Set in Western Australia’s goldfields, Hot Ground is the second crime fiction novel by author Lisa Ellery.

Not only does the author live in the gold mining city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, where the book is set, but she also has a professional background in commercial and mining law. These facts add both a level of authenticity and depth to the storyline which I feel enhances the credibility of the book’s setting and plot.

And, as I’m one of those readers who believes good crime fiction should offer the chance to learn something new, Hot Ground certainly delivers on that front. The insights into prospecting and tenement leases were genuinely fascinating. Even the title, Hot Ground, adds another layer of intrigue as it’s a term used by ‘those in the know’ for a tenement lease that sparks a buzz of excitement around the time the lease is due to expire. 

The main plot of this novel begins in an eerie fashion…  in the dead of night, deep in the remote WA goldfields, the sound of a mallet striking a marker peg cuts through the bush. This midnight claim, staked by veteran prospector Max Cochrane, sets off a chain of events that leads to Max’s mysterious disappearance and the unearthing of long-buried secrets.

The book’s main character is a strong, tenacious female detective called Jessy Parkin, who’s recently been reassigned to Kalgoorlie after a tainted investigation in Perth. Jessy is put on the case to find Max and Max’s adult daughter, Mia, soon joins in the search. But, as the search unfolds, it becomes increasingly clear that more is at stake than just a missing person. 

The investigation side of the story is well thought out and highly engaging, with loads of insight into police procedures and I really enjoyed trying to piece together the clues. I also had to often recalibrate my thoughts due to the multiple twists the author threw in to keep me guessing.

Hot Ground also has a cast of memorable side characters, some of which are clearly suspicious, and it’s hard to tell at first who can actually be trusted, which adds to the suspense. The relevance of these characters becomes clear later in the story and threading in these types of characters is always a hallmark of a well-crafted crime fiction novel.

I particularly liked how some of the early chapters are titled with intriguing character labels – The Landlady, The Cowboy and The Director. These character chapters are short, extremely intense and set within seemingly unrelated nail-biting scenes and their significance also only becomes apparent as the mystery develops. 

Of course it’s not my place to reveal the plot as that would spoil the read but I can say that Hot Ground is a well-paced police crime novel that blends a clever plot with a vivid outback setting. If you enjoy crime fiction that mixes outback grit with gold fever and buried secrets, Hot Ground could be just the read you’re looking for.

Author: Lisa Ellery
Publisher: Fremantle Press
ISBN: 978 1760 993191
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This book review is supported by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund