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Still
STILL is an evocative, confronting and page-turning thriller from a brilliant Australian writer. If you loved THE DRY and SCRUBLANDS, you will love STILL.
Darwin, Summer, 1963.
The humidity sat heavy and thick over the town as Senior Constable Ned Potter looked down at a body that had been dragged from the shallow marshland. He didn't need a coroner to tell him this was a bad death. He didn't know then that this was only the first. Or that he was about to risk everything looking for answers.
Late one night, Charlotte Clark drove the long way home, thinking about how stuck she felt, a 23-year-old housewife, married to a cowboy who wasn't who she thought he was. The days ahead felt suffocating, living in a town where she was supposed to keep herself nice and wait for her husband to get home from the pub. Charlotte stopped the car, stepped out to breathe in the night air and looked out over the water to the tangled mangroves. She never heard a sound before the hand was around her mouth.
Both Charlotte and Ned are about to learn that the world they live in is full of secrets and that it takes courage to fight for what is right. But there are people who will do anything to protect themselves and sometimes courage is not enough to keep you safe.
Darwin, Summer, 1963.
The humidity sat heavy and thick over the town as Senior Constable Ned Potter looked down at a body that had been dragged from the shallow marshland. He didn't need a coroner to tell him this was a bad death. He didn't know then that this was only the first. Or that he was about to risk everything looking for answers.
Late one night, Charlotte Clark drove the long way home, thinking about how stuck she felt, a 23-year-old housewife, married to a cowboy who wasn't who she thought he was. The days ahead felt suffocating, living in a town where she was supposed to keep herself nice and wait for her husband to get home from the pub. Charlotte stopped the car, stepped out to breathe in the night air and looked out over the water to the tangled mangroves. She never heard a sound before the hand was around her mouth.
Both Charlotte and Ned are about to learn that the world they live in is full of secrets and that it takes courage to fight for what is right. But there are people who will do anything to protect themselves and sometimes courage is not enough to keep you safe.
384 pages, Paperback
First published May 26, 2021
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February 18, 2022
4.5 Stars
This is an absorbing, atmospheric, character-driven thriller. The location is Darwin, 1963, situated on the northern coast of Australia. Its author, Matt Nable, is a writer and actor. He describes a rough, remote town with even wilder characters. Some are vile, and others try to do the right thing amidst overt racism, heavy drinking, violence, and corruption. I had never read a book set in Darwin before but had been there a couple of times. Its vivid description of the climate made it the ideal thriller to read during a raging blizzard, making it impossible to open my outside doors due to snowdrifts.
Nable describes a remote town, the capital of the Northern Territories, in the early 1960s. The stifling hot, still, humid air is prevalent. The rapid drying of the rain-soaked earth and streets gives off the odour of soil, vegetation, and tar, filling the stagnant air. The weather may suddenly change to heavy rainstorms, even cyclones. When someone is asked at the police station whether anyone has been reported missing, the reply is, " This is the Territory,..., people come here to go missing!"
We learn that it is a town of bars and heavy drinkers with beer to cool you down or hard liquor to escape ones' problems. The rivers and creeks are great for fishing. Hunting of crocodiles, kangaroo, and wild boar is common. The indigenous natives are faced with prejudice. Women are expected to stay home and be subservient homemakers.
Ned Potter, Senior Constable, is diligent, even obsessive, searching for truth and justice. He is the first policeman to be present when a body is pulled from a musty swamp surrounded by saltbush and lantana. The dead man had been tortured and shot. Ned is a good, honest man with a moral outlook working in a corrupt system. His flaws are neglecting his wife and baby for hanging around bars drinking, and becoming overly involved in his work. The mayor and senior officer, the bigoted Riley,
are only interested in quickly closing the case, even if innocent men are charged.
Soon two more bodies are discovered buried in shallow graves, there is an apparent suicide, and an indigenous man has gone missing. The police department forces Ned to compromise his moral principles. He has been ordered to stay out of the cases and is on the verge of being fired. His wife and baby daughter were abducted and threatened because of Ned's involvement in the case. Feeling guilty about not adequately protecting his family, he has quit the police force. Two innocent men have been charged and found guilty of the murders. This weighs heavily on his mind. He is drinking heavily, becoming a falling-down drunk. Ned has made connections between the cases, knowing they were murdered due to something they had seen or heard. No longer a police detective, he will not let the case go and is determined to find the truth.
Charlotte Clark is a young housewife who feels trapped in her marriage to a former rodeo cowboy, now a fireman. He has performed in touring rodeos and in boxing matches attached to it. She feels suffocated in her life and with a husband she no longer loves. She had wanted a nursing career and felt trapped with nothing to do except to cook and keep the house clean for her husband when he stumbles home from the pub. One night, she looks over the water to the tangled mangroves, enjoying the night air. She feels a presence and is frightened by a hand covering her mouth.
Both Ned's and Charlotte's lives are about to change, but not in directions they or the readers would anticipate. They are courageous, trying to do what is right, but this is not enough to keep themselves
and those they love safe. After a slow buildup, their stories are shocking and exhilarating.
The story is dark, grim and fascinating with coverups, corruption, bullying, racism, violence and cruelty. The characters are believable with an amazing sense of time and place. I hope Matt Nable writes a follow-up.
This is an absorbing, atmospheric, character-driven thriller. The location is Darwin, 1963, situated on the northern coast of Australia. Its author, Matt Nable, is a writer and actor. He describes a rough, remote town with even wilder characters. Some are vile, and others try to do the right thing amidst overt racism, heavy drinking, violence, and corruption. I had never read a book set in Darwin before but had been there a couple of times. Its vivid description of the climate made it the ideal thriller to read during a raging blizzard, making it impossible to open my outside doors due to snowdrifts.
Nable describes a remote town, the capital of the Northern Territories, in the early 1960s. The stifling hot, still, humid air is prevalent. The rapid drying of the rain-soaked earth and streets gives off the odour of soil, vegetation, and tar, filling the stagnant air. The weather may suddenly change to heavy rainstorms, even cyclones. When someone is asked at the police station whether anyone has been reported missing, the reply is, " This is the Territory,..., people come here to go missing!"
We learn that it is a town of bars and heavy drinkers with beer to cool you down or hard liquor to escape ones' problems. The rivers and creeks are great for fishing. Hunting of crocodiles, kangaroo, and wild boar is common. The indigenous natives are faced with prejudice. Women are expected to stay home and be subservient homemakers.
Ned Potter, Senior Constable, is diligent, even obsessive, searching for truth and justice. He is the first policeman to be present when a body is pulled from a musty swamp surrounded by saltbush and lantana. The dead man had been tortured and shot. Ned is a good, honest man with a moral outlook working in a corrupt system. His flaws are neglecting his wife and baby for hanging around bars drinking, and becoming overly involved in his work. The mayor and senior officer, the bigoted Riley,
are only interested in quickly closing the case, even if innocent men are charged.
Soon two more bodies are discovered buried in shallow graves, there is an apparent suicide, and an indigenous man has gone missing. The police department forces Ned to compromise his moral principles. He has been ordered to stay out of the cases and is on the verge of being fired. His wife and baby daughter were abducted and threatened because of Ned's involvement in the case. Feeling guilty about not adequately protecting his family, he has quit the police force. Two innocent men have been charged and found guilty of the murders. This weighs heavily on his mind. He is drinking heavily, becoming a falling-down drunk. Ned has made connections between the cases, knowing they were murdered due to something they had seen or heard. No longer a police detective, he will not let the case go and is determined to find the truth.
Charlotte Clark is a young housewife who feels trapped in her marriage to a former rodeo cowboy, now a fireman. He has performed in touring rodeos and in boxing matches attached to it. She feels suffocated in her life and with a husband she no longer loves. She had wanted a nursing career and felt trapped with nothing to do except to cook and keep the house clean for her husband when he stumbles home from the pub. One night, she looks over the water to the tangled mangroves, enjoying the night air. She feels a presence and is frightened by a hand covering her mouth.
Both Ned's and Charlotte's lives are about to change, but not in directions they or the readers would anticipate. They are courageous, trying to do what is right, but this is not enough to keep themselves
and those they love safe. After a slow buildup, their stories are shocking and exhilarating.
The story is dark, grim and fascinating with coverups, corruption, bullying, racism, violence and cruelty. The characters are believable with an amazing sense of time and place. I hope Matt Nable writes a follow-up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2021
EXCERPT: The snake's head lifted, it's hood flared and it looked at the shadowy figures, like a fighter adopting his stance. It unravelled itself and moved away, down the embankment into the large snarls of lantana and wild saltbush.
'Stand him up.' The voice came from a large broad-shouldered man, his shape caught briefly in the half-moon's light. The voice wasn't much more than a whisper, though considering where they were, it wouldn't have mattered had he yelled. The only sign of mankind was the corona from the town's lights to the west of them and even it had been dulled by the ocean mist. In the darkness in front of the blockish end of a derelict machine-gun post, a prone man was pulled up by his armpits. He stood, his face lifting from the shadows and into the light. His bottom lip was split in its centre and fell loosely either side of the gash.
'You were in the wrong place at the wrong time.'
ABOUT 'STILL': Darwin, Summer, 1963.
The humidity sat heavy and thick over the town as Senior Constable Ned Potter looked down at a body that had been dragged from the shallow marshland. He didn't need a coroner to tell him this was a bad death. He didn't know then that this was only the first. Or that he was about to risk everything looking for answers.
