Reviewed by Rod McLary
In his Acknowledgments [p308] the author thanks everyone ‘who helped create the blend of pain and fractured humanity that I could draw on to make this novel more than just a lengthy fight scene’. And it is exactly this which turns what is essentially an adrenaline rush for those readers who enjoy a thrill a minute into a nuanced story of a damaged father:daughter relationship with years of history to overcome. The adrenaline rush is still there but it is balanced by the story of Jack Carlin and his daughter Morgan – a reformed drug addict who is facing gaol due to likely charges of counterfeiting.
Readers of the author’s novels would be familiar with Jack Carlin – a rogue ex-cop – and Morgan his estranged daughter. Also appearing later in this novel is Maggie who first appeared in The Inheritance.
The novel begins with I don’t recommend ever getting stabbed, but if you do, it might as well be for love [1]. Jack Carlin is stabbed by a meth-head whom he is pressuring to disclose where Morgan is living. Under threat of death by a bullet in the mouth, the meth-head gives up an address. Unfortunately, he is also the son of a Melbourne crime boss. Suddenly, there is a $2million bounty on Jack’s head which brings out every meth-head and druggie in Melbourne determined to kill the Jack Carlin and secure the reward.
But it is never as simple as it looks. There is another agenda at play which doesn’t become clear until the narrative moves towards its climax. This clever device adds to the depth of the tension as the pieces fall into place.
As the title suggests, the serious action takes place in a high rise building somewhere in Melbourne. The high rise is badly maintained and full of refugees, drug addicts, minor criminals and those who are unable to find anything better. Confining the action to a building doubles the pace of the novel as the bounty hunters chase Jack and Morgan up and down the stairs [the lifts are out of action] with the body count mounting by the minute – as does the thrill factor.
An example of the fast-paced action –
And then Jack turns, fast, and throws the knife at Wick. It cartwheels through the air, striking him in the cheek. Wick roars something, swiping and slashing blindly with his own knife. Jack easily steps around and hits him in the back of the head with the gun. … A spray of blood. An awful, muddy crunch. A spasm. [59].
But there are moments of self-deprecating humour which leaven the violence. Jack says to himself This very extremely not good [227] as he faces a professional hitman holding a silenced pistol pointed at him.
Gabriel Bergmoser is an award-winning playwright and author so is well versed in writing believable dialogue and pacing the drama so it never becomes overbearing; nor does the violence ever overtake the ‘pain and fractured humanity’ which lies at the heart of the narrative. Although the action frequently takes centre stage, it is the relationship between Jack and Morgan which is the beginning and end of the story.
The author has crafted a fast-paced exciting story which may read on occasion like a computer game but has as its soul a story of a father and daughter struggling to move beyond years of regret and lost opportunities.
Highly recommended.
High Rise
[2025]
by Gabriel Bergmoser
Harper Collins
ISBN: 978 14607 6561 6
$32.99; 309pp