Ash Island (The Belltree Trilogy, 2)

Ash Island is the second book in The Belltree Trilogy and the fifteenth novel by Scots-born Australian author, architect and urban design expert, Barry Maitland. After the shocking events at Crucifixion Creek deem him an embarrassment to his Sydney station, DS Harry Belltree is sent to Newcastle. While his colleagues there make him less than welcome, he and Jenny, now pregnant, try to settle in. Closer, too, to the site of the car crash that blinded Jenny and killed Justice Danny Belltree and his wife, Mary, Harry hopes he may solve the mystery of their murder.But the slow pace of his new job gets a jolt when a body turns up on Ash Island. Maybe more than one. And his private investigations have him wondering just how well he knew his parents. Soon enough, events have Harry and Jenny wondering if the evil from Crucifixion Creek has followed them to Newcastle, or if there is a new evil here, threatening their fragile peace. At the same time, reporter Kelly Pool, determined to bring to justice the woman who facilitated her kidnap at Crucifixion Creek, follows her trail to Newcastle. Her research reveals some intriguing connections, and Kelly doesn’t believe in coincidence. She once again wants to share information with Harry.Maitland gives the reader another fast-paced tale with plenty of twists and more than one heart-stopping climax. This wholly believable piece of crime fiction includes a sailors’ mission, tattoos in very strange places, drug smuggling, open cut coal mining, an environmental activist, an Aboriginal Land Council, quite a bit of covert surveillance and some explosions. Maitland’s characters are complex and multi-faceted: while some are exactly what they first seem to be, this is certainly not the case for all of the players. Harry is appealing: a tenacious maverick who cares for those close to him but is certainly no saint. Jenny certainly shows her mettle in this instalment. The final chapter’s shock development will have readers eager for the third book of the trilogy. Aussie crime fiction at its best.