An authentic crime drama from a bright new voice in fiction.
A country town, a brutal murder, a shameful past, a reckoning to come… The injustices of the past and dangers of the present envelop Aboriginal policewoman Renee Taylor, when her unwilling return to the small outback town of her childhood plunges her into the investigation of a brutal murder.
Renee Taylor is planning to stay the minimum amount of time in her remote hometown – only as long as her mum needs her, then she is fleeing back to her real life in Brisbane.
Seconded to the town’s sleepy police station, Renee is pretty sure work will hold nothing more exciting than delivering speeding tickets. Then, a murdered woman is found down by the creek on the outskirts of town.
Leading the investigation, Renee uncovers a perplexing connection to the disappearance of two young women thirty years earlier. As she delves deeper and the mystery unfurls, intergenerational cruelties, endemic racism, and deep corruption show themselves, even as dark and bitter truths about the town and its inhabitants’ past rise up and threaten to overwhelm the present…
Melaleuca is Angie Faye Martin’s debut novel. Martin is a writer and editor of Kooma, Kamilaroi and European heritage. Martin spent many years working in policy roles in state and federal government before launching Versed Writings in 2019. Her work has been published in Meanjin, Garland, The Saltbush Review and The Rocks Remain. She is a member of the First Nations Australia Writers Network and accredited with the Institute of Professional Editors.
From the outset, there’s a sense of mystery and darkness, which continues to grow and evolve as you read Melaleuca. Martin has done a stellar job at building both character and world – I was immersed from beginning to end. Our heroine, Renee, feels deep and nuanced as she’s swept off into the great unknown, trying to solve a creatively unique murder investigation.
Renee’s personal journey throughout the book is extremely relatable, especially in terms of her identity and past. I loved watching her grow! One of my favourite parts of the book was the setting, Renee’s hometown Goorungah. Melaleuca includes a map of the town, setting the scene for one of my favourite locales in recent memory. If you’re a fan of The Dry or Scrublands, this book is for you!
Throughout the book, there is an interesting connection between the past and the present. Martin does a fantastic job of incorporating key themes such as racism and corruption, which are then used to illustrate how these concepts have changed – whether for better or worse – across various decades. The twists that these themes end up creating are incredible! I couldn’t get enough. If you’re in the mood for an intense, twisted, Aussie crime thriller, then I highly recommend Melaleuca.
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