Late one night, Charlotte Clark drove the long way home, thinking about how stuck she felt, a 23-year-old housewife, married to a cowboy who wasn't who she thought he was. The days ahead felt suffocating, living in a town where she was supposed to keep herself nice and wait for her husband to get home from the pub. Charlotte stopped the car, stepped out to breathe in the night air and looked out over the water to the tangled mangroves. She never heard a sound before the hand was around her mouth.
Both Charlotte and Ned are about to learn that the world they live in is full of secrets and that it takes courage to fight for what is right. But there are people who will do anything to protect themselves and sometimes courage is not enough to keep you safe.
MY THOUGHTS: Summer. 1963. Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. It's humid. Hot. There's crocs, stingers and sharks. The fishing's good. The beer's cold. The climate rascist. Corruption rife. Women the property of their men. People went to the Territory to go missing. That's the way it was.
Matt Nable has given us some of the most magnificent and some of the most despicable characters that I have ever encountered. Charlotte is one of the magnificent ones; a woman in an abusive relationship, the kind that was frequently the norm back then. But a woman who will rise above society's expectations and make peace with herself and her actions. Constable Ned Potter is a 'good bastard'. He's not perfect, but he stands up for what he believes in, at great personal cost.
The story is dark. It flows along at its own pace. Nable spends some considerable time throughout the book creating atmosphere; the damp, stifling heat, the mosquitoes, the drinking, the bullying, which all adds to the personality of this tale. It is a tale of cruelty and abuse, of corruption and cover ups. It is violent. And, in places, shocking.
Don't expect Still to be fast moving. It's not. But it will keep you turning the pages in a kind of fascinated horror. Nable doesn't pull any punches. He tells it how it was, warts and all. Incredibly realistic.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
#Still #NetGalley
I: #mattnable @@hachetteaus
T: @MattNableOnline @HachetteAus
#australiancrimefiction #mystery #Darwin
THE AUTHOR: Matthew Nable is an Australian film and television actor, writer, sports commentator and former professional rugby league footballer (Manly Sea Eagles). With his wife and three children, Matt divides his time between Sydney and Los Angeles.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Hachette Australia via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Still by Matt Nable for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
'Stand him up.' The voice came from a large broad-shouldered man, his shape caught briefly in the half-moon's light. The voice wasn't much more than a whisper, though considering where they were, it wouldn't have mattered had he yelled. The only sign of mankind was the corona from the town's lights to the west of them and even it had been dulled by the ocean mist. In the darkness in front of the blockish end of a derelict machine-gun post, a prone man was pulled up by his armpits. He stood, his face lifting from the shadows and into the light. His bottom lip was split in its centre and fell loosely either side of the gash.
'You were in the wrong place at the wrong time.'
ABOUT 'STILL': Darwin, Summer, 1963.
The humidity sat heavy and thick over the town as Senior Constable Ned Potter looked down at a body that had been dragged from the shallow marshland. He didn't need a coroner to tell him this was a bad death. He didn't know then that this was only the first. Or that he was about to risk everything looking for answers.
Late one night, Charlotte Clark drove the long way home, thinking about how stuck she felt, a 23-year-old housewife, married to a cowboy who wasn't who she thought he was. The days ahead felt suffocating, living in a town where she was supposed to keep herself nice and wait for her husband to get home from the pub. Charlotte stopped the car, stepped out to breathe in the night air and looked out over the water to the tangled mangroves. She never heard a sound before the hand was around her mouth.
Both Charlotte and Ned are about to learn that the world they live in is full of secrets and that it takes courage to fight for what is right. But there are people who will do anything to protect themselves and sometimes courage is not enough to keep you safe.
MY THOUGHTS: Summer. 1963. Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. It's humid. Hot. There's crocs, stingers and sharks. The fishing's good. The beer's cold. The climate rascist. Corruption rife. Women the property of their men. People went to the Territory to go missing. That's the way it was.
Matt Nable has given us some of the most magnificent and some of the most despicable characters that I have ever encountered. Charlotte is one of the magnificent ones; a woman in an abusive relationship, the kind that was frequently the norm back then. But a woman who will rise above society's expectations and make peace with herself and her actions. Constable Ned Potter is a 'good bastard'. He's not perfect, but he stands up for what he believes in, at great personal cost.
The story is dark. It flows along at its own pace. Nable spends some considerable time throughout the book creating atmosphere; the damp, stifling heat, the mosquitoes, the drinking, the bullying, which all adds to the personality of this tale. It is a tale of cruelty and abuse, of corruption and cover ups. It is violent. And, in places, shocking.
Don't expect Still to be fast moving. It's not. But it will keep you turning the pages in a kind of fascinated horror. Nable doesn't pull any punches. He tells it how it was, warts and all. Incredibly realistic.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
#Still #NetGalley
I: #mattnable @@hachetteaus
T: @MattNableOnline @HachetteAus
#australiancrimefiction #mystery #Darwin
THE AUTHOR: Matthew Nable is an Australian film and television actor, writer, sports commentator and former professional rugby league footballer (Manly Sea Eagles). With his wife and three children, Matt divides his time between Sydney and Los Angeles.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Hachette Australia via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Still by Matt Nable for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
November 10, 2021
Still by Australian author Matt Nable is set in Darwin during Summer 1963. As Senior Constable Ned Potter watches the body of a man being dragged out of the shallow marshland, he can easily see the man had suffered and died from a severe beating. But what Ned didn’t know was this would not be the only body and finding out what happened and why was going to be more of a challenge than he first thought.
This book touched on many issues such as domestic violence, child abuse and racism just to name a few all of which were woven into a compelling read with detailed descriptions throughout the story. A well written novel and one in which I highly recommend.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my digital copy to read and review.
This book touched on many issues such as domestic violence, child abuse and racism just to name a few all of which were woven into a compelling read with detailed descriptions throughout the story. A well written novel and one in which I highly recommend.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my digital copy to read and review.
October 26, 2021
In Still, Matt Nable has ably painted a portrait of Darwin in 1963. Hot, humid, violent, racist, misogynist, and infested with crocodiles and snakes. Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territory, but then it was not much more than a large country town with a population of around 12,500. Isolated from the rest of Australia, it was wild and rough with a culture of heavy drinking and outbreaks of violence never far away.
Senior Constable Ned Potter is a flawed character who drinks too much and doesn’t spend as much time at home with his wife and baby daughter as he should. But he’s always an honest man who tries to do his best and have the courage to stand up for his convictions. When local fishermen find a dead body in a swamp, Ned is the first policeman on the scene. His senior officer, Riley writes it off as a suicide and tells him the case is closed, but when Ned visits the man’s widow, she suggests he was killed because he saw something he shouldn’t.
More bodies will later be found and again Ned is warned not to investigate. Late one night while out for a drive, a local woman, Charlotte Clark also comes across a badly beaten man who has escaped being killed. Charlotte is a woman in an unhappy, abusive marriage who feels suffocated and longs to get away and start a fresh life. She agrees to hide the injured man and care for him while he heals and plans how to get away.
This is a dark story of entrenched violence, racism and bullying by a corrupt policeman and a politician and several other vile characters. The novel is a slow burner as it takes Ned a while to put all the pieces in place and work out what has been going on without drawing too much attention to himself. In the end, the revelations come thick and fast and the reason so many men died is laid bare. An atmospheric novel, painting an evocative picture of Darwin, the local wetlands and animals that live there, as well as telling a tale of corruption founded in racism and violence.
Senior Constable Ned Potter is a flawed character who drinks too much and doesn’t spend as much time at home with his wife and baby daughter as he should. But he’s always an honest man who tries to do his best and have the courage to stand up for his convictions. When local fishermen find a dead body in a swamp, Ned is the first policeman on the scene. His senior officer, Riley writes it off as a suicide and tells him the case is closed, but when Ned visits the man’s widow, she suggests he was killed because he saw something he shouldn’t.
More bodies will later be found and again Ned is warned not to investigate. Late one night while out for a drive, a local woman, Charlotte Clark also comes across a badly beaten man who has escaped being killed. Charlotte is a woman in an unhappy, abusive marriage who feels suffocated and longs to get away and start a fresh life. She agrees to hide the injured man and care for him while he heals and plans how to get away.
This is a dark story of entrenched violence, racism and bullying by a corrupt policeman and a politician and several other vile characters. The novel is a slow burner as it takes Ned a while to put all the pieces in place and work out what has been going on without drawing too much attention to himself. In the end, the revelations come thick and fast and the reason so many men died is laid bare. An atmospheric novel, painting an evocative picture of Darwin, the local wetlands and animals that live there, as well as telling a tale of corruption founded in racism and violence.
May 23, 2021
I like this latest trend for crime novels set in outback Australia although Nable avoids the usual small country town and instead sets Still in 1960's Darwin. Back then the town was apparently raw and rough and a perfect setting for corruption in the police force. (It is much nicer today!)
Senior Constable Ned Potter finds himself caught up in the corruption and struggles to find a way out. There is plenty of nastiness along the way - domestic violence, murders, beatings, racism - you name it and it probably happens. My only criticism is that it goes on too long and gets solved too suddenly and easily at the end.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book
Senior Constable Ned Potter finds himself caught up in the corruption and struggles to find a way out. There is plenty of nastiness along the way - domestic violence, murders, beatings, racism - you name it and it probably happens. My only criticism is that it goes on too long and gets solved too suddenly and easily at the end.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book
May 28, 2021
The back cover of Still tells us - "if you loved The Dry and Scrublands, you will love STILL" - well sign me up! It was absolutely true. This book was brilliant. I love a good Aussie crime thriller and this one, set in 1963 Darwin hooked me in from the very beginning. It is a dark and tense multi layered story that will keep you guessing. I look forward to reading more of Matt Nable's books in the future.
