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BLACK TIDE
by Peter Temple
Quercus, August 2007
336 pages
12.99 GBP
ISBN: 1847241646


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Private investigator Jack Irish has got his fingers in lots of pies. Aside from being a PI, he also works with a master carpenter and gets called out to help his horse racing chums wearing his lawyer's hat.

This time out he does a favour for an old friend of his late father. Des Connors's son Gary has gone missing, leaving his dad in potentially serious financial straits.

And as Jack investigates he discovers that Gary had a very good reason for disappearing off the face of the earth, and that the case is considerably wider and more complex than just one missing flash bloke.

Temple has been one of my top finds of the past 18 months. To date I've enjoyed the standalones best, but the Jack Irish series is pretty good as well. BAD DEBTS, the first in the series, is worth tracking down. BLACK TIDE isn't quite as good – it's a slow burner and rather disjointed in places, although it picks up later on.

Where Temple really scores, though, is in his portrayal of Jack and the people around him. Even though the book and Jack's life is firmly rooted in the present, there are memories to deal with – that of his late footballer father, and his own rocky relationships with women, including his pushy sister. And there's the love interest with TV reporter Linda, left over from the previous book, which appears to be going down the pan.

And Temple is also particularly strong on creating a memorable sense of place. In his other books there's the stark contrast between the city and remote rural towns. Much of BLACK TIDE is set in Melbourne, and Temple portrays a city and country where progress isn't always welcome.

I enjoyed the dry humour Temple invests in the scenes in Charlie Taub's woodworking workshop and amidst the old codgers drinking in The Prince pub. These alone are worth the admission money, so to speak, but if you search out Temple's books you'll be amply rewarded.

Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, August 2007

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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