First time I've read a book by B. Michael Radbourn.

I loved Taylor! How can you not.

The story was nice and dark. I didn't realise it was part of a series so brought the first two from audible. 

Can't wait to start them.

4.5 Stars

I don't read too many books set in Australia. Not really sure why, but after finishing this one, it's definitely on my list to do more often! 

This was a fantastic read. Well written. Action packed. Gripping. Dark and atmospheric. It had me riveted and turning the pages. That said, I will admit I figured out part of the "who is doing it" very early on. The cast of characters is quite small, and I think that made it easier to pick out the most likely suspect. Having said that, the author had a few twists up his sleeve that took me by surprise!

This is also the third book in what I assume is an ongoing series. However, if you haven't read the first two, don't let that stop you from reading this one. I haven't read the other books and had no issues. It works very well as a standalone story. 

I don't really have much more to say about it. I enjoyed it tremendously, and it gets two very solid thumbs up from yours truly.

I struggled with this one. I ended up downloading the audio book so I could finish it. It was a good sorry but didn’t really have anything distinctive that compelled me to keep going. That being said I would still try more from this author.

Hold on to your hats, folks!  This thrill-ride takes off at full speed and doesn’t stop until the last page! I loved it!!

Ranger Taylor Bridges is requested to help solve the case of 3 mutilated bodies found in a sunken boat in the Dharug National Park, north of Sydney, Australia. The National Park is on an island, of sorts, cut off from the rest of the mainland and only accessible by ferry.  As Bridges arrives and partners with the onsite Detective and Park Ranger to begin the investigation, all hell breaks loose. A fierce storm is headed their way, a horrible, decades long secret is exposed and the 3 mutilated bodies that prompted Bridges’ arrival are just the beginning of the body count.

While technically book 3 of a series, this book is easily read as a stand-alone. I would highly recommend this book to all Thriller lovers.  I’ll be looking forward to future installments of this series (after I go back and read the first two books) as I loved the Taylor Bridges character and the author’s writing style.

Excellent read!

A pretty engaging mystery. I missed the first two in the series, so I may have to circle back. Bridges is an interesting character and I can see why readers of the series have stuck with him. The story includes good suspense which kept me guessing. This is a good bet for mystery fans.

Thanks very much for the review copy!!

Perhaps if I would have read the first two books in this series, I would have been more of a fan, but this wasn't for me. I felt like it was too slow-paced for me.

