H.R. Kemp's favorite atmospheric mysteries by Australian authors

I love Peter Temple’s books. He is one of my favorite authors.

Pubs, racetracks, and Australian football form a backdrop to a gritty, layered plot delving into Melbourne’s underbelly. This story has a social justice theme, which is what attracts me to Peter Temple’s books. I love the combination of a complex plot and memorable characters.

Jack Irish, the character, was brought to life in the TV series. In the books, he’s a likable if flawed character and feels very real to me. The plot tackles the big topics of political and corporate corruption, and the thirst for power and control that warps the line between right and wrong.

A very thought-provoking book that made me reflect (not too favourably) on today’s political climate.

Despite Rebecca Heath having published several books and living near me, this was the first book of hers I’ve read, and I’m thrilled to find another South Australian thriller author to follow. It won’t be the last of her books I’ll read.

This is another complex story with believable characters. It kept me intrigued all the way to the great ending. I love the way the writing made me care about the characters and feel afraid of what they would discover. I became very invested in what would happen next, and that’s great storytelling.

I was hooked from the beginning, and just when I thought I knew what was happening, the ground shifted under my feet. There was much more to this story than I expected. 

This is a great mystery-suspense story with a big finish.

I love the complexity in this story. I loved delving deep into the fictional world created and being challenged to see it in different ways. This book delivers.

The plot digs into the criminal underworld of secrets and corruption, with the main character, Olive Groves, a journalist, pursuing the truth. I enjoy the amateur sleuth heroine and the notion of an everyday woman tenaciously pursuing her goals.

I loved the believable cast of characters, the red herrings that sent me off on a wild-goose chase, and the portrayal of an Australia we don’t often see. A genuine page-turner.

This is the first of Richard Beasley's novels I read.

I heard him speak about his non-fiction book on the Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission findings at Adelaide Writers' Week one year, and was enticed to read one of his novels.

It’s been available for a few years and yet the contemporary themes and issues are still scarily real. The main character is a defense attorney/barrister – in itself unusual – whose friend has been arrested in China for fraud. The plot links to a mining company that is endangering the environment and covering up spills and environmental damage. As I said, scarily real.

It's a dark plot, and the writing is sharp and carried me along. I read this 424-page book in a couple of days (which says a lot since I'm a slow reader). A thoughtful and thought-provoking novel.

I won this book in a competition and was surprised that I’d never heard of this author before. She’s won awards for her previous books, and now I see why. 

This is a slow burn with lyrical and poetic writing, complex and real characters, and one of my favourite things, an immersive thought-provoking 'plot'. It’s also a challenging storyline which doesn’t shy away from the difficult and emotive topic of Australia’s settlement and the ensuing disenfranchisement. 

The story is set in a remote Australian (Victorian) community with dark secrets. The plot carries a mystery, but it is much more than a mystery story. The story culminates in confrontation and a reckoning for past wrongs. It’s a tense but also deep and moving story and a satisfying read.