Skull River by Pip Fioretti

After reading Bone lands by Pip Fioretti, I was keen to pick up Skull River featuring Gus Hawkins, mounted trooper and veteran of the Boer War. It is 1912, and Gus has rejoined the mounted police. He has been sent to the gold town of Colley, NSW and is in charge of much of the surrounding district. On his first day he and his young officer are ambushed and the young man is gunned down. Gus manages to escape only to find that the police station has been burnt to the ground with the prisoner inside dying. Gus barely manages to hold on to his sanity, his post traumatic stress ruining his sleep with horrific memories. However with a drunken detective in charge of the case and a clever gunman out to kill police troopers, Gus must use all his ingenuity and intelligence to hunt down the killer.

Bone lands was set in the pastoral district of far western New South Wales and gave the reader insight into rural and small town life in Australia after Federation. In Skull River Fioretti demonstrates her expertise in writing about Australian history, this time taking the reader on a memorable journey into how life in a small town changes when the lure of gold fades. Colley is eight hours ride from Bathurst and when Gus needs urgent help from his commanding officers, he must send a telegram or use his wits to delve into the secrets of the town. Fioretti deftly brings a historical time to life, while penning a mystery story that has enough twists and turns to keep the reader glued to the page and plenty of action-packed scenes that are riveting reading.

Readers who enjoy accounts of Australian history will appreciate the depth of Fioretti’s research, while mystery lovers will eagerly follow Gus’s investigation, trying to follow the clues and red herrings that are scattered throughout the book.  While waiting for the next in the series, which is hinted at in the conclusion of the book, readers may like to try Wild dogs by Michael Trant, with its lone bushman trying to overcome bad memories.

Themes: Murder, Police, N.S.W. - History, Gold fields, Post traumatic stress.

Pat Pledger