Dave Warner

Back in the late 1970's Dave Warner released music that became part of the soundtrack of my life. When I discovered CITY OF LIGHT, MURDER IN THE FRAME, EXXXPRESSO and other books by him in the late 1990's / early 2000's I was more than a bit chuffed to think a musical hero was also a lover of crime fiction. And I bloody loved all of those books.

CITY OF LIGHT was Dave Warner's first book (from memory), it won the 1996 West Australian Premier's Award for best fiction, and it introduced a young show more police constable, and aspiring footballer Snowy Lane. In this book Lane is investigating the murder of a number of young women by the serial killer dubbed 'Mr Gruesome'. If, however, you've not read any of Dave Warner's work then CLEAR TO THE HORIZON is a great place to start, as would be BEFORE IT BREAKS which was a very worthy Ned Kelly winner indeed.

CLEAR TO THE HORIZON is told in two later periods of time, basing itself around the true story of a number of young women who were killed by an undiscovered serial killer in Claremont, Perth. When the novel starts out in 1999, a number of young women have gone missing, with one body discovered, and the others never seen again. Snowy Lane is hired by the parents of one of the missing girls, but he, and the police, are never able to find the girls or the killer. Moving forward 16 years, Lane finds himself on an unconnected case in Broome (this time teaming up with Dan Clement from BEFORE IT BREAKS), and an incidental event takes him straight back to the Claremont investigation.

All of which probably sounds a little complicated, but if you've not read either of the earlier books it won't matter a bit. Nor will it matter if you're not across the details of the true cases on which a lot of the narrative is based. If there's one thing that Dave Warner excels at it's weaving yarns, and CLEAR TO THE HORIZON is a great yarn, with fully fleshed out characters, and plenty of action and pace.

Snowy Lane is an easy bloke to like. Dedicated to his job, he's also a loving family man with a very normal sort of a life. The Claremont case haunts him, but it hasn't twisted him. He's not one to forget, but he's also not one for dwelling. Having said that, give this man a hint of a possible solution and he's not easily distracted. He's very real, and there's more than enough back story dotted throughout this novel to give you an idea for where he's coming from.

There's also a terrific sense of place in Warner's novels. In this case the heat and light of beach-side Fremantle and Broome are clear and bright, contrasting well with the night-time pubs, clubs, alleyways, taxi ranks and parking lots where the young women disappeared. It's worth remembering that apart from the general details of the true crime around which the novel is based, everything here is fictional - much of it is so real, and so feasible in terms of possible suspects, and the final resolution.

I confess to having been a mad fan of Dave Warner's music. It makes me very happy that the stories he tells in his books are longer in form, but still so clearly about life as it happens in Australia. It's particularly fortunate that there's no need to a lot of dancing when a new book comes out - my knees aren't what they used to be back in my punk days. But happy dancing of a slightly more sedate version still goes on.

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To be honest, I took one look at the blurb for OVER MY DEAD BODY and wondered whether or not it sounded ... quite right (well to be brutally honest, I thought to myself, it sounds as daft as a brush), but if there's one thing I've learnt in quite a lot of years of crime fiction reading, it's expectation and outcome are out the back having a bloody good argument most of the time.

Reading the Author Note at the back of this book is probably something that would be advisable for any readers show more having an insurmountable WT moment with this one - understanding the thinking and the motivation behind the idea should help, although I ploughed ahead mostly on the belief that Dave Warner could write a shopping list and I'd read it.

Modern day Dr Watson (Georgette / female / Cryogenicist / bringer of frozen hamsters back to life), has a spot of luck with hitherto unknown family connections when she is desperately trying to find a human subject to try her lifesaving techniques on. You're going to be presented with a scenario that might stretch your "believability" capacity just a bit; from the idea that there was more to "The Reichenbach Falls" then originally revealed in that story (but seriously - you're about to deal with the idea that Sherlock Holmes was real); to how he gets into the current day, investigating a series of killings of young women. For this reader, most of the unbelievable bits became somewhat extraneous to concerns as this story started to gain legs.

