Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Outback by Patricia Wolf

Patricia Wolf is a journalist, a regular contributor to The Guardian, the Financial Times, The Independent, The Telegraph, and other newspapers. She grew up in a mining town called Mount Isa in far north-west Queensland and left Australia after university to travel. She now lives in Berlin, Germany, but she calls the outback home. Her debut novel introduces DI Lucas Walker of the organized crime unit of the Australian Federal Police in Canberra.

In Outback (Embla Book, 2022) Walker is on compassionate leave to visit his dying grandmother in his home town of Caloodie in remote Queensland. His grandmother raised him and her approaching death is hitting him hard. He’s grateful for the distraction when his supervisor calls and asks him to help the local police in their search for a pair of tourists from Germany who have disappeared. Rita Guerra and Berndt Meyer were backpacking through Asia and Australia, taking short-term jobs as they went. The owner of a tiny ranch near Caloodie reported them missing when they did not show up to work as scheduled.

Careful not to step on sensitive toes, Walker represents himself to the town constable as a liaison for the Foreign Service and the families in Germany. They both know that tourists often underestimate the heat in central Australia during the summer and the distances between towns. They assume the two had car trouble and begin tracing their driving routes. When that doesn’t pan out, Walker begins searching for them in earnest.

Rita Guerra’s older sister Barbara is a Detective Sergeant in the Berlin State Criminal Police Office or Landeskriminalamt (LKA). She telephones Walker a few times and recognizes the platitudes she herself has used in talking to worried families. After a few days she flies to Australia to help with the search, which becomes unexpectedly complicated when Walker learns a major drug dealer is hiding in the region.

This is an outstanding read with a strong setting. The often-used theme of the illicit drug trade gets a fresh spin here. Walker and Guerra are rounded characters and the supporting cast are also realistic. The local innkeepers and the naïve tourists are especially good. Wolfe conveys the beauty and the danger of Queensland clearly and convincingly. The next book in the series is scheduled for publication in May 2023 and I am looking forward to it. Recommended.

 

·         Publisher: ‎Embla Books (November 8, 2022)

·         Language: ‎English

·         Paperback: ‎320 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎1471411702

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1471411700

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2023

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.