Peter Cotton (2)

When I learned Dead Heat by Australian author Peter Cotton was set in and around Jervis Bay and an AFP Detective would be liaising with a senior intelligence officer from the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), I was hooked. Most readers here won't know this, but I served in the RAN and attended many courses at the 'nearby naval base' HMAS Creswell mentioned in the blurb. Naturally I thought this book would be an awesome cross-over between my love of books and Australian crime writing and my own show more personal history.

Unfortunately it contained far too many inaccuracies and inconsistencies and was a disappointing read for me. Here are some examples.

A Commander on Page 52 is described as having 'four gold stripes on each shoulder' and wearing 'five lines of ribbons on the right side of his chest.'

It's clear to me the author hasn't done enough research. Firstly, a quick online search would have shown the author - and the proofreader or editor - that a Commander has three stripes and a Captain has four. Secondly, medals and ribbons are worn on the left side of the chest, not the right. Furthermore, Australians don't have rows or lines of ribbons, that'd be the Americans.

If that wasn't enough, our main character calls him Captain on the very next page. Argh! There were also several inaccuracies surrounding the landscape and terrain of the area.

Unfortunately, these errors continue all the way through the novel. A sailor mentioned on page 140 is called Sergeant on page 151. What the hell? Now we're confusing the Army and the Navy? Here's another tip: a Lieutenant going about his daily duties would not be 'dripping in gold braid' on page 227.

I'm of the firm opinion that this author would benefit from reading a couple of novels by fellow Aussie writer Matthew Reilly who is able to write the kind of fast-moving action scenes and military interactions Cotton seems to be striving for here.

The setting at Jervis Bay is what originally drew me to this book. The plethora of elements in the plot, including: aboriginal land rights, unrest in Indonesia, bikie gangs in the dessert, nuclear weapons, Navy, AFP and spooks were just excessive and didn't gel together.

It's always a pleasure to read a new-to-me Australian author, but sadly Dead Heat fell short for me. Dead Heat is the second in the Detective Darren Glass series and it can easily be read as a stand alone.

* Copy courtesy of Scribe Publications * show less

Federal elections are only a fortnight away in Australia and in Canberra Susan Wright, the Minister for the Environment goes missing. After three days her body is found near Lake Burley Griffin. It seems that with Minister Wright's death the government's chance of re-election has evaporated.

Darren Glass and his boss, Assistant Commissioner Len McHenry of the Australian Federal Police, are making slow progress when a second person goes missing - this time Alan Proctor, a senior adviser in the show more Prime Minister's Office.

By this time Glass has already upset the Prime Minister and the Police Commissioner, and it seems he may be thrown off the case. But fortunately for him McHenry values his insight and he survives.

And it is beginning to look as if Susan Wright's death may just bring the electoral bounce that PrimeMinister Michael Landsdowne needs.

Peter Cotton has managed to pull off one of those rare achievements - a political thriller that keeps the reader guessing all the way. As the election gets closer and closer the investigation becomes murkier and it is evident that the origins of the first murder go back a couple of decades, to events that occurred when Landsdowne and Wright were in Opposition.

Oh, and by the way, you never do really find out the "flavor" of the government, and that really doesn't seem to matter.

The structure of the novel is unusual - mainly Darren Glass' narration, interspersed with television commentary by a female "Live Cam" journalist, and daily provocative blog comments by another political commentator.

If you are a non-Australian reader, I'm not sure that the enjoyment of the novel hinges on an understanding of the Australian political system. In fact I'm pretty sure it wouldn't. It is very well written, particularly for a debut novel, and held my interest to the end. show less

This thriller can hold its head up on the international stage. Cotton spins a plausible tale, with Australia the object of fine balance in international politics and under threat from its neighbours.

A dead body on territory theoretically under the jurisdiction of the Australian Federal Police sparks an investigation. The AFP detective Darren Glass finds that he is not actually in control, and will be shadowed by someone appointed by the Navy. In the background is the story of his girlfriend show more Jean a journalist who has disappeared in upheavals in Indonesia.

A second theme is the underlying resentment that Aboriginal activists are harbouring against the white domination.

This novel brings together current themes in the Australian psyche. show less

I come from Canberra so with the book being set in Canberra, and reading in the middle of an election campaign, this book had a bit of resonance with me. Of course the current election is no where near as deadly as the one featured in the book.

I enjoyed this a lot as it moved along at a nice pace and didn't get too bogged down. There was a nice amount of action and suspense.

One slight issue is with the opening as the setting of the book was not clearly defined. To say that a body was found show more by the lake is very unclear as the lake is quiet large and there are hundreds of places a body could be dumped. Especially when later in the book settings were very clearly defined. show less