55

Having raced through the compelling story told by James Delargy in 55, I almost threw it against the wall when I read the last sentence (after double checking there were no pages missing).

“‘He wanted me to be number fifty-five,’ the man spluttered, looking Chandler squarely in the eye for the first time. He shivered and squeezed his eyes shut.”

On an ordinary morning in the remote Western Australian town of Wilbrook, a bruised and bloodied man stumbles into the police station with a horrifying story to tell. Identifying himself as Gabriel, he claims to have have been drugged while hitchhiking, waking to find himself chained to a wall in a small woodshed. His abductors name, Gabriel tells Sergeant Chandler Jenkins, is Heath, a show more short, stocky man with a deep tan, brown hair, a beard, probably about thirty years old.

Just a few hours later a local man marches a bruised and bloodied stranger into the police station at the end of his gun after being caught attempting to steal a car. It’s obvious to the Sergeant that this stranger is the man Gabriel described as his captor, and he moves to arrest him, but is stopped cold when Heath claims to have been drugged while hitchhiking, waking to find himself chained to a wall in a small woodshed. His abductors name, Heath tells Jenkins, is Gabriel, a tall, slim man with a deep tan, stubble chin and a soft voice.

“One of them, and only one of them was the true victim and the killer was piggy-backing their story. There was no other explanation.”

It is an intriguing and original hook, with both men claiming to be the victim of the other, and the possibility that as many as 54 more victims could be buried somewhere on the outskirts of town.

Single father Jenkins, and his small staff- young rookie Nick, the ambitious Luka, second in command, Tanya, and reliable Jim- are perhaps a little out of their depth in this situation. They make a few errors at the outset, which adds to the excitement, but one innocuous mistake in particular will come back to haunt the Sergeant.

Given the potential for the case to become a sensation, the investigation is quickly appropriated by Jenkins’ immediate boss, and former friend, Inspector Mitch Andrews. The last case the pair worked on together as rookies, involving a missing person, is recounted In a series of flashbacks, going someway to explaining the animosity between the two men.

Delargy’s main characters are well crafted and nuanced. Chandler’s easygoing nature contrasts with Mitch’s self-aggrandising behaviour, much in the same way that Gabriel appears to be the antithesis of Heath, yet as the story progresses,the author subtly develops details that adds depth to their characters.

The author maintains an effectively unsettling atmosphere through the novel, where the uncertainty, anxiety, and animosity experienced by, and between, the characters is underscored by the heat and isolation of the environment.

“On he drove through the undergrowth, pursuing the echo of his cries but never catching up. He pushed on harder because he was panicked and he pushed on harder because of the tears streaking down his face. He didn’t want anyone to see his hurt, immersing himself in the trees, dirt and despair...”

Delargy does an outstanding job of pacing in this novel. Tension ebbs and flows unpredictability as the plot twists and turns. I raced through the pages, finishing it in under three hours, desperate to learn the truth.

Oh, but that ending! I still can’t say I’m happy about it, but neither, it’s important to note, can I say that it was disappointment.

With an arresting premise, a riveting story, and a provocative conclusion, 55 is an impressive crime thriller debut novel from James Delargy. show less

Rural noir is a thing at the moment, which means some stellar entries in the category, and some not so good ones. Makes opening each new novel and settling in for the experience a bit of rollercoaster ride. So did 55 live up to the hype? Well yes, yes it did.

It's an intriguing premise - a man stumbles into the police station in a small town, covered in dried blood. His name is Gabriel and he claims he was hitch-hiking, looking for work, when he was picked up, drugged and restrained by iron chains in a small shack in the bush. His captor, known only as Heath, said he was to be victim number 55. As Gabriel is tucked away in a local hotel to recover from his ordeal, Heath walks into the same station. He claims he was hitch-hiking, looking show more for work, when he was picked up, drugged and restrained by iron chains in a small shack in the bush by a self-confessed serial killer by the name of Gabriel.

That premise is particularly well delivered. With a slim cast of characters, and the identical testimony of two supposed victims, Delargy creates an impressive level of tension and forward momentum. There's a bit of help from the added complication of the big city cop who arrives in town to take charge of the investigation. He's a local boy moved on, and there's plenty of past history between Jenkins and Mitch, the background to which is teased out in a series of flashback stories set around the search for a missing man when they were both new police recruits. As the perspective switches between current day and that old search, the personas of the two combatants - Heath and Gabriel - shift as well. It's very hard to pick who is the victim and who is perpetrator. 

Now I will admit I did wonder at one point why it was taking so long for the search for the graves (and the hut) to commence, but that was well into the story, and serves as more of a testament to the levels of confusion, and the number of questions, that had arisen by then. For a book that moves around between timelines, and provides insights into the current and past personal life of Chandler Jenkins into the bargain, the pace, and the constant building of tension works incredibly well.