Mostly because, despite Sherlock Holmes now being a real person, despite him surviving Reichenbach Falls and somehow being kept in a state that a current day Cryogenicist could step in, despite him adjusting to modern day life with nary a blink, and despite there being a violent and nasty killer lurking around killing young women, seemingly getting closer and closer to Dr Watson, what OVER MY DEAD BODY has in spades is a fun, entertaining story, with great supporting characters, a weirdly believable (or maybe excusable) central premise, and a heap of pathos and yep, emotional pull.

Nobody, but nobody could pretend for a moment that anything in OVER MY DEAD BODY is socially aware, introspective consideration of the human condition. You could possibly get it into your head that this could be cutting edge science, but ultimately what it turned out to be was hugely entertaining and thoroughly engaging, and, well ... daft as a brush in a really good way.

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Set in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, After the Flood is the fourth book by Dave Warner to feature Detective Inspector Dan Clement, though it also works effectively as a stand alone.

As his team handles a spate of petty crimes including an unruly protest, the theft of explosive materials, and vandalism of a vaccination clinic, DI Dan Clement, lonely and missing his teenage daughter, is feeling restless and longing for a distraction. Fate obliges with the discovery of a body, naked show more with tire tread marks on his chest and railroad spikes driven through his palms in a remote area of a cattle station, and Clement finds himself in a race to prevent a deadly scheme.

In what is a tightly plotted, engaging police procedural, Clement and his squad’s challenge is to identify the dead man, and then methodically gather evidence that might explain the reason for his gruesome murder, and reveal his killer. Warner offers several red herrings leading to a succession of dead ends that frustrate the officers, but just as the case seems to stall, a surprising connection is made. The tension rises sharply as the pieces then rapidly fall into place, leading to an explosive finish.

Themes explored in After the Flood include family, trauma, grief, revenge and disenfranchisement. Warner also raises topical issues such as corporate greed, social justice, and eco-terrorism.

The setting of After the Flood is well realised. Clement’s Major Crime Squad are based in Broome but their territory is extensive, and both its geographical and social features can complicate their investigations.

Offering intrigue and excitement, After the Flood is a well written police procedural that I sincerely enjoyed. show less

Sherlock Holmes is resurrected by a descendent of his faithful friend, Watson, in Over My Dead Body, an entertaining and inventive crime fiction novel from Australian author, Dave Warner.

As a teenager, Georgette Watson was revived after drowning in a frozen lake, inspiring a career in the field of cryonic’s. She believes she’s perfected the process of resurrection, but to advance her research further she needs a human subject. Unexpectedly, a distant relative’s diary provides her with show more the perfect specimen, and when Georgette successfully reanimates the century-old man she finds herself in the company of the world’s greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes.

Warner gives us two well plotted and creative mysteries to solve in Over My Dead Body. Conveniently, Georgette acts as a consultant for the NYPD to supplement her grant income, and to help orientate Sherlock to 2020 New York, he joins her when she is called to determine time of death for a murdered woman. Holmes, being ...well, Holmes, immediately sees what the police detectives have not, and he and Georgette find themselves hunting a serial killer whose motives echo a case from Sherlock’s now distant past.

The second mystery endangers the lives of Georgette and her sister, Simone, as they are targeted by a killer driven by an all consuming desire for revenge. Suspense builds as, distracted by the chase of the serial killer and Georgette’s growing fear for Holme’s health, neither are aware they are a target until it is almost too late. It’s Holmes unique detecting skills that save the day, of course, but at a cost.

There are some lighthearted moments in Over My Dead Body as Sherlock marvels at mobile phones, refrigerators and the internet, beats a shell game conman at his own game, and takes down a subway pick-pocket. His horror at discovering cocaine can’t be brought from the neighbourhood chemist is amusing, as is the thought of Sherlock Holmes wearing short pajamas and a Slayer tee-shirt. There is also a touch of romance in the story, which is quite sweet, and not intrusive.

I found Over My Dead Body well-written and enjoyable. Not just for fans of Sherlock Holmes, the original premise and interesting mystery should appeal a range of crime readers. show less