This was a very good read. Hirsch is a thoroughly believable character, and it is so refreshing to read about a police officer who goes to counselling when he encounters a traumatic crime scene, cares about his 'patch' without being naive about human nature, and is kind and full of integrity.

The plot was topical and again all too believable. There were so many disparate plot elements that at one point I wondered how they could ever be resolved, but they were!

Highly recommended - I would recommend this whole series. ( )

This is a competent example of outback noir, exactly as you'd expect from Disher. I think I am getting to be over this genre. There's only so many times one can read the "disgraced cop banished to the sticks solves major crime by himself while winning over the locals" trope before it gets jaded. Nowadays, I also need original characters and/or some pretty nifty plot twists to get excited, and this novel does not have that. ( )

4.25 Stars. If you are looking for reliably good crime writing, then look no further than Garry Disher.

Like Chris Hammer, he is a master at depicting a scene, an atmosphere, a mood, but the effect (for me, anyway) is distinctly different. Disher’s stories more award-winning TV series rather than big screen blockbuster; more ‘feels-like-you-are-there’ riding every bump in the washed-out dirt country road with his leading man Hirsch rather than watching on enthralled. Every facial expression, every word, or for that matter every silence, means something.

I have been in two minds about the different ways authors have tackled the pandemic in fictional series. With Day’s End I think Disher has done a great job of acknowledging its societal impacts, the way it has amplified certain behaviour and stressors, without letting it take centre stage. Paul Hirschhausen’s broader story arc beats strong within this novel. Continue reading: https://www.bookloverbookreviews.com/2022/12/days-end-garry-disher-review.html ( )

Set in Tiverton, a small outback town in wheat and sheep country in South Australia, and set during the ongoing Covid pandemic, the story presents the seamy undercurrent of rural life. Hirsch's work is never done. One thing leads to another and from small fragments big issues grow.

But Hirsch plugs on, following threads with almost unbelievable consequences. Hirsch represents what rural policing is all about.

An excellent read. ( )

In this fourth book in Garry Disher’s Paul Hirschhausen series, Hirsh is now very much at home in the small rural town of Tiverton north of Adelaide. He‘s still the sole police officer at his station, policing a huge rural area, but has good support from the regional station at nearby Redruth.

There’s a lot happening in this small town and it’s sparsely inhabited rural area. Going to the scene of a fire, Hirsch finds a heavily tattooed body in a suitcase. No one he recognises so not someone local and not the missing overseas backpacker Hirsch has been helping to look for. There is also a wave of anti-government and anti-racial sentiment flourishing amongst some of the younger members of town and hints of a far-right group being involved. On top of that there are scams involving house rentals and old furniture donated for charity. On a more personal level, Hirsch’s girlfriend Wendy’s normally sunny daughter Kate is unhappy due to being being bullied at high school and online and it seems Wendy, the high school Maths teacher is as much as a target of the online vitriol being sent Kate’s way.

Hirsch is rapidly becoming one of my favourite characters. A fair-minded man with patience and principles, willing to find the best in people. Disher has woven the covid pandemic into his tale, with the unbelievers, anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists really testing Hirsch’s patience. Superbly written with warmth and humour, Disher catches the atmosphere and issues facing small country towns superbly. The pacing is fast with each of the many layers perfectly played out and the underlying tension resolving in an explosive ending. ( )