Canticle Creek

Product Information

Jesse Redpath is a police officer in Kulara, in the middle of the Northern Territory. She organises for a young Aboriginal man called Adam to be given community service and live with her artist father. But Adam leaves and the next she hears he has been accused of murdering his girlfriend in a small Victorian town and is himself dead in a car accident. Jesse does not believe Adam to be capable of murder and, using an exhibition featuring her father’s art as an excuse, travels to Victoria to investigate. While at first things seems to have been as the local police claim, she soon she finds that the situation is much more complicated and that her hunch may well be right. Things were going well it seemed, with Adam and Jesse’s father, they shared a common interest in art. Canticle Creek is a gripping murder mystery, just a brief examination of the crime scene is enough to convince Jesse that the police, who believe Adam killed his girlfriend, Daisy, and died when his car left the road as he attempted to flee, are wrong. Looking for an alternative narrative, Jesse puts several of the locals, and a Melbourne mobster, offside as she noses around the small community. But Jesse Redpath isn’t from Canticle Creek. Where she comes from, the truth often hides in plain sight, but only if you know where to look. When Jesse starts to ask awkward questions, she uncovers a town full of contradictions and a cast of characters with dark pasts, secrets to hide and even more to lose. With her father, Jesse visits Canticle Creek to understand, and unravels many other mysteries and knots of a typical small community. Whether Jesse survives the hardships she faced and solves the mystery makes the plot of the book.

Canticle Creek – Ultimo Press Canticle Creek – Ultimo Press

Canticle Creek is the first book in 10 years from Aussie author Adrian Hyland and it was well worth waiting for! A tension filled, suspenseful crime novel set in the ravaging heat of the Northern Territory and Victoria, where bushfires kept the locals on edge, and the heat baked everything in its path. I’ve read each of Mr Hyland’s books and loved them all; Canticle Creek, with its captivating cover, is one I recommend highly. Though the case was pretty much closed, Jesse started doing some digging of her own and soon started to ruffle a few feathers with her snooping.Fire is never far from people’s minds and lingers as a threat throughout the book until Hyland uses his knowledge and experience to bring its dangers vividly and viscerally to life. Australian crime fiction really is at the top of its game as a genre of quality, in my opinion. The bar has been set high and our authors are clearing it with room to spare. Canticle Creek by Adrian Hyland was such a compelling read. With its sophisticated plot and well fleshed out characters, I raced through this one, reluctant to put it down, thinking about it all the while when I wasn’t reading it. The main characters were all realistic and easy to like and the villains were all suitably convincing – particularly the main perpetrator who really had me fooled with his artful misdirection! When Kulara police officer Jesse Redpath learns about the death of Adam Lawson, a young man from her Northern Territory community, the circumstances don’t make sense to her. Serendipitously, an invitation for her artist father to an exhibition in Melbourne, gives Jesse the opportunity to visit Canticle Creek and do a little investigating of her own.

Canticle Creek by Adrian Hyland | Goodreads Canticle Creek by Adrian Hyland | Goodreads

I thought the mystery was quite original, and I loved most of the characters, especially Jesse and Possum. The only thing that was hard to swallow was that a police officer from another jurisdiction would be so well tolerated in the middle of a murder investigation. But as long as you can accept that, it's a fast-paced, satisfying ride. Another thing I really enjoyed was the incorporation of visual art and conservation in the storyline, giving Hyland's writing the opportunity to shine as he describes the paintings and the environment. It’s been a decade since I have read Adrian Hyland’s Gunshot Road and Diamond Dove yet both Australian crime novels remain favourites, so I jumped at the opportunity to read Canticle Creek.I did enjoy this story very much, though I think at times the author got a bit carried away with technical jargon and “big word dropping” which I had no trouble understanding, but felt it was a bit unnecessary and over the top at times. A spate of new, seemingly random crimes, have Jesse and friends jumping for cover as the danger to their own lives becomes apparent…and the dots don’t seem to be connecting as they should. My review of Moonlight Downs aka Diamond Dove - Emily Tempest #1 - which won the 2007 Ned Kelly award for best first fiction. Change plays an important role too. Nadia wants to change her life; Sam suddenly broadens his artistic horizons so late in life and Dom wants to redevelop the area to boost the local economy. At the same time there are those resistant to change and what it entails, the logging that scars the landscape and building work that destroys natural flora and fauna. Daisy Baker’s love of nature is clear from her artwork and activism, her murder was not the senseless crime it first appears. Seemingly disparate elements all skilfully woven into a storyline that is cautionary and modern but also with a rich vein of old-fashioned power and greed running through it.

