AustLit

'Red Dirt Country features the thrilling return of Detective Dave Burrows, now a member of the stock squad in Western Australia.

'Recovering from an undercover case in outback Queensland, Dave Burrows finally returns to Perth, to join his pregnant wife, Melinda, and their small daughter, Bec. Things have been off-kilter between Mel and Dave for some time and nothing he says or does seems to make it right. Once Dave starts waking violently in the dark nights, reliving the horrors of the Queensland job, Mel issues an ultimatum.

'But Dave's work, despite its dangers, means everything to him. He's finally achieved his long-held dream and is now a Detective Senior Constable in the stock squad. And as soon as his shoulder wound is declared fully healed, Dave jumps into an investigation of stock theft in the north of Australia. There's a standoff between two stations and a history of disappearances and grief to uncover.

'It's also a long way away from his problems with Mel.

'With the prospect of going back to Queensland to give evidence as a protected witness, a dangerously ruthless enemy on the loose, and a family to protect, Dave's first experience on the stock squad is deep in an underbelly of racial divide with family secrets, long-repeated lies, kidnapping and murder.' (Publication summary)

'When her brother becomes seriously unwell, twenty-five-year-old journalist Zara Ellison must leave her much-loved city life to return to the family farm. She'd been reporting on an explosive court case in Adelaide that threatened to divide city and country. Animal welfare activists had stormed a farm and one man had lost his life. But Zara's stint in the country isn't as quiet as she'd feared when she gains a new job on the Farming Journal, and an introduction to Detective Dave Burrows and his second-in-charge, Senior Constable Jack Higgins. After more terrible farming accidents and reports of unidentified drones flying over farmlands, Zara witnesses Jack in a role she'd never have believed. But what is he playing at?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Detective Dave Burrows had never even heard of Nundrew in Queensland before. He'd certainly never would have guessed that this was where he'd be risking his life. In Barrabine, as Dave's workload skyrockets, his wife Melinda is unhappy about being left alone to raise their eighteen-month-old daughter. It's not how Dave wants it either, but crimes still have to be investigated and he's the only one able to do it. Melinda's interfering father isn't helping. He's never thought that Dave was right for his daughter and he's not shy about telling him. When things come to a head at home, Dave's policing mate, Spencer, comes up with a plan. In the most dangerous mission of his life, Dave knows what he needs to do. If he's found out, he'll never see Melinda again. Of that he's sure.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.