Podcast: Matthew Spencer on using his Unusual Childhood Home in his Debut Novel

Podcast: Matthew Spencer on using his Unusual Childhood Home in his Debut Novel

Listen now on Apple Podcasts

Matthew Spencer talks to Cheryl about growing up on the grounds of a private school, and how he used this experience as inspiration for his crime debut Black River.

About the author:

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. Matthew lives in Sydney with his wife, Ritu Gupta, and their three children.

Listen on Apple || Listen on Spotify

Buy a copy of Black River here.

Reviews

A Gripping Police Procedural: Read Our Q&A with Matthew Spencer, Author of Black River

Review | Author Related

1 June 2022

A Gripping Police Procedural: Read Our Q&A with Matthew Spencer, Author of Black River

    Taut, Suspenseful and Utterly Compelling: Read Our Review of Black River by Matthew Spencer

    Review | Our Review

    1 June 2022

    Taut, Suspenseful and Utterly Compelling: Read Our Review of Black River by Matthew Spencer

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        Publisher details

        Black River
        Author
        Matthew Spencer
        Publisher
        Allen & Unwin
        Genre
        Fiction
        Released
        31 May, 2022
        ISBN
        9781761066184

        Synopsis

        A long, burning summer in Sydney. A young woman found murdered in the deserted grounds of an elite boarding school. A serial killer preying on victims along the banks of the Parramatta River. A city on edge.

        Adam Bowman, a battling journalist who grew up as the son of a teacher at Prince Albert College, might be the only person who can uncover the links between the school murder and the 'Blue Moon Killer'. But he will have to go into the darkest places of his childhood to piece together the clues. Detective Sergeant Rose Riley, meanwhile, is part of the taskforce desperately trying to find the killer before he strikes again. Adam Bowman's excavation of his past might turn out to be Rose's biggest trump card or it may bring the whole investigation crashing down, and put her own life in danger.

        Taut, suspenseful and utterly compelling, Black River is the best thriller you'll read this year.

        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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