Review: THE GOOD DOG, Simon Rowell

• 
   this edition published by Text Publishing Melbourne 2024
  
• ISBN 9781922790699
• 262 pages
• #3 in the Zoe Mayer series 

Synopsis (Amazon)

A thrilling police procedural set in Mount Macedon by one of the rising stars of Australian crime writing

After gunshots echo through the summer night on Mount Macedon, Detective Sergeant Zoe Mayer and her loyal service dog Harry race to the summit at first light. What they find looks like a grisly murder-suicide- an alleged fraudster named Piers Johnson, and his lawyer Antony Peterson, both dead from bullet wounds, a gun lying nearby.

Something about the scene doesn't stack up. There are plenty of suspects, but no one seems to be telling the truth. Zoe's instincts are ignited, as the pressure to find and charge the culprit becomes intense. And that's when Peterson's teenage daughter Sarah is snatched off the street. The Good Dog is Zoe's toughest assignment yet, a murderous conspiracy of greed, deceit and violence. She knows that Harry may be her only chance to crack the case. 

My Take

I enjoyed this so much that I read it in one hit - unusual for me.

Zoe Mayer is breaking in a new partner, always a tough assignment. This story has a good plot and some good by-lines.  

My rating: 4.6  

I've also read

• 4.5, THE LONG GAME -#1
• 4.5, WILD CARD -#2
  

Review: WILD CARD, Simon Rowell

• 
  This edition made available as an e-book on Libby by my local library
  
• Published by Text Publishing Australia 10 Jan 2023
• length: 304pp
• ISBN: 9781922458728
• #2 Zoe Mayer series 

Synopsis (publisher) 

One foggy morning on the banks of the Murray River, a body is found in a burnt-out area of grassland. The heavily tattooed victim, who has suffered two bullet wounds to the head, is identified as Freddie Jones, a bikie from Moama.

Detective Sergeant Zoe Mayer is on the case, alongside her trusty service dog, Harry. Although Zoe is determined to track down the murderer, she finds herself stonewalled at every turn—by Freddie’s family, his associates and even the local police. But then a second body is discovered, and soon all bets are off…

Wild Card is a gripping mystery about gang warfare and small-town corruption, featuring a crime-fighting duo like no other.

My Take

A bikie's body is found on the Echuca side of the Murray River and the location makes the case the business of the Victoria Police. The problem is that the bikie is from Moama, on the New South Wales side of the river, another jurisdiction. 

Mick Kovacks, the police sergeant in Moama, says there are no drug or bikie problems on his side of the river - he has a containment strategy that keeps his side clean. But then a second body discovered on the Echuca side looks like a revenge killing.

Zoe Mayer's team discovers that both bodies are long standing friends of Mick Kovacks, so what is going on?

We first met Zoe Mayer and her partner Charlie in THE LONG GAME  where Zoe had been injured and had just returned to work accompanied by a service dog Harry. 

Well constructed and a credible plot.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.5, THE LONG GAME