Some generals in Australia’s ‘culture wars’ have appointed themselves defenders of a mythical identity against the incursions of multiculturalists and ‘black armbanders’. Literary skirmishes over national identity have been more mundane, concerning mainly eligibility for awards. Certainly, three recent crime novels suggest that Australian writing benefits from adoption of a broad definition. That these three novels vary widely in plot, setting, characterisation and style is understandable given the authors’ disparate backgrounds.

Leigh Redhead grew up in an alternative community. Rubdown is her second novel featuring narrator Simone Kirsch, ‘full time PI and part-time stripper’. Her brash first-person voice is metropolitan and cosmopolitan, but distinctly Australian. The shameless Simone solves cases with courage, luck and help from patient friends.