The Still is the perfect name for this book. The weather and location plays a huge part in the story, like another character. It is a story of murder, corruption, alcoholism, violence, racism, isolation and of course crocodiles. We have 2 central characters of Ned Potter, the police officer who finds the body (the first of many) in the marshland. He can tell from the state of the man's body that this is bad..and he is right. But there are those who want it shut down, without finding the truth. Then there is Charlotte Clarke, a woman who married young. He husband is an ex rodeo cowboy and now fireman and is hardly ever home. She is bored and wants more out of life than being a housewife. When she finds it, she learns that tings are not always as they seem on the outside.
As you would expect in a story set in the 1960's, there are racists and alcoholics on every corner. The woman's place was at home and that was just how it was. But Charlotte and Ned are pushing those boundaries before it was acceptable to do so.
This is book that you do not want to miss. There is alot to love in The Still and I couldn't get enough.
Thanks to Hachette Australia for my advanced copy of this book to read.
The Still is the perfect name for this book. The weather and location plays a huge part in the story, like another character. It is a story of murder, corruption, alcoholism, violence, racism, isolation and of course crocodiles. We have 2 central characters of Ned Potter, the police officer who finds the body (the first of many) in the marshland. He can tell from the state of the man's body that this is bad..and he is right. But there are those who want it shut down, without finding the truth. Then there is Charlotte Clarke, a woman who married young. He husband is an ex rodeo cowboy and now fireman and is hardly ever home. She is bored and wants more out of life than being a housewife. When she finds it, she learns that tings are not always as they seem on the outside.
As you would expect in a story set in the 1960's, there are racists and alcoholics on every corner. The woman's place was at home and that was just how it was. But Charlotte and Ned are pushing those boundaries before it was acceptable to do so.
This is book that you do not want to miss. There is alot to love in The Still and I couldn't get enough.
Thanks to Hachette Australia for my advanced copy of this book to read.
June 24, 2021
Senior Constable Ned Potter finds a man’s body in creepy shallow marshland near Darwin and he has no idea it’s the first of three bodies he will find during the summer of 1963. Ned is married to Bonnie, they have a baby daughter and are still deciding what to name her. Like most blokes Ned likes to have a knock off drink at the Victoria Hotel, a cold beer goes down well at the end of a hot humid day and Ned’s problem is he has more than one.
Charlotte Clark is married to Bobby, he was once a rodeo cowboy and he now works for the fire department. She’s unhappy, being a housewife is boring and she spends most night waiting for her husband to come home from the pub and keeping his tea warm. Charlotte is restless, she goes for walks along the beach, fishing and borrows Bobby’s car to visit her dad who’s in a nursing home.
One night she stops the car, she needs some fresh air and she gets out of the vehicle and a hand goes over her mouth. It’s a man, he badly hurt, he’s absolutely terrified, she needs to get them both out of the area quickly ,where to take him and how to treat his injuries?
Charlotte and Ned discover that Darwin is full of corruption, it’s a rather sinister place, and you can’t trust anyone and including some of the police. Ned’s sure the three murders are linked, his boss doesn’t want him looking into the similarities between the cases, and it really gets to him.
Still is a little rough around the edges, like Darwin would have been in the sixties, lots of drinking, violence, crudeness, racism, the story isn’t predictable and it kept me guessing until the end. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and four stars from me. https://karrenreadsbooks.blogspot.com/
Charlotte Clark is married to Bobby, he was once a rodeo cowboy and he now works for the fire department. She’s unhappy, being a housewife is boring and she spends most night waiting for her husband to come home from the pub and keeping his tea warm. Charlotte is restless, she goes for walks along the beach, fishing and borrows Bobby’s car to visit her dad who’s in a nursing home.
One night she stops the car, she needs some fresh air and she gets out of the vehicle and a hand goes over her mouth. It’s a man, he badly hurt, he’s absolutely terrified, she needs to get them both out of the area quickly ,where to take him and how to treat his injuries?
Charlotte and Ned discover that Darwin is full of corruption, it’s a rather sinister place, and you can’t trust anyone and including some of the police. Ned’s sure the three murders are linked, his boss doesn’t want him looking into the similarities between the cases, and it really gets to him.
Still is a little rough around the edges, like Darwin would have been in the sixties, lots of drinking, violence, crudeness, racism, the story isn’t predictable and it kept me guessing until the end. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and four stars from me. https://karrenreadsbooks.blogspot.com/
May 18, 2021
The heat and humidity of Darwin’s summer in 1963 was filled with men with a great thirst, corruption and murder. Senior Constable Ned Potter, his wife Bonnie and as yet unnamed baby daughter lived a quiet life until Ned found the first body. The beating the body had taken before death was obvious, but with Ned’s boss not letting him investigate, and declaring it to be a possible suicide frustrated Ned. When Ned discovered two more badly beaten bodies, he knew deep down the deaths were connected.
When Charlotte Clark took herself for a drive to get away from the mundane, she was shocked to come across a badly injured man. He’d been beaten and stabbed, needed help desperately but wouldn’t allow Charlotte to take him to the hospital or police. Charlotte’s husband Bobby was a man Charlotte no longer felt anything for, and she spent her time trying to find a way to get away from him – and Darwin.
What would be the outcome of the events of the summer of ’63, when corruption and murder were rife?
Still by Aussie author Matt Nable has a title that depicts the contents. The weather was still before the storm; the women’s lives were still before the events; the heat in the air made everything still around them. It was hard to become accustomed to if you were a visitor to the area. Filled with racism, crude and rough Territorian men, plenty of grog and drunks everywhere and a twisted mystery that kept me turning the pages. Recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
When Charlotte Clark took herself for a drive to get away from the mundane, she was shocked to come across a badly injured man. He’d been beaten and stabbed, needed help desperately but wouldn’t allow Charlotte to take him to the hospital or police. Charlotte’s husband Bobby was a man Charlotte no longer felt anything for, and she spent her time trying to find a way to get away from him – and Darwin.
What would be the outcome of the events of the summer of ’63, when corruption and murder were rife?
Still by Aussie author Matt Nable has a title that depicts the contents. The weather was still before the storm; the women’s lives were still before the events; the heat in the air made everything still around them. It was hard to become accustomed to if you were a visitor to the area. Filled with racism, crude and rough Territorian men, plenty of grog and drunks everywhere and a twisted mystery that kept me turning the pages. Recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
May 28, 2021
Still is an engrossing and frequently confronting read, exploring the theme of police and government corruption in Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory, during the early 1960s.
The book opens with the dramatic scene of an underworld execution in a dark mangrove swamp not far outside Darwin. Our flawed hero, Senior Constable Ned Potter, is the first representative of NT Police to come across the scene, where local fishermen have discovered the decomposing body of Ernie Clay. Clay was an indigenous man, who had survived a fractured childhood in Queensland, as a member of Australia's "Stolen Generation". Potter is quickly side lined from the case by his crooked and racist superior, Senior Sergeant Joe Riley, but visits Clay's widow, a white woman, to express his condolences. She's afraid to say any more, but makes the tantalising comment, "They killed him because he saw."
For the remainder of the book, we follow Potter's often thwarted efforts to investigate and lift the veil of police corruption and political interference from Darwin's ambitious Mayor, Desmond Landry, as further brutal killings occur and Potter is treated as a pariah by his colleagues.
Meanwhile, Charlotte, wife of NT Fire & Rescue officer Bobby Clark, is facing her own struggles. Her husband is a boorish man, who's in the thick of the conspiracy involving Riley and Landry. She unwittingly becomes drawn into the heart of the drama when she rescues a wounded indigenous man not far from the swamp where Ernie Clay was found weeks earlier. She secretly nurses him back to health, as an understanding grows between them.
The picture Matt Nable paints of 1960s Darwin, with its relentless humidity, overt racism, frequent domestic abuse and uncontrolled drinking, is not pretty. Nevertheless, there are passages of stunningly evocative prose, as Nable details such apparently mundane subjects as an aged Land Rover, the smell of a pub during wet season, or the process Charlotte follows when fishing for whiting from the beach. The stillness to which the title refers, is repeatedly conjured in the view from the coast towards the Timor Sea, which both Ned and Charlotte find restorative in the moments between oncoming storm fronts, both literal and figurative.
The two characters from whose perspectives the intertwined narrative unfolds, Ned and Charlotte, are not unexpectedly those who are best developed and the reader's sympathy for both grows over the course of the novel. Ned is particularly compelling as a character - he regularly gets so drunk after work that his relationship with his wife Bonnie and baby daughter are threatened, and yet his commitment to finding justice and truth are unwavering. He seems to be some years (decades?) ahead of his colleagues when it comes to matters of systemic racism and treatment of victims and their families. Meanwhile, Charlotte is a woman who is feeling dissatisfied in her marriage prior to the events detailed in the novel. She's tied to Darwin by her dying father, but yearns for a more fulfilling life.
