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Deception Bay
Deceit is usually wrong, sometimes necessary and often the best course of action
DECEPTION BAY continues J.P. Powell’s magnificent Brisbane wartime saga. American MP Joe Washington, an investigator with the Provost Marshall’s Office, and Australian Rose McAlister are swept back together when she returns to join Central Bureau, General MacArthur’s code-breaking group of eccentrics in ‘Brisbane’s Bletchley Park’.
Again and again, Joe is drawn to the Brisbane River. Reports of a man who jumped from a bridge, a code breaker allegedly drowned by suicide, and an arm with an unrecognisable tattoo fished out of the water at the submarine base.
Together they follow the clues but are quickly drawn into the city’s dark tank stream, filled with predators and conmen and Joe’s nemesis, corrupt Queensland detective Frank Bischof.
DECEPTION BAY continues J.P. Powell’s magnificent Brisbane wartime saga. American MP Joe Washington, an investigator with the Provost Marshall’s Office, and Australian Rose McAlister are swept back together when she returns to join Central Bureau, General MacArthur’s code-breaking group of eccentrics in ‘Brisbane’s Bletchley Park’.
Again and again, Joe is drawn to the Brisbane River. Reports of a man who jumped from a bridge, a code breaker allegedly drowned by suicide, and an arm with an unrecognisable tattoo fished out of the water at the submarine base.
Together they follow the clues but are quickly drawn into the city’s dark tank stream, filled with predators and conmen and Joe’s nemesis, corrupt Queensland detective Frank Bischof.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
294 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2022
2 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 9, 2022
This book takes you back - right back, nearly 80 years to WWII Brisbane. The second in Powell’s Brisbane Line series, I enjoyed this story even more than the first book. It shares many characteristics with The Brisbane Line - the characters, the deeply immersive setting, the real and depressing atmosphere of a city largely overtaken by both Americans and the war machine.
We find our American friend Joe Washington still working as a MP and as usual he’s butting heads with the horrible (and notorious) Frank Bischoff of the Qld Police. There’s a body in the river, and later an arm. Lots of things don’t add up and Joe once again has to navigate his investigations through the secret parts of the city. It’s a puzzle with pieces that don’t seem to fit - a depressed, queer code-cracker seemingly commits suicide, a missing Chinese businessman, a con man leading them a merry chase, reports of opium trafficking and rumours of a leak in the super-secret signals unit. Add in the return of Rose, the enigmatic woman he’s drawn to, and Joe is up to his ears in mysteries and trouble - as per usual.
I really love reading about Brisbane in this era and learning about how the places I know so well have changed. Highly recommended if your enjoy Australian historical fiction, or just a good crime caper. The author’s excellent and detailed research really shines. I do hope we see more books in this series.
We find our American friend Joe Washington still working as a MP and as usual he’s butting heads with the horrible (and notorious) Frank Bischoff of the Qld Police. There’s a body in the river, and later an arm. Lots of things don’t add up and Joe once again has to navigate his investigations through the secret parts of the city. It’s a puzzle with pieces that don’t seem to fit - a depressed, queer code-cracker seemingly commits suicide, a missing Chinese businessman, a con man leading them a merry chase, reports of opium trafficking and rumours of a leak in the super-secret signals unit. Add in the return of Rose, the enigmatic woman he’s drawn to, and Joe is up to his ears in mysteries and trouble - as per usual.
I really love reading about Brisbane in this era and learning about how the places I know so well have changed. Highly recommended if your enjoy Australian historical fiction, or just a good crime caper. The author’s excellent and detailed research really shines. I do hope we see more books in this series.
August 3, 2022
American MP Joe Washington, an investigator with the Provost Marshall’s Office, and Australian Rose McAlister are swept back together when she returns to join Central Bureau, General MacArthur’s code-breaking group of eccentrics in ‘Brisbane’s Bletchley Park’.
Again and again, Joe is drawn to the Brisbane River. Reports of a man who jumped from a bridge, a code breaker allegedly drowned by suicide, and an arm with an unrecognisable tattoo fished out of the water at the submarine base.
