Reviewed by Rod McLary
Gus and the Burning Stones is the sequel to Gus and the Missing Boy [2024] and continues Gus’ search for his birth mother after discovering in the first book that he was adopted. With the help of his friends Kane and Shell, Gus was able to track down the details of his early life but without being able to make contact with his birth mother. Gus and the Missing Boy was a fine YA novel traversing significant issues such as gender identity, mental health and sexuality; as well as being an exciting crime story with Gus as the lead detective. The book was shortlisted for the Australian Crime Writers 2024 Ned Kelly Awards and the BAD Sydney Crime Writers 2025 Danger Awards – fine accolades indeed for a debut YA novel.
Now, six months or so later, Gus receives an anonymous text message telling him that his birth mother Jane is living at the Circle – an off-the-grid community located close to an ancient stone circle. Gus and his friends immediately set off for the Circle and their arrival coincides with the onset of a severe thunderstorm which isolates the Circle from the local communities and consequently the friends and the handful of residents. Not an uncommon trope in detective novels and one which would be very familiar to readers of [say] Agatha Christie – and even more so when shortly afterwards a body is found. The killer can only be one of the people remaining at the Circle. While this plot device may be a familiar one, it is not any the less effective in setting the scene for a tense and exciting narrative.
And, as in all the best detective stories, the characters are not quite who they seem and none is quite telling the truth – or at least, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Gus, Shell and Kane have a mammoth task ahead of them – to locate the killer amongst them, discover why Gus was lured to the Circle and – more importantly – to find Jane?
Along the way, in common with his first novel, the author draws attention to the mental health issues facing each of the friends – self-harming, gender identity, steroid use – and through the introduction of another teenager Nash the complex and dangerous issue of pyromania. These are not token references, some of the complex causes behind the behaviours are identified and there are references to seeking appropriate professional help to address these issues.
Another strength of the novel is the supportive friendship between the three young protagonists uncomplicated by unresolved sexual tension. Each of the friends is very mindful of the others’ personal issues and watches out for them as they navigate their way through the situation in which they find themselves.
All in all, Gus and the Burning Stones is a fine detective story with engaging protagonists who are very much supportive of each other and an exciting narrative. While there are serious issues referred to throughout the novel, the author has been able to weave them through the plot without sacrificing the dramatic tension and without slipping into preaching.
Gus and the Burning Stones
[2025]
by Troy Hunter
Wakefield Press
ISBN: 978 192338 800 0
$24.95; 242pp