Broke Road is like coming home to old friends. I couldn't wait to be immersed in the world of Detective Rose Riley and crime reporter Adam Bowman.

Red Creek is a quiet rural town located in the Hunter Valley - until a young woman is found murdered in her home. Her husband is the prime suspect, but as secrets unravel, it becomes clear: nothing in Red Creek is as it seems.

Matthew Spencer ticks every box with this one: a perfect setting, fast paced, with well-written characters—both good and bad—and a storyline that kept me guessing who the killer was. Right down to the last few chapters the book had me guessing how it was going to end.

Thank you Allen and Unwin and Netgalley for gifting me a copy of this book for my honest book review.

This was my first read of a Matthew Spencer novel, the second in the Rose Riley series. It’s good, I’ll need to read the first one now. Characters here are subtly drawn and interesting, inc the central protagonist, her sidekick, indeed all of the characters are cleverly written. Plotting is excellent- and if you like crime fiction generally or police procedural specifically, this is definitely with a read.

Black River was one of my favourite Australian crime novels in 2023, and I have been eagerly awaiting the follow up, Broke Road. I was thrilled to receive an early copy to read and I must say it was worth the wait.

The murder of a woman in her home in the Hunter Valley NSW brings Rose Riley and her partner Priya Patel to Pokolbin, right in the middle of the vineyards. It appears that the woman knew her attacker but the evidence suggests that she was alone. It is a tough case with plenty of suspects around town. Investigative journalist Adam Bowman finds his way to the scene in the hopes of getting the story., and to work with Rose again. It was so interesting to see their friendship grow after the events of Black River.

This case really did keep me guessing, trying to piece the clues together wasn’t easy. I loved the setting, the Hunter Valley is one of my favourite places to visit and of course sample the wine. I could see the roads and the area as I was reading. The author captured the beautiful landscape and the ways of the people in the area perfectly. I feel another trip on the cards soon!!

Big thanks to the publisher for my early copy of this book to read.

What a fantastic story this is. I thoroughly enjoyed the way this book was written and the multilayered story within.

When a woman is murdered in her home in the Hunter Valley, homicide Detective Sergeant Rose Reilly and her partner Priya Patel head up from Sydney to work with local police to solve the crime.

What they don't expect to encounter is a cocky entrepreneur who thinks he is a cut above, a local journalist that won't give up, a leak from within the local police, corruption and deceit and a possible link to a similar murder interstate. But what or who ties it all together?

Investigative journalist Adam Bowman, who we know from Black River, inserts himself in the investigation hoping to gain exclusive access to information from the police. Fresh from the success of his book on the Blue Moon Killer, Adam smells another bestseller.

This was so well paced and had me intrigued and invested in the storyline from the get go. I really enjoy a good police procedural and this one had all the right ingredients for me. The investigation may have been thrown off the scent a few times, but Rose follows her instincts when she gets a hunch. I love her working relationship with Priya and their almost unspoken communication.

The conclusion was fraught with tension when they realise who the perpetrator is and worry he may be on the run.

loved this book
has suspense a bit slow but a women found dead and detective sergeant rose riley needs to solve the murder in a rural country town
Adam the reporter does his reporting and there is another women murdered are they linked and who did it

A gripping standalone novel!

A woman was found dead in her own house. Several months away two other women were murdered in a similar way. Are the husbands with their weak alibis guilty of these tragical events? Or there is a serial killer sneaking around the country? Or is it somehow connected to the hotel and their members that all these three women have happened to stay in at different times?

I was absolutely absorbed by this book. Gripping, thrilling, captivating and kept me guessing till the end.

Particularly I loved the language that was so modern but “classical” at the same time. I genuinely love such books because this makes them literally immortal, everlasting.
All the colorful, detailed descriptions of nature and the surrounding just won my heart!

The plot is built in a way that you actually investigate the case together with the main character, detective Rose Riley.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the ARC for the opportunity to read and review this book!

The lovely town of Red Creek, located in Australia’s beautiful wine country, is stunned when a young woman is found brutally murdered in her beautiful home. It appeared from the murder scene that the murderer had easy access to the house. Even though her husband had an alibi, Detective Rose Riley launched a full-scale investigation with her partner, Priya Patel, and crime reporter Adam Bowman, who used his experience in crime reporting to help them seek different leads.
Adam Bowman came across the recent reports of the unsolved murders of two single women in another area of Australia. When Priya and Rose learned that the forensic evidence was similar to the Red Creek case, they began to fear this was the work of a serial killer. It appeared that the murders were not random, and the same killer was targeting the women.
Rose and Priya find that their work is cut out for them. Everyone in the small town is suddenly under suspicion, and time is of the essence. They must stop the killer before another murder occurs.

Another great Australian crime fiction story from former journalist Matthew Spencer!

This is the second book in the DS Rose Riley series, this time set in winemaking country of the Hunter Valley.

Homicide Detective Sergeant Rose Riley grew up in the valley and is now investigating the suspected murder of a local woman, alongside her partner Priya Patel. Soon enough crime reporter Adam Bowman also becomes ingratiated in the high-stakes investigation. Forensic evidence links other unsolved murders, and it becomes apparent that women are being chosen and targeted. Will Rose and Priya identify the serial killer, before another woman is murdered?

I enjoyed the police procedural elements, the atmospheric setting of Red Creek and the variety of possible suspects.

With thanks to Thomas & Mercer, Matthew Spencer and NetGalley for this e-ARC, to read and review.

Give this one a read if you like crime thrillers!

I liked this new to me author. He wrote a well crafted engaging plot and loved the setting . Overall was a good quick read
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review book

I very much enjoyed Broke Road by Matthew Spencer though must confess I remembered little detail from the first book of the series, Black River, published in 2022. I really liked our lead, Rose Riley—a roaming homicide squad detective—here partnered with Priya Patel and investigating the murder of a woman in a small community outside of Sydney. I did remember Adam Bowman quite well, who described himself [in the first book] as a mediocre journalist whose career was going nowhere fast. The case in Black River was quite personal as it took him back to his hometown where his brother had died and family fallen apart years earlier. When he reappears here he's found some fame and fortune from a true crime book based on Riley's investigation.

I really like the way Spencer unpicks the crime here, and he's able to pull readers into the investigation itself. Naturally the victim's husband is the key suspect despite an alibi... until Riley finds links to a similar murder and contacts those detectives, piecing the cases' connections together.

Spencer again throws in local flavour - which he did in Black River as well, giving us a sense of 'place'. Here we're in wine country so the community of Red Creek (near Cessnock) grows on weekends and during tourist seasons but is also rife with development thrown into the mix with old farming families. 

Of course when Bowman knows that Riley and Patel are on the case, he requests the story (now able to pick and choose what he covers) and easily ingratiates himself with the locals. Spencer brings those characters to life through Bowman's interactions with them, putting us there in the thick of things, and gathering intel and gossip he shares with Riley and Patel.

This is another great read from Spencer and I appreciated that he balances the unfolding investigations with the characters' own personal evolutions. And of course there's still a sense that something could develop between Riley and the Bowman but they're not quite there yet.

I wish I would have read the first one, but I followed the story just fine without reading it. I really liked the characters and how they were written he also did a good job depicting Australia. The story was engaging and was able to hold my attention and kept me guessing.

A young woman is found dead in her isolated town house in rural Red Creek, an up and coming wine tourism destination in the Hunter Valley. Her husband was away and there was no forced entry. Detective Rose Riley is called to investigate, along with her partner, Priya Patel. Journalist, Adam Bowman, follows his own leads and together they join forces, identifying similar cases and a potential serial killer on the loose.

This one began with a few potential suspects and that just grew as the novel went on. The author paints a clear picture of the surroundings and characters that really draw you into his novels, along with the mystery and intrigue he creates. This was the author's second novel and while this is the second in a series, I think you could easily read it as a stand alone. It was another one I really enjoyed.

Matthew Spencer's Broke Road is another compelling addition to the crime fiction genre - I did quite like Black River. Matthew is able to immerse readers in the atmospheric setting (this time it's of Australia's wine country). The narrative follows homicide detective Rose Riley as she investigates the murder of a young woman in the rural town of Red Creek. The victim's husbanda presents an alibi that raises more questions than answers which prompts Riley to delve deeper into the community's secrets.

The character development is noteworthy, with Detective Riley emerging as a determined and insightful protagonist. Her collaboration with partner Priya Patel and crime reporter Adam Bowman (love that Adam is back again!) adds some depth to the investigative process which highlights the complexities of uncovering truths in a close knit community.

Definitely a must read for enthusiasts of Aussie crime thrillers. Matthew Spencer is a great Aussie crime noir author.

Thanks Netgalley for the early copy to read and review!

It's so rare to find a sophomore book that's better than the first but Broke Road by Matthew Spencer is such a find.

The follow up to Black River finds Rose Riley two years later working a new murder case in a remote, rural area of Australia's wine country. Frankly, I didn't know Australia had a wine country but apparently they do. Joining Riley again is Priya Patel and Adam Bowman, a trio who has formed a close, working relationship over the past few years. This case will solidify that bond and also confirm the reader's interest in this group.

I wasn't completely sold on this series after reading Black River but after Broke Road I'm already anxious to read the next book Spencer writes. These are slow moving, very character driven plots that delve deeply into the lives of the suspects and the cops involved. I like knowing this much about those I'm reading about; I feel like I'm personally acquainted with them by the end. This is what makes me come back for more and Spencer does this very well.

If you haven't read Black River, I suggest you do read it first although it's not absolutely necessary. This is a terrific series to follow and it's still at the beginning stages. Enjoy!

"She was on the fringes now, thin armies of eucalypts in the headlights, the odd fibro settlement scattered on either side of the road." Broke Road is beautifully written crime novel aimed at an Australian audience... well maybe except those who live in Cessnock: "Cesspit, Methnock—he'd know all the Nock-nock jokes." It's skillfully crafted, so I cooed over the descriptive writing, non-clunky dialogue (and dry Australian wit), and the way Matthew Spencer can connect to the first book of the Rose Riley series, Black River without making it tiresome for a reader who starts at this book.

Broke Road has a strong start and a fast-paced ending, but the story felt a little flabby in the middle. I did however enjoy reading it, particularly the class divide between wine people and the Cessnock locals, which you can feel when you visit the area in question: "'No one from Cessnock would ever come here.' 'Why not?' 'Too far—you know, metaphorically. Wine country, that's for top-shelf dickheads. That's for Sydney." I think for a local reader, particularly a Sydneysider who descends on the Hunter region for weddings, weekends away wine tasting, and music in the vineyards, this is going to appeal, as it holds up a mirror to us showing us how we behave and are perceived by the locals: "We renovated a couple of years back for the wine tourists. There are things they expect." Warning: Spencer ain't too fond of food influencers who photograph their food either.

You definitely get a strong sense of place from this novel, that places it firmly into upper echelon of Aussie noir for me, even if the crime itself wasn't quite as compelling as the one Spencer conjured up for Black River.

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for this eARC!
This is a very interesting thriller that was based in Australia which is refreshing. This is a pulsing thriller with loads of drinking and a captivating start. Somehow, I kinda lost interest in the middle and then it came up with an adrenaline-packed ending!

Broke Road by Matthew Spencer is an intriguing, page-turning thriller set in South Australia. I really enjoyed this police procedural with strong character development and I think it would be great for fans of Jane Harper and Deborah Crombie. Spencer imbues the novel with a strong sense of place and keeps you guessing until the final pages. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more from him. Thank you to Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy!

An absolutely terrific police procedural set in areas around Sydney that aren't often featured in fiction. The narrative is deeply steeped in everyday Australian life, including its language, and therein lies my only reservation about the book.

For better or worse, American readers are by far the largest audience for English-language fiction. In my own experience as an America formerly resident in Australia, Americans have next to no interest in Australia and are completely unfamiliar with the common vernacular of Australian conversation. I do wonder if the reach of this book is going to be limited by the extent to which much of the language of the narrative really is terribly local. I lived in Australia for more than a decade, and there were expressions and explanations here and there that even I had to try to puzzle out from the context. Do you know what 'tradies' are, or what 'Macca's' means? If you don't, you'll miss plot points and occasionally wonder what the author is talking about.

If that does limit this novel's reach, that's a shame. It's a fine piece of crime fiction and deserves wide readership.

Atmospheric, somewhat brooding murder investigation - middle of nowhere Australia gives a dark and interesting setting that really sucks you in, with a solid cast of diligent investigators and varied suspects.

I really enjoyed Detective Rose Riley as a character in Broke Road—she brought a sense of depth and authenticity to the story. However, despite this, the book as a whole just wasn’t for me. While I can appreciate the writing and the effort put into the narrative, the overall story didn’t quite resonate with me. That said, readers who appreciate police procedurals and novels centered around solving serial killer crimes will likely enjoy this much more. It’s definitely a matter of personal preference, but unfortunately, this one didn’t capture my attention as much as I hoped it would.