The Hidden by Bryan Brown

Whereas many actors and media personalities use their names to get published, few actually deliver. Australian actor Bryan Brown is very much the exception. If you enjoy the likes of the Brokenwood Mysteries, you are going to absolutely love this, his second novel.

The Heads was once a quiet coastal sanctuary, but has now grown into a large village attracting some unwanted elements. A mysterious drug overdose is puzzling Sergeant William Jarret. Was it accidental, or was it more sinister? Word of a shipment of coke coming into the area and who it is destined for adds to his workload, and the discovery that someone is spying on local women seems unconnected, but are they? For the new RSPCA officer, what does the discovery of buried roosters in the forest mean?

His storytelling is masterful, and he has really eked out an original genre in combining a murder mystery as well as a number of other crimes, romance, friendship and redemption, with an insight into a small rural community. The personas are varied and eclectic, all brought to life by perceptive writing that captures the personalities with their foibles, faults and very human traits. Whereas he introduces a number of characters and criminals that see many books get far too complicated, the flow of this story allows the reader to follow each of them with ease.

The many entwined mysteries are clever and original without being overly complicated, and it seemed impossible that he would be able to unravel them with credibility before the end of the book, but he does so with skill and finesse, tying up all the loose ends.

On one hand, I was desperate to see the plot unfold and get all the answers, but on the other, I didn’t want the book to end.

Reviewer: Chris Casey

Allen & Unwin