The Sydney Quartet
The Sydney Quartet
This quartet of novels set in Sydney are all stand-alone full length novels, and can be read in any order. Each has its own main characters, yet share some common secondary characters and locations. Those of you who have read Flank Street will remember Sonny Thaku, Ray Peterson, and Gary Mitchell. Those guys make an appearance in the other books, as does Heather.
Flank Street
Awarded the AIA Seal of Excellence for Outstanding Fiction, and the prestigious B.R.A.G. Medallion, Flank street is an unforgettable novel from "One of the most distinct and exciting new voices in crime writing."
I took a different approach to writing Flank Street than I did to writing the other books. I wrote the last page first, called it a prologue, and then worked out how the MC would get there. It was fun, and the writing went fast.
Flank Street is set mainly in Sydney's Kings Cross. It's written in first person from the distorted reality of Micky DeWitt, a shiftless career criminal and world sailor.
Micky Dewitt sails into Sydney on his run-down yacht Nina. Micky has always had to keep moving; from Hamburg, London, Boston, Antigua... the list goes on. Every time Micky ties up his boat in a new country, he lands in a heap of trouble. Why would Australia be any different?
He soon becomes a bar hop in Kings Cross, Sydney's red light district where tourists, locals, gangsters and sex workers go about their daily business, then a burglar, an arsonist, and an accessory to murder.
Micky observes the dysfunctional world around him with suspicion. And he's right to be suspicious. You can't trust anyone who inhabits Sydney's underbelly, least of all Micky.
The two main female characters, seductive Carol, and the sweet and vulnerable Meagan, both play a part in Micky's downfall. When he first meets Carol he makes assumptions about her based on the way she presents herself to the world. But as he gets to know her, he finds out that she has a depth and intelligence that are not immediately obvious. However, Carol has a dark side that soon surfaces, and it is that darkness that ultimately ensnares him. Nothing is what it seems as Micky falls into a honey trap that spins his life out of control and pushes him to the edge of sanity.
Meet Me at Harry's
Ex-Detective Lieutenant Stacia Black, formerly of the Chicago Police Department, knows all about violence and poverty. She grew up with it. As a cop working for the Organised Crime Division's Narcotics section, she fought against it. Maybe she's been on the wrong side all these years. The side that stays poor while others get rich. Now she's in Sydney's notorious Kings Cross, looking to make a score of her own. What she needs is a man with connections.
Something of a loner, quiet and cynical Nick Miller has been content to run a bar and stay out of trouble, until Stacia appears looking to make a deal with the head of organised crime, the boss of Kings Cross. Nick's no criminal, but he knows people. People like underworld enforcer Ray Peterson.
Nick is balanced on a knife's edge, torn between his loyalties to his acquaintances and his hunger for something better. He steps off the edge straight into a world of danger and deceit, where the only thing that matters is making it out alive.
Can a dishonest American cop teach Nick to live again, or will she get him killed? Can they stay out of jail, stay alive, and stay together?
Find out in this tense, fast paced thriller.
Cerise Noire
Six months after his partner was murdered, Rick Stone returns to Sydney trying to pull his life back together. While he was away, two more women were murdered, each seemingly unrelated to the others. When a third woman is murdered in the same way, and Rick gets caught up in the investigation, he becomes obsessed with finding a link between the murders.
Each night, Joy Stringer steps outside the quiet orderliness of her day job, and hangs out in bars and clubs in Sydney's Kings Cross to gather material for a book she's always wanted to write. After one of her main sources of information dies, she fears for her own safety.
When Joy and Rick meet in a bar one night, they discover that by pooling information and working together, they can help each other achieve their goal. That decision leads them into more danger than they could ever imagine, and to an outcome that nobody could foresee.
Shadow House
She's out to avenge her sister's death, he's on a path to self-destruction.
Heather Todd's life had never been easy, but when her sister died as a result of over-cut cocaine, everything changed. Now she's determined to take down Sydney's notorious organised crime ring, vowing to ensure her sister didn't die in vain.
Ex MI6 operative turned world sailor, Sam Autenburg is on a bender after his partner died, also as a result of over-cut cocaine. When one night things go desperately wrong for Sam, Heather comes to his rescue.
Taunting and goading him, she eventually convinces him to take on her cause and infiltrate the organised crime syndicate responsible for her sister's, and his partner's, deaths. Going after the brutal gang will be no easy feat, and in order to stop them, Sam and Heather must put their own lives on the line.
Together in loss and driven by revenge, Sam and Heather hunt for justice, and in doing so, begin their own path to redemption.
Shadow House is a story about how people are changed by circumstance and pressure, both external and internal, and how when released from that pressure, some are able to become their true selves.
Can they find the evidence they need without getting caught? Are they strong enough to take on this fight without losing themselves in the process?
Find out in this action-packed thriller, filled with daring adventure and high-risk operations!
Don’t know about any of these books or the author. I don’t even think of Sydney having an underworld presence, but it’s a big city so why not.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Road trippin’ with A to Z
Tossing It Out
Thanks for stopping by, Arlee.
Sydney has most things if you know where to look. I guess that’s true of all big cities.
I want to to thank you for this wonderful read!! I definitely enjoyed every bit of it.
I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post…
Glad you enjoyed it. Look out for the next release early next year.
A.J.