The third instalment in B. Michael Radburn's Taylor Bridges series takes us to the Dharug National Park, in the Hawkesbury River region of NSW's central coast.
In the course of documenting an archaeological dig at (fictional) Devlins Reach on the Hawkesbury River, a Sydney photojournalist stumbles across the remains of three men, whose mutilations suggest that a particularly vicious serial killer may be active in the area.
Newly promoted Detective Sergeant Ryan Everett is dispatched to the scene, in advance of a full contingent from the NSW Crime Command and Forensics Services. Junior constable Neve Fisher is already in attendance, guarding the crime scene. Meanwhile, in eastern Victoria, Park Ranger Taylor Bridges receives a request from NSW police to assist. On arrival in Devlin's Reach, he meets Jaimie Barlow, the parks ranger stationed at Dharug National Park, and liaises with D.S. Everett over how they should proceed. An approaching severe storm prevents the expected police backup from reaching them and requires the removal of evidence from the crime scene, before the river level rises and the whole area is flooded. Making the best of a difficult situation, Everett and Bridges team up to begin investigating the murders, with Fisher and Barlow's assistance.
Devlin's reach is an insular community, built around the river ferry and logging activity in the hills behind the town. The locals are suspicious of the incoming police and reticent to provide any helpful information. When another man is brutally murdered after leaving the local hotel, the tension rises, as the weather worsens.
Bridges and Everett begin to build tenuous relationships with some of the locals, uncovering decades of troubling history at Devlins Reach - the abduction of two young girls from a now closed children's home, the unexplained disappearances of several workers from the logging camp and a vengeful presence, watching and waiting in the bushland surrounding them.
B. Michael Radburn's depictions of his Australian bushland settings are really high quality, with the landscape and weather closely interwoven with his plots. While I'm not familiar with this area myself, I found Radburn's writing brought to life the scrubby hillsides, dilapidated bush tracks and struggling town on the banks of the river.
The central and supporting characters are also well-developed and believable. The paranormal element, in that Taylor's surviving child Erin purports to pass prescient messages to him from his deceased older daughter, Claire, is an intriguing sub-plot, but doesn't detract from the central investigative plot line. Radburn is insightful in depicting Taylor's inner dialogue, as well as that of D.S. Everett, who feels completely out of his depth at various stages of the investigation. The Devlins Reach locals, including the drunkard ferry operator and his two rather helpful and willing young sons, Taylor's loquacious host at the local cafe-cum-B&B and the irascible loggers whose work is on hold due to the storm, are three-dimensional and convincing. Radburn has also managed to incorporate his own recreational interest in Harley Davidson motorcycles into the plot on this occasion.
However, I found that I really had to suspend my disbelief with regard to several aspects of the plot. While the setting is wild and it's believable that some areas might be temporarily inaccessible during periods of bad weather and high water, the isolation depicted overstretched reality. The Dharug National Park is a little over an hour's drive from the Sydney CBD, and even in the most inclement weather, it's inconcievable that a full murder team wouldn't be dispatched within hours to secure the scene of a triple homicide. Of course, that would ruin the premise of Radburn's story, but it did bug me, as did several other aspects of the plot, as well as the behaviour and motivations attributed to certain characters, which I won't detail due to spoilers.
Like other reviewers, the limited cast of characters meant that I'd indentified the most likely murderer very early, and was proven correct. Nevertheless, it was an action-packed and thrilling read, with a few shocking turns of events and twists right up until the final pages.
I'd recommend The Reach to readers who enjoy well-plotted Aussie noir, but would warn that this may not be a suitable book for all readers, due to the frequent references to child sexual abuse and exploitation.
My thanks to the author, B. Michael Radburn, publisher Pantera Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Devlins Reach is a remote town set in NSW with a stained history. Taylor, a Victorian Parks & Wildlife ranger is called in to help Detective Everett uncover the truth about three dead bodies & locate "The Hoodoo". The Reach is the third book in this series, though this book can easily be read as a stand alone. I enjoyed this book & it was a pleasant surprise to find a thriller set in the Australian wilderness.

January 2021 has been Taylor Bridges month for me, starting at the beginning and culminating in this latest, the third in the series. Each book gets better and better, and The Reach had me on the edge of my seat for most of the book, earning the series a place in my short, firm favourite Aussie Crime list.

With his reputation as a remote crime scene specialist now firmly established, Taylor is invited to Devlins Reach on the Hawkesbury River in NSW to help the police with 3 contemporary bodies discovered in an archaeological dig. Devlins Reach is a small town past its heyday, these days existing mainly to service the nearby logging operation. It no longer has its own police presence, and the only way in or out is via the ferry crossing. When Taylor arrives his local contact, Ranger Jaime Barlow, takes him to the site where he finds recently promoted DS (maybe-he's-not-as-young-as-he-looks) Ryan Everett in charge of the crime scene until forensics and additional resources arrive. To give him a hand, equally young female Constable Fisher is there to manage access to the site. But with a fierce storm brewing, the ferry is shut down and the extra resources can't get across the river. Then as the weather settles in, the bodycount begins to rise, and there is only Everett, Taylor, Jaime and Fisher available to stop the Hoodoo (local superstition) from killing more loggers.

I loved that Taylor was back in the thick of the action again for this instalment. Although DS Everett was definitely running the investigation, his inexperience and lack of resources meant that he really relied on Taylor as more than just a location/environment consultant. And the two worked really well together. Normally a character like Everett would annoy me a bit, but this 27yo has enough self-awareness to realise his own shortcomings and know when to accept help. He was also more thoughtful than I would have expected, in regard to poor Constable Fisher, left out at the dig site with just her police vehicle and a horticultural book for days (and nights) on end. It'd be nice to see the Everett character reappear in the future.

