Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
New York: Soho, 2015
Description
When Hirsch heads up Bitter Wash Road to investigate the gunfire he finds himself cut off without back-up. A pair of thrill killers has been targeting isolated farmhouses on lonely backroads, but Hirsch's first thought is that 'back-up' is nearby - and about to put a bullet in him. That's because Hirsch is a whistleblower. Formerly a promising metropolitan officer, now demoted and exiled to a one-cop station in South Australia's wheatbelt. Called a dog by his brother officers. Threats; pistol cartridge in the mailbox. But the shots on Bitter Wash Road don't tally with Hirsch's assumptions. The truth turns out to be a lot more mundane. And the events that unfold subsequently, a hell of a lot more sinister.
User reviews
LibraryThing member bsquaredinoz
I suppose the noticeable lack of crime fiction set in my home state has the advantage of not making me peer worryingly around every corner lest the figments of imagination come to life but it can make a local fan feel like a poor relation with nothing to bring to the feast that is Australian crime
It is the story of Tiverton, a tiny scrap of a town several hours’ drive north of Adelaide, and the policeman posted to its one-man station as his punishment for being mixed up in a corruption scandal at a suburban station. Paul Hirschhausen, inevitably known as Hirsch, displays a complex mixture of bitterness, pragmatism, paranoia and determination as he settles uneasily into the role of general fixer, father figure and upholder of those laws it suits the locals to uphold that is the lot of a country cop. Those locals are wary of Hirsch unless they want something of him; the cops from the nearest town are overtly antagonistic to someone they view as a traitor and Hirsch is looking for a place he can call home without having to sleep with one eye open.
He does so against the backdrop of a deceptively simple case in which a teenage girl’s half-naked body is found by the side of the road. Hirsch is the only person willing to treat it as anything other than the hit and run first appearances suggest, and he fights an uphill battle to gain access to forensics and interview subjects. But fight he does…slowly building up a picture of who has power in the area and what sinister uses some of that power is put to. It is a worryingly plausible depiction of the narrowness of the margin that separates good people from bad ones; and even more disturbing is the sense that the bad guys look just like everyone else.
Hirsch’s first encounter with the book’s eponymous road is just the first of many examples of Disher’s skill at drawing the reader in, making it impossible not to imagine the places and people he has created
Five kilometres south of Tiverton he turned left at the Bitter Wash turnoff, heading east into the hills, and here there was some movement in the world. Stones smacked the chassis. Skinny sheep fled, a dog snarled across a fence line, crows rose untidily from a flattened lizard. The road turned and rose and fell, taking him deeper into hardscrabble country, just inside the rain shadow. He passed a tumbled stone wall dating from the 1880′s and a wind farm turbine.
When her turns his keen observation skills to people it is, on more than one occasion, enough to make me squirm. There is, for example a passage of no more than 10 or so lines about half-way through the story that made me put the book down in something akin to horror. As Hirsch dozes in the back seat of a car the two constables up front chat breezily about their new female colleague and what they’d do to her in a heartbeat that is repugnant in its contempt for her particularly and women in general. So much so that I can’t even bring myself to quote it here to illustrate my point. But for days afterwards I couldn’t stop thinking about these lines and their realism; wondering how many men there are in the world who think like constables Nicholson and Revell.
For all its darkness BITTER WASH ROAD does not leave its readers in complete despair and some moments of redemption come from pleasantly surprising quarters. Even so it is the harsh landscape and tough people that linger in my mind. That and the fact this is probably the best book I’ve read all year.
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fiction. So I was particularly thrilled to learn that one of the country’s best crime writers, South Australia’s own Garry Disher, was publishing a new crime novel set right here. The wait, as is so often the case, was worth it: BITTER WASH ROAD is about as good as it gets.It is the story of Tiverton, a tiny scrap of a town several hours’ drive north of Adelaide, and the policeman posted to its one-man station as his punishment for being mixed up in a corruption scandal at a suburban station. Paul Hirschhausen, inevitably known as Hirsch, displays a complex mixture of bitterness, pragmatism, paranoia and determination as he settles uneasily into the role of general fixer, father figure and upholder of those laws it suits the locals to uphold that is the lot of a country cop. Those locals are wary of Hirsch unless they want something of him; the cops from the nearest town are overtly antagonistic to someone they view as a traitor and Hirsch is looking for a place he can call home without having to sleep with one eye open.
He does so against the backdrop of a deceptively simple case in which a teenage girl’s half-naked body is found by the side of the road. Hirsch is the only person willing to treat it as anything other than the hit and run first appearances suggest, and he fights an uphill battle to gain access to forensics and interview subjects. But fight he does…slowly building up a picture of who has power in the area and what sinister uses some of that power is put to. It is a worryingly plausible depiction of the narrowness of the margin that separates good people from bad ones; and even more disturbing is the sense that the bad guys look just like everyone else.
