What a stunning debut, slow-burn thriller that gives alot of details of past and future of jack/Luke's life and the struggles he had to deal with growing up. I felt sympathy for him and was cheering him on through it all.

Thank you so much A&U for gifting me a copy.

Stillwater by Tanya Scott

After reading the NetGalley blurb, I believed that Stillwater was going to be an Outback Noir book. Additionally, it was described as a crime thriller for fans of Jane Harper, Outback Noir? Crime Thriller? Jane Harper? Yes Please!

In reality, Stillwater is a gritty, urban thriller set in Melbourne. I can see the shades of Jane Harper, but there are also touches of J.P. Pomare, and Hayley Scrivenor. Can you tell this one's going to be a thumbs up?

Stillwater revolves around Luke Harris, living in a backstreet in St Kilda while he juggles finishing his degree with his part-time job as a disability support worker. Luke is out celebrating the end of his university course when he is recognised as Jack, the name he used when he worked for a Melbourne crime lord, Gus Alberici. Soon, good guy Luke is being pulled back into his old life. Through flashbacks to Jack's difficult upbringing, we learn why his skills are so crucial to Gus.

This is an excellent debut thriller. Stillwater is a twisty thriller at times, and at others, it's an exploration of childhood trauma, where all the good guys (including the police) tread the line between right and wrong.

Thanks to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for this eARC. I enjoyed it so much that on release day, I purchased the audio version so I could listen on my commute and while doing chores.

Thumbs up 👍

Body Count = 2

Stillwater by Tanya Scott is out now.

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Another fabulous debut Aussie crime book! We have been so spoilt in recent years and Tanya Scott is another name to look out for. Stillwater is a dark yet emotional story that you won’t be able to stop reading.

I really enjoyed the dual timelines, learning about Luke getting his life together today, and hearing about his really tough childhood. When the 2 worlds collide once again and bring those he has grown close to into danger, Luke really struggles to go back to that place. I loved the Melbourne setting, always enjoy reading about a location that I know well.

If you are a fan of threat characters and Aussie crime books then you need to read this.

Thanks so much to Allen and Unwin for my copy of this book to read on NetGalley

With a title like Stillwater and a cold open involving a small dam, there are hints that Tanya Scott’s debut might follow the tried and tested route of Australian rural crime. In some ways this might be a deliberate bait and switch because what she has delivered in Stillwater is a gritty, urban thriller with a conflicted protagonist and plenty of tension.
Luke Harris is just struggling to get by. Living in a “shoebox home”… “wedged into a backstreet of St Kilda” in Melbourne while he finishes his degree with a car that is close to dying and making money as a part time disability support worker. His luck changes for the better when he gets a new client, Jonathan Wylie, who pays well for Luke to care for his son Phil while their regular carer is in hospital. But then shifts back to the negative when he is recognised while out at a pub as “Jack”. Because Luke Harris is a new name. Not too many years before Luke was Jack and he worked for a local Melbourne crimelord called Gus Alberici. Soon Luke is pulled unwittingly back in Gus’s orbit and tasked with tracking down his father and his father’s old friend who have both gone missing with a pile of Gus’s money.
This is just the barest outline of the issues facing Luke as complexities mount both with Gus, with Jonathan and with Jonathan’ daughter Emma, who has issues of her own to deal with. Luckily Luke has some skills and can look after himself but as the clock ticks down and the danger comes closer. Luke has to try and navigate his way through these as the connections he has built become more tangled and some hard truths about his childhood come to light.
Luke/Jack is a compelling central character. While he starts off as mysterious, flashback chapters chart his difficult upbringing and the reasons why he came into the orbit of someone like Alberici. It explains how he developed his fighting skills, which come in handy from time to time. But this background also serves to illuminate why he so desperately wants to leave that life behind and live a “normal life”, and why he came back to Melbourne even at the risk of coming back onto Alberici’s radar.
Stillwater is Australian crime fiction that stays firmly fixed on the underbelly. There are secrets and reveals but not crime to solve, no procedural elements (there are some interesting police characters though) and nothing particularly cosy. It is also, almost refreshingly, urban charting from the backstreets to the mansions to the pubs and boxing gyms of Melbourne. This is overall an extremely assured, page-turning thriller.

This is one of my favourite debut novel reads this year - I absolutely devoured this gritty and intriguing crime thriller story.

Luke Harris (formerly Jack Quinlan) is studying and is working as a support worker while studying and attempting to save up for his goal of a ‘normal’ life. Although he has a dark past, including a connection with brutal crime boss Gus Alberici. Luke thought that his violent and volatile past were behind him, until his long-hidden secrets set him back into survival mode.

Luke was a believably raw, vulnerable and flawed protagonist. I loved how each character within this story added to complexity of Luke’s experiences and choices. I really enjoyed being immersed into how Luke came to be involved with Gus, and his early life experiences.

I love that Tanya’s work has informed her writing, with inclusion of the lasting impacts of childhood trauma, seeking our professional support, and the variety of strategies that Luke used to manage his traumatic past and physical bodily reactions to stress.

