The austere Australian landscape is a perfect backdrop for dramatic crime fiction stories: the remoteness of the settlements; small communities that may harbour deep secrets; the classic frontier spirit of the bush that hinders rather than supports detective investigations; and the relentless heat of the Outback all make for a memorable setting.
These are some of Gumshoe's favourite authors whose books use the setting of the Australian Outback and "the bush" to great effect:
Jane Harper - The Dry
The Dry, Jane Harper's first novel from 2016, ticks all the boxes: a likeable detective returns to the small town of his youth in a remote corner of the State of Victoria, and he is drawn into investigating tragic deaths at a neighbouring farm.
Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger 2017.
Patricia Wolf - Outback
Patricia Wolf's Outback is a tense well-written thriller around the disappearance of two German backpackers in North-Western Queensland.
The reader knows from the beginning how the disappearance happened, and is drawn along the investigation by a likeable detective (and guess what - he's returning to the country town of his youth!) and the German sister of one of the missing backpackers.
Dinuka McKenzie - The Torrent
The Torrent is Dinuka McKenzie's first book in the series featuring the more unusual female detective in this list (and she happens to be heavily pregnant): Detective Sergeant Kate Miles, who investigates in a small country town in Northern New South Wales.
The series is continuing with two further instalments to date (January 2025).
Shelley Burr - Wake
Winner of the CWA Debut Dagger in 2019, Wake is set in a small town in the interior of New South Wales.
A private investigator is attempting to solve the 19-year old cold case of the disappearance of a girl. Twisty and psychological.
Chris Hammer - The Broken River
Just published in the UK (January 2025), The Broken River is Australian bestselling author Chris Hammer's latest novel in the Police Procedural series with Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic investigating.
A remote community in New South Wales with an old Gold Mine, a recent murder, and a long-unsolved mystery make for a very readable combination.
Garry Disher - Bitter Wash Road
Garry Disher is recipient of the Ned Kelly Lifetime Achievement Award, and several Ned Kelly Awards for best Australian Crime Novel.
Bitter Wash Road introduces the reader to Paul Hirsch, a police detective in a small town in rural South Australia. Hirsch faces many professional challenges as an outsider, after he transferred from Adelaide to a one-cop shop, as a result of his whistleblowing. Disher draws compelling characters and vividly describes the small town life.
Peter Papathanasiou - The Stoning
Here we have another novel in an outback setting, with a police detective returning to his roots.
The Stoning does not shy away from difficult subjects in the Australian context, including race relations, immigration, alcoholism, drugs, and the sheer desperation of living in a small remote community.
Benjamin Stevenson - Everyone on this Train is a Suspect
Finally, for a more lighthearted take on the crime novel, stand-up comic Benjamin Stevenson gives us some very classic murder mystery fun in his novel set on The Ghan, the train that crosses the continent from Darwin to Adelaide over the course of several days.
Red herrings, closed circle suspects, a locked room and a cheeky narrator, and following the conventions for a Golden Age murder mystery, this book uses the Outback as a very big space to travel through.
If you have enjoyed any of these, or can recommend any other Aussie crime fiction, please leave a comment.
