Candice Fox

When Candice Fox opened up GONE BY MIDNIGHT with a missing child and a sick goose I wasn't sure if I could go on. I mean a missing child is one thing, but a sick, possibly life-threateningly ill goose felt like one blow too many. (Don't @ me - they are both fictional and I'm very fond of my geese...).

If for any reason any of this is worrying any other readers then I would counsel trust this author, read on. Read on through the bullying stand over cops who arrive and take Ted Conkaffey into show more custody (arrest of choice with anything to do with kids it seems); through to his, and Amanda Pharrell's arrival at the crime scene; their inclusion in the search for the missing boy, much to the annoyance of the local top cop; their confrontation with a very angry policewoman out for revenge (you'll have to have read REDEMPTION POINT to get the full story); right through Conkaffey's much anticipated access visit with his young daughter; Pharrell's friendship with local bikies; and on to the point where you find yourself in a croc sanctuary and a swamp.

The third book in the "Crimson Lake" series, there's something glorious, addictive, clever and mesmerising about the way that Fox weaves a tale around the most oddly likeable of characters - Conkaffey, ex-cop, recently cleared potential child abductor and assaulter, father of a patrol of geese, a dog and a much loved young daughter; and Pharrell, ex-con, tried and convicted killer, private detective, cat lover, odder than an odd thing on an odd things night out; both of these people are real, genuine and immensely likeable - in a peculiar sort of way, because goodness knows there are times when they seem to not like each other all that much. The tale in this instance is the vanishing of a young boy, part of a group of friends / families all holidaying together - the kids playing together, locked in a hotel room, being checked on every hour by the parents, while they are downstairs in the restaurant having dinner, letting their hair down a bit.

The balance in these novels between the threat, the absurd, the investigation and the day-to-day is always elegantly maintained, and so it is in GONE BY MIDNIGHT. As Conkaffey balances the first visit of his young daughter, with the urgency of the need to search for the missing boy, there's moves, finally, to repair his relationship with his ex-wife, a relationship destroyed by the missing child case that saw him drummed out of the police force and hiding out in Far North Queensland in the first place. It's also a chance for Pharrell to establish the oddest of relationships with a local bikie group, and again, the reader is given plenty of opportunity to see the damage that was inflicted by the case that saw her end up in jail. It will help a lot if you've read both the previous books in this series (CRIMSON LAKE and REDEMPTION POINT) as the back-story arc here is pretty vital, and whilst Fox plays fair with potential new readers, there is much to the reasons why Conkaffey and Pharrell are what they are, and do what they do, that should be clearly understood.

GONE BY MIDNIGHT is flat out good, and if you've not read the earlier books, then you're in for a treat. Fox is a dab hand at this crime writing gig, in the opinion of this humble reader, one of the best we've ever produced.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/gone-midnight-candice-fox show less

As the third book in Candice Fox’s debut trilogy, Fall offers a riveting finale to the partnership of detectives Eden Archer and Frank Bennett.

Picking up a few months after Eden, Bennett and Archer, the latter of whom is still recovering from her injuries, are back on the job. A female jogger has been found brutally murdered in a park in Sydney, and she won’t be the last. The case is interesting, with the focus on the killer’s twisted motives.

The relationship between Eden and Bennett show more is no less complicated in Fall, despite Frank having saved her life in Eden. Bennett’s concern for his partner’s physical and psychological wellbeing is always tempered by the threat she poses. Bennett finally learns the truth about Eden in Fall, though it’s hardly a comfort.

“It’s always very present between us, the fact that Eden could at any time, and rightfully so, decide that killing me is the best thing for her future.”

Frank is less aware of the threat his girlfriend, police psychologist Imogen Stone, poses. Imogen, who solves cold cases in her spare time with less than altruistic motives, is investigating the twenty year old abduction of the Tanner children, an inquiry that will pit her against Eden, who will do anything to protect her secrets.

And then there is Amy ‘Hooky’ Hooku, a seventeen year old computer genius, who first came to Frank’s attention when her younger sister murdered their parents. As her father was a Detective, Amy enjoys a special relationship with the police department and is now a consultant of sorts, despite her tender age. Amy is an intriguing character who has an unexpected role to play in Fall.

“And if he couldn’t save her, he’d do the best he could to patch her up. The way he did with everything that came to him in the tip. She’d be crooked. She’d be hollow. But she’d be alive again.”

Fall is a gritty, compelling novel and provides a stunning climax to an outstanding trilogy. Candice Fox has proved herself to be a writer of remarkable talent and skill. show less

You’ll want to make sure you have a good chunk of time free before picking up this book, - from the very first pages you read, you will find it very hard to put down!

Two female protagonists, Blair - a convicted murderer and Jessica - a struggling detective, end up on a wild ride in their search for a missing person. Alternatively aided or endangered by a supporting cast of misfits, criminals and genuinely odd characters, the plot winds through Blair’s backstory as well as the current show more mystery, finishing with a satisfying grand finale and the strong hint of more books featuring one or both of these wonderful characters to come.

Both protagonists are totally engaging, each of them deeply flawed, struggling with shame, secrets, and trauma that they have learned to deal with in escapism through risky behaviors that somehow seem understandable as we come to feel and ache for each woman and the vulnerability hiding at her core.

And of course, it wouldn’t be Candice Fox without an introduction to another heart-warming yet strange creature-pet. The excellent Crimson Lake series (one of my very favorite faves) features tender moments with a gaggle of pet geese, and this time we welcome a very charming (and tame) gopher.

4.5 very-excited and can’t-wait-to-read-more stars!

A big thank you to NetGalley, the publisher Macmillan-Tor/Forge and the author for an advance digital copy of this book. show less

3.25 stars. this is actually a really interesting idea that almost gets caught up in the thrill of the read. a couple has basically held the police evidence building hostage because they're unhappy with the way their missing child case was handled. so they're trying to force the police to do more to find their daughter (who they believe was kidnapped from the beach and the police believe accidentally drowned) and they threaten to destroy evidence of other crimes and ruin other cases if they show more don't. it's a different take on the "negotiating with terrorists" trope and it's a really interesting idea. plus there's the actual case of the missing girl - did the police do all they could? was she kidnapped or did she drown? i don't love the resolution of that case but that's okay; i'm not sure there's a great ending for that. and the philosophical questions this brings up is more to the point anyway. well done. show less