Zero at the Bone by David Whish-Wilson

ZERO AT THE BONE 

David Whish-Wilson

Viking… rrp $29.99

Publication date: 21 August 2013

“He put the barrel into his right eye until the spasms of red covered the filaments of dark, and he said it one last time, ‘Sorry old mate,’ and then it was done…”

Ex-detective Frank Swann is now on the outside of the police force – the only way to get justice done in Perth. It’s 1979 and the mining boom is just beginning in Western Australia. The city is a place of celebration - there are street parties, official glad-handing and even a royal visit to commemorate one and a half centuries since colonisation. But behind the festivities a new kind of land grab is going on, this time for mining leases. The price of gold is up and very few seem to be incorruptible before its lure.

When Swann is hired to probe the suicide of a respected geologist, he's drawn into a mire of vice and fraud that has at its heart a lust for wealth that verges on a disease . . .

Praise for David Whish-Wilson’s Zero at the Bone

  • ‘Full of crooked cops, corrupt politicians and rapacious mining companies. . . I really enjoyed Zero at the Bone.’ Michael Robotham
  • ‘Has all the economy, pace, unexpected humour and local colour we’ve come to expect from David Whish-Wilson. Highly recommended.’ Adrian McKinty

Praise for David Whish-Wilson’s Line of Sight

  • “The novel is beautifully crafted. The characterisation is flawless and economical, the plot has a creeping intensity that grows greater and greater as it progresses to the unexpected conclusion." - The West Australian
  • "This is first rate crime noir." - Sun Herald
  • "This is hard-boiled and riveting writing, with a sense of place and urgency...A notable addition to Australia's crime-writing canon." - Crime Factory

David Whish-Wilson lives in Fremantle, WA, where he teaches creative writing at Curtin University.  Perth, part of the New South city series, is forthcoming in December 2013.