3.5 stars rounded up.

An Aussie murder mystery set on the Mornington Peninsula south-east of Melbourne spanning two decades. Speculation runs rife, especially as there was no body ever found, placing a family under suspicion.

An enjoyable read that threw up the occasional twists and turns. My first time reading this author and I'm looking forward to reading more. ( )

The Way It Is Now by Garry Disher is set on the Mornington Peninsula an hour out of Melbourne, and our protagonist Charlie Deravin is staying at his family's holiday house while on suspension. Charlie is a cop and he plans to spend his time in disgrace digging into the disappearance of his mother twenty years earlier. His Dad is a retired cop, but despite having friends on the force, Charlie's mother's disappearance - and presumed murder - has never been solved.

This is the second novel I've read this year set on the Mornington Peninsula, (you can read my review of Hydra by Adriane Howell) and the third book set in Victoria (see my review of The Carnival is Over by Greg Woodland) and I think I'm ready for a change.

I'm not sure whether it's the over familiar Australian setting or the police procedurals or Aussie crime in general, but I'm starting to find some of them a little 'samey'. I remember getting this - legitimate reading related concern - after consuming one too many historical fiction novels set during WWII. So much Aussie talent has burst forth in this genre in the last 3 years, that we readers really have been spoiled for choice. For me, I think it's time to reduce my reading a little in this particular Australian crime niche and focus more on the genres supplying 5 star reads more readily.

The Way It Is Now by Garry Disher is well written and populated by interesting and relatable characters. The plot was engaging and I didn't guess the whodunnit, which is always nice. This is my first time reading anything by this prolific author, but The Way It Is Now by Garry Disher will appeal to fans of Australian crime fiction, including authors like Sarah Bailey, Sarah Barrie, James Delargy, Jane Harper, Chris Hammer, Greg Woodland and Christian White.

* Copy courtesy of Text Publishing * ( )

This was a fast easy read. I liked Charlie, the policeman on suspension reinvestigating his mother's disappearance 20 years ago. I was less keen on his girlfriend Anna, but I think that was just me. It all came together neatly at the end, along with one of the characters (early in 2020) catching a Chinese virus on a cruise... ( )

Veteran Australian author Garry Disher has been serving up excellent crime novels since the early 1990s when the first of his books about the professional thief known only as Wyatt appeared.
Disher’s latest one-off mystery is an exciting addition to the catalogue of Australian crime fiction. Set on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, the book weaves a web of corrupt coppers, family breakdown and missing loved ones as a frame to explore attitudes towards male violence, toxic masculinity and the complex web of loyalties, obligations, resentments and love that all families navigate.
Disher’s latest one-off mystery is an exciting addition to the catalogue of Australian crime fiction. Set on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, the book weaves a web of corrupt coppers, family breakdown and missing loved ones as a frame to explore attitudes towards male violence, toxic masculinity and the complex web of loyalties, obligations, resentments and love that all families navigate. ( )

Liked the Melbourne , Mornington peninsula setting - and the short screen in the Latrobe library - nothing else 🙁 ( )