Together they follow the clues but are quickly drawn into the city’s dark tank stream,filled with predators and conmen and Joe’s nemesis, corrupt Queensland detective Frank Bischof.
In late 1943,US Army established Camp Ascot Park to accommodate the huts of the codebreaking organisation Central Bureau,which had outgrown its HQ located nearby in a large two storey house called "Nyrambla" at 21 Henry Street,Ascot in Brisbane.The Central Bureau was one of two Allied signals intelligence (SIGINT) organisations in the SWPA during WWII.CB's role was to research and decrypt intercepted Japanese land and air traffic and work in close cooperation with other SIGINT centres in the USA,UK and India.The other unit was the Joint RAN/US Navy Fleet Radio Unit,Melbourne(FRUMEL),which reported directly to C-in-C in Hawaii and the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington.Central Bureau was comprised of administrative,supply, cryptographic,and cryptanalytic personnel,as well as interpreters and translators and intercept and communications personnel.Chermside Camp operated from October 1940 to April 1946.It was the largest Australian Military Forces camp built in Brisbane during WWII.
Deception Bay is a bay within Moreton Bay in QLD.In 1823,John Oxley originally named it Pumice Stone River believing it was a river due to its shallowness.Its present name refers to Oxley being deceived by its appearance.
Donald Friend was an Australian artist and diarist.He served as a gunner with the AIF and also served as an official war artist in Labuan and Balikpapan in 1945.He was an alleged pedophile as he had admitted to having relations with boys in his diaries.
Again and again, Joe is drawn to the Brisbane River. Reports of a man who jumped from a bridge, a code breaker allegedly drowned by suicide, and an arm with an unrecognisable tattoo fished out of the water at the submarine base.
Together they follow the clues but are quickly drawn into the city’s dark tank stream,filled with predators and conmen and Joe’s nemesis, corrupt Queensland detective Frank Bischof.
In late 1943,US Army established Camp Ascot Park to accommodate the huts of the codebreaking organisation Central Bureau,which had outgrown its HQ located nearby in a large two storey house called "Nyrambla" at 21 Henry Street,Ascot in Brisbane.The Central Bureau was one of two Allied signals intelligence (SIGINT) organisations in the SWPA during WWII.CB's role was to research and decrypt intercepted Japanese land and air traffic and work in close cooperation with other SIGINT centres in the USA,UK and India.The other unit was the Joint RAN/US Navy Fleet Radio Unit,Melbourne(FRUMEL),which reported directly to C-in-C in Hawaii and the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington.Central Bureau was comprised of administrative,supply, cryptographic,and cryptanalytic personnel,as well as interpreters and translators and intercept and communications personnel.Chermside Camp operated from October 1940 to April 1946.It was the largest Australian Military Forces camp built in Brisbane during WWII.
Deception Bay is a bay within Moreton Bay in QLD.In 1823,John Oxley originally named it Pumice Stone River believing it was a river due to its shallowness.Its present name refers to Oxley being deceived by its appearance.
Donald Friend was an Australian artist and diarist.He served as a gunner with the AIF and also served as an official war artist in Labuan and Balikpapan in 1945.He was an alleged pedophile as he had admitted to having relations with boys in his diaries.
May 2, 2023
This, the second book in The Brisbane Line series, features once more American MP Joe Washington and Rose McAllister who has returned to Brisbane and is now part of Central Bureau, Brisbane's Bletchley Park.
Also, we see the return of the despicable Detective Frank Bischoff and his corrupt force.
Tough and gritty, Deception Bay exposes Brisbane's underbelly during the 1940s.
This story reads like a thriller and is a fitting follow up to The Brisbane Line. I do hope there are more books to come.
Also, we see the return of the despicable Detective Frank Bischoff and his corrupt force.
Tough and gritty, Deception Bay exposes Brisbane's underbelly during the 1940s.
This story reads like a thriller and is a fitting follow up to The Brisbane Line. I do hope there are more books to come.
