Review: THE CREEPER, Margaret Hickey

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CRW33KD4
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House Australia (30 July 2024)
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 343 pages

Synopsis (Amazon)

Victim ... or killer?

For the last decade, the small mountain town of Edenville in Victoria’s high country has been haunted by the horrific murders of five hikers up on Jagged Ridge.

Also found dead near the scene was Bill ‘Creeper’ Durant, a bushland loner, expert deer-hunter, and a man with a known reputation for stalking campers . . .

murder-suicide. Case closed.

But as the ten-year anniversary of the massacre draws near, Detective Constable Sally White – the only officer at Edenville’s modest police station – finds herself drawn into the dark world of the notorious Durant family.

Lex Durant, in particular, has started to publicly protest his brother's innocence and accuse the police of persecution.

As Sally combs the investigation to prove him wrong, it becomes all too clear that each murdered hiker had skeletons in their closet - and possible enemies in their past . . .  

My Take

I've read 3 books by this author, all part of a series. 

CREEPER is a stand-alone bearing all the hallmarks of an established author, someone to watch out for. The characters are well drawn, and the scenario is believable. 

Highly recommended.

My rating: 4.8

I've also read

• 4.7, CUTTER'S END - Mark Ariti #1
• 4.6, STONE TOWN - Mark Ariti #2
• 4.5, BROKEN BAY - Mark Ariti #3