I found Still a stimulating read, with occasional flashes of brilliance, but perhaps let down a little by several unexplained plot incongruities and a rather abrupt and overly-neat ending. Nevertheless, readers who are willing to suspend their disbelief and go along for the ride will find this a worthwhile excursion into top-end noir, with plenty of character interest and an action-packed storyline.
My thanks to the author, Matt Nable, publisher Hachette Australia and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this title.
The book opens with the dramatic scene of an underworld execution in a dark mangrove swamp not far outside Darwin. Our flawed hero, Senior Constable Ned Potter, is the first representative of NT Police to come across the scene, where local fishermen have discovered the decomposing body of Ernie Clay. Clay was an indigenous man, who had survived a fractured childhood in Queensland, as a member of Australia's "Stolen Generation". Potter is quickly side lined from the case by his crooked and racist superior, Senior Sergeant Joe Riley, but visits Clay's widow, a white woman, to express his condolences. She's afraid to say any more, but makes the tantalising comment, "They killed him because he saw."
For the remainder of the book, we follow Potter's often thwarted efforts to investigate and lift the veil of police corruption and political interference from Darwin's ambitious Mayor, Desmond Landry, as further brutal killings occur and Potter is treated as a pariah by his colleagues.
Meanwhile, Charlotte, wife of NT Fire & Rescue officer Bobby Clark, is facing her own struggles. Her husband is a boorish man, who's in the thick of the conspiracy involving Riley and Landry. She unwittingly becomes drawn into the heart of the drama when she rescues a wounded indigenous man not far from the swamp where Ernie Clay was found weeks earlier. She secretly nurses him back to health, as an understanding grows between them.
The picture Matt Nable paints of 1960s Darwin, with its relentless humidity, overt racism, frequent domestic abuse and uncontrolled drinking, is not pretty. Nevertheless, there are passages of stunningly evocative prose, as Nable details such apparently mundane subjects as an aged Land Rover, the smell of a pub during wet season, or the process Charlotte follows when fishing for whiting from the beach. The stillness to which the title refers, is repeatedly conjured in the view from the coast towards the Timor Sea, which both Ned and Charlotte find restorative in the moments between oncoming storm fronts, both literal and figurative.
The two characters from whose perspectives the intertwined narrative unfolds, Ned and Charlotte, are not unexpectedly those who are best developed and the reader's sympathy for both grows over the course of the novel. Ned is particularly compelling as a character - he regularly gets so drunk after work that his relationship with his wife Bonnie and baby daughter are threatened, and yet his commitment to finding justice and truth are unwavering. He seems to be some years (decades?) ahead of his colleagues when it comes to matters of systemic racism and treatment of victims and their families. Meanwhile, Charlotte is a woman who is feeling dissatisfied in her marriage prior to the events detailed in the novel. She's tied to Darwin by her dying father, but yearns for a more fulfilling life.
I found Still a stimulating read, with occasional flashes of brilliance, but perhaps let down a little by several unexplained plot incongruities and a rather abrupt and overly-neat ending. Nevertheless, readers who are willing to suspend their disbelief and go along for the ride will find this a worthwhile excursion into top-end noir, with plenty of character interest and an action-packed storyline.
My thanks to the author, Matt Nable, publisher Hachette Australia and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this title.
July 26, 2021
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Still by Matt Nable. (2021).
Darwin, 1963. An unforgiving town where secrets can kill and knowledge is deadly... when Senior Constable Ned sees a body in the shallow marshland he knows it is a bad death, but not that it was just the first. 23 year old Charlotte is an unhappy housewife to a cowboy and is suffocating in her life. On her way home one night she finds herself with a hand around her mouth. Both Charlotte and Ned will learn that the world they live in is full of secrets and it takes courage to fight for what is right. But there are people who will do anything to protect themselves and sometimes courage is not enough to keep you, or those you love, safe.
I have a lot of respect for Matt Nable as an actor and while this is his first book I've read, I have seen his movie 1% which he wrote as well as starred in. So I was looking forward to reading this, especially after also seeing consistently high reviews for this novel. It's definitely a slow burner with high tension. There's a lot of confronting issues at play in this story: corruption, racism, murders, violence, drunk and angry behaviours... you get the picture. I've seen this novel compared to Jane Harper's 'The Dry' and Chris Hammer's 'Scrublands'; I would agree it has a familiar feel which I would put down to the descriptive writing, the slow pace, the crime in a regional Australian town and the intense characters. So overall, if what I've described sounds like your kind of novel, definitely give this one a go
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Still by Matt Nable. (2021).
Darwin, 1963. An unforgiving town where secrets can kill and knowledge is deadly... when Senior Constable Ned sees a body in the shallow marshland he knows it is a bad death, but not that it was just the first. 23 year old Charlotte is an unhappy housewife to a cowboy and is suffocating in her life. On her way home one night she finds herself with a hand around her mouth. Both Charlotte and Ned will learn that the world they live in is full of secrets and it takes courage to fight for what is right. But there are people who will do anything to protect themselves and sometimes courage is not enough to keep you, or those you love, safe.
I have a lot of respect for Matt Nable as an actor and while this is his first book I've read, I have seen his movie 1% which he wrote as well as starred in. So I was looking forward to reading this, especially after also seeing consistently high reviews for this novel. It's definitely a slow burner with high tension. There's a lot of confronting issues at play in this story: corruption, racism, murders, violence, drunk and angry behaviours... you get the picture. I've seen this novel compared to Jane Harper's 'The Dry' and Chris Hammer's 'Scrublands'; I would agree it has a familiar feel which I would put down to the descriptive writing, the slow pace, the crime in a regional Australian town and the intense characters. So overall, if what I've described sounds like your kind of novel, definitely give this one a go
June 16, 2021
Still is the fourth novel by Australian actor, screenwriter and author, Matt Nable. When the body of half-caste Aboriginal man, Ernie Clay is found at the edge of a swamp, as first policeman on the scene, Senior Constable Ned Potter is eager to start an investigation. His Senior Sergeant, though, assures Ned that he will handle it.
When Ned speaks to the widow, she mutters that Ernie was killed for what he saw, but refuses to elaborate. And then, despite coroner’s findings to the contrary, Senior Sergeant Riley tells Ned it will probably be ruled a suicide: welcome to Darwin in 1963.
Soon after this, following a close encounter between his vehicle and a feral pig, Ned stumbles on two more bodies in shallow graves. One, he recognises immediately, and this time, the national press flock to Darwin, making it more difficult for his superiors to sweep under the carpet.
The ultimatum that Ned is issued makes him very uncomfortable: one of his guiding principles is to follow through. He learns, from what he believes to be subtle investigation, that things said or overheard marked them as victims. Subsequently, overt threats to his wife and child are meant to stop his covert inquiries: will he comply?
Charlotte Clark finds herself in a loveless (on her part) marriage, but her options for a fulfilled life in Cairns are limited. Leaving Bobby Clark would not be a simple matter. Perhaps it’s a distraction from her plight that leads her to help, and hide, a badly beaten fugitive, although aiding Michael Roberts immediately strikes her as the right thing to do.
She instinctively keeps her regular attendance to offer him food and medical care from Bobby, aware he wouldn’t approve, and feeling a little guilty about her attraction to Michael, when Bobby has never really given her any reason to complain. But perhaps that is just the side of him that he shows her…
Nable gives the reader a convincing tale with plenty of intrigue, quite a bit of violence and a generous serve of expletives. And it wouldn’t be the Territory in 1963 without some blatant racism and sexism, corrupt police and politicians, a good deal of fishing, a big old croc (named Marilyn, in this case), and lots of beer drinking.
His male lead is flawed: naïve, a bit arrogant and, initially, rather too fond of drinking beer to escape his worries. The other males are perhaps a tiny bit stereotypical Territory, but still authentic enough to accept. His portrayal of the 1960’s wife, expected to fulfil a role with few rights and without any ambition of her own, is credible.
Nable easily evokes the era although there are a few anachronisms that will stand out to readers of a certain vintage. His rendition of the setting is perfect: the hear and humidity are palpable. An impressive read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Hachette Australia.
When Ned speaks to the widow, she mutters that Ernie was killed for what he saw, but refuses to elaborate. And then, despite coroner’s findings to the contrary, Senior Sergeant Riley tells Ned it will probably be ruled a suicide: welcome to Darwin in 1963.
Soon after this, following a close encounter between his vehicle and a feral pig, Ned stumbles on two more bodies in shallow graves. One, he recognises immediately, and this time, the national press flock to Darwin, making it more difficult for his superiors to sweep under the carpet.
The ultimatum that Ned is issued makes him very uncomfortable: one of his guiding principles is to follow through. He learns, from what he believes to be subtle investigation, that things said or overheard marked them as victims. Subsequently, overt threats to his wife and child are meant to stop his covert inquiries: will he comply?
Charlotte Clark finds herself in a loveless (on her part) marriage, but her options for a fulfilled life in Cairns are limited. Leaving Bobby Clark would not be a simple matter. Perhaps it’s a distraction from her plight that leads her to help, and hide, a badly beaten fugitive, although aiding Michael Roberts immediately strikes her as the right thing to do.
She instinctively keeps her regular attendance to offer him food and medical care from Bobby, aware he wouldn’t approve, and feeling a little guilty about her attraction to Michael, when Bobby has never really given her any reason to complain. But perhaps that is just the side of him that he shows her…
Nable gives the reader a convincing tale with plenty of intrigue, quite a bit of violence and a generous serve of expletives. And it wouldn’t be the Territory in 1963 without some blatant racism and sexism, corrupt police and politicians, a good deal of fishing, a big old croc (named Marilyn, in this case), and lots of beer drinking.