I am so surprised this is a debut thriller novel and I would love to read more from Australian Tanya Scott.

If you enjoy crime fiction, then please pick this one up!

With thanks to Allen & Unwin and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy of this incredible story, in exchange for an honest review.

loved the book that tanya had written a crime thriller in melbourne it felt like a gang thriller a lot of action
with luke the main character it takes us through his journey and trauma events that make it a suspense read

loved the cover

July is absolutely smashing it for standout crime reads for me this month and Stillwater is for sure one of the best of the bunch.

It’s actually wild that this is a debut. Stillwater is hands down one of the best crime stories I’ve ever read. It nails every key ingredient with gripping pace, layered complex characters, mega mystery and a perfectly woven timeline flipping between past and present.

This book wasn’t my usual page turner thriller with explosive twists. It was a slow burn, but in the best way, the kind where I had to keep reading because I had to know what happened next.

Tanya’s writing style was gripping with incredibly vivid descriptions (the food mentions alone are drool worthy). The scenes were set perfectly and crimes happening close to my home town made it all the more intriguing.

Luke the main protagonist was the ideal leading man. His life riddled with past trauma and a pull towards crime he just can’t shake was compelling and heartbreaking. His internal battle gave the story a raw emotional edge that elevated it beyond a standard crime novel.

It’s no surprise this has already been optioned for a TV adaptation in the style of Animal Kingdom. So exciting!

If you like your crime fiction dark, gritty, and impossible to put down then Tanya Scott is going to be your new favourite author.

If you enjoy almost mafia style crime stories, this is for you. The connections run deep for Luke (aka Jack) when his old “friends” catch up with him. He can’t quite escape their grasp and ends up back deep in it.

But like any good story, it’s not all as it seems. And the twists, turns and plot twists hook you in hard.

While this style of story isn’t usually my go to, I was hooked and had to know the ending. It’s easily written and the crimes aren’t gone into in gory detail, which is nice too! Definitely would recommend.

It seems, to this reader at least, that there are a couple of main "types" of crime fiction these days. The new, unusual, clever idea stuff that breaks new ground and the tried and tested world of old ground. The problem with the old ground version is that it's sometimes very easy to sound like same old same old. Which adage most definitely does not apply to STILLWATER.

Here we have a man from a troubled, difficult childhood, who is attempting redemption and a new start, but is dragged back into the world of drugs, violence and standover men as a result of a chance encounter, and that past. It's oldish ground definitely, but in STILLWATER it's delivered with aplomb, with an engaging central character, with a few twists to his life that are just different enough, and a backstory and potential future that the reader is really able to get on board with. No matter what he has to do to ensure it happens.

Years spent away from Melbourne allowed Luke Harris to reinvent himself. New name, new career, new potential. After his much loved mother died of a drug overdose, and his very estranged father stepped in, he's been mostly raising himself from the age of 10. In and out of various schools, houses and foster care, his father Quin's a real loser. Would be musician, petty criminal and general idiot, he's tied at the hip to his lifelong friend Kevin, whose mother, turns out to be a very small bit of stability in young Luke's life of chaos, violence and madness. Until brutal criminal and opportunist Gus Alberici steps in. Luke soon finds himself as a general dogsbody for Alberici, who in turn provides him with boxing lessons, money, and some (granted weird) sense of stability. Until things get impossible and Luke makes a run for it, and a new identity, new life.

Which, for reasons that sort of make sense and then again you think what the hell are you doing, means he finds himself back in Melbourne, new name, new University course, working in disability support and care. Here you see a different side of a very calm, caring young man who steps into a fractured family situation with a difficult to manage Autistic adult son, Phil, a distant and quite nasty father, and a young, very attractive daughter Emma. And an encounter on a night out that brings Alberici back into the picture, dragging Luke into the hunt for his father and his best mate.

Lot happening then, the pace is high in this one, as is the violence. These are people who shoot, punch and generally belt their way out of situations that involve dodgy goings on, large amounts of cash, complicated debts and connections, and a lot of past sins / future jeopardy. All of which Luke is trying to tiptoe around, whilst studying a Commerce / Accounting degree, falling for the wrong girl, and annoying Alberici and the girl's father sometimes in equal measure.

The action moves backwards and forwards through time, and place, with father and son initially living with Kevin and his mum, spending holidays and time away at Kevin's block up in Castlemaine, then back in Melbourne and forward in time, at Luke's scruffy old St Kilda flat, to his job in a posh house in Brighton, and time in cars. Lots of time in cars, chasing people, doing "jobs" for Alberici, running around looking for Quin and Kevin (who Alberici wants found - in a hurry). All while Luke just really wants a normal life, a place to call home, and a dog. Oh and the girl, it turns out, would be nice as well.

