MORE GREAT READS FOR MARCH, 2016
Before it Breaks, by Dave Warner
Why is it that the main protagonists of most crime novels
are divorced, burnt-out, unloved and unlovable – but unerringly fabulous at
their jobs? Their personal lives are
always rubbish, but they always find out Whodunnit, and why. ‘Before it Breaks’ is no different except for
its setting, for all the action takes place in Broome, Western Australia, and
as much as kiwis and Aussies like to tout their differences, there is much
about everyday life that is indistinguishable between our two countries, as this
good story reveals: readers from both
countries this end of the world will recognise places, characters – and speech
patterns that are comfortingly familiar on either side of the Tasman: for that reason alone this story, despite its
tried and true formula, makes a very good foray into the crime genre.
Detective Inspector Daniel Clement, once a star of the
Perth Police Department, has transferred himself to Broome, a tourist town far
to the north of the State. His talents
are wasted there as local crime is confined to pub brawls and petty thieving,
but his ex-wife Marilyn and only child, Phoebe, are living there; he wants to be near to his daughter, even if
it means facing the Gorgon that is his mother-in-law whenever he makes
contact. He knows that if he stays in
Perth his daughter will grow away from him very quickly. Broome and its obvious disadvantages will
have to be his home for the next while, whether he likes it or not.
Until two tourists report gunshots in the vicinity of
Jasper’s Creek, home of crocodiles and other nasties (none of those here in
Kiwiland!). An investigation reveals a
body partly submerged in the water – untouched by the Croc, but very dead just
the same from a hideous blow to the head.
The corpse is revealed to be Dieter Schaffer, a semi-reclusive
ex-policeman from Germany and from his current lifestyle a dope grower, gambler
and general layabout. Initially the
reason for the crime is thought to be the marijuana he supplied – a deal made
with someone that went sour – until another body is discovered, this time a
Maori member of a bikie gang resident in the area: the waters are starting to get muddy, and as
Clement delves deeper into the mystery he discovers (as usual) that things are
NEVER as they seem.
Enquiries with the German Police reveal that the first
victim, Dieter Schaffer, was part of an undercover operation in Hamburg which
resulted in the murder and dismemberment of a fine officer: Clement knows there is a connection – but
what?
Add to that the imminent threat of a huge cyclone ready
to bear down on Broome and outlying areas and Mr Warner should have created
more fear and dread than a body should rightly stand – BUT!
The action and pace are very uneven. The plot is almost too busy and there are
flashbacks that distract when they should do the opposite. When the murderer and his motives are finally
revealed, instead of thinking ‘No way – it couldn’t have been!’ this reader was
thinking ‘So much for the cyclone. It
didn’t blow ME away.’ Which is a
shame. I don’t know why Mr Warner ran
out of steam in the last couple of chapters, but for all that ‘Before it
Breaks’ is still a True Blue read. Too
right, mate! THREE
STARS
The
Year of the Runaways, by Sunjeev Sahota
Shortlisted for the 2015
Man Booker Prize, Sanjeev Sahota’s superb story of a year in the life of three
of Britain’s illegal immigrants is hugely pertinent to the current plight of
Eastern refugees in Europe, and deftly illustrates an underbelly of desperation
and criminality of which few ordinary citizens are aware: who would know of the sacrifices made to send
the bus passenger sitting in front of them to England, in the hope that he
might earn fabled amounts of money to send back home, thus keeping his family
from begging on the Indian streets?
Avtar
is the eldest son in the family of a shawl seller in Mumbai. Business is almost non-existent, and they are
all dependent on his income as a bus conductor – which is terminated in
terrible circumstances: the only solution
to keep his family from starving is to try to get to England, still regarded as
the Land of Milk and Money, on a highly expensive student visa, made possible
through sympathetic solicitors – who naturally are not at all accommodating
when it comes to their fee. An added
complication is his love affair with Lakhpreet, the daughter of former
neighbours who have also fallen on hard times:
their son Randeep will also be sent to England to earn fabulous money to
keep his family in their accustomed prosperous style. Randeep has entered into a marriage in name
only with Narinder, a pious English-born Sikh girl who wishes to do good in her
life according to her religious convictions.
They will not share an address, only coming together when visits are
made by immigration inspectors.
Avtar is reluctantly
persuaded to keep an eye on the inexperienced, other-worldly Randeep, which he
promises to do – but he still can’t raise enough money.
Until
he is forced to go to the criminal moneylenders, even after selling one of his
kidneys and STILL falling short of the required amount: his pain and desperation will all go away, he
thinks, when he starts earning all those wonderful English pounds. And having to look out for that baby Randeep
won’t be so onerous – will it?
True
to form, England’s streets of gold are anything but; it takes months to find construction work,
where they are exploited mercilessly and eventually forced to work at several
jobs so that they can send money home and still keep themselves from
starving. Their fragile dream has turned
into a nightmare. And to prove the caste
system is still alive and flourishing, Tochi, a surly workmate of Avtar and
Randeep is already living a nightmare:
his entire family were killed in political riots in India and he was set
on fire, surviving by some miracle – so that he would never forget he is
Chamaar: Untouchable. He too travels illegally to England, hoping
that the caste system will be forgotten, only to discover that humiliation and
shame will follow him wherever he goes.
Mr
Sahota’s characters draw us inexorably into their hardscrabble lives and we
find that adversity does not breed companionship and loyalty as we would like
to think: desperation breeds betrayal on
a large scale and revenge must be exacted.
This
rich, beautifully written story will not leave the reader’s mind easily; Avtar, Randeep, Tochi and Narinder are there
to stay – unforgettable. SIX STARS!!
