Broke Road - (Rose Riley) by Matthew Spencer (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In Australia's bucolic wine country, a homicide detective is on the hunt for a killer with a ruthless agenda in a gripping novel of suspense by the author of Black River.

A young woman is found dead in her isolated town house in rural Red Creek, an up-and-coming wine tourism destination outside Sydney. No forced entry. No signs of struggle. And her geologist husband has an alibi, though it's not exactly solid. While a tabloid journalist is quick to spin her own damning narrative, homicide detective Rose Riley is questioning everything she sees--especially in a rapidly developing community that already seems on edge.

While Riley and her partner, Priya Patel, work the case with a local detective, crime reporter Adam Bowman follows his own leads. Then forensic evidence matches that of a pair of unsolved murders elsewhere in Australia: two other married women, murdered months apart yet in the exact same manner. Riley realizes she's dealing with a serial killer. But one whose victims weren't random. These women were chosen, watched, and targeted for a purpose.

As the secrets in this small town emerge, the suspects mount. Now Riley must unearth the deadliest secret of all--the true motive behind the murders--before another woman dies.

Review Quotes

"This character-driven whodunit...satisfies." --Kirkus Reviews

"If you like a good police procedural, you'll love this. Enthralling. Matthew Spencer nails it." --Chris Hammer, author of The Valley

"Place, pace, and brilliantly detailed police procedure. Matthew Spencer's Broke Road has everything you'd want from a crime thriller. Well drawn characters driving an intricate sophisticated plot. A great read." --Michael Brissenden, author of Smoke

"A tightly plotted, fast moving, beautifully written whodunnit. Broke Road is a real page-turner. I even stayed up late to finish it...and that never happens!" --Jane Caro, author of Lyrebird

"Black River showed Matthew Spencer's expertise in building a world with familiar surfaces and dark undercurrents. Broke Road is another taut, compelling crime thriller set in a community in transition: wineries in the sunshine, struggling mining towns in the shadows. The suspense builds in each scene as Riley and Bowman try to unlock the secrets behind a brutal slaying. Spencer is a master of the craft; Broke Road satisfies on every level." --Malcolm Knox, author of The First Friend