Reviewed by Rod McLary
There is something about rural noir which immediately engages the hearts and minds of Australian readers. Whether it is the immersion in the landscape, the laconic dialogue of the characters, or the familiarity of those characters, the novels in this genre – think Jane Harper, Chris Hammer, Jack Heath and others – are a pleasure to read. Anyone who has lived in a small country town would recognise some of the people: the no-nonsense barmaid, the gruff police sergeant, the rather strange old man who lives at the end of the street, and the rough-and-ready young men.
These elements when added to an intricate plot and the challenge to the police officers to unravel the untruths and half-truths – and refresh uncertain memories – can and do create an engaging and tension-filled narrative. And this is exactly what has been done in Burning Mountain by the author Darcy Tindale. The location of the narrative is Mount Wingen [or Burning Mountain] which is a real place northwest of Newcastle in the Hunter Valley. This and the references to various other towns in the area add the quality of verisimilitude to the novel.
The plot is a simple one – eighteen years previously, four school friends and a hanger-on walked to the top of Burning Mountain. Only four of them returned. The fifth – Oliver Lavine – disappeared and was never seen again. Bob, Bell, Phil and Paul could not explain Oliver’s disappearance; and, in spite of a comprehensive search, no trace of him could be found. Then one day eighteen years later, a bushwalker’s dog digs up a skull – human or animal, we don’t yet know.
And this is where Detective Rebecca Giles enters the narrative. Living near this small town to be close to her ageing father, Rebecca is right on hand to investigate. The investigation of Oliver’s disappearance is the primary narrative but there are side stories as well. There is Trent and Amy Thicket and their young son Joe – Trent has a hair-trigger temper and Amy and Joe spend much of their time ensuring – as far as they can – that the snapping point is not reached. But it is and with dire consequences. Then there is Bernard Nestor – erstwhile neighbour of Rebecca when she was a child living with her father retired Superintendent Benjamin Giles. Nestor is long suspected to have something to do with Oliver’s disappearance and perhaps to have paedophilic tendencies. Amy’s and Joe’s and Bernard’s stories intersect in a dramatic way as the novel draws to its conclusion.
Throw in a botched robbery attempt, a major falling-out between some of the characters, and more than one betrayal and the result is a story which is very authentic, very human and very gripping.
Burning Mountain is the second novel featuring Detective Rebecca Giles – the first being The Fall Between in 2023 which was short-listed for the Davitt Awards and the Ned Kelly Awards. It seems very likely that this novel too will attract similar recognition as it is a fine example of Australian rural noir.
Darcy Tindale is an actor, an author and director. Her short stories, plays and poems have been published in anthologies, journals and magazines. Darcy grew up in the Upper Hunter Valley where this story takes place and her first-hand knowledge of the area shines through the narrative.
A fine story and well-recommended.
Burning Mountain
[2025]
by Darcy Tindale
Penguin Random House
ISBN: 978 1 76104 977 4
$34.99; 361pp