantle in April 1944.

Almost 1 million American service personnel, including about 100,000 African-Americans, passed through Australia during World War II. American troops started arriving in Australia in December 1941 and during the next four years they became a continuous presence in Australian life, opening major cities to a new culture and making a substantial impact on the local economy.
At first they were welcomed as saviours but as time went on the glamour of their presence wore off. Australians became a little more critical of American ways even though the importance of the American alliance was never in question. American servicemen and women set up enclaves of American culture with soda fountains and their own clubs where they could eat their own American-style meals. They were better paid and had access to more exotic consumer items in their military PXs (tax free stores) and many Australian women saw the well-paid Americans as desirable and romantic. The arrival of black African-American troops caused another impact on the Australian home front. Despite the discrimination they suffered in the US, they demonstrated the possibility of greater political and economic opportunities that were available to black Americans. Indigenous Australians, who had been largely excluded from the Australian forces, were influenced by the possibilities they seemed to offer.

The American servicemen and women were camped or billeted in major cities as they trained or prepared to be sent to the Pacific front. Many were stationed in northern Australia – in Townsville, Cairns, Brisbane, Rockhampton – and others returned from the front for rest and recreation or to convalescence in Australia.The Australian Government, lacking confidence in Australia's capability to defend itself, had expressed its willingness to accept a supreme commander in the south-west Pacific - initially - from either Great Britain or the United States. Although MacArthur's appointment had been discussed for some time, it was only confirmed after the devastating loss of the Philippines to the Japanese. Australia's security became a vital link in the future American offensive against Japan, providing a base from which they could fight the Pacific war. From the Australian perspective, the US offered the opportunity for strategic protection as well as the acquisition of weapons and personnel with which to fight the Japanese.

Apart from the more innocent entertainment offered by the Red Cross, YMCA or servicemen’s canteens, some troops sought carnal pleasures and prostitution grew in Brisbane. Most of the brothels could be found in the City or across the river in South Brisbane. Such was the shortage of prostitutes in Brisbane during the war that, in September 1942, a trainload of these women was brought from Sydney to reinforce Brisbane’s sex workers.
On the night of 19 June 1944, Private Abelardo Fernandez of the US 503rd Parachute Regiment murdered prostitute Doris May Roberts in the service laneway that ran beside McLeod’s Bookshop in Elizabeth Street, the City. Fernandez was in Brisbane recovering from an injury sustained in the Allied parachute assault on the Markam Valley, New Guinea on 5 September 1943. On leave from the US Army hospital at Holland Park, Fernandez and three buddies started a 'pub crawl' at Holland Park’s Mountain View Hotel, then down Logan Road to the Stones corner Hotel and finally into the City for a meal. At Nick’s Café in Elizabeth Street, 31 year-old Fernandez had met 41 year-old Doris. The US soldiers had bought whiskey (possibly from the Army PX in Creek Street) and another woman joined the party for a short time. Upon leaving Nick’s Cafe, Fernandez and Doris drunkenly fell down the cafe’s stairs and slightly injured themselves.
Fernandez and Doris then walked down Elizabeth Street, with the other US soldiers straggling behind at a distance. One soldier was on crutches. Upon reaching McLeod’s Bookshop, Fernandez pushed Doris into the service lane and began to molest her. She asked for money so that they could pay for a room in which to continue. Fernandez became enraged as he took Doris’s request for money as a slur that made him feel cheap. He proceeded to beat her and kick her savagely. She died in the Elizabeth Street lane.
On the morning of 20 June 1944, Brisbane detectives of the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) at the Roma Street Police Headquarters questioned Fernandez. He admitted to the murder and underwent a two day court martial held at US Army Provost Headquarters at the South Brisbane Town Hall Chambers in Vulture Street. After his conviction, he was held at the Camp Layfeyette US Army Stockade (prison) where he repaired saddles for a US cavalry division while he awaited the carrying out of his sentence. As the death penalty had been abolished in Queensland in 1913, Fernandez was flown to Papua for execution. He was buried at Clark’s Cemetery, Angeles City in the Philippines.

