This one picks up right where the prior entry left off: Wyatt has $75,000 in cash and is on the run. He's looking for something new, something BIG, to set him up for the easy life again. He thinks he's found it when he hears about a major pipeline construction project out in the boondocks, with a major cash payroll and very little protection. The planning and gathering of expert accomplices begins. What could go wrong?

I didn't find this as engaging as the first entry, but it was a good read. On to number 3! ( )

One of Gary Disher’s creations is Wyatt, a rather nasty fellow, living in Australia who likes to rob things. He’s obsessive about never leaving a trace so all paperwork and contact with the cops is to be avoided at all costs. His sometimes squeeze has told him about a sweet deal where a company has been hired to build a pipeline and has a substantial payday on a regular basis. It’s a score worth contemplating.

There are several complications, the most pressing being there’s a price on his head of twenty-thousand pounds offered by the mob that he had ripped off in a previous heist. Not to mention that the team he assembled is fracturing and they are aware of the bounty. Also to consider is that unbeknownst to Wyatt, there another group with a similar plan.

Disher’s Wyatt is as good as Westlake’s Dortmunder or Collins’ Quarry but lacking the undercurrent of lightness. This stuff is much darker. But sometimes you need dark. It’s all in fun and makes for a nice read. ( )

One of the great joys of my reading life is the occasional chance to wander back through a much loved series. And what's not to absobloodylutely love about the Wyatt series from Garry Disher.

Taut as, these books are short, sharp and to the point. 173 pages short. A salient reminder to the reader that you don't actually need 500 or so pages in which to develop a storyline, build a character, create some tension, get in some action, build up a bit of angst, bring in a few double-crossers, and get Wyatt out of trouble by the skin of his teeth.

If that doesn't appeal then consider Wyatt - unrepentant, unapologetic thief. Controlled, self-contained, a crook with none of that fluffy heart-of-gold bullshit. Wyatt is clinical, careful, considered and out to ensure that Wyatt survives. This series is different, fantastic and it just got better and better. It's no trial to reread these. They are the perfect solution to the reading slump that hits even somebody as addicted to a book in hand as me. ( )