Hell to Pay

I am a huge fan of crime novels set in small towns across Australia, quickly inhaling each new novel by Jane Harper, Chris Hammer, Sarah Bailey and others. But somehow I overlooked Garry Disher, an award-winning writer of several series of crime books including the Wyatt novels, the Challis and Destry novels and the Paul Hirschhausen series. A few weeks ago at the Sydney Writers Festival, I attended a session called 'Small Towns, Big Secrets' where Disher was one of the panelists talking about crime novels. Intrigued by his commentary, I started the Hirschhausen series.

Bitter Wash Road (2013) is set in South Australia in the fictional town of Tiverton. Paul Hirschhausen has been assigned to man the single-officer police station in the town. 'Hirsch' was previously based in Adelaide as a detective, but has been demoted on account of his role as a whistleblower against corrupt colleagues. As such he is known as a rat, and his fellow officers want little to do with him. When a pistol cartridge shows up in his mailbox, he knows his reputation has followed him and he is not wanted in this town.

Hirsch's boss is Sergeant Klopp, based at Redruth, some 40km away. Klopp has no time for cops who turn on cops, and turns a blind eye to the criminal actions of his own officers Nicholson and Andrewartha. Hirsch is on high alert whenever he interacts with these officers.

When the body of a sixteen year old girl is found on the side of the road, Hirsch sets out to investigate what happened, not convinced it was a simple hit-and-run. He soon finds obstacles thrown in his path by everyone around him. He is warned off pursuing the matter, but Hirsch persists and soon there are other deaths to investigate which at first appear unlinked but may lead to something more sinister happening in Tiverton and the surrounding area. 

Hirsch is an interesting character - he's a decent cop, with a strong ethical core and a desire to do well in his job. He gets called out on random jobs in this small town - when gunshots are reported on Bitter Wash Road, for drunk and disorderly conduct, for shoplifting and the like. The colourful locals are well drawn too, painting a picture of a hard life in this desolate place. 

I really enjoyed this novel. I found Disher's writing style to be intelligent and intriguing. He is concise, yet descriptive, giving the reader a really strong sense of place with the way he depicted the landscape and environment.  Disher is an excellent writer, moving the story along by creating tension and pace. 

I am so pleased to have discovered him and delighted to know that he has dozens of novels to discover. I look forward to reading the next two books in the Hirsch series - Peace (2019) and Consolation (2020) - but I am also keen to read The Way It Is Now (2021) Disher's latest standalone novel.

Note: When Bitter Wash Road was published in America in 2014, it was published as Hell to Pay.