(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

When David's 11-year-old nephew goes missing and he finds the finger pointed at him, he has no choice but to strike out on his own - an unlikely vigilante running away from the police and his own family, and running towards what he hopes desperately is the truth about Andrew's disappearance. David Kingsgrove is a man on a mission. An ordinary man - and an extraordinary mission. It is a mission that will turn him into someone he never thought he would be: the king of the road, the loner on the highway, the crusader for a sort of justice he has never before had to seek.
Andrew had been a regular visitor to David's home right up until the day he disappeared, walking out the front door to visit a neighbour. It doesn't take long for the police to decide that David - a single man in his thirties, living alone - is their suspect. Soon Andrew's parents will share that opinion. But David knows that he didn't take Andrew.
Realising that the only way Andrew will be found is if he finds him - the police, after all, are fixated on David as their suspect and are not looking anywhere else - David turns to the one person who he knows will help him: Matty an ex-cop now his personal trainer, whose own son disappeared several years before. David's crusade to find Andrew will also take him into his own dark heart - to do things he never thought he would have to do, and go places he has never wanted to go. And the choices David makes lead us all to ask: How far would I go to save someone I love?

I am undecided about this one. While it was great to get a new and refreshing "hero", I found the mystery to be somewhat overdone...

Firstly, though, let's talk about David. A single, unattached gay man is the hero of an Australian crime novel. How far we have come. I found this to be a most refreshing change and added some real depth and quality to the writing as the author couldn't follow the norms of these types of stories (solves the crime, gets the girl). So I really did feel a connection to David as a character as it all felt very genuine.

The use of Australian towns and landscape were also very good. There were times where I could smell the outback or feel the "Australian-ness" of the story seep through the pages.

However, for me, the story was just too much. It is like there is a checklist that says "These are 12 elements you may need for your thriller novel. Choose 3..." and the author has just gone, "Nah, I will have 'em all, thanks..." and, as a result, we ended up with everything including the kitchen sink. And then, if that wasn't enough, we get not one - not two - but three twists at the end. Two of which we could have done without.

Overall, a good story with an excellent MC and setting. Would recommend it because I can see why people REALY enjoyed it!


Paul
ARH