The crime/mystery was one that really caught my imagination, too, with the stakes continuing to rise throughout the story. When the big clues were dropped it was a bit clunky and obvious, but I didn't mind because half of the entertainment was seeing how long it would take for Taylor and the others to catch on. Which they did, as the weather worsened and the creepy, claustrophobic atmosphere went through the roof. As with the previous books, Radburn provides the reader with exquisitely visual descriptions of the Australian landscape. It's something he does so well, and once again I can imagine this translating well to the screen.

Although this book contains references to the earlier ones in the series, I think it could be read as a standalone. But the whole series is well worth reading, so I'd recommend reading in order, to avoid plot spoilers.

This third book about Ranger Taylor Bridges takes place in the Dharug National Park north of Sydney. Three mutilated bodies have been found near the small town of Devlin's Reach on the Hawkesbury River and Taylor is requested to attend and use his previous experience of solving crime in the bush.

In charge of the crime scene are D.S. Everett and P.C. Fisher, both of whom are inexperienced. This crime is way out of their league but before help can arrive the weather changes and access to the town is closed.

Then the murders continue. They are weird and gruesome and Radburn steps up the spookiness with his descriptions of the surroundings at night and with a few paranormal warnings. It is all pretty tense and the action continues all through the book. I did guess the killer fairly early on, partly because the possibilities were limited, but this did not spoil my enjoyment of the book.

Well written, excellent setting, well described characters and a clever mystery. All good!

🌀Ominous weather and deadly revenge: adrenalin-filled rush to beat a wily killer😳

🌏Loved this atmospheric thriller set in rural Australia.  With a duo of investigators baffled by a growing death count in and near an isolated small-town, there are numerous twists and even a bit of paranormal flair provided by a six year-old passing messages from her dead sister.  The stormy weather that cuts the town off and delays law enforcement reinforcements is a disturbing background for a crime spree that just won't stop.  I could not stop reading and the action-packed climax really had me primed for a major cataclysm.  What a rollercoaster ride!

I had not read the two preceding books in the series but it truly was not necessary.  Radburn has written a winner here and the final pages left me wishing the next in the series was waiting in the wings.

Thanks to Pantera publishers and NetGalley for providing a complimentary advance copy of the book;  this is my voluntary and honest review.

The 3rd book featuring Parks ranger Taylor Bridges and wow, what a ride that was. This time Taylor is seconded to NSW Parks to help investigate the murders in a remote National Park. The small town on the edge of the park is only accessible by ferry and secrets there abound. New detective Ryan Everett is feeling a little over his head, especially when bad weather prevents help from arriving.
This book had me on the edge of my seat and in the last third, my heart in my mouth. I have enjoyed this series more as it goes on and I really liked the character of Det Everett. I also hope he and Taylor work together again. Looking forward to see if there is another Taylor Bridges story in the pipeline.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read.
Edit: I think this series can be read alone but will be better with Taylor’s backstory.

I could feel the cold seeping deep down inside my bones while reading this outstanding novel.  I couldn't figure out if it was from the amazingly descriptive scenery (cold, 🥶wet, stormy) of small town life in Devlin's Reach created by this super talented author OR from the book premise itself.  Small town life is definitely NOT for everyone...especially me. 😆 Add on the fact that you can only leave the ISLAND by ferry 😳 which is unable to run in crazy stormy weather - clinched my "never ever" desire to live at such a remote place.  The story was exquisitely written and had me captivated until the very end.  I couldn't figure out why - then I couldn't figure out who - and then when I did my mouth dropped open. That's when my husband asked me if I figured it out! 😆 I had been giving him updates on where I was in the book and he wanted to know what shocked me.  😉 This a a definite addition to anyone's TBR list!

This is the third in the Taylor Bridge series about a Park Ranger, but I had not read any of B Michael Radburn books previously. A photographer awaits a ferry to cross the river into a National Park, he is under pressure to deliver for his editor. So begins this riveting Australian crime drama. As bad weather sets in, more bodies are discovered and there is a serial killer on the loose. The tension mounts as the mystery deepens and the past intrudes as the hunt focus on some local. A haunting crime novel with great characters that captures the atmosphere and stormy environment. A terrific read, even as a standalone with a four-star rating. With thanks to NetGalley and the author for a preview copy for review purposes.

