Another Martin Scarsden story, although this one is told from multiple points of view – primarily Martin and another author known as Ecco.
There’s a bomb at a book launch which causes Mandy and Liam to be bundled off to Hawaii and Martin himself to seek sanctuary in the deep outback.
He soon gets mixed up in a long-standing family feud and in addition to his own problems helps Ecco solve a complex murder/disappearance from 20 years previous, likely based on tracing journal entries from the late 19th Century and the early days of Australian exploration.
So there’s a lot of complexity here but Chris is a master of his craft and we never get lost in what is going on.
You have to take some of the final explanations with a pinch of salt, there is perhaps one too many convenient happenings but I really did enjoy this – it does move Martin’s story ahead and calls out to previous characters in a convincing way. As always Australia itself is a major character and this story could not have been set anywhere else.
Another good addition to the genre and a furthering of Martin’s story arc.