His male lead is flawed: naïve, a bit arrogant and, initially, rather too fond of drinking beer to escape his worries. The other males are perhaps a tiny bit stereotypical Territory, but still authentic enough to accept. His portrayal of the 1960’s wife, expected to fulfil a role with few rights and without any ambition of her own, is credible.
Nable easily evokes the era although there are a few anachronisms that will stand out to readers of a certain vintage. His rendition of the setting is perfect: the hear and humidity are palpable. An impressive read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Hachette Australia.
July 11, 2021
I was really looking forward to reading this book but it fell a bit short of the mark for me. The story of good cop, bad cop, racism, alcohol and life in the Northern Territory was told from the view point of mainly Ned (good cop with problems).
For me this was a story full of hate, a lot of unpleasantness and over-the-top detail and description of the weather, the smells, the heat and not enough about solving the crimes that were happening in Darwin. It was long-winded, slow and to a point got a bit boring. I got confused with who was who and how they fit in to the overall picture.
And then the crime was solved, the bag guys dealt with but what happened to those that were left. I was left hanging and disappointed by this sudden ending that really had no closure.
Still
Matt Nable
Hachette Australia
For me this was a story full of hate, a lot of unpleasantness and over-the-top detail and description of the weather, the smells, the heat and not enough about solving the crimes that were happening in Darwin. It was long-winded, slow and to a point got a bit boring. I got confused with who was who and how they fit in to the overall picture.
And then the crime was solved, the bag guys dealt with but what happened to those that were left. I was left hanging and disappointed by this sudden ending that really had no closure.
Still
Matt Nable
Hachette Australia
June 7, 2021
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4. 5 stars
‘Standing there on the porch, she felt the sloshy collapse of small waves breaking over the sand on the beach. She raised her chin and tilted her head toward the sound. She smiled. She didn’t feel stuck in the stillness of the climate like she had done before.’
A redolent and addictive Australian crime fiction tale, Still is the latest release from Matt Nable. This novelist, screenwriter and actor has turned his focus to Darwin in the early sixties, revealing a cesspool of racism, injustice, corruption, oppression, violence and abuse. A rich depiction of time and place, Still is an enslaving crime title from a strong visual novelist.
Based in Darwin in the summer of 1963, Still unveils a series of events that take place in this hot and humid locale. Local Constable Ned Potter is confronted with a dead body in local marshlands. Ned knows that the terrible wounds inflicted on this body indicates that there are bad things operating in the area. The discovery of this body also signals the start of more shocking revelations to hit the community. A young married woman named Charlotte Clark becomes involved in this complex case when she stops at the wrong place at the wrong time. But will this fateful pit stop change Charlotte’s outlook on her unhappy life? Still is a story of secrets, lies, underhanded dealings, self-preservation and courage.
Matt Nable is a known to me only via his screen pursuits, most notably his appearance in the recent box office smash film The Dry, based on Jane Harper’s popular crime fiction novel. Now Nable tries his hand at the crime thriller genre and the Australian outback crime sub-genre with Still. A deep exploration of sultry Darwin in decades past defines this consuming new title. I’m glad I listened to the hype surrounding Still, as I rated this one highly.
A troubled era is depicted very clearly by Matt Nable in his first crime thriller presentation. We immediately grasp the situation at hand in Nable’s Still. We witness a community impaired by violence, abuse, suppression, racism, prejudice, sexism and corruption. Nable plants the seeds for a spectacular downfall for a number of his key players in this novel. It was interesting to oversee the dramatic fall from grace for some of these colourful protagonists. This facet of the novel really consumed me. Nable’s cast are well rendered. I got a good feel for the primary and secondary figures in this novel. These are flawed personalities, but their suspect deeds help to make Still a page turning read.
Racism, prejudice and the unfair treatment of the local Indigenous population are strong themes in Still. As is resilience, silence and suppression. I valued the relationships that were made and broken in this novel. The bond between a local white woman and an Aboriginal man on the run is explored well by Nable. I think the tension and forbidden style relationship that flourishes from the interactions between Charlotte and Michael was a highlight of this novel. In general, I found the dialogue in Still to be very fluid and readable. I seemed to race through Still in a record period of time. I didn’t encounter any issues with pace, but I was a little taken aback when the story seemed to move ahead in time a fair bit in the latter stages, leaving a gap in events and questions for me as a reader surrounding an unresolved storyline. I felt a little ripped off by the conclusion, I wanted more!
The evocative setting of tropical and muggy Darwin seems to smother the reader. With the threat of incoming storms, unpredictable weather patterns and exhausting heat, it leaves even more for these ill-fated characters to contend with. Substantial time in Still is devoted to robust descriptions of the local fauna and fauna, including a female crocodile with a big appetite. Nable never stumbles down in this department, offering his audience a generous line of vivid and cinematic feel prose, which works well to illuminate his location base. This was a starring feature of the novel and tipped Still over the line for me, despite the open ending.
4. 5 stars
‘Standing there on the porch, she felt the sloshy collapse of small waves breaking over the sand on the beach. She raised her chin and tilted her head toward the sound. She smiled. She didn’t feel stuck in the stillness of the climate like she had done before.’
A redolent and addictive Australian crime fiction tale, Still is the latest release from Matt Nable. This novelist, screenwriter and actor has turned his focus to Darwin in the early sixties, revealing a cesspool of racism, injustice, corruption, oppression, violence and abuse. A rich depiction of time and place, Still is an enslaving crime title from a strong visual novelist.
Based in Darwin in the summer of 1963, Still unveils a series of events that take place in this hot and humid locale. Local Constable Ned Potter is confronted with a dead body in local marshlands. Ned knows that the terrible wounds inflicted on this body indicates that there are bad things operating in the area. The discovery of this body also signals the start of more shocking revelations to hit the community. A young married woman named Charlotte Clark becomes involved in this complex case when she stops at the wrong place at the wrong time. But will this fateful pit stop change Charlotte’s outlook on her unhappy life? Still is a story of secrets, lies, underhanded dealings, self-preservation and courage.
Matt Nable is a known to me only via his screen pursuits, most notably his appearance in the recent box office smash film The Dry, based on Jane Harper’s popular crime fiction novel. Now Nable tries his hand at the crime thriller genre and the Australian outback crime sub-genre with Still. A deep exploration of sultry Darwin in decades past defines this consuming new title. I’m glad I listened to the hype surrounding Still, as I rated this one highly.
A troubled era is depicted very clearly by Matt Nable in his first crime thriller presentation. We immediately grasp the situation at hand in Nable’s Still. We witness a community impaired by violence, abuse, suppression, racism, prejudice, sexism and corruption. Nable plants the seeds for a spectacular downfall for a number of his key players in this novel. It was interesting to oversee the dramatic fall from grace for some of these colourful protagonists. This facet of the novel really consumed me. Nable’s cast are well rendered. I got a good feel for the primary and secondary figures in this novel. These are flawed personalities, but their suspect deeds help to make Still a page turning read.
Racism, prejudice and the unfair treatment of the local Indigenous population are strong themes in Still. As is resilience, silence and suppression. I valued the relationships that were made and broken in this novel. The bond between a local white woman and an Aboriginal man on the run is explored well by Nable. I think the tension and forbidden style relationship that flourishes from the interactions between Charlotte and Michael was a highlight of this novel. In general, I found the dialogue in Still to be very fluid and readable. I seemed to race through Still in a record period of time. I didn’t encounter any issues with pace, but I was a little taken aback when the story seemed to move ahead in time a fair bit in the latter stages, leaving a gap in events and questions for me as a reader surrounding an unresolved storyline. I felt a little ripped off by the conclusion, I wanted more!
The evocative setting of tropical and muggy Darwin seems to smother the reader. With the threat of incoming storms, unpredictable weather patterns and exhausting heat, it leaves even more for these ill-fated characters to contend with. Substantial time in Still is devoted to robust descriptions of the local fauna and fauna, including a female crocodile with a big appetite. Nable never stumbles down in this department, offering his audience a generous line of vivid and cinematic feel prose, which works well to illuminate his location base. This was a starring feature of the novel and tipped Still over the line for me, despite the open ending.
December 2, 2021
Still is a crime/mystery set in Darwin in 1963 and the main characters are policeman Ned Potter, and Charlotte Clark, a young woman in an unhappy marriage. Ned is the good cop in the story, and he wants to find the answers after he discovers a dead body but he is told it’s a suicide and to forget about it. The story gets more involved as more dead bodies are found and Ned is forced to wrap up the case by charging two men he knows are innocent. I found this an intriguing read. The atmosphere, particularly the heat and humidity of the Top End comes through in the writing. There are many issues presented here from violence and alcoholism, racism, police and political corruption and and they are all handled well. The story takes a little while to get going, it’s certainly much faster paced in the latter part of the novel. The ending is satisfying without being too neat.
April 1, 2021
This book was fantastic. The mystery unfolds slowy in an earily atmospheric novel. The landscape almost becomes a character in and of itself. I could feel the heat and the humidity as I was reading.
The mystery is extremely well done I had no idea who or why until the big reveal.. I loved riding along with Ned as he searched for the truth. Ned is an extremely flawed hero but his heart is in the right place and that shines through.
Charlotte is like so many women unhappily married and unsure of what to do about it. As with Ned her heart is in the right place and I felt a lot of empathy for her.
The narrative switches between Ned and Charlotte and I have to say its a seamless transition. The comparison to the likes of Harper and Hammer is justified.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the chance to read this novel.
The mystery is extremely well done I had no idea who or why until the big reveal.. I loved riding along with Ned as he searched for the truth. Ned is an extremely flawed hero but his heart is in the right place and that shines through.
Charlotte is like so many women unhappily married and unsure of what to do about it. As with Ned her heart is in the right place and I felt a lot of empathy for her.
The narrative switches between Ned and Charlotte and I have to say its a seamless transition. The comparison to the likes of Harper and Hammer is justified.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the chance to read this novel.
May 19, 2021
This is a compelling and evocative read one that had me turning the pages, set in Darwin in The Northern Territory in 1963 the weather is hot, humid and still, there are corrupt police and a lot more going on, men who drink very heavily and police officer Senor Constable Ned Potter discovers a body in the swamp and starts searching for answers that are not going to be easy to find.
Ned knows that this death was not a good one but he is thwarted at every turn by his boss to do any investigating, this plays on his mind and then he finds another two badly beaten bodies he does what he can but when his wife and baby are threatened he is left no choice but to stand back if his conscience will let him.
Charlotte is twenty three and married to an ex-cowboy now fireman she is struggling with her married life at the moment and while out on a drive she finds a badly injured man this will make her re-think a lot of things in her life as she steps in to help and keeps secrets as she does so.
There is a lot going on and Ned and Charlotte learn that there are lots of secrets in this town and that danger is not far away and showing strength and courage is the only way to finally uncover these secrets and set things right before there are more deaths.
The descriptions of the setting bought Darwin to life for me I felt the heat and humidity as I was reading, life was different back in 1963 men drank so much but why did they were there reasons? and life was not an easy one, this is a story that I would recommend it really is a page turner and it took me a while to discover what the secrets were.
My thanks to Hachette AUS for my copy to read and review
Ned knows that this death was not a good one but he is thwarted at every turn by his boss to do any investigating, this plays on his mind and then he finds another two badly beaten bodies he does what he can but when his wife and baby are threatened he is left no choice but to stand back if his conscience will let him.
Charlotte is twenty three and married to an ex-cowboy now fireman she is struggling with her married life at the moment and while out on a drive she finds a badly injured man this will make her re-think a lot of things in her life as she steps in to help and keeps secrets as she does so.
There is a lot going on and Ned and Charlotte learn that there are lots of secrets in this town and that danger is not far away and showing strength and courage is the only way to finally uncover these secrets and set things right before there are more deaths.
The descriptions of the setting bought Darwin to life for me I felt the heat and humidity as I was reading, life was different back in 1963 men drank so much but why did they were there reasons? and life was not an easy one, this is a story that I would recommend it really is a page turner and it took me a while to discover what the secrets were.
My thanks to Hachette AUS for my copy to read and review
June 5, 2021
‘They killed him because he saw.’
Still is an atmospheric noir crime fiction novel from Australian Matt Nable, a former professional rugby league footballer turned film and television broadcaster/actor, and novelist.
Set in Darwin in 1963, Nable exposes a barely civilised, nascent city plagued by racism, violence and corruption. It’s mid summer, the tropical weather alternates between searing and brooding, as oppressive and threatening as the work it takes to survive in the Territory.
When Senior Constable Ned Potter finds the body of a man beaten and shot twice in the marshland of Darwin’s outskirts, he resents being told to stand down by his venal boss, Senior Sergeant Riley, who promptly declares the the death a suicide. Ned is quietly furious but resigned to doing nothing until he stumbles upon the bodies of another two men buried in a shallow grave. They too have been beaten and shot, and yet again Riley, this time backed by the Mayor, presents Ned with a fair accompli. But this time Ned can’t let it go.
Ned is a well-realised, complex character. Nable portrays a man wrestling with conscience, caught between what he knows is right and the risk of consequences, not only to his career, which he expects, but to his wife and newborn daughter. Burning silently at the injustice, he punishes himself for his perceived lack of control and courage, drinks excessively, not sure whether he is trying to forget his principles, or his fear.
Meanwhile, on her way home from visiting her father in his nursing home, Charlotte Clark finds a bleeding, broken man who begs her to hide him. Charlotte sets him up at her father’s empty property, instinctively concealing the man from her firefighter husband, who shares a cosy relationship with Senior Sergeant Riley.
For Charlotte, caring for Michael is not only the right thing to do, despite society’s prevailing derogatory view, supported by her husband, of Australian aboriginals, but also provides her with a sense of control in a life where effectively she has none. Charlotte is a women representative of the era, a restless housewife with no practical means of escape from an unhappy marriage. The consequences of being discovered are dire not only for her, given the propensity for violence of her husband, but also for Michael, whose life is at risk.
The stakes are high for just about every character in Still, and with lives, and livelihoods, under threat the tension rarely wavers. While I do think the pacing was perhaps a little slow, my only real complaint with the novel relates to the timeline. There is a lack of immediacy in the resolution, which was necessary for one specific element of the plot, but I feel it didn’t work particularly well overall, and resulted in the conclusion losing some of its impact.
Nevertheless, Still has a lot to recommend it. I found it to be a compelling novel - superbly atmospheric, with nuanced characters and a strong mystery.
Still is an atmospheric noir crime fiction novel from Australian Matt Nable, a former professional rugby league footballer turned film and television broadcaster/actor, and novelist.
Set in Darwin in 1963, Nable exposes a barely civilised, nascent city plagued by racism, violence and corruption. It’s mid summer, the tropical weather alternates between searing and brooding, as oppressive and threatening as the work it takes to survive in the Territory.
When Senior Constable Ned Potter finds the body of a man beaten and shot twice in the marshland of Darwin’s outskirts, he resents being told to stand down by his venal boss, Senior Sergeant Riley, who promptly declares the the death a suicide. Ned is quietly furious but resigned to doing nothing until he stumbles upon the bodies of another two men buried in a shallow grave. They too have been beaten and shot, and yet again Riley, this time backed by the Mayor, presents Ned with a fair accompli. But this time Ned can’t let it go.
Ned is a well-realised, complex character. Nable portrays a man wrestling with conscience, caught between what he knows is right and the risk of consequences, not only to his career, which he expects, but to his wife and newborn daughter. Burning silently at the injustice, he punishes himself for his perceived lack of control and courage, drinks excessively, not sure whether he is trying to forget his principles, or his fear.
Meanwhile, on her way home from visiting her father in his nursing home, Charlotte Clark finds a bleeding, broken man who begs her to hide him. Charlotte sets him up at her father’s empty property, instinctively concealing the man from her firefighter husband, who shares a cosy relationship with Senior Sergeant Riley.
For Charlotte, caring for Michael is not only the right thing to do, despite society’s prevailing derogatory view, supported by her husband, of Australian aboriginals, but also provides her with a sense of control in a life where effectively she has none. Charlotte is a women representative of the era, a restless housewife with no practical means of escape from an unhappy marriage. The consequences of being discovered are dire not only for her, given the propensity for violence of her husband, but also for Michael, whose life is at risk.
The stakes are high for just about every character in Still, and with lives, and livelihoods, under threat the tension rarely wavers. While I do think the pacing was perhaps a little slow, my only real complaint with the novel relates to the timeline. There is a lack of immediacy in the resolution, which was necessary for one specific element of the plot, but I feel it didn’t work particularly well overall, and resulted in the conclusion losing some of its impact.
Nevertheless, Still has a lot to recommend it. I found it to be a compelling novel - superbly atmospheric, with nuanced characters and a strong mystery.
May 17, 2024
Setting: Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia; 1963.
Senior Constable Ned Potter does his duty but is not well-liked by his Senior Sergeant or colleagues for some reason. When he is first on scene at the discovery of a dead local man, he hopes to be the officer to investigate - but his Senior Sergeant takes over. Then Ned stumbles across a shallow grave holding the bodies of two more men, both brutally murdered. Meanwhile, a local woman has found an injured Aboriginal male on an isolated road and takes him to an abandoned farm where she nurses him back to health, little realising that her own husband has something to do with his injuries. As Ned starts to investigate the deaths, he comes under pressure from the Mayor and his own senior officers to curtail his investigation....
There was a great Aussie vibe to this book - I could clearly picture the mangrove swamps and the threatening storms as they featured large in the story. The 1963 setting didn't come across so clearly although there were references to the moon landing, the Kennedy assassination and Vietnam - and of course no DNA analysis or CCTV etc to aid the investigation! Crude investigation techniques to say the least!! Ned was definitely a flawed character, turning to drink at the drop of a hat and thereby enraging his wife and father-in-law. But he had a good heart and continued to pursue the right path until the bitter end. Hopefully, there may be more books featuring this character as I would like to read more about him. Great characters and unpredictable storyline - the reader is aware that there is a 'local secret' that the Mayor is trying to keep hidden at all costs but I certainly didn't predict it! - 9/10.
Senior Constable Ned Potter does his duty but is not well-liked by his Senior Sergeant or colleagues for some reason. When he is first on scene at the discovery of a dead local man, he hopes to be the officer to investigate - but his Senior Sergeant takes over. Then Ned stumbles across a shallow grave holding the bodies of two more men, both brutally murdered. Meanwhile, a local woman has found an injured Aboriginal male on an isolated road and takes him to an abandoned farm where she nurses him back to health, little realising that her own husband has something to do with his injuries. As Ned starts to investigate the deaths, he comes under pressure from the Mayor and his own senior officers to curtail his investigation....
There was a great Aussie vibe to this book - I could clearly picture the mangrove swamps and the threatening storms as they featured large in the story. The 1963 setting didn't come across so clearly although there were references to the moon landing, the Kennedy assassination and Vietnam - and of course no DNA analysis or CCTV etc to aid the investigation! Crude investigation techniques to say the least!! Ned was definitely a flawed character, turning to drink at the drop of a hat and thereby enraging his wife and father-in-law. But he had a good heart and continued to pursue the right path until the bitter end. Hopefully, there may be more books featuring this character as I would like to read more about him. Great characters and unpredictable storyline - the reader is aware that there is a 'local secret' that the Mayor is trying to keep hidden at all costs but I certainly didn't predict it! - 9/10.
July 6, 2021
Professional rugby league player, actor, scriptwriter, director, and the man who gets me excited about boxing bouts: Is there anything Matt Nable can’t do? I wondered when I learnt he’s also managed to get four books published. Still, his latest, is also proving to be his most popular and I snatched up a copy via NetGalley, eager to find out how his writing compares to his other career achievements.
It’s 1963 and Ned Potter is a senior constable in the local police force of Darwin. One day Ned stumbles across a body in a swamp and soon he’s embroiled in a mystery which threatens not only his job but his and his family’s lives.
If I had to describe Still, I’d call it atmospheric. Nable’s writing does not rely on a fast paced plot but, instead, his prose drags the reader into far north Australia which exudes a sense of a humid and remote society where laws are bent to their limit.
Nable also manages to create quite a lot of tension. The fate of the characters simmered like a summer storm at sea and I knew when the metaphorical heavens opened up, it was all going to turn ugly.
The book is not for the faint hearted. It’s graphic and violent. There’s many themes covered including racism, domestic violence, child abuse and alcoholism. Unfortunately many of the issues Nable brings up are just as relevant today as they were in 1963.
Ned is a character with a lot of flaws. He's pretty much an alcoholic, for starters. However, I still really liked him and, although Still is totally standalone, I would not be averse to the idea of Nable turning this into a series. Other standout characters included Ned's brother, his father-in-law, and the local barmaid, and I can easily imagine further stories featuring them.
As I read, I couldn’t help but picture Still playing out like a movie and I would not be surprised if one of Nable’s mates decided to adapt the book for the big screen. (Funny, given that Nable was one of the stars of The Dry which was adapted from Jane Harper’s novel which Still will be compared to a lot, I’m sure.) I even cast Nable as Ned’s brother, LOL.
If I had a complaint, it would be the ending. The book is fairly long and after such a slow build up, the resolution felt rushed.
I’ll definitely be checking out Nable’s other titles and I highly recommend Still. 4 ½ out of 5
PS I just noticed the audio version is not narrated by Nable himself. Such a waste…
It’s 1963 and Ned Potter is a senior constable in the local police force of Darwin. One day Ned stumbles across a body in a swamp and soon he’s embroiled in a mystery which threatens not only his job but his and his family’s lives.
If I had to describe Still, I’d call it atmospheric. Nable’s writing does not rely on a fast paced plot but, instead, his prose drags the reader into far north Australia which exudes a sense of a humid and remote society where laws are bent to their limit.
Nable also manages to create quite a lot of tension. The fate of the characters simmered like a summer storm at sea and I knew when the metaphorical heavens opened up, it was all going to turn ugly.
The book is not for the faint hearted. It’s graphic and violent. There’s many themes covered including racism, domestic violence, child abuse and alcoholism. Unfortunately many of the issues Nable brings up are just as relevant today as they were in 1963.
Ned is a character with a lot of flaws. He's pretty much an alcoholic, for starters. However, I still really liked him and, although Still is totally standalone, I would not be averse to the idea of Nable turning this into a series. Other standout characters included Ned's brother, his father-in-law, and the local barmaid, and I can easily imagine further stories featuring them.
As I read, I couldn’t help but picture Still playing out like a movie and I would not be surprised if one of Nable’s mates decided to adapt the book for the big screen. (Funny, given that Nable was one of the stars of The Dry which was adapted from Jane Harper’s novel which Still will be compared to a lot, I’m sure.) I even cast Nable as Ned’s brother, LOL.
If I had a complaint, it would be the ending. The book is fairly long and after such a slow build up, the resolution felt rushed.
I’ll definitely be checking out Nable’s other titles and I highly recommend Still. 4 ½ out of 5
PS I just noticed the audio version is not narrated by Nable himself. Such a waste…
April 16, 2021
If you have been looking for an atmospheric Australian mystery to read – congratulations, you have just found it!
Imagine Darwin in the 1960s. The Northern Territory is still very much one of Australia’s last frontiers. A place where crocodile hunters, buffalo shooters and cowboys gather at the local pub to escape the heat and humidity and get drunk. A place of fierce summer storms, of crocodiles lurking in waterways, of wilderness and isolation. But this is not the happy-go-lucky Territory of Crocodile Dundee, because beneath the surface of this tropical wonderland lies a dark underbelly that is the flip side of isolation. An outpost where outlaws can hide, where money speaks, where corruption is rife. A place where wealthy white men rule, but if you are black, or poor, or too honest, you’d best be keeping your head down and your mouth shut.
It is in this untamed land that we find ourselves in, watching in horror as Senior Constable Ned Potter discovers a badly decomposed body in shallow marshland. It is also here that we get to know Charlotte Clark, a young housewife who is contemplating her unhappy marriage and her bleak future. If you are wondering what these two characters can possibly have in common, don’t despair, because in the end all the threads will come together seamlessly. For now though, let’s just follow each one on their journey, living separate lives and yet being connected not only by the wild land they love but also by their own moral compass, because both Ned and Charlotte are not willing to turn a blind eye to injustice, and their actions on that fateful night will have far reaching consequences for both of them.
STILL may start with the slow languid pace of a tropical morning, but it soon picked up pace as the underlying sense of threat and danger to our two main protagonists mounted. I loved the way Nable conjured up the Northern Territory for me, from the beautiful and yet often hostile landscape to its rich cast of characters. A place so remote always attracts its share of misfits, and we find a few of them here, gathered around the bar of the Victoria Hotel or fishing on the banks of the river, talking to crocodiles. Or running for their lives through the swamp to escape a ruthless killer.
Rich in atmosphere and tension, the book slowly reeled me in but soon had me firmly in its grip. I loved both characters of Ned and Charlotte, as different and unconnected as they first seemed. I find that so often mysteries feature predictable stereotypes as lead roles, but Nable proves that his heroes can be ordinary and flawed and yet so richly drawn that they came alive on the pages. Nable writes with an honesty that was both terrifying as it was refreshing, and the book rolled out movie-like in front of my eyes. What an utter gem! I had not expected to find such depth and insight in a crime novel.
All in all, without giving too much away, STILL is the type of gritty, atmospheric Australian crime novel that doesn’t come along very often. Set in the 1960’s in one of Australia’s last frontiers, it is both refreshing and terrifying as Nable is not afraid to expose the dark underbelly that lurks beneath the surface, only showing its ugly head as it is about to strike. With two enigmatic lead characters who are both complex and richly drawn, and a wild setting that appealed to my sense of adventure, the book soon reeled me in and held me firmly in its grip. A true gem of a novel I can highly recommend to all lovers of Australian crime novels. I look forward to reading a lot more from this author in future!
Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Australia for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
*blog* *facebook* *instagram*
Imagine Darwin in the 1960s. The Northern Territory is still very much one of Australia’s last frontiers. A place where crocodile hunters, buffalo shooters and cowboys gather at the local pub to escape the heat and humidity and get drunk. A place of fierce summer storms, of crocodiles lurking in waterways, of wilderness and isolation. But this is not the happy-go-lucky Territory of Crocodile Dundee, because beneath the surface of this tropical wonderland lies a dark underbelly that is the flip side of isolation. An outpost where outlaws can hide, where money speaks, where corruption is rife. A place where wealthy white men rule, but if you are black, or poor, or too honest, you’d best be keeping your head down and your mouth shut.
It is in this untamed land that we find ourselves in, watching in horror as Senior Constable Ned Potter discovers a badly decomposed body in shallow marshland. It is also here that we get to know Charlotte Clark, a young housewife who is contemplating her unhappy marriage and her bleak future. If you are wondering what these two characters can possibly have in common, don’t despair, because in the end all the threads will come together seamlessly. For now though, let’s just follow each one on their journey, living separate lives and yet being connected not only by the wild land they love but also by their own moral compass, because both Ned and Charlotte are not willing to turn a blind eye to injustice, and their actions on that fateful night will have far reaching consequences for both of them.
STILL may start with the slow languid pace of a tropical morning, but it soon picked up pace as the underlying sense of threat and danger to our two main protagonists mounted. I loved the way Nable conjured up the Northern Territory for me, from the beautiful and yet often hostile landscape to its rich cast of characters. A place so remote always attracts its share of misfits, and we find a few of them here, gathered around the bar of the Victoria Hotel or fishing on the banks of the river, talking to crocodiles. Or running for their lives through the swamp to escape a ruthless killer.
