Jacaranda Blue

Dettman draws her characters with effective realism. This book shows a strong understanding of small-town culture and attitudes. Her lead character is slightly unbelievable but the reasons for her characteristics and behaviours are well illustrated. Such an innocuous title for a fairly gruesome tale.

This book starts out an absolute cracker, with Detman's typical wonderful characterisation not just of her characters, but of her society. She presents us with a crime, and with the personal difficulties that always surround crime in her books (and likely in real life). Unfortunately the ending of this book is...atypically weak, and not what Detman has lead me to expect. If I had read this book first of her novels I undoubtedly would have loved it, but because I had such high expectations, I was disappointed.

My favourite Joy Dettman book.