The pace really works in STILLWATER, as do the characterisations (worth noting the author is a doctor and medical educator with years of experience working in mental health care). Luke is capable of absorbing a ridiculous amount of physical damage, yet his calmness, control and focus make a lot of that believable. He's also a very engaging person, aware of the damage that has bought him to this place, and the causes of that trauma, his hyper-independence identified, discussed, out there for him to understand and work with. He's as in control of a bad situation as he can possibly be, although there are times when you can't help but think this is not going to turn out well. For who, and how is what makes this such a roller-coaster of a ride.

Stillwater by Tanya Scott is a captivating read and very impressive for a début novel. With complex characters and intriguing storyline it was definitely a ‘must keep reading’ and ‘Is it really midnight!’ novel! Just loved the ongoing action and unexpected twists and turns.

Luke Harris (formerly Jack Quinlan) is a marvellous protagonist who is almost good but not fully bad; a character you can’t help but like and you have your fingers crossed just hoping he will survive all that is thrown his way. While the story is set in the present day in Melbourne, there are flashbacks to when Luke (Jack) was young and growing up in poverty with a lot of unsavoury people - this added, not only depth to his character, but insight into the present situations he finds himself.

Highly recommended read.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from Allen & Unwin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#Stillwater #NetGalley

Stillwater is a gritty, gripping debut that sinks its teeth in and doesn’t let go. Tanya Scott delivers a crime thriller full of heart, heartbreak, and hard choices and Luke Harris (formerly Jack Quinlan) is the kind of flawed, unforgettable protagonist you can’t help but root for.

Trying to build a new life in Melbourne, Luke wants normalcy which inlcudes a house, a dog and a future. But his past as a teenage enforcer for a local crime boss is never far behind. When old ghosts resurface and his father goes missing, Luke is dragged back into the criminal underworld he’s been trying so hard to outrun.

Told through a clever mix of present-day tension and raw, emotional flashbacks, Scott explores the murky intersections of trauma, poverty, and organised crime with striking empathy. There are no cardboard villains here, just wounded people making impossible choices. The writing is sharp, visceral, and full of sensory detail that paints Melbourne in shades of grit and faded hope.

This isn’t just a fast-paced crime novel (though it is that), it’s also a moving exploration of masculinity, memory, and redemption. A standout debut for fans of Jane Harper and Denise Mina, and a must-read for anyone who likes their thrillers with emotional depth and a beating heart.

Luke would like to leave his dark past in the past, but it keeps coming to find him. The police are hanging around, but even more insistent is crime boss Gus, who wants his protege back in his fold.
I have mixed feelings about this book and it is a hard one to review. The plot isn't like a typical mystery/thriller - there's not a clear crime to solve, but it is more like a character driven story told amidst the crime underground. But, I didn't really connect with the main character. I found him both too earnest and too rough. I think many people will read him as a complex character with depth, but I read him as more confusing and inconsistent.
Overall, I found this book alright, but it didn't ever really grab me. I think this might have been a me problem, not anything wrong with the book.

At one point in Tanya Scott’s Stillwater a character observes of the protagonist: ‘He’s the sort of guy who doesn’t make it to thirty’. Luke Harris (Jack Quinlan) is desperate to break away from being that sort of guy. He’s changed his name, is studying commerce at university and is working casual shifts in disability support. His past has been challenging. He lost his beloved mother to an overdose and has been ‘raised’ by his father whose criminal activities and associations have bought added trauma to Luke’s life. Unfortunately Luke is recognised by gangster Gus Alberici and drawn back into the world he has so wanted to escape.

Stillwater is a compelling read. The narrative shifts between the present and Luke’s childhood and we come to really care for him, both the boy he has been and the man he is trying to be. It’s not a novel with cardboard villains but rather Scott explores the complexity of criminal behaviour and its links to trauma, class and poverty. In this way it reminded me a little of the work of Scottish writer Denise Mina in particular her book The Less Dead. The setting is expertly rendered and there’s a certain pleasure to be had in living just down the road from ‘Stillwater’.

(4.5 stars)
Stillwater is a cracking debut. I find the comparison to Jack Reacher annoying in the book's marketing materials, as the only connection is that the lead protagonist, Luke Harris (Jack Quinlan), uses violence but is generally a good human. Stillwater is actually much more about the impacts of trauma, poverty and poor parenting, which are discussed with nuance and understanding by debut author, Tanya Scott. I didn't find that in Jack Reacher.

I particularly like how Scott describes the bodily impact of intrusive traumatic memories: "Memories popped up like spot fires, random and unannounced, with an intensity that seared his vision and loosened his guts." She really captures the mental health landscape very well: "He could feel himself unravelling, like a knitted jumper coming undone. Memories intruded without warning." Scott also covers the way organised crime targets disenfranchised youth with a carrot and stick approach that is remarkably effective, playing upon their need for father figures: "Out of the blue, a pineapple [colloquial for an Australian fifty dollar note] or two would be handed to him at the gym–a random reward system, designed to keep him hooked."

The descriptive writing is lean but evocative, summoning the Australian landscape, including our pubs: "The patterned carpet stuck to his feet as he crossed the floor, and the smell of fried food and stale beer curdled the air." This was a great debut. I will look out for another one by this author.