Reviews

• Peter Temple's final novel is twisty, complex, and excellent

  In "Truth", author Peter Temple's loose sequel to "The Broken Shore", Steve Villani is Head of Homicide for the Melbourne police department. To put it mildly, Villani's got a lot on his plate: a murdered woman in a new luxury apartment building, three men tortured and killed in mechanic's shed, a marriage on its last legs, a daughter losing herself to drugs, the potential reopening of an old case that could end his career, and his father's refusal to evacuate the family farm in the face of historic wildfires ravaging the Australian countryside. Moreover, a political reckoning is coming as voters appear ready to sweep the opposition party to power, and uncertainty and doubt are running rampant inside the department. The investigation into the murder in the apartment quickly hits a brick wall of uncooperative wealthy owners and politicians eager to avoid sullying a prized urban redevelopment project. The shed killings seem to be drug-related, but a pair of ex-special forces soldiers also appear to be connected, and as Villani is courted by the potential election victors for a new leadership role, he finds himself navigating unfamiliar territory in the corridors of power. Where Temple's writing in "The Broken Shore" was reminiscent of James Lee Burke, in "Truth", it is grittier and more staccato - something an Aussie James Ellroy might compose - but no less evocative. The descriptions and characters are painted in impressionist fashion, resolving into clarity over the course of the book, and the dialog is natural and witty, creating an immersive experience. A few cautions: The author includes a glossary of Australian slang - which is highly useful - but non-Aussie readers may still struggle on occasion to follow every bit of dialog. Likewise, as with "The Broken Shore", the plot is about more than the crimes - there are layers here devoted to memory and family that are deeper than one will find in your average cop procedural. Lastly, the first half of the book may be a bit slow for some readers, as it is devoted to frustration and a lack of leads, but it picks up momentum quickly, however, as the investigators begin to unravel what really took place. For readers looking to go a bit deeper than a simple whodunnit, "Truth" will be rewarding. Recommended highly.

• patrick

  lecture. Ouvrage reçu dans de bonnes conditions, conforme aux attentes.

• Anstrengend - negativ - duster - verwirrend

  Auf Grund der guten Kritiken habe ich mich voll positiver Erwartung auf dieses Buch gestürzt - leider . . . Zugegeben - der Anfang war mehr als verwirrend, allerdings habe ich unbeirrt auf die Auflösung der Wirren und dem Beginn der auch so tollen Geschichte gewartet. Die Story an sich ist auch sehr gut, nur die Art wie sie präsentiert wird, ist nervtötend - tausende von bruchstückhaften Rückblicken, die ersten Kapitel später anfangen einen Sinn zu machen (leider auch hier mal wieder die Kindle Funktion SKIP CHAPTER ausser Funktion, so dass zurück blättern, um sich einen genaueren Überblick zu verschaffen praktisch unmöglich wurde), Fetzen von Ereignissen über mehrere Kapitel wild verstreut - die Ordnung im Chaos wird ansatzweise erst ganz am Schluß bemerkbar. Viel zu viele Charaktere und Mitspieler, davon aus den tatsächlichen Hauptpersonen kaum einer glaubhaft hinterlegt. Psychologische Hintergründe in Masse - mal begründet, meist aber nicht. Am schlimmsten allerdings empfand ich die Sprache. Mit Fortgang der Geschichte wird immer mehr Slang der untersten Kategorie zum Grundton der Story, dazu zunehmend vulgär (über lange Strecken überwiegt das f-Wort). Die Schattierung der Story gleitet immer mehr ins Negative . . . . . deprimierend, verzweifelnd, hoffungslos. Ab ca. 25% der Story musste ich mich wirklich zwingen weiter zu lesen - habe dies auch nur geschafft, weil ich irgendwann die Schlußkapitel vorgezogen habe, um endlich damit fertig zu werden. War nix - der Schluß hatte mich den ersten 25% so wenig gemeinsam, bzw. nachvollziehbar, dass ich mich durch das ganze Buch gequält habe. Im Nachhinein muss ich sagen: LEIDER ! ! ! Hätte ich es mal nur ganz hinten in den Kindle gestopft ! ! ! Mit dem Buch und der Story durch, blieb ich mit einem fahlen, pappigen Nachgeschmack sitzen - froh durch zu sein, mich bedauernd, dass ich mir das überhaupt angetan habe. Wer sich auch nach der Lektüre einer Kriminalgeschichte noch anhaltend deprimiert, herunter gezogen und hoffnungslos fühlen möchte, ist mit diesem Buch bestens beraten. Wer allerdings trotz aller Schwächen der Welt vorhat, sein Dasein möglichst positiv zu meistern und nicht all zu viel Zeit in düsterer Grundstimmung zu verweilen, sollte sich gründlich überlegen, auch nur die ersten Seiten anzufassen.