Everything about 55 is supported by the creation of a really good central protagonist in Jenkins. Unsure who to believe, or how he is going to get to the bottom of this story, Jenkins is resolute, questioning, lacks confidence in his own ability, and struggles with the fallout from his divorce, care of his two young children and a slightly scratchy relationship with his own parents, whose help on the home front he relies upon heavily. He's a very real person, and his position in the town of his youth feels and reads perfectly right. The town itself is less focused on. It's remote, it's dusty, it's dry, it's small town outback Australia. Everybody knows everybody and everything is out for all to see, which makes the idea that there's been a serial killer lurking in the bush, that there are grave sites hidden away on a hill nearby, covered in wild bushland, mostly unknown territory even to long-term locals, intriguing.

The setting here is open, vast and seemingly unending, yet there's hidden spots and areas. Whilst it's always possible to believe that nobody is ever totally off the radar no matter where they are, it's sobering to come across the sneaking possibility that there are places that people can disappear to. Alive and dead. What's really cleverly done is the way that there are echoes of place in the experience and attitude of the small cast of characters in this novel. Some, like Jenkins, are hiding in plain sight, others are hopeful, less inhibited by the restrictions and expectations, less overwhelmed by the vastness of landscape around them. 

There are also female characters in this book, but this is very much a male focused book, with the concentration mostly on two sets of battling men: Jenkins and his old colleague Mitch, and Heath and Gabriel. There's a level of testosterone driven madness in the first, and just flat out madness in the second. There are other supporting characters, in the police station, in the town, and at home, all of whom step back as the focus becomes more and more on these 4 men and whatever the hell the games are that they are all playing. 

Which it turns out, to be the whole point. 55 is a clever book about the dangerous games that these men are playing, and just what it is that makes them see the path, and not take King Lear's words to heart:

O, that way madness lies; let me shun that;

No more of that. show less

55 by James Delargy talks about two very distinct men who confess they have been kidnapped by each other, claiming the other one is a serial killer who has killed 54 other people. This book had me hooked from the very beggining. The action started developing right away but still keeping the readers guessing what was the next move. Though I loved the book, the very abrupt and incomplete ending is keeping me from giving this book five stars. Maybe 3 and a half stars would be somewhat more accurate than four stars, since I would have prefered a closure written down with words instead of keeping us guessing. Even if it was a really horrific one or, maybe, even a happy ending.

For the most part, pretty exciting and it kept me guessing, but ambiguous ending pulled it down for me. Two men appear at an Australian police station with the exact same story, almost word for word, about each of them being kidnapped then escaping. Which man is telling the truth; which one is lying? Story attempts to find out the truth. Other policemen are brought in. Interesting premise. 55 doesn't signify what it purports to mean on its surface.

This crime novel is set in the West Australia outback.
2 men appear at the local Police station telling the same story about the other one trying to kidnap him and murder him.
Inspector Chandler Jenkins is the highest ranking officer and is unsure what one to believe.
Gabriel is the one who told his story first he is put up in a hotel, Heath then tells his story he seems more aggressive he is put in the cells.
Gabriel escapes from the Hotel.
Mitch who is the commanding officer for the Police comes to assist Chandler they used to be really good mates. Mitch has climbed up the greasy pole and is being horrible to Chandler. It turns out Mitch is now with Teri, the Mother of Chandlers children and they want custody.
6 Graves are found in show more the bush. All victims murdered.
The book also flashes back to 11 years ago when Mitch and Chandler were involved in a missing persons search they never found the body. The family of the missing boy eventually accepted he was never going to be found.

It turns out Heath is the good guy and Gabriel is the Murderer he was the brother of the missing boy 11 years ago.
His Parents died in a car crash then he went to live with a Bible bashing couple who brainwashed him.
Gabriel kidnaps Chandlers children he wants to swap them for Heath. Chandler goes against the Police agrees to this but Mitch shoots Gabriel dead.

Now the hunt is on to find Sarah and Jasper, Chandlers children.
Book ends on a cliffhanger are the children found are they alive or dead?

OK book. show less

Two stories are told in tandem. One from the present and one from ten years ago.

In the story from ten years ago a young man is missing in the bush and two very new policemen are heading the search party in the rough country near Wilbrook.

Now, ten years on, one of the policemen is the Sergeant at the Wilbrook station when a an injured man arrives, claiming to have been captured and imprisoned by a serial killer. Two days later another man turns up with the same story.

The second policeman is now the Inspector at the Port Headland station and he and his officers turn up to take on the investigation at Wilbrook. There is a lot of animosity between the two, largely stemming from their experiences ten years before.

This novel reads as if the show more author is Australian and I was surprised to realise that he is not.
A good read show less

A brilliant Novel with some fantastic characters. Hard to believe that this a debut novel.
Definitely looking forward to the next one from this promising new Author.