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Melbourne police officer Alan Auhl left Homicide and spent the next five years not finding something he really wanted to commit to. He is a man with an essentially good heart who owns a rambling old house that he shares with a variety of waifs and strays and members of his family. Occasionally his ex-wife spends some time there as well. Now he is back with the police, invited back to specialize in cold cases.
The first on the list appeared when a nervous suburban husband spotted a poisonous snake slipping under a old concrete slab in his yard. When the snake-catcher (who appears to like the snake rather more than he does the husband) arranges for the slab to be removed, a skeleton is revealed. As body-discovery vignettes go, this is one of the best I've read and a welcome change on the usual inquisitive Jack Russell. Auhl also has to consider a case that he was involved in years ago, that of a "lovely old bloke" found dead of head wounds. Nothing was ever concluded about the death but his daughters still contact Auhl on the anniversary of their father's death to see if there have been any developments. Finally, a case that is at least lukewarm rather than cold, and one that Auhl would dearly like to bring home - he knows but cannot prove that Dr Alec Neill's wives, two of whom have died suddenly of mysterious causes, were done in by the doctor. Indeed, he warned Neill's current girlfriend not to become dead wife #3.
Also on Auhl's mind are the problems of some of his housemates. There is the woman and her young daughter who are fleeing a controlling and abusive husband and father, a man whom the courts seem to think may be a more appropriate parent than the desperate mother. And finally there is a colleague who has sought a brief respite from a shaky relationship. Auhl is immensely supportive of all these, willing to take some liberties with strict legality when called for.
Auhl only appears laid-back, however. Sure, he puts up with the lame jokes about his age from younger cops who all seem to feel that ageing is a choice, not an inevitability given ordinary luck. But beneath the surface, Auhl is a man with an intense desire to see justice done and if justice doesn't seem to be forthcoming, then Auhl will give it a hearty nudge if he can.
UNDER THE COLD BRIGHT LIGHTS is, so far, a standalone by the author of the Wyatt series and many other novels. Disher's prose is impeccable - clean, direct, and telling. His protagonist is much the same. He may be driven, sometimes dangerously so, but he is admirable in important ways and surprisingly likeable. We can hope that COLD BRIGHT LIGHTS does not remain a standalone for long.
§ Yvonne Klein is a writer, translator, and retired college English professor who lives in Montreal. She's been editing RTE since 2008.
Reviewed by Yvonne Klein, June 2019
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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