Into the Night: 2 (Gemma Woodstock)

Into The Night is the second book in the Gemma Woodstock series by Australian author, Sarah Bailey. Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock has been on Melbourne's Homicide squad for about three months when popular soap actor, Sterling Wade is stabbed on the set of a movie being shot in Spring Street. It's a complicated case, but she's pleased, finally to be given the lead, even if she has to share it with DS Nick Fleet. While she doesn't seem to have any rapport with him, maybe this case will allow them to work together better.

City policing is quite different from what she's used to in her country NSW hometown of Smithson: better resources and more cops to do the work. They are going to be stretched on this one, though: in excess of four hundred people on the scene, made up or wearing masks to look like zombies. They may have it on film, but just what will that show them? And they need to ensure they don't neglect their other open murder cases: the escort who fell to her death from retired justice, Frank Jacoby's apartment balcony; and the homeless man stabbed in a tunnel.

While a witness had seen a person in a hoodie stabbing the old man, no one had yet been arrested. And unfortunately, the witness who implicated Jacoby himself in the escort's death has had her reliability questioned. But the Wade case had the opposite problem: too many witnesses who saw very little; and an ever-expanding list of suspects with credible motives.

Once again, Bailey offers fast-paced crime fiction with a realistic plot that twists and turns to keep the reader guessing and the pages turning. While one case is solved almost accidentally, some good detective work in their most challenging case uncovers both clues and red herrings that eventually lead to a heart-stopping climax. Suspects in the entertainment industry will guarantee that vanity, obsession with fame, jealousy, lies and secrets all feature. There's also plenty of grief but how much of it is genuine, and how much faked? Bailey also demonstrates how greed and fear can trump justice in a case of sexual harassment.

Gemma can be a bit prickly and doesn't necessarily endear herself to those important to her (or to readers, for that matter): she's left behind her son Ben with his father in Smithson when it became apparent that her relationship with Scott was irreparable; she's drinking way too much, and has started smoking again (but at least she's not doing drugs); she holds a devoted admirer at arms-length while she feeds an apparent addiction to having sex with strangers. This darkness has deep roots but a hopeful ending predicts a positive resolution. This is an excellent follow-up to The Dark Lake and fans will be eager to see what Bailey does next.

This unbiased review from an uncorrected proof copy provided by Allen&Unwin;.