An Outback Thriller
Reviewed by Tracy Harris
The West Australian outback was never on the career path
for Detective Senior Constable Philip “Cato” Kwong. The poster boy for
political correctness, Cato’s career had been on the fast-track, until
everything goes wrong and Cato finds himself an unwilling member of the Stock
Squad, investigating the deaths of rotting road-kill.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alan Carter was
born in Sunderland, UK, in 1959. He holds a degree in Communications Studies
from Sunderland Polytechnic and immigrated to Australia in 1991. Alan lives in
Fremantle with his wife Kath and son Liam. He works as a television documentary
director. In his spare time he follows a black line up and down the Fremantle
pool. Prime Cut is Alan Carter’s first novel. He wrote it while he was
living in Hopetoun as a kept man.
Awards - Winner, Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction, 2011Short listed, UK Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award, 2010
Reviewed by Tracy Harris
The West Australian outback was never on the career path
for Detective Senior Constable Philip “Cato” Kwong. The poster boy for
political correctness, Cato’s career had been on the fast-track, until
everything goes wrong and Cato finds himself an unwilling member of the Stock
Squad, investigating the deaths of rotting road-kill.
Mining town Hopetoun is not part of Cato’s patch, a
booming anomaly in a world in economic meltdown. However when a human torso
washes ashore on Hopetoun’s scenic coastline, Cato is despatched to investigate
and a glimmer of light appears on his career radar. Ignoring the fact that his
rescue from highway hell is only for a few days until staff from other
departments can be relocated, Cato grabs the opportunity to redeem himself to
his old boss, DI Mick Hutchens and takes on the case like he has no tomorrow.
It’s a plan that works well until he realises that the
senior officer in the two-cop town is one of his exes, Tess Maguire. Tess has demons of her own to lay to rest,
and the last person she needs to see on her turf is Cato. After all, where Cato goes, trouble follows, and
so he does, making enemies faster than friends as he lifts the lid on migrant
exploitation and upsets the power brokers of Hopetoun.
However, as their investigation proceeds and another
death comes to light, the whole team becomes a potential target for an even
more disturbed criminal mind whose crimes not only cross the decades, but half
the world as well.
With a succinct and direct style, Alan Carter has written
a novel that grips from the first page to the last. An immigrant to Australia
from the UK, Carter has captured the dry Australian spirit accurately. His
characters are well drawn and thought out and reflect their locales perfectly. Carter’s familiarity with the Great Southern
region adds to the tale and his personal experiences of Hopetoun and a mining
boom give a depth of understanding many authors would do well to emulate.
Thank you to Fremantle Press for our review copy of Prime Cut .
Publication Year 2011
Publisher Fremantle Press
Awards Shortlisted, Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award, 2010
Available in Prime Cut ebook 2011 and Paperback Prime Cut 2011
Sample Chapter PRIME
CUT extract.pdfAvailable in Prime Cut ebook 2011 and Paperback Prime Cut 2011
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alan Carter was
born in Sunderland, UK, in 1959. He holds a degree in Communications Studies
from Sunderland Polytechnic and immigrated to Australia in 1991. Alan lives in
Fremantle with his wife Kath and son Liam. He works as a television documentary
director. In his spare time he follows a black line up and down the Fremantle
pool. Prime Cut is Alan Carter’s first novel. He wrote it while he was
living in Hopetoun as a kept man.Awards - Winner, Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction, 2011Short listed, UK Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award, 2010
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