Both Jo and Nick have survived events that leave them emotionally damaged and closed off from personal attachments. The characters, well to be honest the main characters broke my heart. Career credentials like that would make you think his powers of observation are also extremely well honed and you would be correct.Ī lot of the suspense throughout this book is related to issues that I wouldn’t necessarily pair with the outback, the arguments for it are logical and plausible but they are still things that I would expect in cities rather than national parks out the back of beyond which goes a long way to making Dead Heat even harder to put down, if only for a much needed sleep. Jo’s attention to detail and keen powers of observation come in handy time and time again throughout the book and go a long way to saving her life, the problem is that it is those same powers of observation that put her in danger in the first place.ĭetective Nick Matheson has recently been posted to the area in a major change of pace from the undercover roles he has been playing over the past decade. As a park ranger it is to be expected that the outback holds significant fascination for her, as does the native wildlife and we are treated to that fascination with the descriptions and observations of the landscapes and animals that she comes across in her work. The perspective is 3rd person but the majority of the story is focused on Jo Lockwood who is a park ranger so we still see through her eyes and she is a very observant woman who pays extreme attention to detail. The scenery is a shining star in this novel, vividly detailing the bushland National Parks in NSW. It doesn’t really matter why I’m still up, but the book is finished and it’s time to share my thoughts. Once I made the start that was the end of me and now here I am, an hour after I got prepared to call it a night with quite a chunk to read in the morning and I got handcuffed to the book, I swear I did, with my eyes propped open so I couldn’t look away. Having it sit next to me on my desk certainly spurred me to get through everything quickly so I could make a start.

It arrived when I was in the middle of another book, as usual, and had quite a to-do list to get through. I got the blurb for this a couple of weeks ago and have been hanging out to get my eyes on it. Dead Heat is my introduction to Australian romantic suspense writer Bronwyn Parry and one that is long overdue if this book is anything to go by.

As Darkness Falls by Bronwyn Parry