Canticle Creek by Adrian Hyland | Goodreads

Nash Baker was once a celebrated cop, but his career was ended when he chose to take justice into his own hands. Now he’s living a quiet life in a small town caring for the local wildlife and trying to stay away from trouble. A gripping murder mystery at it's heart, with a clever, deftly constructed and extremely believable plot, Hyland uses this opportunity to celebrate natural beauty in the experience of his characters, and through the eyes of the artists he's incorporated in his cast of well-constructed people. He has a particular skill when it comes to writing female viewpoints, from Jesse, through to Possum, the teenage friend of Daisy, and Possum's own family (with whom the Redpath's are staying). The observations and asides of these people build a picture of the location, and the characters within it in a very natural, Australian way, and he knows exactly how to convey dialogue, and cadence of speech amongst friends and strangers that just works. Then there's the depiction of fire in a drought ridden landscape that's terrifying and informative. Award winning Australian author Adrian Hyland makes a return to the publishing scene with Canticle Creek, an evocative and tense crime fiction novel. Adam Lawson was a loveable rogue, he left his graffiti everywhere but Jesse could see potential in his graffiti, when he came up before the magistrate, Jesse persuaded the magistrate to allow Adam to live with her father and work at a local bar, this worked well, her artist father could see Adam's talent and nurtured it.To some Australia retains the image of harsh man’s world, but here it is strong, determined women who make the difference. Jesse, Nadia, and Possum follow Daisy’s lead and are more perceptive to what is going on and when it really matters possess the necessary courage. Brute strength is not always the answer, sometimes you need to listen to the message and act upon it before time ultimately runs out. The flamboyant fellow cruising in to greet us turned out to be Clive Carpenter, the senior curator. He was flaxen-haired, with a wheat-bag belly, a bright blue suit and a nose like a burst sausage.”

Canticle Creek – Peter turns the page Canticle Creek – Peter turns the page

I quite enjoyed this Aussie crime novel. I found the lead character, Jesse, a likeable and intelligent character. When Jesse hears that Adam is dead and allegedly killed a woman, she and her dad head to Canticle Creek to find out more because they knew Adam and can't believe that he would commit murder. There they meet some intriguing characters including artists, welcoming families, aggressive loggers and ex drug addicts. With some very tense scenes, Jesse is determined to find out what really happened in relation to Adam's death, and someone else out there is equally determined that she doesn't... The action steps up, and at one point, just when I thought everything was wrapping up on a pretty good yarn, it heats up again and gets even better.

The Sydney Morning Herald

As the temperature soars, and the ground bakes, the wilderness surrounding Canticle Creek becomes a powderkeg waiting to explode. All it needs is one spark. Seems like Nash has enemies. And what looks like a close knit community might just be cover for dark secrets. Jesse Redpath was a police officer in the small town of Kulara in the Northern Territory where she saw more than most and controlled more than most. Since Jesse took over, crime had greatly lessened in the area. When young Adam Lawson went up before the magistrate once again, Jesse persuaded him to allow Adam to live with her father Ben, and work at the local pub, to work his hours out. If he absconded, he would be arrested and thrown in jail. Adam managed quite some time with Ben Redpath – both of them artists and Ben directed Adam, gave him some pointers. But Adam had itchy feet, apologizing to his mentor and taking off down south.