June 4, 2024
An immersive and unsettling read, but author JP Powell has again fluently merged wartime fact and fiction, creating an absorbing exposé of what could have happened (and what did happen) in the town of Brisbane Queensland during WWII. There’s American involvement in a number of events. Major deals were occurring related to underworld crime, unexplained deaths, and a range of illicit activities from several nationalities. This second book again follows American investigator MP Joe Washington as he inevitably locks horns for a second time with corrupt adversary Brisbane detective Frank Bischof, who by the way was a real person. Other characters and nationalities are fleshed out and believable. Joe’s Aussie love interest Rose McAlister reminds me of a favourite aunt who served in WAAAF. Maybe he’s softened by romance but Joe Washington’s life is made of duty, it rules him, a man on a mission to solve an alleged drowning by suicide. Joe’s facing a difficult task!
A world at war, hardened by deception (the real Deception Bay is near Brisbane) and at this time the infrastructure of Brisbane was weak enough to allow underworld manipulation. Mates covering for mates, paedophilia, dodgy business dealings, and illegal enterprises flourished unchecked. Sure, the authorities knew what was going on but nobody seemed to have the courage to stamp it out; what’s the odd skirmish or tattoo? The American servicemen were seen both as saviours and sinners by differing parts of society at the time, a lot of mistakes were made on both sides. It’s fascinating reading about old buildings I know and how they were appropriated for the war effort. I love chapter 10 and Cintra House with its fine bay views and the discussion about Radiophone sending photographs over a new wireless invention. Like the Brisbane River, there is a rhythmic flow to this story, a major war in a time when I didn’t exist but it has reached me nevertheless.
My blog review:
https://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2024/...
A world at war, hardened by deception (the real Deception Bay is near Brisbane) and at this time the infrastructure of Brisbane was weak enough to allow underworld manipulation. Mates covering for mates, paedophilia, dodgy business dealings, and illegal enterprises flourished unchecked. Sure, the authorities knew what was going on but nobody seemed to have the courage to stamp it out; what’s the odd skirmish or tattoo? The American servicemen were seen both as saviours and sinners by differing parts of society at the time, a lot of mistakes were made on both sides. It’s fascinating reading about old buildings I know and how they were appropriated for the war effort. I love chapter 10 and Cintra House with its fine bay views and the discussion about Radiophone sending photographs over a new wireless invention. Like the Brisbane River, there is a rhythmic flow to this story, a major war in a time when I didn’t exist but it has reached me nevertheless.
My blog review:
https://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2024/...
May 29, 2025
A very enjoyable story, set in WWII Brisbane. As an American, I'm fascinated by the mix of cultures that were all mashed together. This book brings in the Chinese, whom I had never really thought about as allies in the war effort.
The story is a fairly straightforward procedural. There are a few twists, but the real joy here is in the telling and the scene-setting. The Brisbane Line was also very enjoyable, but this is a notch better. I hope that J.P. Powell is planning some more, because she's getting better and better with each book!
The story is a fairly straightforward procedural. There are a few twists, but the real joy here is in the telling and the scene-setting. The Brisbane Line was also very enjoyable, but this is a notch better. I hope that J.P. Powell is planning some more, because she's getting better and better with each book!
August 10, 2022
This is a much improved book on the first story by the writer. An excellent look at Brisbane in the war time era of the 50s. The black market, drugs, homosexual activities and corrupt police. Enjoy a good read about an important part of the history of Brisbane
November 7, 2022
This is the second of the series.
Set in WW2 and post WW2 Brisbane when I can only imagine it was a sedate boring white enclave !!
A quick easy read.
Enjoyed fact & fiction entwining.
Will read book #1
Set in WW2 and post WW2 Brisbane when I can only imagine it was a sedate boring white enclave !!
A quick easy read.
Enjoyed fact & fiction entwining.
Will read book #1
Read
October 15, 2023October book club choice.
DNF at page 57. Well written and should be right up my alley but my brain is just not in the space to get into this one right now.
DNF at page 57. Well written and should be right up my alley but my brain is just not in the space to get into this one right now.
August 15, 2024
Could not finish.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews