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Boxed
A captive woman, a lover betrayed, an idealistic journalist.
Three women - their fates strangely aligned by a killer obsessed with retribution.
Melbourne Spotlight journalist Kim Prescott is promoted to the TV reporting staff after the program's expose of the Tugga's Mob murders in Australia and New Zealand was a ratings bonanza.
The TV show's high progile now attracts stories.
One anonymous tip-off will horrify the nation all over again. Despite the scandal that nearly closed the greyhound racing industry, it seems live baiting is still going on.
The trail leads Kim and her camera crew to the Victorian gold-mining ghost town of Steiglitz. They find horrific scenes at a trainer's starting boxes - but not at all what they expect.
Meanwhile, production assistant Jo becomes the pawn of an activist with a vendetta, testing whether her loyalty lies with him or her current affairs team.
And, most desperate of all, hope finally flickers for a woman who scratches the record of her captivity into a cellar wall.
Three women - their fates strangely aligned by a killer obsessed with retribution.
Melbourne Spotlight journalist Kim Prescott is promoted to the TV reporting staff after the program's expose of the Tugga's Mob murders in Australia and New Zealand was a ratings bonanza.
The TV show's high progile now attracts stories.
One anonymous tip-off will horrify the nation all over again. Despite the scandal that nearly closed the greyhound racing industry, it seems live baiting is still going on.
The trail leads Kim and her camera crew to the Victorian gold-mining ghost town of Steiglitz. They find horrific scenes at a trainer's starting boxes - but not at all what they expect.
Meanwhile, production assistant Jo becomes the pawn of an activist with a vendetta, testing whether her loyalty lies with him or her current affairs team.
And, most desperate of all, hope finally flickers for a woman who scratches the record of her captivity into a cellar wall.
335 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 29, 2021
1 person is currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Johnson
5 books10 followersBoxed - Review
"a fast-paced, well-plotted crime thriller"
"like a good Agatha Christie mystery, which this novel reminds me of, there is soon more than one suspect"
"Johnson pulls it off, with the help of a mongrel collection of characters who are darkly funny because they are so close to being real"
Weekend Australian, May 14 2022
Tugga's Mob
Finalist 2020 Ngaio Marsh Awards for Best First Novel
STEPHEN JOHNSON
Stephen is an Australian-born television news and sports producer who swapped the TV studio for a writer’s garret overlooking the Tamaki River in Auckland.
His debut novel Tugga’s Mob was inspired by three seasons working as a tour guide on double-decker buses around Europe in the ‘80s; but written when Stephen convinced his wife to sell their empty nest in 2016 to buy ‘Kwozzimoto’, a seven-metre motorhome. Tugga’s Mob was her annoying companion on a 33,000km tour of Europe, through a dozen countries almost 150 campsites.
"a fast-paced, well-plotted crime thriller"
"like a good Agatha Christie mystery, which this novel reminds me of, there is soon more than one suspect"
"Johnson pulls it off, with the help of a mongrel collection of characters who are darkly funny because they are so close to being real"
Weekend Australian, May 14 2022
Tugga's Mob
Finalist 2020 Ngaio Marsh Awards for Best First Novel
STEPHEN JOHNSON
Stephen is an Australian-born television news and sports producer who swapped the TV studio for a writer’s garret overlooking the Tamaki River in Auckland.
His debut novel Tugga’s Mob was inspired by three seasons working as a tour guide on double-decker buses around Europe in the ‘80s; but written when Stephen convinced his wife to sell their empty nest in 2016 to buy ‘Kwozzimoto’, a seven-metre motorhome. Tugga’s Mob was her annoying companion on a 33,000km tour of Europe, through a dozen countries almost 150 campsites.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 20, 2022
‘Do snakes come out at night?’
Snakes, an anonymous tip-off about continued live baiting in the greyhound industry, and a woman who has been captive for 133 days when the story opens. These are three of the ingredients in Mr Johnson’s second novel. Meet Kim Prescott, a Melbourne Spotlight journalist who has been recently promoted to the television reporting staff after the program’s expose of the Tugga’s Mob Murders in Australia and New Zealand. Kim knows that the live baiting allegations are explosive: it isn’t long since the greyhound racing industry was almost closed down.
Acting on the anonymous tip-off, Kim, and her camera crew travel to a greyhound training establishment near the Victorian gold-mining ghost town at Stieglitz. What they find, at the trainer’s starting box, is an horrific murder scene and not at all what they expected. So, who was responsible? Suspicion falls on an anti-greyhound racing activist: he had been at the scene, had a run-in with the victim, and seems to have disappeared. And just to complicate matters, the activist is known to Jo, a production assistant for Melbourne Spotlight. Will she protect him, or will she pass her knowledge onto the police?
A second killing in similar circumstances has investigations widening: could it be the activist or someone else in the Hound Liberation Party, someone in the greyhound industry, or someone completely different? And in the meantime, the captive woman keeps marking her days of captivity on the cellar wall.
The story moves at a rapid pace. Kim is ambitious, and keen to follow the leads wherever they take her. Jo is conflicted: surely the man she knows, the activist under suspicion, would not have killed? What about the captive woman? And let’s not forget the snakes.
Mr Johnson draws all these elements together in a page-turner, setting a cracking pace reminiscent of a greyhound race. And now I want to read Mr Johnson’s first novel: ‘Tugga’s Mob’.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Snakes, an anonymous tip-off about continued live baiting in the greyhound industry, and a woman who has been captive for 133 days when the story opens. These are three of the ingredients in Mr Johnson’s second novel. Meet Kim Prescott, a Melbourne Spotlight journalist who has been recently promoted to the television reporting staff after the program’s expose of the Tugga’s Mob Murders in Australia and New Zealand. Kim knows that the live baiting allegations are explosive: it isn’t long since the greyhound racing industry was almost closed down.
Acting on the anonymous tip-off, Kim, and her camera crew travel to a greyhound training establishment near the Victorian gold-mining ghost town at Stieglitz. What they find, at the trainer’s starting box, is an horrific murder scene and not at all what they expected. So, who was responsible? Suspicion falls on an anti-greyhound racing activist: he had been at the scene, had a run-in with the victim, and seems to have disappeared. And just to complicate matters, the activist is known to Jo, a production assistant for Melbourne Spotlight. Will she protect him, or will she pass her knowledge onto the police?
A second killing in similar circumstances has investigations widening: could it be the activist or someone else in the Hound Liberation Party, someone in the greyhound industry, or someone completely different? And in the meantime, the captive woman keeps marking her days of captivity on the cellar wall.
The story moves at a rapid pace. Kim is ambitious, and keen to follow the leads wherever they take her. Jo is conflicted: surely the man she knows, the activist under suspicion, would not have killed? What about the captive woman? And let’s not forget the snakes.
Mr Johnson draws all these elements together in a page-turner, setting a cracking pace reminiscent of a greyhound race. And now I want to read Mr Johnson’s first novel: ‘Tugga’s Mob’.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
January 24, 2022
I enjoyed 'Tugga's Mob' so was looking forward to reading about the documentary crew again - and Boxed didn't disappoint. While the subject matter was not in my interest set - greyhounds and snakes - the 'whodunnit' aspect certainly was.
The first gruesome murder seems easily solved; an anti-greyhound racing protester had been at the crime scene, has had a run-in with the victim and more damning, has gone into hiding. It just so happened that he had a liaison with a young woman working with the TV crew.
I learned more than I ever knew I wanted to know about greyhound racing and its checkered history, yet at no time did I feel lectured to.
The author has strong male and female characters, all individuals in their own right and the relationships between them seem very realistic to me; the collegiality of close working relationships, peppered with professional jealousy.
There are some interesting subplots to wind up the tension and keep the reader guessing.
The first gruesome murder seems easily solved; an anti-greyhound racing protester had been at the crime scene, has had a run-in with the victim and more damning, has gone into hiding. It just so happened that he had a liaison with a young woman working with the TV crew.
I learned more than I ever knew I wanted to know about greyhound racing and its checkered history, yet at no time did I feel lectured to.
The author has strong male and female characters, all individuals in their own right and the relationships between them seem very realistic to me; the collegiality of close working relationships, peppered with professional jealousy.
There are some interesting subplots to wind up the tension and keep the reader guessing.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews