This is the fourth book in the series about Detectives Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic. Not that I’ve read the entire series but I have read The Tilt so I must catch up on the others. It doesn’t make much difference if you have or haven’t read them.

This one is still a page-turner about the murder of a local entrepreneur in a place called The Valley and so sets the scene for the two detectives’ investigation. However, Nell discovers that the victim is a close relative, that her birth mother had lived there and had known the local policeman. This sets the stage for more intrigue not to mention a bit of conflict of interest which doesn’t seem to matter all that much. You have to take a leap of faith with the connection to make it all believable.

There is graft and corruption as well as greed, of course, theft and robbery all rolled in with twisted family ties.

I enjoyed the writing, the description of the place (the map in the front sort of helped) and the dual narrative. Sometimes the detail around gold-mining lost me.

It all makes for a thrilling and adventurous tale which is difficult to put down. Give up your weekend for this one.