Hirsch’s first encounter with the book’s eponymous road is just the first of many examples of Disher’s skill at drawing the reader in, making it impossible not to imagine the places and people he has created
Five kilometres south of Tiverton he turned left at the Bitter Wash turnoff, heading east into the hills, and here there was some movement in the world. Stones smacked the chassis. Skinny sheep fled, a dog snarled across a fence line, crows rose untidily from a flattened lizard. The road turned and rose and fell, taking him deeper into hardscrabble country, just inside the rain shadow. He passed a tumbled stone wall dating from the 1880′s and a wind farm turbine.
When her turns his keen observation skills to people it is, on more than one occasion, enough to make me squirm. There is, for example a passage of no more than 10 or so lines about half-way through the story that made me put the book down in something akin to horror. As Hirsch dozes in the back seat of a car the two constables up front chat breezily about their new female colleague and what they’d do to her in a heartbeat that is repugnant in its contempt for her particularly and women in general. So much so that I can’t even bring myself to quote it here to illustrate my point. But for days afterwards I couldn’t stop thinking about these lines and their realism; wondering how many men there are in the world who think like constables Nicholson and Revell.
For all its darkness BITTER WASH ROAD does not leave its readers in complete despair and some moments of redemption come from pleasantly surprising quarters. Even so it is the harsh landscape and tough people that linger in my mind. That and the fact this is probably the best book I’ve read all year.
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LibraryThing member cathyskye
I've enjoyed other books by Garry Disher, and Australia has always been a favorite destination for my armchair travels, so I picked up Hell to Pay anticipating a good read. What I didn't foresee was how quickly Disher would hook me with his main character and how deeply I would be drawn into this
Perhaps I also sided with Hirsch so quickly because I normally prefer the underdog. The few characters who like him seem to be ones who can't do him much good-- and I wanted Hirsch to have some good in his life. Few people would be able to withstand the sort of verbal and mental abuse that he has to deal with every single day. Yes, Disher has put a fascinating character right in the middle of a first-rate mystery, and if it didn't sound overblown I'd say it was an honor to watch Hirsch solve the young girl's murder despite everyone who's against him.
The setting is perfect for the story. Hirsch is out in country with sparsely settled land spreading in all directions under a limitless sky. Turning the pages, readers can almost feel themselves squinting into the sun while wiping dust and sweat off the backs of their necks. The country Hirsch finds himself in may be big, but it's been made to feel small and claustrophobic by shattered dreams and hatred. It's land turned minefield by the secrets of the people who live there, and even though I picked out whodunnit early on, it didn't matter. Constable Paul Hirschhausen is a character I'll remember for a good long time. I recommend all of you to make his acquaintance, too.
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story. Even before the author relates the mess in which Hirsch was embroiled in Adelaide, I was on his side. It's the way Hirsch carries out his duties as a police officer, and it is in the way he treats the people who live in Tiverton and the surrounding area. Disher knows that actions often speak much louder than words. Perhaps I also sided with Hirsch so quickly because I normally prefer the underdog. The few characters who like him seem to be ones who can't do him much good-- and I wanted Hirsch to have some good in his life. Few people would be able to withstand the sort of verbal and mental abuse that he has to deal with every single day. Yes, Disher has put a fascinating character right in the middle of a first-rate mystery, and if it didn't sound overblown I'd say it was an honor to watch Hirsch solve the young girl's murder despite everyone who's against him.
The setting is perfect for the story. Hirsch is out in country with sparsely settled land spreading in all directions under a limitless sky. Turning the pages, readers can almost feel themselves squinting into the sun while wiping dust and sweat off the backs of their necks. The country Hirsch finds himself in may be big, but it's been made to feel small and claustrophobic by shattered dreams and hatred. It's land turned minefield by the secrets of the people who live there, and even though I picked out whodunnit early on, it didn't matter. Constable Paul Hirschhausen is a character I'll remember for a good long time. I recommend all of you to make his acquaintance, too.
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LibraryThing member smik
BITTER WASH ROAD is set smack bang in the present day; more than that, in a South Australia I recognise: fragile economic climate, police corruption and whistleblowing, small rural communities struggling to survive, reduced resources, drought - you name the issue, it's there.
Until I did a bit of
This is Australian crime fiction at its best. A body is discovered but Hirsch is frustrated when his local boss Sergeant Kropp seems determined to keep him away from any real action. Hirsch faces real issues of getting himself established in the small town. The cops in nearby Redruth where Kropp is have a reputation for being bullies, mates with every one and turning a blind eye to what their mates get up to, perhaps even participating in crime themselves.
I absolutely loved this book.
Until I did a bit of
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research I thought Tiverton, South Australia, the wheat belt town near the Barrier Highway where Paul Hirschhausen is posted, was fictitious. But it exists all right. Garry Disher seems to me to have played a little with the geography, but the flavour of the setting rings true.This is Australian crime fiction at its best. A body is discovered but Hirsch is frustrated when his local boss Sergeant Kropp seems determined to keep him away from any real action. Hirsch faces real issues of getting himself established in the small town. The cops in nearby Redruth where Kropp is have a reputation for being bullies, mates with every one and turning a blind eye to what their mates get up to, perhaps even participating in crime themselves.
