Book Review: THE WAY IT IS NOW by Garry Disher

 

Title: THE WAY IT IS NOW

Author:  Garry Disher

Publisher:  Text Publishing

Read: October 2021

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

Set in a beach-shack town an hour from Melbourne, The Way It Is Now tells the story of a burnt-out cop named Charlie Deravin.

Charlie is living in his family’s holiday house, on forced leave since he made a mess of things at work.

Things have never been easy for Charlie. Twenty years earlier his mother went missing in the area, believed murdered. His father has always been the main suspect, though her body was never found.

Until now: the foundations are being dug for a new house on a vacant block. The skeletal remains of a child and an adult are found—and Charlie’s past comes crashing in on him.

The Way It Is Now is the enthralling new novel by Garry Disher, one of Australia’s most loved and celebrated crime writers.

My musings:

 

I’ve always enjoyed Garry Disher’s writing style, so I was very excited to get my hands on his latest book. THE WAY IT IS NOW is a standalone crime novel featuring Detective Senior Constable Charlie Deravin, who returns to his old childhood home to spend some downtime whilst he is suspended from duty. Returning to the small coastal town brings back painful memories for Charlie. Twenty years earlier, his mother vanished without a trace, believed a victim of foul play. Charlie’s father, a senior sergeant on the police force, has always been the prime subject, even though nobody could ever prove anything and Rose’s body was never found. With time on his hands and old memories assaulting him, Charlie starts digging into the past ...

 

Disher is a seasoned, accomplished writer, which shows in the way he brings both his setting as well as his characters to life. This is a slow-burning, character driven story with an atmospheric small town Australian setting that appears almost languid in the beginning. But don’t be fooled, because it is  full of scarred and damaged characters, family secrets, regret and disillusionment, and coming to terms with past mistakes. Whilst the mystery surrounding Rose Deravin’s disappearance intrigued me and soon reeled me in, the story was about so much more than a cold case. Disher’s description of life in a small Australian coastal town are spot on and made this tale seem authentic, as did Charlie’s growing disillusionment with his career, which has left him suspecting he worst of his fellow men. There is a rich cast of supporting characters who provide background and red herrings and fleshed the story out nicely. I particularly enjoyed the ethical dilemma of Charlie digging into the past, knowing that his father could be a killer, feeling torn between the love for the man and his suspicions. Set in early 2020, Disher incorporates the historical landmarks that defined that terrible year, from the bushfire crisis to the first appearance of covid cases around the world. 

 

Summary:

 

If you are a reader who enjoys a slower, character driven mystery with an authentic small town Australian setting, then Disher is a writer you should definitely turn to. Even though I found the ending a bit rushed, I enjoyed getting caught up in the intrigue and the slow unravelling of secrets that Disher does so well.

 

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Text Publishing for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.