The Reach is a locked room mystery, really a locked town mystery, set in the remote Australian town of Devlins Reach. When three semi mummified bodies are found in a buried ship, Park Ranger Taylor Bridges, experienced in the investigation of remote crime scenes, is asked to help the local police. There are two of them and they need him. The lead investigator is newly promoted Ryan Everett, his junior officer is Constable Neve Fisher. The approach of a dangerous storm means that police teams cannot fly to The Reach. Then there is another murder.

Ryan and Taylor world together to understand who the victims are and why they have been killed. They know that the answer will lead them to the killer who must be known to them, a resident of the small town or a worker at the nearby lumberyard. The storm has closed the ferry and there is no way in or out of Devlins Reach. And then, another killing. As they find clues hidden in the dark history of The Reach, they begin to solve the case. But will they solve it in time to save the town itself?

R. Michael Radburn has plotted a tightly written thriller with action that does not let up. I’m looking forward to the next in the Taylor Bridges series. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Pantera Press and R. Michael Radburn for this ARC.

When Taylor Bridges was contacted at his home in Victoria with a request to go to the small town of Devlins Reach on the NSW Hawkesbury River, he had no idea what was ahead of him. Taylor’s reputation had preceded him; as a wilderness expert/park ranger who had assisted in mysteries which involved murder before, and with three bodies having been uncovered at Devlins Reach, it seemed his expertise was needed.

Detective Sergeant Ryan Everett was in charge with Sergeant Neve Fisher keeping watch over the bodies until reinforcements arrived. Taylor’s last leg of his journey was on the ferry over the river to Devlins Reach, where he met with his counterpart, NSW National Parks Ranger, Jaimie Barlow who took him to the site where he met Everett. Together they tried to work out who the bodies were, why they were where they were, and how long they’d been there. With a violent storm heading their way, the ferry was stopped, and Devlins Reach cut off. Back up in the form of the state’s Task Force had no way of getting to the town, and newly murdered victims began appearing. Time – and Mother Nature – was against them. Could they find the murderer before it was way, way too late?

The Reach is the 3rd in the Taylor Bridges series by Aussie author B. Michael Radburn and it was well-written, intense and had plenty of chills (not just the weather!) I guessed the perpetrator early in the piece but that didn’t lessen my thorough enjoyment of the race to the finish line. I’ve loved each and every book in this series, as well as others this author has written – I’m looking forward to the next. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

4.5★s
The Reach is the third book in the Taylor Bridges series by Australian author, B. Michael Radburn. Caught between the frustrating delays imposed by official channels and an impatient editor, Sydney photojournalist Brewer Hutch takes up the offer of two local teens who claim they can get him into the dig site at Devlins Reach. Hutch wants shots of the boat hulks that lay buried in reclaimed land north of the town; they enter via a sinkhole; he gets something far grislier.

“The three figures sat crossed-legged against the far wall, shoulder to shoulder… bodies placed beside each other, several months apart… the lacerations were pre-mortem.”

At the request of NSW Police, Victoria Parks Ranger Taylor Bridges arrives in Devlins Reach, a tributary of the Hawkesbury River. Jaimie Barlow, the local National Parks ranger, escorts him to the site, where he meets a newly-minted Detective Sergeant, Ryan Everett, whose remit, with the assistance of a young Constable, is to secure the area and hold the fort until the State Crime Command’s task force arrives.

Below ground, the scene is indeed as hideous as the photo suggested: three men sit, dead, posed; their injuries prevented escape; the mutilations clearly send a message, but to whom, exactly, and about what? A symbol painted on the back of a cabin door intrigues them: a clue, a distractor?

Taylor alerts Everett to the weather implications: a severe weather event heading their way, creating a sense of urgency. To his dismay, Everett learns of the mounting probability, both of the river surging through his crime scene and of the winds preventing the helicopter from landing with reinforcements.

While he tries to keep a tight rein on information, with regards the locals, might Everett’s approach to the case be unhelpful? He’s told: “You’re gonna find the Reach a whole lot different to the city. People here are used to cleaning their own laundry, not having others come in to clean it for them.” Taylor is one of several who point out that involving the townspeople may foster greater co-operation. And anyway, “It’s a small town and word travels faster than the internet around here”

The young detective does his best to identify the three, figuring this will point to motive, but before he gets a result, there’s another murder, with similar features: clearly the killer is not yet done. He and Taylor hasten to make sense of snippets of information they garner: itinerant loggers, a now-closed children’s home, and a decades-ago abduction.