I absolutely loved this book.
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LibraryThing member Pmaurer
Tale of a whistleblower sheriff assigned to a remote Australian location as his reward. He is soon involved in resolving a death in that tightly knit community. I liked the authors style,although I was appalled at his attitude toward women. Worth another read, if he cleans up his act.
LibraryThing member zmagic69
Like all books by this author the story unfolds gradually, figuring out who the bad guys are is usually pretty simple, and this book was no different, but the way the story is told is what makes the book good. This is not fast paced action, and the towns that the book takes place in make Mayberry
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look like NYC. Come to think of it I am not sure if the main character even though he is a cop actually Carries a loaded weapon. There is also a nice surprise twist in the last pages. Show Less
LibraryThing member fizzypops
An unexpected tour de force from an author I've long admired (Wyatt, Hal Challis series). This is a masterclass in the genre: taut, harsh suspense in an unexpectedly grim setting. The spartan, wild west, "No Country for Old Men" scenery is perfect for the bitter, spiteful, small-minded pettiness of
'Vivid and visceral', says The Guardian. Spot on. Highly recommended.
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the characters painted onto it. Such powerful writing suggests to me that Garry Disher was determined to stay disciplined in telling the story with economy, but the evocative language brings depth to the characters. This would make a terrifically suspenseful movie. 'Vivid and visceral', says The Guardian. Spot on. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member arubabookwoman
This is the first of the Paul Hirchhausen, small town outback police constable, trilogy, but the one I read last, not realizing it was a series. Paul has been demoted from detective in a large city to constable in the small outback town of Tiverton, where he faces a myriad of crimes, small and
In this book we meet several characters who recur in the later books and who become important in Hirchausen's life. This was a fine start to the series, but I liked the later two in the series better. I'm not sure if any further entries are planned, but if they appear, I will be first in line to read them.
Recommended.
3 stars
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large. As in the other books in the series, Disher leisurely introduces us to the town and its inhabitants using some of Hirchhausen's more mundane duties and the small crimes he has to investigate. The main case is that involving a troubled teenage girl whose body is found by the side of the road. Is this a case of an accidental hit and run, or has there been a deliberate murder.In this book we meet several characters who recur in the later books and who become important in Hirchausen's life. This was a fine start to the series, but I liked the later two in the series better. I'm not sure if any further entries are planned, but if they appear, I will be first in line to read them.
Recommended.
3 stars
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LibraryThing member Mercef
I’m impressed with this outback Australian crime novel, first in the Paul Hirschhausen series, but surprised that I didn’t know they even existed until recently. These gritty, crime dramas have been very popular recently - Harper’s The Dry, Hammer’s Scrublands - yet Garry Disher’s books
Disher evokes a good sense of place and the characters are well-drawn. Will be reading the next in this series.
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have been around for much longer. Set in an isolated country town in South Australia, whistleblower cop Hirschhausen faces hostility from both the locals and the neighbouring police officers when he first arrives.Disher evokes a good sense of place and the characters are well-drawn. Will be reading the next in this series.
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LibraryThing member pgchuis
This gives a good picture of what the life of a lone police officer in a small rural Australian community is like. I enjoyed Hirsch and his wry humour, and the plot moved at a reasonable pace, even if it did take place over the course of a few months. The best bits were where Hirsch avoided traps
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set for him by corrupt colleagues. Show Less
LibraryThing member laytonwoman3rd
In this first installment of Disher's series featuring Constable Paul Hirschausen, our protagonist is a cop whose testimony against other members of the force has made him a pariah, assigned to a one-man station in a district where seemingly there are nothing BUT corrupt lawmen. The citizenry see
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him as just one more of those, and his Sergeant treats him like something to be scraped off the sole of his boot. Yet he is expected to solve the odd burglary here and there, and do the bidding of his higher-ups, right or wrong. Naturally, Hirsch has his own ideas about how to relate, when to see nothing and when to take action, but they don't usually coincide with "protocol". When a young girl's hit-and-run death makes him suspect something more than an accident, Hirsch doesn't let harassment and threats prevent him from investigating. A difficult, disturbing read--much of the first half felt like watching a teenager being tormented by bullies for being a "good kid". But Hirsch bides his time, does his job, and eventually the arc begins to turn slightly toward justice. I'm glad I stuck with it, and will probably seek out the next installment after a while. Show Less
LibraryThing member secondhandrose
Solid rural noir. Really evoked the country town feel.
Awards
Ned Kelly Award (Shortlist — Fiction — 2014)
Deutscher Krimi Preis (2017)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2013
Physical description
320 p.; 19 cm
ISBN
1616955392 / 9781616955397