BROKE ROAD

A Sydney sleuth solves a baffling murder and continues her charged relationship with an ambitious reporter.

New South Wales homicide detective Rose Riley is roused in the middle of the night to investigate a strangulation in remote Red Creek, a burgeoning burg outside Sydney that’s earning a reputation among wine connoisseurs. The victim is Penny Armytage, whose husband, Nigel, a mining geologist, came home from working late to discover her body. Riley’s second case follows a familiar template enhanced by its offbeat setting, a cast of crisply depicted supporting characters, and a handful of departures from the formula. Riley and her partner-cum-confidant, Priya Patel, have a buoyant chemistry that spills over from the professional to the personal. Can they trust overeager local cop Christian Rodrigues? Spencer devotes nearly equal time to the perspective of Adam Bowman, an ambitious writer who, aspiring to be a new Capote, is investigating on his own. The prospect of a relationship simmers tantalizingly under Adam’s interactions with Rose. Armytage’s opposition to fracking may have provided a motive, and several forensic details suggest that she knew her killer. Riley questions an array of suspects linked to the victim through her job as a digital marketing freelancer and her personal life, but none emerges as a frontrunner. Theories abound; was environmentalist Penny chafing at Nigel’s work as a geologist? Riley knows she’s ruffling feathers when she notices that her room has been searched. An additional murder with a similar modus operandi accelerates the investigation.

This character-driven whodunit rolls slowly but ultimately satisfies.