• AND BEAUTY

  "Truth" is a superior police thriller set in Melbourne, Victoria. Plot, character, setting and style reinforce one another brilliantly to make a rich, dark and satisfying whole. Stephen Villani is Melbourne's Head of Homicide. In this book - which despite the minor reappearance of some characters from the also excellent "The Broken Shore" is standalone rather than part of a series - Villani faces two major cases. In the first, a young woman is found murdered in a VIP apartment in the city's new casino complex; in the second, three thugs are found tortured and murdered in the suburb of Oakleigh. This description does not do justice to Temple's extraordinary weave of sub-plot and sub-sub-plot. "Truth" encompasses politics, business, the media, race, intra-team and inter-team police dynamics, family issues across three generations, adultery, bush fires, technology, corruption and ghosts, both threatening and benign. A story diagram for "Truth" would look like the wiring blueprint for an Airbus A380. Yet, Temple pulls it off. The reader does not get lost but rather is absorbed in a complex and vaguely disturbing world. Temple does not lose the reader because all the strands are held together in Steve Villani's head. He has a sharp and fluid intelligence and an internal compass that largely keeps him level despite the almost overwhelming accumulation of stresses and events. The rest of the large cast is strong too, ranging from Villani's tough gruff father, through Dove, his aboriginal assistant, and Rose Quirk the mother of a man killed by the police in an earlier case to various examples of Victoria's great and not- so-good. "Truth's" Australian setting is refreshing, along with its idiom of barbies, sunnies, long blacks (a type of coffee), branchstackers (your guess is as good as mine) and Blind Freddy. It meets the crime book's challenge of finding something new without dragging us into the dreary depths of the Scandinavian soul or the artificial fog of Victorian London. Melbourne, here, is a complete world at once familiar and unfamiliar to the average British or American reader. Temple writes beautifully. He favors short, tight sentences but does not write down to his readers. This is intelligent prose, with powerful images, flashes of humor and convincing dialogue. There is plenty of torque. Temple's publishers have made comparisons to Coetze and Wolfe but this is not a novel that aspires to transcend the crime genre. It is satisfied to perfect it.

• Book Review: Peter Temple

  A young girl is found naked and dead in one of Melbourne's newest, most secure residential buildings on top of a casino. The players are powerful, and nobody's talking. Three bodies are found tortured to death in a house in Oakleigh, there are no breaks in the case, or the the stifling Melbourne bushfire summer. For the head of homicide, it's a matter of keeping on. The story: Steve Villani lives in the shadow of the men who have gone before him. His father, Bob, remains stubbornly on his property, in danger of burning to the ground at any moment. Villani knows he has to do something for Bob and his brothers the way he always has, but he has other things on his mind. Villani also lives in the shadow of Singo, his old boss. He tries to run homicide the way Singo would have, but Singo certainly wasn't perfect. Villani has two big cases to solve, one of which he's been told specifically to leave alone and the other of which could ruin his career if he puts a foot wrong. His marriage is in tatters, and his youngest daughter is on the street in the company of drug addicts. He has to try and hold everything together, make sure everyone gets looked after and the dead get justice, but all the ghosts of his past, personal and professional, come crawling out of the woodwork. Villani has to work out what's important and let nature take its course. The style: I've read Peter Temple before, his novel The Broken Shore was very good and I consider it a cut above in the Crime Fiction genre. But, my God, Truth is absolutely sensational. It is beautifully, heartwrenchingly written. Villani is one of the strongest characters I've ever read, and Temple has managed to use the Crime genre to write a literary novel about masculinity, human nature, and inevitable compromise. The writing style is what makes it. The terse, short sentences give nothing away, and Temple is the master of saying exactly what he wants to in the right way. It's suits the deeper sub-plots and Villani's character development; Villani is a quick mind with a subtle sense of humour, pretending to plod while feeling things deeply and getting things done. He's not a politician but he knows how to play along, and because his character is a man of little words that the reader is privy to, the reveals about Villani and his past are perfectly timed throughout the story. The reader develops an instinct for the man Villani is, and by the time his character is fully revealed my empathy as a reader was completely developed. I cried. Twice. In a Crime Fiction. UNHEARD OF. The story-line certainly wasn't shabby either. A couple of major homicide cases to solve, a couple of pretty major family problems to solve, and a political shit-storm brewing in the state of Victoria. I know it sounds like other authors have probably done it, but they haven't. The plot is masterfully tied together, and Temple doesn't give you anything for free. You have to work for the reveals, and it's totally worth it. Once again, this is an Australian masterpiece. The sense of place is first-rate, and the exploration of masculinity in the context of rural and city Australia and the police force is just perfect. The way the characters interact, relate, the way the family dynamics work are all quintessentially what it is to be Australian. I can pick no fault. Who is this book for? Like the Crime genre? Do yourself a favour. Drop the run of the mill stories and read something actually good. Like this. If you're Australian and you like Crime, this is mandatory reading, although it may ruin other books for you. It's a bit desolate, though. Maybe don't read it if you feel like life is futile and you're terribly depressed.

Purchase links