The United States Army Criminal Investigation Command (USACIDC) is the primary federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of the Army. Its primary function is to investigate felony crimes and serious violations of military law & the United States Code within the US Army. The division is a separate military investigative force with investigative autonomy; CID special agents, both military and civilian, report through the CID chain of command to the USACID Director, who reports directly to the Under Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Army.
With the onset of World War II in December 1941, the armed forces rapidly swelled in size and the Army once again became a force of millions, and the need for a self-policing law enforcement system rematerialized. However, by early 1942, investigations of crimes committed by military personnel were still considered to be a "command function" to be conducted by local military police personnel. The Office of The Provost Marshal General felt that the agents in the Investigations Department were not properly trained for criminal investigations, the only investigations taking place at the time being personnel security background investigations for individuals being considered for employment in defense industries. As the Army had expanded, the crime rate had risen, and local commanders did not have the personnel or resources to conduct adequate investigations. By December 1943, the Provost Marshal General was charged with providing staff supervision over all criminal investigations, and a month later in January 1944, the Criminal Investigation Division was reestablished under the Provost Marshal General's Office. The organization exercised supervision over criminal investigation activities, coordinated investigations between commands, dictated plans and policies, and set standards for criminal investigators.

Roma Street is a major street in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. In 1879, Roma Street Police Barracks are built and provide accommodation for about forty-five men, room for an OIC and two cells. In 1895, The Roma Street police station telephone exchange is connected to 14 sites including the Woolloongabba and South Brisbane police stations, the Commissioner's house at Red Hill, the Detective Office, the Police Depot and the Central Fire Brigade Station. In 1901, the Criminal Investigation Branch is housed in the old St John’s Cathedral synod building on the corner of Elizabeth and George Streets. In 1904, The Fingerprint Bureau is established. During the first year of operation 578 prints are taken and 226 come from other states. In 1927, the Criminal Investigation Branch building in Queen’s Park is blown up by a criminal intent on destroying the evidence against him. In 1934, The Battley Single Finger Print System is adopted, to reduce the period of search for a print found at the crime scene among the 470,000 impressions held. In 1935, the Modus Operandi Section is established by Police Commissioner Carroll as a central repository for criminal records regarding their habits or manner of working.
A Criminal Photographic Supplement is reproduced in the Queensland Police Gazette to allow quick access to the information collected by the Modus Operandi Section.The Queensland Police Department is given control of the Firearms Act and creates the Firearms Section under Clerk Thomas Baty, to undertake the major task of licensing firearms. Weekly lectures are delivered by experienced officers at the Roma Street police barracks and copies of lectures are distributed to every police officer. In 1936, newly sworn Constable Thomas Baty assumes charge of the Firearm Section. In 1937, the Firearms Section is enlarged to include forensic ballistics and a laboratory is installed, with microscopical and photomicrographical apparatus to examine bullets. In 1938, the Criminal Investigation Branch consists of 48 detectives, 65 plain clothes police spread over all districts, along with 14 cadets. The Firearm Section is expanded to encompass the scientific investigation of firearms under the area of Forensic Ballistics. During WWII, the Police Commissioner works in co-operation with the Defence Department to provide protection of civilian lives, public buildings and communications lines. In 1940, the system of interchange of Detectives and the sharing of knowledge with New South Wales and Victoria police continues, with one Queensland Detective working in Sydney and the other in Melbourne. In 1941, The Central Fingerprint Bureau in Sydney is created for use by all policing jurisdictions. The Forensic Ballistics Section is renamed as the Scientific Section and now encompasses forensic chemistry, scientific photography and the examination of documents and handwriting. The Scientific Section is examining documents and handwriting with ultra violet rays and microscopy.

Francis Erich Bischof (12 October 1904 – 28 August 1979) was the Queensland Police Commissioner in Australia from January 1958 until his resignation, on 13 February 1969, amidst allegations of corruption. Stationed with the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) in Brisbane, he was promoted to sergeant in 1939 and inspector in 1949.

