Black River, Black Deeds

Black River by Matthew Spencer

Two murders of young women in an upscale area of Sydney (Australia) have local residents on edge. The crimes bear significant ritualistic similarities, enough to classify the perpetrator as a serial killer. BMK, he’s called. The Blue Moon Killer.

When a third young woman’s body is found on the grounds of an elite private school during the summer break, there are some indications it could be the work of BMK. But there are differences, too. What do those differences mean? Is BMK toying with the police? Is there a copycat killer out there? Is he altering his modus operandi?

Detective Sergeant Rose Riley, a member of the task force trying to find BMK, is on edge. She’s got this case on her mind night and day. More than anything, she wants justice for the victims. Her quest to do right by the murdered women and their families not only leads her to the hallowed halls of power and money, but also to the sickening depths of human depravity and straight into the sights of a killer.

She and her team need help, and they find it—more or less—in the form of Adam Bowman, a reporter who likes his booze and has a murky connection to the school where the third body was found. Rose and her team feed Adam exclusive but limited information, and his stories serve to rile up certain persons of interest.

The question is this: can Rose and the task force, with Adam’s help, figure out who BMK is before he strikes again?

If you’re looking for a page-turning thriller, this book should be in the running. The action moves at a fast clip and there’s always a lead that needs to be investigated. Rose’s boss is a hard-driving Detective Chief Inspector who lives and breathes the work of the task force. He trusts Rose and gives her the support and freedom she needs to pursue leads and theories. It’s a great working partnership, and that was one of my favorite things about the book.

For the most part, the book alternates between two points of view: Rose’s and Adam’s. I liked getting to know each character in more depth, but at the same time I felt like I knew all the other characters pretty well, too (which is not to say I liked them all—some of them are despicable). Many readers don’t like books that oscillate between points of view, but I find it exciting and a great way to get inside characters’ heads.

The author of this story, Matthew Spencer, is a former journalist who clearly knows his way around a newsroom as well as the ins and outs of working with police and other authorities. His experience shines in the book and gives it an overall aura of authenticity. He’s Australian, too, and readers from elsewhere in the world have an opportunity to learn some Aussie phrases and culture.

I highly recommend this thriller to anyone looking for a book with well-developed characters, a fast pace, and an alternative to the more ubiquitous American or British police procedural.

***

House of the Hanging Jade is on sale for $1.99 this week only! The sale ends at midnight EDT on Friday, 3/15/24, so if you haven’t read it, grab your copy now! Click HERE to go to my website, where you can be redirected to your favorite online bookseller.

My publisher owned the rights to the book until last year, when the rights reverted to me. So I revised the story and had a new cover designed for it (I LOVE the new cover). The new version currently has no reviews on Amazon, so I’d love to see some reviews! Thanks!

See you next time!

Amy