The storm rages, a felled tree plunges the town into darkness, the river laps at the top of the levee banks and a case of dynamite is reported missing: the story rushes headlong into a dramatic climax, and by the final pages, there’s a sizeable body count for this small service town.

Radburn’s characters have depth and appeal: his novice police detective is smart and resourceful, a talented improviser, but still inexperienced, thus well out of his depth, and trying to channel his deceased mentor for inspiration; he gives sound advice to a young woman who seems to be a police officer almost by default.

Radburn’s fans will already be familiar with the Victoria Parks ranger, a model of dedication and integrity. There’s a hint of paranormal concerning Taylor’s daughter that will likely fascinate readers, and Taylor has cause, more than once, to recall his wife’s admonition on his departure: “‘Family first,’ she said. ‘If things get too hot, you walk away. And when it’s done, leave it out there.’”

This third book of the series could easily be read as a stand-alone, but it does have some spoilers for the previous books. Radburn expertly builds the tension, and his descriptive prose superbly renders the wilderness setting. Excellent Aussie crime fiction.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Pantera Press.

This is the third book in the Taylor Briggs series. That being said, kudos to the author for making this detailed enough to be rad as a standalone. I would like to go back and read the previous two and travel with Taylor in the outback as he solves those crimes.  The background family story of his wife and two daughters, one who has passed, is quite intriguing and I would love to have more of that in the next book if there is to be a 4th. The first appears to have been published in 2011 and the second in 2016, so I am not sure this is a storyline the author is looking to continue or not. If he does, I will be surly reading book four. While, I kind of had a feeling about the twist, it was still exciting seeing how Taylor came to the conclusion.

This third book in B. Michael Radburn's Taylor Bridges series, takes Taylor away from his family in Victoria to a national park two hours from Sydney on the Hawkesbury River. As a park ranger he has previously been involved in solving mysteries in rugged national parks and has been called in by police to assist when three mutilated bodies are found in the wreckage of a boat in rugged country, although it was never really clear to me why his expertise as a park ranger was needed to early in the investigation, especially with a ranger already on site. The murders have all been committed in the last six months and will not be the last to occur in this novel.

When Taylor arrives at the small town of Devlins Reach on the banks of the river he finds the only police there are a detective, DS Everett and a young inexperienced PC, Neve Fisher. The rest of the team and the forensic team have yet to arrive and with the weather closing in as a large storm approaches Everett is concerned that they may be further delayed as the only way in is by ferry. 

The town also serves a logging camp next to the park and the local pub is usually full of rugged loggers, especially once logging comes to a halt when the ferry is closed as they can no longer transport logs. Between the threat of the weather and the possibility of flooding, the isolation of the town with no ferry and the restlessness of the loggers concerned about the murders, the tension in the town becomes palpable. It's no better out in the bush where Taylor has the sense that someone very good at stalking and hunting is hiding from them. As with the previous novels in the series, the natural setting is well described to give a good feel of its ruggedness and natural beauty. Everett and Taylor worked well together as a team, and Everett's on-the-fly forensic work was well done, although I did feel sorry for young PC Fisher left out in the bush for two days guarding the bodies on her own. The climax was very suspenseful as Everett and Taylor realised exactly what the murderer still planned to do and I enjoyed the surprising plot twist.

Radburn's story is a fast paced mystery that feels leaves the reader needing to know what happens. The storyline feels like a contemporary Agatha Christie novel - the characters, setting and plot are all well developed, realistic, and full of twists, turns and secrets. Just when you think you have figured it out, you find out more information, leaving you wondering.

In addition to a solid, well paced plot, the character development is well done. You grow to love certain characters, despite - or maybe because - of their flaws. You feel as though you have met and gotten to know them, and become invested in their well being and the final outcome.

Although I wouldn't teach this in my classroom, this is a novel I would love to add to my silent reading library. This is a story that will resonate with anyone who loves a good mystery, and doesn't mind curling up with a book that makes you shiver.