Dance Halls of Brisbane in the twentieth century were popular venues for entertainment, socialising and reflected styles of music, architecture, popular culture and city planning. ll styles of dance were available in Brisbane and the variety of arenas available made it possible for dancers to choose the venue they could best afford to attend.Most venues were located near train, tram or bus stations, mostly in the inner city. With the advent of talking motion pictures and the popularity of film musicals throughout the 1930s, people were keen to emulate their film idols such as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.During World War II there was likely to be somewhere to dance at least three times a week, when almost 1 million United States military personnel were stationed on the east coast of Australia during the war in the Pacific. The Doctor Carver Club was a services club for African American soldiers, established in 100 Grey Street, South Brisbane opposite the train station, during the war. Regular dances were held in the club. Lennon's Hotel was originally situated in George Street but was rebuilt in 1941 to a design by Emil Sodersteen, and again in 1972 at its present site in Queen Street.Lennon's offered a small dance floor from the 1920s and due to its status as the town's leading hotel, attracted celebrities visiting Brisbane for performances and other events. The hotel was largely taken over by the US military during World War II.
The Trocadero Dansant opened in 1923 as a high class dance hall in South Brisbane, taking advantage of the popularity for jazz style music particular to the 1920s. It was situated in Melbourne Street facing the railway terminus. It had been designed by architects Hall and Prentice. It featured a painted ceiling, greenery and purple and blue electric lighting. A central chandelier, much like an early disco ball, directed light to the corners of the room. The dance hall provided 52 alcoves for patrons to rest and socialise, featuring mission oak furniture. 300 palm trees were used in window boxes and in hallways to provide a tropical effect. 1200 dancers could be accommodated on the floor which was polished to a high standard. It featured an orchestra and offered regular competitions tied to movies as well as beauty pageants. The Sydney Trocadero was a large art deco dance and concert hall that operated between 1936 and 1971 in Sydney, Australia. It was the main venue of Big Band jazz orchestras, with the resident Trocadero Orchestra under the baton of Frank Coughlan, and the All Girl Trocadero Band. Often referred to as "The Troc", it was once regarded as the "most glamorous dance palace in Sydney and accommodated up to 2,000 people".

A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of writing or a specific author. Modern literary societies typically promote research, publish newsletters, and hold meetings where findings can be presented and discussed. Some are more academic and scholarly, while others are more social groups of amateurs who appreciate a chance to discuss their favourite writer with other hobbyists. Meanjin, formerly Meanjin Papers and Meanjin Quarterly, is an Australian literary journal. The name is derived from the Turrbal word for the spike of land where the city of Brisbane is located. It was founded in 1940 in Brisbane, by Clem Christesen. It moved to Melbourne in 1945. Past contributors to Meanjin include Australian writers Judith Wright, Kylie Tennant, Manning Clark, Vance & Nettie Palmer, Dymphna Cusack, Martin Boyd, Alan Marshall, Dorothy Hewett, Peter Carey, Alice Pung, Michelle de Kretser, Randa Abdel-Fattah and Dorothy Porter. International authors published include Carmen Callil, J M Coetzee, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Kurt Vonnegut.

The Lyceum Club (Australia), also known as the Australian Association of Lyceum Clubs and formed in 1972 from several smaller clubs, is an Australian arts, literature and social activism group for women only. The aim of the AALC is to promote a spirit of goodwill and understanding within the Association and to enhance the enjoyment of Lyceum by providing opportunities for contact and friendship with members of other Lyceum Clubs.

A lock hospital was an establishment that specialised in treating sexually transmitted diseases. They operated in Britain and its colonies and territories from the 18th century to the 20th.The military had a close association with a number of the hospitals. The term "lock hospital" originates from their use as leprosariums, in which the patients were kept in restraints.

[Kim Pink · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited about this book as my grandfather was a police officer in Brisbane at this time. It's obvious that the author has done an amazing job in her research. Her setting descriptions are magic, you really feel like you're there. Unfortunately I think there were too many unnecessary characters. I would have loved more backstory and more internal dialogue on the main characters so that I felt more emotional invested in them.

