Consolation by Garry Disher
Paul Hirschhausen book 3. Text Publishing, 2020. ISBN:
9781922330260.
(Age: Adult - Senior Secondary) Highly recommended. Disher visits
the small South Australian town of Tiverton once again as Constable
Paul Hirschhausen begins to investigate a series of crimes that is
plaguing the region. Someone is stealing older women's underwear
from their clothes lines. He has received a call about a child who
might be at risk and one about a farmer who is angry about the
treatment his child has received at the hands of the principal of
the local school. At the same time winter is closing in and
frustrations are growing.
Disher is a master at creating a setting: the dry, cold loneliness
of outback of South Australia comes alive in his descriptions as
Hirsch makes his routine visits to outlying farms and properties,
checking that all is well with these isolated people. He knows the
disparate inhabitants of the small community of Redruth, which is
his patch, and the inner workings of the police in a small town and
their relationship with the city police, are exposed as he traces
the movements of the armed farmer and his son, so angry about
everything, that they have gone on the run.
Hirsch is a likeable character who is easy to relate to. The reader
can sympathise with him as he struggles to work out what to do about
the young woman who appears to be stalking him, and delight in his
relationship with Wendy and her daughter Katie. The wry repartee
between Hirsch and many of the well-fleshed out characters in the
book gives some lighter moments throughout the book.
The pace is fast and Disher juggles several sub-plots with ease
drawing them all together by the conclusion of the book, giving a
vivid insight into the life of a small-town police officer.
I am a fan of all of Garry Disher's books, and have really enjoyed
reading about Hirsch in Consolation as well as Bitterwash
Road and Peace.
Fans of Jane Harper (The
lost man and The
dry) and Sarah Thornton's Lapse
are sure to enjoy this series.
Pat Pledger