Better Reading Preview: Broke Road by Matthew Spencer

Better Reading Preview: Broke Road by Matthew Spencer

A late-night phone call is never good news for Homicide Detective Sergeant Rose Riley. This time she’s being sent up to the Hunter Valley, where a woman has been found dead in her home.

Rose grew up further along the valley. She knows that for every vineyard and golf course resort visited by tourists to the ‘wine country’, there are as many dilapidated fibro houses and drug dens, in the shadow of one of the state’s largest prisons.

A media hound points the finger at the husband, angering Rose, but capturing the attention of journalist turned true crime author Adam Bowman. His book on the ‘Blue Moon Killer’ made him famous but the case nearly cost Rose her life, and she’s not sure how she feels about seeing him again.

Suspects abound, from the grieving husband to sinister business interests and suspicious locals. But when new evidence connects the crime to an old case, Rose realises they have no time to lose. The murderer is ready to strike again.

We have 55 copies of this book to give away. For your chance to Preview this book, click on the link and fill in the registration form.

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This Preview sign-up period has now closed. Keep an eye out for future Previews being announced!

Better Reading Preview: An exclusive chance to read and review free books before anyone else

We invite our trusted community to engage directly with the nation-wide conversation about books by registering for Preview, our new crowd-sourced book review platform. Due to the insight and perceptiveness of our readers, we are launching a platform that allows your voice to be heard.

How do I express interest in reviewing a book?

Like us on Facebook AND subscribe to our newsletter (if you haven’t already!) to hear about the next Preview campaign. You must subscribe to our newsletter to hear about the latest Preview campaigns.

When a campaign is launched, readers will have 24 hours in which to send through their expression of interest, by filling in the registration form above. After 24 hours, Preview readers will be randomly selected from the pool of those who expressed interest in receiving and reviewing a free advance copy of the specified book. Usually these advance copies are printed three to four months before they hit bookshops, making Preview a great way to find out about upcoming titles before anyone else.

But be warned – there are only limited copies of each Preview book available for review.

You will only be contacted if you were successful in being selected.

When you register you are expressing interest for the following:

A free advance copy of the specified book sent to your postal address, in exchange for a brief review of the book that may be used for promotional purposes by Better Reading and the relevant publisher.

Important details:

– We need all your details, including your email address and postal address, for your expression of interest to be successful.

– Preview is currently only open to Australia-based readers.

– A successful registration to review a Preview book is for that single title, only. With every new Preview book announced, you will need to express interest again.

– When announced, Preview expressions of interest are open for 24 hours.

– Better Reading and the relevant publisher will never share the details provided by Preview reviewers for any purposes beyond the relevant Preview campaign.

– Preview demand is very high, and there are only limited spots available for each title. To keep things fair, if you fail to provide a review for a Preview title on two occasions, you will unfortunately not be selected for future Preview titles.

What happens after I express interest?

If you have been successful, you will receive a confirmation email shortly afterwards from Better Reading. This will contain a review deadline and a link through which to submit your review. It will also contain other details on the reviewing process.

About your Preview review:

– Preview reviews may feature on the Better Reading website and the Better Reading Facebook page. The relevant publisher may also use the reviews for promotion. When reviews are used for promotional purposes, each reviewer will only be identified by their first name and Australian state. Reviews may be edited slightly, just for the purposes of brevity and clarity.

– Social media posts about Preview may be shared by Better Reading on its social media channels and/ or website.

– All Preview reviews must be no longer than 200 words and must be received by the deadline specified in your confirmation email. You will generally have four weeks to submit your review, from the time you receive your book.

– We want you to have fun with Preview – post photos of your book on Instagram or Facebook when you receive it, and when you’ve read it, share your thoughts using the hashtag #BRPreview. Be sure to tag Better Reading in your posts – we love to hear from our readers! And if you have a Goodreads account, we encourage you to share your reviews there too.

Reviews

Your Preview Verdict: Broke Road by Matthew Spencer

Review | Preview

30 April 2025

Your Preview Verdict: Broke Road by Matthew Spencer

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      Publisher details

      Broke Road
      Author
      Matthew Spencer
      Publisher
      Allen & Unwin
      Released
      01 July, 2025
      ISBN
      9781761069208

      Synopsis

      A late-night phone call is never good news for Homicide Detective Sergeant Rose Riley. This time she's being sent up to the Hunter Valley, where a woman has been found dead in her home.

      Rose grew up further along the valley. She knows that for every vineyard and golf course resort visited by tourists to the 'wine country', there are as many dilapidated fibro houses and drug dens, in the shadow of one of the state's largest prisons.

      A media hound points the finger at the husband, angering Rose, but capturing the attention of journalist turned true crime author Adam Bowman. His book on the 'Blue Moon Killer' made him famous but the case nearly cost Rose her life, and she's not sure how she feels about seeing him again.

      Suspects abound, from the grieving husband to sinister business interests and suspicious locals. But when new evidence connects the crime to an old case, Rose realises they have no time to lose. The murderer is ready to strike again.

      Matthew Spencer
      About the author

      Matthew Spencer

      Matthew Spencer was a journalist at The Australian for twenty years, with long stints running the Foreign News desk and as Opinion Editor. He has written for newspapers and magazines in Uganda and Kenya and been published in The Australian Financial Review and The Sydney Morning Herald. He was born in Parramatta. The son of teachers, he lived with his sister Kate on the 320-acre campus of a boys' boarding school. Long summers on the largely deserted property while exploring the remnant bush with its tributary of the Parramatta River inspired this book. Black River is to be published by Allen and Unwin in June 2022.

      Books by Matthew Spencer

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