[Wenda Shurety · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved learning about Brisbane's past alongside a murder mystery. Great read!

[John Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Brisbane Line took me on a journey back to a time when I knew many of the localities and the themes of which the author writes. My wife and I moved up to Brisbane just 15 years after the end of WW2, when it really hadn’t changed all that much. While reading, I often found myself in a time warp. Even so, it took half the book for me to become fully engaged in the story, as opposed to the setting.

Judy Powell’s writing is excellent and her research superb (neither point unexpected, due to her academic and educational background). I enjoyed the way she brought in actual people from the period: Sen Sgt Frank Bischof, a tough stance on policing (especially ‘...poofters and perverts...’) with routine visits to madams collecting for the - ahem - Police Boys’ Club; Cliff Stanaway, famous Courier Mail journalist who’d later desert the rag and reestablish himself on the ABC; Tom Baty, founding father of Queensland Police forensics; a young Laurie Collinson, the developing poet; mention of these and others add to the book’s appeal, with some, including Bischof, contributing.

Our main protagonists are Joe Washington and Rose. Joe, a sergeant, serves in the Criminal Investigation Command, his thoughts of US military service dashed by myopic vision and a heart murmur. During his investigation into an overnight stabbing murder of a serviceman in South Brisbane Cemetery, he meets Rose, an interesting young woman who seems to lead an interesting life in the Brisbane of the day - and night. Raised in Adelaide and educated in the classics, she tells Joe ‘I love Goethe and don’t see why he should be blamed for Hitler.’

Rose’s young man, James Mawinney, was on his way back to Australia from training in the Middle East when his ship diverted to Singapore. After the collapse of the bastion, an official telegram told his family he’d been taken prisoner by the Japanese.

The first half of the book establishes background and characters, offering several nuances on the sense of a very clever book title (only partly to do with the defensive Brisbane Line), while the story itself moves along rather more briskly in the second. I do think some will find the book a bit slow to start with, but the author’s prose and an engaging end story make it a great read. Her next effort is keenly awaited!

4 ½ stars.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read for large sections. This was well researched and it was fascinating to see real people such as Judith Wright and Thea Astley became fictional characters. This was well done.

I feel the story just needed another good edit - the Brisbane in wartime reflections, whilst good, seemed to repeat whilst the ending was hurried. It was a mammoth task to weave so many characters and places together, capturing a time historically whilst still producing a mystery. Well done to the writer. I do feel the mystery is subservient to the history and marketing it as historical fiction rather murder mystery would have framed this differently for me.

[Martyn Tilse · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was after I’d read “The Brisbane Line” that I went back and flicked through my Father’s War Record. I say flicked through because there is very little written down. Most in spidery faded ink and almost all in code. Squadron number 107, number 2 R.P.P and so on. Occasionally in the truly sparse document a place name slips in; Wagga Wagga, Bradfield Park, Port Moresby, Townsville.

As a record it gives only a ghostly outline of my Father’s true war experiences. There is no mention of his being strafed while manning a signals hut in the New Guinea Jungle. Being evacuated with black water fever, malaria, and recouping in Townsville. Being on a troop truck on his way to Darwin when the bombing forced an unexpected bivouac at The Devils Marbles in the Northern Territory. Working as a signals operator keeping contact with flying boats patrolling our east coast for Japanese Submarines. This real action he revealed to us bit by bit over the years and that’s why the sparsity of his offical record came as such a shock.

JP Powell wouldn’t have been so surprised. But she is an historian after all and knows only too well what secrets bald facts can hide. Her book “The Brisbane Line” adds some muscle onto the skeletal remains of wartime Brisbane in the early 1940s.

The Brisbane Line was, supposedly a line curving across the Australian map, perhaps following the Murray-Darling River system, from Adelaide to Brisbane. Depending on whom you believe it is either an election lie, the Menzies Government’s plan to sacrifice the bulk of Australia to any invasion by the Japanese or a cock-a-hoop Australian Army defensive stratagem for wise old General MacArthur to kybosh in his wise old American way. Who knows?

