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Disparate crimes

by
September 2005, no. 274

The Visitor by Jane R. Goodall

Hodder, $32.95 pb, 377 pp, 0733619169

Book 2 Cover Small (400 x 600)

Rubdown by Leigh Redhead

Allen & Unwin, $29.95 pb, 320 pp, 1741145538

The Broken Shore by Peter Temple

Text, $29.95 pb, 345 pp, 1920885773

Disparate crimes

by
September 2005, no. 274

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.

The Visitor

The Visitor

by Jane R. Goodall

Hodder, $32.95 pb, 377 pp, 0733619169

Rubdown

Rubdown

by Leigh Redhead

Allen & Unwin, $29.95 pb, 320 pp, 1741145538

The Broken Shore

The Broken Shore

Peter Temple

Text, $29.95 pb, 345 pp, 1920885773

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