Robert M Smith — Purgatory

Shawline Publishing Group 2022 Paperback, 334pp. Greg Bowker is a young sennior constable forcibly transferred to a one-officer station in a remote and dying Mallee town. Welcomed by a brutal combination of heat, dust, isolation and primitive amenities, the new officer expects to waste years of his career in 'purgatory'. He is greeted with warmth by the community but becomes increasingly worried by the behaviour of two delinquent teenagers, one of whose family history hides a secret he can't resist investigating. A subsequent disappearance and murder set a new challenge for the young officer and leads him down a path into an unspeakable world of darkness and deception. Purgatory may well reside within the quiet town. (ISBN: 9781922850744). Very Good.