Consolation (Paul Hirschhausen)

WINNER OF THE NED KELLY AWARD FOR BEST CRIME FICTION

Australia's favourite country cop, Hirsch, is back in Consolation, the follow-up to Peace and Bitter Wash Road.

Winter in Tiverton.

Constable Paul Hirschhausen has a snowdropper on his patch. Someone is stealing women’s underwear, and Hirsch knows enough about that kind of crime—how it can escalate—not to take it lightly.

But the more immediate concerns are a call from the high school, a teacher worried about a student who may be in danger at home. Another call, a different school: a man enraged about the principal’s treatment of his daughter.

A little girl in harm’s way and an elderly woman in danger. An absent father who isn’t where he’s supposed to be; another who flees to the back country armed with a rifle. Families under pressure. And the cold, seeping feeling that something is very, very wrong.

"This is a book that cannot be praised enough." HERALD SUN

"Consolation cements Disher's place as the master of outback noir." CANBERRA WEEKLY

"Sheer class." AGE

"Rural noir at its best." CANBERRA TIMES