Anyway it’s a great title because Powell’s fictional murder mystery is set against a Brisbane already sacrificed to our American allies rather than the Japanese. In 1941 after Pearl Harbour we Brisbanites were relieved and delighted to see the US Troops arrive. They had money and manpower and would drive the Japanese back up the globe where they belong. But by 1943 all that manpower and money were starting to irk. The Yanks were over paid, over sexed and, more importantly, over here.

Judy Powell captures a big country town Brisbane of yesteryear. Very white, of course but fascinated by the jazz and jitterbugging the American’s brought. Money was there for the taking and black-marketeering, illegal alcohol, prostitution, clubs and bars proliferated. It’s a time that has been only too willingly forgotten.

The story is a simple one of a yankee military policeman, Joe Washington, who finds personal meaning against the mad backdrop of war, in investigating the murder of one of his own. It’s his own Brisbane Line that Joe won’t retreat from. Murder investigations were handled by the corrupt Brisbane police of the time and conflict naturally arose as corruption wasn’t the prerogative of only one of the allies. Everyone; police, soldiers, populace, were crossing moral boundaries once considered sacrosanct.

There’s love too. There always is. And it’s all about boundaries as well. Joe is married.

You only have to attend an ANZAC Day celebration, or read my Father’s discharge documents to see how necessary books like “The Brisbane Line” really are. With out them we might imagine war to be a movie, more like Breaker Morant and less like Sergeant Bilko.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author seems to have thoroughly researched the city of Brisbane for the time period of the novel. She clearly depicts the buildings and streets as well as the fashions, food, entertainment and transport that were common in 1941.

As WWII ravages the world and the Japanese Empire has set its sights on Australia, the Americans have come to save us. But not all soldiers are heroes and not all heroes are soldiers. Sergeant Joe Washington, a US Military Police, loves music and photography but spends his days delving into the sordid and petty crimes committed by the thousands of American troops passing through town. While trying to find stolen gasoline stores, he is sent to investigate the body of an American soldier found dumped in a cemetery. Suddenly Joe is up against notorious detective Frank Bischof. Although ordered to leave the investigation alone, Joe fears that Bischof is protecting the most likely suspect while trying to pin the crime on an innocent – and intriguing – young woman, Rose. A woman who seems to walk between the parallel worlds of black market deals and Brisbane’s high society.

[Geoff Barlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly engrossing story that skilfully blends the genres of hard-boiled murder mystery and literary fiction. J.P. Powell has done a brilliant job of evoking the atmosphere and setting of wartime Brisbane, which dovetails with my own earliest memories of Queensland's capital (in the 60's) and with many recollections of my parents, particularly their discussions of feelings and attitudes towards visiting American troops during the war. The country town feel of Brisbane and its easy proximity to bushland makes one yearn for what has been lost. The main protagonists, particularly Joe Washington and Rose, are skilfully realised and one looks forward to seeing more of them, perhaps in stories to come. Highly recommended.

[Chris Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four, or maybe five, stars until the last 5 pages. Powell does a marvelous job of bringing wartime Brisbane to life, with the tensions, corruption, confusion, frustrations, and deprivation associated with life during wartime. The plot is complicated, but not overly so. The main female character is an interesting enigma and remains so throughout the book. To her credit, Powell brings to life many real people of the Era, displaying the deep research that went into this novel.

The tension builds, the net tightens, and then, the book ends. Loose ends are not resolved, the fates of key characters are left in doubt, and it is entirely unclear how the progression of events got from point A to point B. As skillful as this book is for the first 275 pages, where were the editors at the end?

[Margot Duncan]

The Brisbane Line offers a fascinating insight into wartime life in the river city. The writing invokes the humid sub-tropical feel and pace of life in what seemed more like a large country town to the urbanites from the USA.

