Stone Town by Margaret Hickey

Stone Town is a small country town, with a history of past gold finds, but is now the centre to a terrible murder. Three teenagers have stumbled across a body in the bushland and Senior Sergeant Mark Ariti, in charge of the local police station, is called in to investigate the crime. The victim is Aidan Sleeth, a property developer who had been causing angst in the local community by buying up land to build a housing development. Two homicide detectives are brought in from the city to investigate while also looking at the disappearance of Detective Sergeant Natalie Whitsted, a young detective who had been investigating the dangerous Scopelliti crime family. As the investigation gathers momentum, evidence shows that the two crimes may be linked and Mark finds himself in the middle of a case that involves gangs, corruption, undercover police and the local community.

Stone Town is another riveting read in the rural noir genre. There are many twists and turns that keep the reader glued to the page. It is told in the third person from Mark’s point of view as he uses his knowledge of the local area to join the dots connecting the two cases. Natalie’s story, which is told in alternate chapters, will keep the reader totally involved in her plight, hoping that the police will find her whereabouts. Secondary characters, especially the local women who work tirelessly for the community, are vividly portrayed as Mark interviews people who knew Sleeth. And the bush adds a brooding atmosphere of danger, with its watching eyes, strange men looking for rare birds and mine shafts to trap the unwary.

Although Stone Town sees the return of Senior Sergeant Mark Ariti, who first appeared in Cutter’s End, it is easy to read it as a stand-alone, Hickey giving enough depth to her characters that the reader feels comfortable reading about them. Fans of Jane Harper, Garry Disher and Chris Hammer are likely to enjoy Hickey’s books, which include Ill wind and Creeper, the winner of the Ned Kelly Award 2025.

Themes: Murder, Thriller, Rural noir.

Pat Pledger