In the mood for a good crime thriller, I turned to one of my favourite writers in this genre, Garry Disher. I have previously read three of the Australian author's novels in the Hirschhausen series - Bitter Wash Road (2013), Peace (2019) and Consolation (2021), and absolutely loved them for their character development, intriguing story lines, and depiction of small town Australia. I was going to read the last in the series, Day's End (2022), but decided to try one of Disher's standalone novels, The Way it is Now (2021), instead.
He remembers the day Billy went missing from a school camp. Charlie was a rookie detective then, part of the search team. But that isn't the disappearance on Charlie's mind. That same day, Charlie's mother went missing, her car found abandoned on a roadside. For the past twenty years many people in the community, including Charlie's brother Liam, have presumed that Charlie's father was to blame.
Charlie wants to find out what happened to his mother and, if possible, to clear his father from suspicion. But twenty years is a long time for a cold case.
Disher weaves the past into the present, and there are plenty of subplots - a failed jury trial, podcasters, and (as the novel is set in early 2020) news of the COVID pandemic is hitting home. Like any good crime novel, there are a handful of possible suspects lurking around. While the ending felt a bit forced, I really loved the way Disher crafted this story and the realistic way he creates his main character.
While I definitely preferred the Hirschhausen series, I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to anyone seeking a page turning crime novel. I look forward to reading more by this talented writer. Fortunately, fans of Disher don't need to wait too long. His next book, Sanctuary, is being published by Text on 2 April 2024.