We feel enormous empathy for Joe Washington as he struggles to find a sense of support or camaraderie in a hostile workplace. Through his eyes we learn a great deal about Brisbane's cultural life, Brisbane's night life and a little more about its ugly underbelly. As an MP it was impossible to avoid the latter.

It is a really good read. I encourage everyone to pick it up and delve into our city's history.

[Kerrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel gives readers a snapshot of life in Brisbane in a period of approximately 10 days (Friday 8 October 1943 - Sunday 17 October 1943.) Brisbane is home to thousands of American soldiers, committing the usual range of crimes found in Western society, complicated by crimes, corruption, and conventions typical of Brisbane itself. The book is populated with real life characters as well as fictional one.

While there are a range of crimes committed, I felt that the novel is historical "faction" rather than crime fiction. Two murders have been committed, the investigation shared uncomfortably by an American MP and a detective from the Brisbane police force.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in late 1943 Brisbane, this is more a story of a place and time than a solution to the mystery of who murdered an American serviceman. Sgt Joe Washington is an MP obstructed on all sides, American and local, as he seeks the truth to a killing of an American.
Real people, including a notorious local cop, interact with a range of characters (most, unfortunately, from 21st century central casting), as the investigation, widening to include the black-market and vice, proceeds in a fairly convoluted way. Some of the real characters are awkwardly shoe-horned into the story, but the era and the city are well-portrayed.

[Kylie H · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is set in Brisbane during WWII and is host to many American servicemen. When an officer is found stabbed in a cemetery Joe Washington is on the periphery of the investigation, it being handled by the Brisbane police.
I really wanted to enjoy this book, but found the numerous characters hard to keep track of. There was a lot of blatant sexism and racism in the book. While it may have been a sign of the times, in this age it is quite distasteful to read. Unfortunately I think this flavoured my opinion of the book and that is perhaps unfair.
To me the storyline was quite lacklustre, but I did like learning a bit more about Brisbane in this era. For me 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plausible story with well interwoven historical figures and events included. A little slow and the plot could have been wound a bit tighter, no shocks here. But that tone reflects the overall atmosphere that is part of the setting. Actually the events cover the unsavoury side of life in wartime Brisbane. I dont know Brisbane and the street names, so they seemed a bit excessive to the story at times. Useful Notes at back put characters etc. into perspective. However the Atomic coffee maker wasn't around in 1943- the author must just love it as much as I do and so wanted to include it!

[Melanie T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating read. The mystery /murder was fine but not its strong point. For me it was about Brisbane which is my home town I guess. The historical aspect was well depicted with actual names of some that were around even in my time were of interest. The author got the portrayal of a hot and humid Brisbane to the point I could feel I was there. Finally, I found out how the Battle of Brisbane started.

[Aileen Sutcliffe]

I found this book dull and predictable. Kind of judgemental on what would have been the prevailing attitudes of wartime Australia. It's easy to criticise a whole generation when they're mostly no longer here to defend themselves. If you're into a stroll around the streets of 1940s Brisbane, this is a book for you because there is plenty of it, the author inserted bits of the story in between all this. Thumbs down.

[Melanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m Brisbane born and raised and haven’t heard anything much about this era in the town’s history so was excited to pick this book up. Such a shame that it didn’t fulfill its promise- plot isn’t very linear and honestly it’s depressing and confusing (too many characters with too few being likeable). DNF. Historical accuracy is great but need a good narrative to keep people engaged - check out Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher series instead.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not so much a murder mystery as a portrait of Brisbane during 1943 when it struggled with the welcome influx of American servicemen. Joe Washington is a MP investigator called to the scene of a murdered soldier. Joe has more cases on his desk and more investigating to be done around black market activities. There is a wide cast of characters that all takes some concentrating to keep track of.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is very much geared to readers who live or grew up in Brisbane, and so can appreciate the familiar locations and descriptive subtropical vignettes. The plot line is reasonable, though keeping track of the varied cast of characters was difficult at times. An enjoyable read, but not one to stick with you beyond the final page.