Book blurb:
In a beach paradise, an unspeakable crime is committed. The only witness lies in a coma, fighting for her life…
Australia’s Gold Coast: On a stunningly beautiful stretch of coastline, a young mother is brutally murdered and her daughter, Gabby, is left in a coma, with her life hanging in the balance.
DS Lucas Walker has just arrived in Surfer’s Paradise for some much-needed recovery after injuries sustained in his last investigation. But he is soon pulled into the dark twists and turns of this home invasion gone wrong, vowing to find the men responsible.
As Walker digs deeper into the dark underbelly of this shimmering city by the ocean, a case from his own past resurfaces, with deadly consequences.
And as eight-year-old Gabby, the sole witness her mother’s murder, wakes in her hospital bed, Walker is in a race against time to stop those responsible before they return to silence her forever…
My review:
I’m a sucker for books set in Australia. Somehow the crime thrillers are grittier, the settings more real and the characters more memorable, and Paradise is no exception. Patricia Wolf has written a compelling, multi-thread crime thriller set in Surfers Paradise. It’s a hugely enjoyable read – fast-paced, suspenseful and often humorous.
DS Lucas Walker is an all-round good Aussie bloke. I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that he misses his late grandmother terribly and is great with kids. At the same time, he’s no stranger to trouble and prepared to break the rules to get the job done. I really enjoyed meeting him, and having discovered that Paradise is the second book in the DS Walker Thriller series, immediately bought the first one.
Recovering from injury, Lucas is on the Gold Coast as a guest lecturer for the Queensland police. He’s also waiting for the findings of his review – and to hear if he still has a job. He gets drawn into several investigations, notably one into the horrific murder of the mother of a young child. He’s also pulled into a drug dealing case, while having to babysit his sister’s young kite-surfing friend.
We’re drawn into the lives of the super-rich who play along the Gold Coast. I loved the descriptions of Surfers Paradise, which I’ve visited, and which manages to be both glitzy and sleazy, gorgeous and unsavoury all at the same time. The fast living, ugly underbelly and razzmatazz of the location play a big role in this story.
The characters have all stayed with me, from the pathetic ex-lover of a kingpin drug dealer to the larger-than-life biker gang members and the wealthy, charming gym owner.
Despite many different, interesting story strands, this is not a complicated read and author Patricia Wolf wraps it all up beautifully. I’m a fan.
About the author:
Patricia Wolf has been a journalist for more than 15 years, a regular contributor to titles including The Guardian, the Financial Times, The Independent and The Telegraph, among others. She grew up in outback Australia, in a mining town called Mount Isa in far north-west Queensland – eagle eyed readers will have spotted a small reference to it in her first book, OUTBACK. Patricia loves the rugged beauty, indigo sky and wide horizons of the outback, but left Australia after university to travel the world and became a journalist. She lives in Berlin, Germany, but the outback always calls her home. In 2019, just before the covid pandemic locked us all in, Patricia spent two months in northwest Queensland, taking a four-week road trip.
As she drove and spent nights and days surrounded by the beauty and rugged harshness of the outback, DI Lucas Walker and his stories came to be.
Blog tour:
Thrilled to be on the blog tour for this fabulous Aussie crime thriller. My thanks to @Tr4cyF3nt0n @pattywolfcrime @emblabooks #ParadiseBook
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