Rich in atmosphere and tension, the book slowly reeled me in but soon had me firmly in its grip. I loved both characters of Ned and Charlotte, as different and unconnected as they first seemed. I find that so often mysteries feature predictable stereotypes as lead roles, but Nable proves that his heroes can be ordinary and flawed and yet so richly drawn that they came alive on the pages. Nable writes with an honesty that was both terrifying as it was refreshing, and the book rolled out movie-like in front of my eyes. What an utter gem! I had not expected to find such depth and insight in a crime novel.
All in all, without giving too much away, STILL is the type of gritty, atmospheric Australian crime novel that doesn’t come along very often. Set in the 1960’s in one of Australia’s last frontiers, it is both refreshing and terrifying as Nable is not afraid to expose the dark underbelly that lurks beneath the surface, only showing its ugly head as it is about to strike. With two enigmatic lead characters who are both complex and richly drawn, and a wild setting that appealed to my sense of adventure, the book soon reeled me in and held me firmly in its grip. A true gem of a novel I can highly recommend to all lovers of Australian crime novels. I look forward to reading a lot more from this author in future!
Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Australia for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
*blog* *facebook* *instagram*
December 29, 2022
A decent, compelling Australian crime novel. Nable uses the oppressive climate, and isolated culture of the Northern Territory in the 1960s effectively to build tension. It’s a narrative that moves really quickly which I enjoy in a crime novel (and at this time of year), but this comes at the expensive of depth and subtlety. An easy summer break read.
July 11, 2025
LOVED IT
November 13, 2024
Darwin Australia 1963.
Prejudice.
Deaths.
Not just the southern part of the US.
Tears came to my eyes.
Prejudice.
Deaths.
Not just the southern part of the US.
Tears came to my eyes.
June 15, 2021
Still - Matt Nable
🍁☀️🐟🐗🍺🥃🏈🥊🎲⛺️
1960s Darwin sets a perfect scene for this who did it; why did it triple murder mystery. It’s hot. It’s racist. It’s corrupt. No one is who they seem to be. Everyone has a secret. & then that twist you absolutely do not see coming. 😱
The story builds slowly - the scene setting is phenomenal. As the story builds, I found myself almost tearing at the pages trying to get the end faster. I wanted it over so I my mind could slow, but I also never wanted it to end.
Still is Nable‘s fourth book, his first published with Hachette, & also his first (but not last) that I have read.
To put it simply, this is an Aussie masterpiece, & I can’t wait to read more.
Thankyou hachette for sending me a free gifted copy to read & review.
🍁☀️🐟🐗🍺🥃🏈🥊🎲⛺️
1960s Darwin sets a perfect scene for this who did it; why did it triple murder mystery. It’s hot. It’s racist. It’s corrupt. No one is who they seem to be. Everyone has a secret. & then that twist you absolutely do not see coming. 😱
The story builds slowly - the scene setting is phenomenal. As the story builds, I found myself almost tearing at the pages trying to get the end faster. I wanted it over so I my mind could slow, but I also never wanted it to end.
Still is Nable‘s fourth book, his first published with Hachette, & also his first (but not last) that I have read.
To put it simply, this is an Aussie masterpiece, & I can’t wait to read more.
Thankyou hachette for sending me a free gifted copy to read & review.
May 15, 2021
Thank you Hachette for sending us a copy to read and review.
The Northern Territory is a tough place with its harsh climate, dangerous animals and a social record stamped in its history of racial vilification.
The 1960’s was a colourful era and one where social change was beginning to shape new attitudes, policies and reforms.
Darwin was still caught up in a parochial mindset.
Charlotte doesn’t live, she exists.
A marriage marred by violence and patriarchal control.
The discovery of a severely injured man alters her routine and tampers with hope for a brighter future.
Ned, a police officer is out of his depth when mutilated corpses are found.
Although trying to seek the truth and bring justice he is up against the hierarchy of the force and leaders within the community.
He definitely knows the wrong men are in gaol for a crime they didn’t commit.
The truth is never far away and compiling the facts reveal the brutality and corruption.
The truth can set you free.
An evocative and compelling story set against the gritty backdrop of the top end of Australia with descriptions so vivid and detailed.
A plot reflecting the social melting pot is intertwined with many facets that keep you turning the pages and speculating.
A well written crime suspense that will not disappoint.
The Northern Territory is a tough place with its harsh climate, dangerous animals and a social record stamped in its history of racial vilification.
The 1960’s was a colourful era and one where social change was beginning to shape new attitudes, policies and reforms.
Darwin was still caught up in a parochial mindset.
Charlotte doesn’t live, she exists.
A marriage marred by violence and patriarchal control.
The discovery of a severely injured man alters her routine and tampers with hope for a brighter future.
Ned, a police officer is out of his depth when mutilated corpses are found.
Although trying to seek the truth and bring justice he is up against the hierarchy of the force and leaders within the community.
He definitely knows the wrong men are in gaol for a crime they didn’t commit.
The truth is never far away and compiling the facts reveal the brutality and corruption.
The truth can set you free.
An evocative and compelling story set against the gritty backdrop of the top end of Australia with descriptions so vivid and detailed.
A plot reflecting the social melting pot is intertwined with many facets that keep you turning the pages and speculating.
A well written crime suspense that will not disappoint.
July 18, 2021
I really wanted to love this book. Matt Nable the actor is terrific at what he does - one of the most compelling of Australians on film. However, this dialogue driven novel about corruption (police and other) in Darwin in 1963 doesn't ring true - on any level at all.
Characters are one-dimensional and stereotyped by today's standards - this is a thread throughout the book, with the one real 'hero' of the story "Ned" very much the sensitive new age guy without a hint of the casual racism which was undoubtedly entrenched at the time. The book is written today about the past and it just doesn't ring true.
Characters are one-dimensional and stereotyped by today's standards - this is a thread throughout the book, with the one real 'hero' of the story "Ned" very much the sensitive new age guy without a hint of the casual racism which was undoubtedly entrenched at the time. The book is written today about the past and it just doesn't ring true.
July 19, 2021
I definitely recommend this book by this author and will definitely be reading his other books lately I’ve been reading books by Australian authors and or authors living in Australia and as an Aussie reading books that are set in places that I’ve been and know well adds to the appeal of the books in this case it’s set in Darwin
June 15, 2021
Brilliant!!!
My View:
The hype did not mislead, this is a brilliant read! Powerfully written; emotive, evocative, filmic, tragic, an expose of historical violence and racism in a remote town, intriguing with more than a few dead bodies (and some nearly so).
This book is a time capsule of the 60’s in regional Australia; the idea of women’s rights, women as directors of their own destiny, is just starting to surface, witness the Stolen Generation policy in action, the fear it generated, the family disruptions, as we are taken back to the not to distant past, a past that can be confronting and challenging.
Women’s rights, racism, violence, corruption, revenge and the isolation of distance intersect and interact in often heart-breaking scenarios, yet there is hope. There is an amazing read. Be prepared to be transported to another time and another place. Be prepared for nail biting tension… and crocodiles.
I will most certainly be looking for more reads by this author.
P S Love the cover art.
My View:
The hype did not mislead, this is a brilliant read! Powerfully written; emotive, evocative, filmic, tragic, an expose of historical violence and racism in a remote town, intriguing with more than a few dead bodies (and some nearly so).
This book is a time capsule of the 60’s in regional Australia; the idea of women’s rights, women as directors of their own destiny, is just starting to surface, witness the Stolen Generation policy in action, the fear it generated, the family disruptions, as we are taken back to the not to distant past, a past that can be confronting and challenging.
Women’s rights, racism, violence, corruption, revenge and the isolation of distance intersect and interact in often heart-breaking scenarios, yet there is hope. There is an amazing read. Be prepared to be transported to another time and another place. Be prepared for nail biting tension… and crocodiles.
I will most certainly be looking for more reads by this author.
P S Love the cover art.
June 9, 2021
Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.
Ned is a copper in early 1960's Darwin...a Darwin full of cowboys, crooked police and racism. Ned stumbles across a body and his investigation gets shut down and he had to find out why!!
This book is a slow burn...beautifully written!! I found myself cheering Ned on, even when he made huge mistakes! The landscape is as much a character in this book as the Darwin townspeople and is lovingly described throughout the book.
Definitely recommend for fans of Australian crime drama and will be looking out for further stories by this author.
Ned is a copper in early 1960's Darwin...a Darwin full of cowboys, crooked police and racism. Ned stumbles across a body and his investigation gets shut down and he had to find out why!!
This book is a slow burn...beautifully written!! I found myself cheering Ned on, even when he made huge mistakes! The landscape is as much a character in this book as the Darwin townspeople and is lovingly described throughout the book.
Definitely recommend for fans of Australian crime drama and will be looking out for further stories by this author.
March 8, 2021
4.5 stars
I've loved Matt Nable's earlier fiction works, so his first foray into crime (my favourite genre) made this a must read for me.
A good plot slowly revealed, but to me the crime aspect is secondary here. It is the depth of Matt's characters that set his work apart. Their angst and inner torment so beautifully captured.
The man is a writer and I will read whatever he writes, no matter the genre!
I've loved Matt Nable's earlier fiction works, so his first foray into crime (my favourite genre) made this a must read for me.
A good plot slowly revealed, but to me the crime aspect is secondary here. It is the depth of Matt's characters that set his work apart. Their angst and inner torment so beautifully captured.
The man is a writer and I will read whatever he writes, no matter the genre!
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